What Jumpstart taught me

Throughout my time in Jumpstart, I’m not sure who has learned more, the children or me. Each day there is a new obstacle that my team and me go through together. Whether it is a child who decides to roll away or a child who is just overly excited for Jumpstart. The beauty of Jumpstart is that every day is new and different. You leave each session feeling like you made a difference.

Jumpstart has taught me more than I ever though was possible. I have learned how to manage time better. I have also learned how to work effectively as a team. My communication skills have drastically improved. I thought Jumpstart would just be teaching preschool children, but it turned out to be much more than I ever imagine. I have made very close friendships that would not have been possible if I hadn’t joined Jumpstart. I have also positively impacted our classroom full of children, and that alone makes it worth it.

The children we work with are truly unique. They each have a different personality that shines through more and more each session. During the session, I smile so much that my cheeks hurt afterwards. The children are too funny and have such imaginations. For instance, during one of the science centers a core member was using a hairdryer to see how objects moved differently. One of the objects was a stack of post-it-notes. While the child was enthused about the hairdryer, he was awestruck by the fact that the post-it-notes acted very much like a slinky. He played with the post-it-notes for 30 minutes, affectionately calling it Lou. Lou was a girl. It is things like that, which is really an eye opener as to how a child can take a simple item and turn it into something magical.

Jumpstart has changed my perspective. I may be having a bad day, but when I get inside the classroom all of my problems are gone. It is impossible not to smile and laugh with the children when singing songs or doing different activities with them. I may be impacting the children by doing Jumpstart, but I think they are having an even bigger impact on me. 

~Mary Elder

Team Leader

Team Hope