Spontaneous ungrounded excitement

          My jumpstart session started out by entering the room and realizing that one of my children was absent.  I turned this into a positive, realizing that it was an opportunity to capitalize on the one-on-one time my other partner child and I would now be allowed.  Moments into snack time (even before we start with name recognition and letter comprehension) my partner child’s mom walked in and I knew this was a sign that I would not have any time with my partner child because he would be leaving early. 

          I thought that this would be okay because I would have the chance to talk to my partner child’s parent while my partner child was putting on his jacket.  Usually I do not get this opportunity because I am in dramatic play and feel guilty if I abandon the children in dramatic play in order talk to this parent when she picks up her child.  As I made my move towards the cubbies (through the obstacle course of tiny children getting their snack and going the bathroom to wash their hands) my partner child’s parent did a perfect yin yang rotation dance towards the bathroom on the side of the room I was on.   She called my partner child over to go the bathroom and as I tried to back track to that side of the room, I could see my window of opportunity closing because the teacher of the classroom moved towards my partner child’s parent.  I was trying to send a telepathic message. “Wait. Please, this is my one chance,” but apparently we were on a different frequency because I was the only one that heard that message.  I understood that the teacher probably had just as much need, or more, to talk to the parent, but I still wanted my time so I moved to the cubbies in order to get in a couple of words before she left.

            After her child went the bathroom I brought over the jacket and back pack of my partner child (as extra insurance to make sure I could at least say hi and that way, if I was holding something, then hopefully no one would see empty hands and think that I wanted something to do). She thanked me for getting the coat and bag and then I asked her how her child did on his evaluation for “big kid school” as he called it.  The week before, I had been entering Project Hope as they were leaving and she had said that her child was going to be observed to see if he was ready for school.  As we began to talk, she lit up when I asked if he enjoyed it and if she had gotten the results yet.

          She was beaming when she said he was in level three; this is what sparked my spontaneous excitement.  A smile sprang on my face immediately, even thought I had no idea what level three meant.  Her joy was contagious and allowed me to smile, without worry of level three being not up to par or below expectations.  She told me that next time she picks up her child she will bring the evaluation sheet with her to show me the comments the evaluator made and I felt honored for her to have the trust in me to share this information.  So, although my spontaneous excitement was ungrounded, in that I did not know what level three was, I felt amazing after hearing the information and the negative feelings of not having a partner child for the day where eradicated by the news.

Ian Driscoll