I am...

Jumpstart is coming to a close for the year with only three more Sessions left with our sweet four and five year olds! We brought our five children downstairs to the Jumpstart room today and they set their breakfasts down and ran to go help bring out chairs and their breakfast table from the storage room.

I am amazed and blessed by the changes in these children in 8 months. In September they didn't know each other's names. Today they set up chairs together and I heard words like, "Here Karen, sit with me!" or compliments to each other, "I like your hair Jasmine."
This is a big deal.

I sat down on the steps and all of a sudden Sincere was in my lap in tears protesting that she had a cough and needed to go home. I wrapped my arms around her and explained, "But today is one of our last Jumpstart days and you don't want to miss it! AND we're going on a fieldtrip to the Dogwood Festival that will be SO fun." Jasmine came over and said, "Sincere, we're going to have fun today. Come eat breakfast." And she did!! NO tears.
This is a big deal.

As we got up from Circle time to go pick out books to read one on one, I grabbed Sincere and put her in my lap, eager to push away any other woes in her little heart. I looked her in the eyes and told her, "Sincere, today we are going to have fun AND you are going to remember that you are BEAUTIFUL and SMART. Can you say that?"

And that little one put one hand on each of my cheeks and pronounced,

I am BEAUTIFUL. I am SMART. AND I CAN DO IT!

This is a huge deal. And it made me cry.