Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Get a Jump Start on Helping Kids!

By Jennifer Lewis

It is mid-afternoon at Mansfield Discovery Depot School. Ten children ages two to four have been brought together to the Big Room to meet with their college student mentors. They are about to join in “circle time” by going over a story, a poem and an activity all based around a certain theme.
The participants are part of Jumpstart, a language and literacy program for underprivileged children. It is a full-year, 300-hour commitment that is formed on the basis of volunteer work and has proven to be successful for college students who want to be teachers.
Each Jumpstart program has multiple “teams” that go out and connect with local preschools. The teams are divided into 10 corps members and one team leader. The University of Connecticut is currently the only place in Connecticut that offers a Jumpstart program.
“I love the structure of it,” said Stephanie Cole, a 20-year-old human development and family studies major at UConn. “I love the interaction with the kids, staff and other corps members.”
Each corps member is assigned a “partner child,” at the same assigned school.
On this afternoon, once as they assemble in the Big Room, the team leader, James Wu-Ea, is watching over everything.
“Circle time” starts off the session, and each theme will last about eight sessions, over which they will read four different books. They read to the children and use vocabulary that the children may not be familiar with in order to enhance their reading capabilities. They then have “center time” in which there are different centers set up around the Big Room that the children can go to and perform certain activities. There is also a set-up called “Let’s Find out About It” where Wu-Ea discusses “various topics and subjects to help children explore the world.”
After center time, there is a quick snack time and then finally closing circle time. During each center or circle time, the members of Jumpstart are required to interact with the children by not only supervising the activities they do, but by asking thought provoking questions that get the children to think. For instance, if a child is drawing a spider web, a Jumpstart member may say, “Hey, are you going to draw a spider here? Will you draw other insects?” and so on.
“We want them to be in control of their day and to develop decision making skills,” Cole said.
Jumpstart is extremely beneficial for everyone involved, said Cole. Children apply to be in Jumpstart, and then the staff and Jumpstart program directors decide which kids would most benefit from the program. These kids will get extra help and attention, whether it be learning new or better skills or just having a friend, someone to talk to.
Teachers, like Melissa McManus, also love the program. “Jumpstart has made me realize that there are some really great programs out there for kids and that we are fortunate to have one at Mansfield Discovery Depot,” she said.

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