Starting this school year with training on how to read a book to children seems a little weird if you aren't an elementary education major. But, I can now tell you how to really engage kids when you read to them, and that isn't even my biggest accomplishment this year. I'm an Americorps member, through Jumpstart, and I read to children two times a week to make sure they're ready for Kindergarten. Thus far I have gotten one hundred and nineteen and a half hours in on my three hundred hour requirement. Within these one hundred and nineteen and a half hours I have learned so much about myself, about others, and about the world.

When I look at the world through the eyes of the children I teach, I see things way differently. They're all so smart, really, but they know so much about the world already. They know that their mother and father have to take public transportation to get to work because it's cheaper to do that than own a car. They know that their mother uses coupons at stop and shop to buy things, and if there isn't a coupon, they aren't getting it. Some of them know about food stamps, welfare and foster homes. Did I mention they're under five?

I know that when I come in and read to them, do fun centers like painting and play at housekeeping, I am giving them an opportunity that they may not have had without Jumpstart. When I come in every Tuesday and Thursday, I will see a smile on almost every child's face. Sometimes we get "hello"s or "we missed you"s, and more times than not, we get big hugs from our favorite children. The children have grown to be a huge pat of my life, and honestly, I'm not sure how I will fare when I have to say goodbye in April. My nightly routines have become more and more filled with making supplies for their class, and practicing books so I can get my whispers and yelling mother voice just right.

In the beginning of the school year, I was thinking I was the one doing the favors. I thought that since I'm in Americorps, I was supposed to be the one who was supposed to be leading by example or teaching my kids In all reality, they have given me so many opportunities and in some cases changed me for the better. Because of the children, I have something to look forward to when I am having a bad day or week, I have new motivation to use scissors, glue sticks and magic markers. I have some sense of purpose now that I know one child asks his dad every morning if it's a Jumpstart day. I thought the children were the ones who would benefit more out of this experience, but in reality, it was me.