I was looking through The Daily one day and I stumbled upon the Jumpstart ad. I read the caption and found that it would give me the opportunity to work with children. I was immediately interested and decided to find out more about it. I must say that Jumpstart has and will always be one of the most memorable experiences ever. Entering the classroom and being inundated with children's cries, "Teacher Herbert!" and having them race towards you to get the first hug was always a heart warming experience. It's kind of funny to see the kids fight over you. Yet, you come to realize they only fight because they deeply cherish your presence.

I'm sure you are familiar with this saying: it's all work and no play. I have to say that with Jumpstart, it's all play, because the work is play. Sure, I helped the children learn the alphabet, how to spell their names, how to count to ten, and how to sing songs with the accompanying motions, but in the end, those were all games. The program really challenged me to reach out to the children in a unique but creative manner. You cannot force-feed children the alphabet, because they will just block you out and you will lose their attention. So I ended up turning these simple tasks into games that I would enjoy as well because I would see the end result: their participation and their progress. Through this priceless interaction I learned a lot about children and how they think and learn. I truly believe that the information is so valuable that I will even end up using it for when I am blessed to have my own children.

I hope that you would also join this memorable opportunity and that you will walk away with the same experiences I have encountered.

Jenn* sits by herself at the breakfast table. She's 3, has a short bob cut, and a Minnie Mouse outfit with pink Dora shoes on. And she doesn't respond to anything. Not English or Cantonese (her main language). She randomly laughs and mumbles to herself, and occasionally cries. What do you do?

When I first started working with Jenn* I honestly felt like I was in a hopeless situation. I began to talk to her and play along her side - but to her, it was as if I wasn't even there. I was invisible. This made me more determined to understand her and help her interact with others. Getting her to acknowledge me was going to be a task, let alone helping her write her name with a chunky marker on pink Hello Kitty paper.

Time passed and she slowly started warming up to everybody. Soon she began to speak actual words! And then fragments. and then sentences! Instead of giggling by herself in a corner, she laughed with other children and sometimes cried, and even helped those who were crying.

By the end of the year she was making up stories from books, trying to teach me Cantonese while I taught her English, writing her name and the alphabet, and interacting with everybody (even the boys who she despised in the beginning of the year)!

Each day that I go into the classroom, I know that I am making a difference because of Jenn*. It may be slow at first, but at the end of the year I know and can SEE the difference that I was able to make in a child's life.
Jumpstart has allowed me to do this, and for that alone, I am truly grateful for this program.