I live in San Marcos. She livessssss in Sabalito. We live in Costa Rica!

Week 1 of JumpStart Sabalito was a success! We have two camps of 22 students each with a total of 44 students facilitated by two MEP teachers, Diego and Teresa, a recent college grad volunteer from the U.S., Shareesa and myself, a Peace Corps volunteer.

On our high school tour today (as part of the high school preparation segment), the students told us their hopes, worries, and questions about high school. Most students worried about not being able to find their classrooms on the first day or not being able to pass their classes. They told us that the JumpStart camp is helping them to meet friends and feel more comfortable in the high school before school starts. I asked one student, Daniela, if she missed her vacations, “No,” she replied, “this camp is more fun than my summer vacation at home!”

Using English only in the classroom, we have been taking tickets when students have spoken Spanish. This week, we had 11 students (half the class) who didn’t speak English all week! We gave them cupcakes and special pens as prizes. The other half of the class had only spoken English one to five times the entire week! So far, speaking English unless using the Spanish Hat has been a success.

The students have been supporting each other with their learning. When we were learning the verb “to live,” and a student would say a sentence with “he live…” or “she live…,” the rest of the class would chime in with “sssssss” to remind the student of the 3^rd person form “livessss,” and we would all end up laughing at how silly we all sounded. We can’t wait for Week 2!

I am a student, I am strong, I am young!

JumpStart Camp B!

After four weeks, our JumpStart camps finally came to a close. This last week was extra fun because we had a special visitor from Programe Adopte un Talento from Mexico, Richard, who came to incorporate science and math into our English language learning. From making sundials, to playing a counting game with buttons, to making a mess with giant bubbles on the floor, the students had a blast learning science and math at the same time as English. What a great opportunity it was for our JumpStart camp to have Richard, the kids learned so much. Thank you Richard!

At the end of the camp, all the students wrote Thank You letters to the people who sponsored us and made our camp possible. One student, William, complained about writing a letter to someone he had not even met yet. His letter said, "Thank you for helping me to learn English. My name is William. I am fifteen years old. I live in Santa Teresa. I am tall. I am a student. I am strong. I am young. (Translated from Spanish) For me, JumpStart was a camp where I learned to share, to work in a team, and to be a more open person. Thank you to all the people who donated, you helped me learn a new language. Sincerely, William" Another student, Alonso wrote, "For me, the camp was something unforgettable that you all donated your time to us. We learned English before entering high school. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you have done for us."

My amazing co-teacher, Diego, and I

All in all, I just wanted to thank everyone who helped make this camp possible for us. It was one of the most rewarding things I have done in my service here in Costa Rica. I could see the students learning and improving in only two weeks! They built confidence, friendships, and developed a base for English. In their comments, the students asked for more days of camp and more activities. At the end of the camp in a survey, when asked what they would say to the incoming students next year who might participate in JumpStart, one student, Adriana wrote that she would tell them, "They should go because it is a very good opportunity and they have to take advantage of it." I'm ready for JumpStart 2014, are you?

New Paths

Group Work!

I can’t believe we have already finished one JumpStart Camp and we are in the second week of our second camp! The month has flown by. The students have been a blast to have in class and we have laughed a lot. This summer camp has been a unique opportunity for them. When I asked the students what they normally do during their summer vacation, their answers ranged from picking coffee to help with their family earnings, to visiting family members in nearby towns, to watching TV at home.

Learning Numbers in a game like "Musical Chairs"

In our first JumpStart camp, the students came bounding off the buseta (minibus) after up to an hour and fifteen minutes of transport from their homes, ready to learn. When I asked if they were having fun during the camp, they all exclaimed, “YES!” One of their favorite games was learning numbers and walking around circles on the ground similar to “Musical Chairs.” We had a final count of 14 students who finished the JumpStart camp. They learned how to present themselves in English and ask each other basic questions. Hellen, Jay, and I were incredibly proud of the progress they made over the course of two weeks and only three hours a day. We went from having some students not speaking a word of English to all of the students being able to present themselves in front of the class in English for over a minute on graduation day. They told us they felt ready to enter high school. One student, Estiven told us after JumpStart he felt, "more prepared to enter high school and experience new paths."

Camp A Graduation!

