RACHEL SACHER
Staff Writer
Every year, JFAD fills the Pepperdine campus with preschoolers from the L.A. County area, and this year was no exception. JFAD, which stands for “Jumpstart For A Day,” brings students, children, and faculty together for a day of learning, relationship building and celebration.
Children and their families who participate in the Jumpstart Programs came to campus Tuesday. The participants were able to learn through creative and inventive techniques, as directed by the Jumpstart members and student volunteers.
Volunteers were given a brief training/orientation program on Monday, February 26th with instructions on methods and learning styles. The day involved many hands-on activities, in which the children were taught how to think more creatively about reading. Literacy is a contending issue facing the Los Angeles Unified School District and is one of the reasons Jumpstart exists.
From 9 a.m. to noon, JFAD rocked the Pepperdine Campus with the help of a grant from the organization First Book.
On location in Josyln Plaza and Adamson Plaza, preschoolers poured into the open arms of Pepperdine students. Each preschooler had the opportunity to enter the one-day learning fair, where students provided instruction via different learning stations and literacy related activities.
Over the course of the day, the children moved from station to station, where the primary focus of the event was to enhance literacy.
Each learning event was centered on a different children’s book, and when the event was completed, they were each given a book purchased with the First Book grant.
Then around noon, lunch was served to the preschoolers and their families. Erin Axton, a junior, is going on her second year with Jumpstart. Axton said “seeing the kids grow and change throughout the year and the relationships you build with the children” were the most important aspect of her experience. Being a part of the Jumpstart team, on the day of JFAD Axton and others worked to “help out with the different booths set up and walk around with kids.”
Alan Reynolds, sophomore and Jumpstart team leader agreed, “I work for St. Joseph’s where a lot of the kids are not cared for at home in the same way that we can care for them.”
The kids come from homes where quality time and attention are scarce. The novelty of Jumpstart is that “it is personally rewarding to see the impact we are making, it’s cool to physically see the changes we are making.”
The Jumpstart program takes Pepperdine students into schools in L.A. County, where they teach preschoolers how to read. Axton remarks on the locations, “we work at preschools Malibu, Santa Monica and Venice.”
The students serve as role models for the kids they teach. In addition, the kids enhance their skills in reading, writing and math.
“I woke up early at 6:30 a.m. It was fun, there were a lot of kids and I actually think that it is a good way for young kids to learn about college, said junior Anna McLaurin.
One of the preschoolers entered the campus saying, “This is where you live? I like this place.’”
JFAD creates a unique experience in which preschoolers are given a chance to visit a college campus, exposing them to a world beyond their own.
JFAD brought nearly 350 preschoolers to the campus. Those who volunteered for the day assisted with the literacy events and booths, and helped serve lunch to all the attendees. Some of the booths included fishing, box maze, craft projects, bounce houses and others.
The preschoolers played in mazes made out of boxes and raced through obstacle courses. There were paper machete volcanoes, parachutes and several crafts.
“It’s really cool just to know that we give the kids care and nourishment because a lot of the kids don’t get the attention at home,” Reynolds said. “We get a good amount of volunteers, it’s cool to see the kids get off the bus and its fun to walk the kids around and show them the university.”
03-01-2007