Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc.

Geographic areas served: United States

Programs: See schedule o:jumpstart offers a unique, results-driven and research-based program to enhance the educational opportunities for preschool children in low-income neighborhoods. The jumpstart curriculum is carefully designed to provide strategies for our corps members to maximize the time they spend with children, and targets specific language and literacy skills that are most important to a child's future academic success. School success: jumpstart sessions take place two days per week, for two hours each time. Corps members and children read core storybooks and participate in targeted and intentional activities based on these stories. Each session revolves around a core storybook and one book serves as the focus for two sessions. Session plans are organized in six unit themes: family, friends, wind and water, the world of color, shadows and reflections, and things that grow and use the following routine:welcome: children transition to jumpstart from their previous activity. Children build alphabet knowledge through exploration of name cards and over time develop an understanding of meaning and use of print. Reading: children and corps members engage in a shared reading experience. Corps members use a variety of strategies to engage children in the story, highlight key vocabulary, and check for comprehension of the text. Circle time: children participate by singing songs, playing word and letter games, and reading poems. The whole-group learning experience builds a sense of community among children and adults. Center time: centers are set up with materials and activities that support childrens language and literacy skill development. Activities are inspired by the unit theme and core storybook, deepening childrens understanding of the book and providing opportunities to use story vocabulary. Let's find out about it: a small group activity designed to build children's concept knowledge and vocabulary. Here, children have the opportunity to explore new ideas and information, learn about objects and their use, and understand how things work. Sharing & goodbye: children talk and listen to others share their favorite session activities in a large group setting. Corps members use objects or examples of children's work from center time and rich vocabulary to support the conversation. Future teachers: jumpstart develops future teachers and leaders by increasing corps members' early childhood knowledge and community awareness. Corps members receive 30 hours of training before entering the classroom and up to 60 hours during their year of service. During this training, corps members participate in hands-on activities that deepen their understanding of developmentally appropriate practice, children's language and literacy development, active learning, classroom management, and family involvement. Corps members learn how to deliver jumpstart's curriculum during trainings that focus on jumpstart's target domains and skills, implementing the jumpstart routine, and understanding and using jumpstart's reading strategies. In addition, corps members continue building and strengthening their skills to implement jumpstart sessions through application and practical learning during in-service trainings held throughout the year. Family involvement: jumpstart recognizes that families are children's first and most important teachers. We seek to engage families as partners in supporting their children's school success and provide opportunities to extend learning into the home whenever possible. Corps members form relationships that build trust with families through ongoing, consistent communication. This communication happens face to face when corps members meet family members at early childhood centers, as well as through formal, written communication at least once per month. Jumpstart also strives to build connections between the jumpstart session and children's learning at home. Jumpstart provides the family involvement calendar and take-home activities included in family newsletters to support this connection.