When I started Jumpstart, I did not know what to expect. I grew up helping my mom in her classroom of first graders, and I had babysat many time before, but Jumpstart sounded like nothing I had ever experienced before. All of the children I have worked with before already had general knowledge of the alphabet, even if it was very rudimentary. Working with preschoolers, especially 3 year-olds, is quite the change of pace. Now most of these children can only pick out the letters in their names, and even then they have a hard time differentiating between letters that look similar, like y and g.

I love it. I am an Education major (albeit, a Secondary Education major with a focus on 9^th-12^th grade), and I think that is why I love seeing the changes in the children. The ones who could not pick their names out before can now recognize multiple letters in their names, and point out who else has those letters in their names. Children who did not want to participate in Read to Reconstruct have begun to answer questions about the books and can recall events from their own volition. I can tell that Jumpstart has helped the children tremendously, and I love that. I love knowing that I helped foster a love of learning in a new generation.

Jumpstart has allowed me to not only help children grow, but to help myself grow. I am now more confident in my ability to work with children of all ages, and to be able to help the children learn. I also gained valuable skills, like being able to work as part of a team and being able to manage my time properly. I am so glad that I decided to join Jumpstart at the beginning of the year. It has shaped me into a better person.

-Melissa Galvin