Children are like sponges; they absorb massive amounts of ...



Children are like sponges; they absorb massive amounts of information from sources all around. While many children in the twenty first century can identify all the shows on the Nickelodeon line up, many cannot read simple books or write words, including their name in some cases. There is one organization that is working with preschoolers and families all across the nation to increase awareness of literacy and to bring reading and writing into the everyday lives of a child.

This organization is called Jumpstart, and its main purpose is to get pre school age children ready for kindergarten, to make sure they have the reading and writing skills necessary in succeeding. The program takes students at risk, such as children who might not get the individual attention at home, or is on the border line with academic grades. These are children that are not failing their academics, but are not exactly flourishing either. Since they are neither extreme, it is easy for these children to fall within the cracks of a classroom, and fall behind in their academics.

Jumpstart comes into these classrooms and assists with these children, by following a model created by the organization to increase literacy and promote reading and writing. It is a positive environment for children to learn, and to work on a one to one level with a Jumpstart Core Member. The concept may sound relatively easy, but it takes preparation in order to complete a session plan, and to make sure the whole team of mentors is equip enough to work with the children.

The organization was at Yale University at 1993 due to the fact that the nation needed quality early childhood programs, and the emerging service movement of college students in the nation. There were initially fifteen preschoolers, and fifteen college mentors at the first school, New Haven Head Start.

According to , Jumpstart is now one of the fastest growing non-profit organizations in the country. The organization now has thousands of corp members, along with 13,000 children in the program. The program is able to serve the children by focusing on three areas; School success, Family involvement and Future Teachers.

School success is the one on one relation between the child and the mentor. This allows the child to have a sense that what they have to say is of value and that allows them to be confident to try to experiment with reading and writing.

Since the program is based on working with each student one on one, each child is paired up with a corps member. A corps member is a college student working for the organization. This college student works one on one with the child for an entire school year. Together, there are teams of corps member that go into the classroom together, working first with their individual child, then working on crafts and circle time with the group as a whole.

Family Involvement is a crucial part of the Jumpstart Program. It emphasizes constant, clear communication between parents, educators and the corps members. The classroom environment is a sure way for learning methods to be enforced, but in order for it to be carried out in daily life; it must be demonstrated in the home. By educating parents and keeping them aware of what the child is learning and promoting literacy to their child, it enforces the lessons taught in the classroom.

Parents clearly can see the differences in their children when they are in the program. Karen Ercollino, whose son Michael was in the Jumpstart, is one of the mother’s who feels their child have. “Michael had no interest in reading before Jumpstart, and he was not very good socializing with other children since he was an only child” she explained. “After just a few sessions at Jumpstart, he began making more friends and class, and even showed more interest in reading. The student held a parent orientation and frequently sent home letters about his progress and things I can reinforce at home”. Michael is now in third grade and is a strong student who enjoys reading just as much as playing baseball, his mother proudly says.

A third part of the model of Jumpstart are the Future Teachers. Though the Corps members do not have to be education majors, it is an exquisite opportunity for future teachers to experience a real classroom setting early on. Along with training received through Jumpstart, and the skills learned about classroom environments, corps members are even more equip with crucial lessons about how to teach young children effectively.

The model is implemented in a very structured way, which is needed when working with young children. College Corps members, attend a two hour session twice a week at their preschool for eight months a year. The session is broken into three part, Circle Time, One to One reading and Choice time.

“This program is well structured, which it needs to be because of amount of work that needs to be done in such a short time” says Laura Ross, a team leader. “In order to make sure this session is run smoothly, the members of the group need to know exactly what they are going on in the lesson plan, so we do not give off the impression we are unprepared.” Ross has been with the program since August 2007, but her previous skills with children have helped her prepare for leading a group, along with training provided by the organization. “Jumpstart makes sure we all know everything necessary to work with the children, to each other. It is a rewarding job to have” she noted with a genuine smile.

Circle time is when the whole group works together, as Corp members lead the children into songs and dances pertaining to literacy, language and social interaction. Movement games, rhyming songs and literacy terms are usually incorporated in these activities. This part of session is for all the children to feel as if they belong to a community.

After circle time, one to one reading takes place. This is when the one on one relationship between corps members and children take place, which builds a bond of trust and friendship. Children pick whatever books they want, and the Corps member reads with the child using the dialogic reading method. The dialogic reading method is a way of reading with child by having them think about the stories, and asking them questions about the setting, plot line and characters of the book. This allows them to be more aware of the story and to not only listen but to apply the story to things in everyday life.

The final and longest part of the session is called Choice time. During choice time, the children make up a plan of what they want to do, and where they want to play at. These activities can rage from art projects, puzzles, dramatic play, reading or table top toys. The important thing is the child decides what do to, and how to do it, along with actually implementing their plan.

During choice time, all of the children have the opportunity to interact with each other, and to work together. Corps member help the children experiment with various activates and how to solve their problems on their own.

Along with the Jumpstart sessions, Corps member also assist in the classroom their child is a part of, which is called Classroom Assistance Time, or CAT time for short. The Corps member has a chance to observe their child in a classroom setting, and to figure out what the child likes or dislikes, and what areas they struggle or thrive with. It is also an opportunity to gain more early education experience and insight on the field. Corps members usually spend between two to five hours doing Classroom assistance time a week.

Being a corps member is a great opportunity for a college student. I joined Jumpstart in August 2007, not quite of what the program entailed. Through their six week training program, the other corp members and I were educated on the program, mission statement, the structure model and how to deal with every possible situation that could come up. By learning about the information, I felt prepared enough to begin working with a child, and to put everything that I learned into motion. My team, which consists of eight corp members, works with All My Children Daycare center, which is a Hebrew based school. Since most of the children and faculty’s first language is Hebrew, there was a difficult time planning how to get the children excited about English, and determining what they knew already and what they did not know.

Through team planning meetings, our team created circle time activities to reiterate English and definitions of words. We also had to keep in mind that these songs have to keep the attention of four year olds. Every session, we bring a variety of books so the children can pick different ones each time, and everyone can find a book that is interesting to him or her. Each session we plan a craft, which the children can do if they want to during choice time. During this craft, the child is allowed to be creative and express themselves through a variety of materials. We also encourage the children to label objects in the drawings, and to write their names.

I have been with the organization for seven months now, and truly feel I am making a difference while going to work. Working with my child Isabel, I am able to help her figure out words when we are reading, or watch her eyes flutter as she comprehends similarities in a story were reading and in her actual life. The most rewarding aspect was when she was able to write her name without any assistance from me. We had reviewed it many of times, and sounded it out. All of my hard work was finally able to benefit her.

It is also rewarding to be part of an organization with such a worth message. We are all students ourselves, and have had a lot of help over the years to get us to the level we are currently at. By helping the future generation be prepared for kindergarten, which is the launching pad for all further education, is a great way to give back to the community. It is an organization that everyone should be aware of, since most people having children of their own, or have children in their family. No one wants their own to be left behind, and Jumpstart help stopping that, with one book at a time.

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