Our second group of different kids has presented a different dynamic in the classroom. We now have 18 students in our camp and I am working with a different co-teacher, Diego. This time, our students’ favorite game has been learning professions with charades. They loved acting out the professions in front of their peers and guessing, “He is a doctor!” while the student acting would respond, “I am a doctor!” I told them, “You are all actors!” For this camp, we also have the opportunity of having a teacher-training expert from PAUTA (“Programa Adopte Un Talento”), an incredible Mexican organization that does science training for talented high-school students, to come to Costa Rica and work with our JumpStart students. The teacher-trainer, Richard, will be here for the week helping incorporate science into our English language learning. Today he led the students in a math and English activity strategy game with buttons and the students loved it. It will be fun to see what he has in store for them for the rest of the week!

JumpStart University of Wolverhampton - Sabalito: First Days

JumpStart Sabalito successfully started last Monday. If I had to summarize this experience in one word it would be GREAT. It was one of the first English words 16 kids from four rural communities around Sabalito learned. They learned different options to answer the question How are you? In the practice all of them chose I'm great as their answers. I could see in their faces they really meant GREAT when they answered. They seemed to be really happy to be participating in the camp. To all people, organizations who have made this possible I must have to say Thank You. Opportunities in these communities are most of the time lacking. JumpStart represents a great opportunity for them to learn english to make new friends, to be prepared to start high school, to improve their self-steem and confidence.

 

Jumpstart Sabalito inicio exitosamente el pasado Lunes. Si tuviera que resumir esta experiencia en una palabra, esta sería Excelente. Esta fue una de las primeras palabras que 16 niños de cuatro comunidades rurales de Sabalito aprendieron. Ellos aprendieron las diferentes opciones de respuesta para la pregunta Como está usted? En la práctica ellos todos escogieron yo estoy excelente como respuesta. Se podía ver en sus caritas que ellos de verdad querían decir excelente cuando respondían. Ellos se ven realmente felices de participar en el campamento. A todas las personas (organizaciones) que han hecho posible este campamento debo decirles gracias. Las oportunidades en estas comunidades son casi siempre escasas. JumpStart representa para estos niños una excelente oportunidad para aprender inglés, hacer nuevos amigos, sentirse preparados para iniciar el colegio, fortalecer su autoestima y confianza.

- Helen Castillo

It's nice to meet you too too tooooo!

Today was Day 1 of our JumpStart University of Wolverhampton Camp A in Sabalito. We had 16 students come from rural elementary schools, which do not have English. Students in Camp A came from four different elementary schools, the furthest being an hour and a fifteen minutes bus ride from the camp. Sabalito is primarily a coffee region so many of the students’ parents are farmers and agriculturalists. I am working with my co-teacher Hellen who has been teaching English for 15 years. My little sister, Jaden, who is studying English in college came from Denver, Colorado to help us with the camp for the week! Although shy and nervous at first, the students opened up quickly and we tossed a ball around and asked each other "How are you?" and responded. By the end of the day, students were practicing full conversations and presenting them in front of the class! My favorite part of the day was when one student, the class clown, Walford, said, "It's nice to meet you too too toooo!" We had a blast. Can't wait for Day 2!


Hoy fue Día 1 de nuestro Campamento A de JumpStart en Sabalito. Tuvimos 16 estudiantes de escuelas rurales que no tienen inglés. Los estudiantes en Campamento A vinieron de cuatro escuelas diferentes, lo más lejos fue una hora y quince minutos del campamento. Sabalito es un región de cafetales entonces la mayoría de los estudiantes tienen padres que son agricultores. Estoy trabajando con mi co-teacher Hellen que ha enseñado inglés por 15 años. ¡Mi hermana menor, Jaden, que está estudiando inglés en la universidad, vino de Denver, Colorado para ayudarnos con el campamento por la semana! Aunque al principio eran tímidos y nerviosos, ellos empezaron jugar y practicar con nosotros. Tiramos una pelota y nos preguntamos "How are you?" y contestamos. ¡Al fin del día, los estudiantes estuvieron practicando las conversaciones enteras y estuvieron presentándolas en frente de la clase! Mi parte favorito del día fue cuando un estudiante, el payaso de la clase, Walford, dijo, "It's nice to meet you too too toooo!" Nos divertimos mucho. ¡No puedo esperar para Día 2!