My Support

Support= someone  being helpful in the time of need or have your best interest at heart.

    It would be a very lonely life if a person did not show or receive support from others. Each  morning  I wake up, I need to know that I have spiritual/emotional  support from praying to GOD. Studying my bible gives the support to deal with matters of the day. From this I feel that I can help others socially ( hugs, smiles, conversation and reaching out via e-mail or phone).
   My husband and daughter are another factor of support, with out them I would feel very much alone. Each evening we talk about our day, I guess you could say it's a time to reflect on the high points and the low points. Sometimes venting or  laughter comes with the mood we are in and  a hug of gratitude for the end of a working day.  My practical support is simply being organize in the day to day priorities, getting clothes ready for the work week, having lunch ready for the week ,dinner,  days for cleaning the house to keep it nice at all times. I must say having support  from the family with an organized home truly helps with the mood  and then the monetary support is something I take pride in. My husband pays all of the bills and I'm the  contributor to the pot. I'm very bless that he takes awesome care of our family. The benefits that we reap from this is a peaceful, loving  castle to come back to at the end of the day.
  All of this support that I receive benefits others in my life, I've  learned  early on to think about other's needs and be in the moment with friends , family and co-workers. I believe when you understand being supportive to others it becomes a "service" that is so worthwhile. and the measures come back to you in more ways.
   If I had to chose a challenge and imagine what life would be like without help, I would look at being pregnant in my late forties with no help. Wow how frightening that would be!
   No father for the child, no extra monetary support, no community help, no emotional support to share my feeling. I'm so grateful that I'm not in that type of situation, yet I  must think of others that could be. In my heart of hearts I believe that everyone has at least someone in their life that they can count on. What would this world be like if absolutely no support was available for such an individual.

My prayer is that each person feels loved and supported through life!




    

My Connection to Play

Two great quotes;

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
― Plato

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/879.Plato

 

Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.

Diane Ackerman
Contemporary American author

http://www.museumofplay.org/education/education-and-play-resources/play-quotes

The Essentials things I would need for play.....my FRIENDS and TOYS in my younger self

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a child, I had the best time playing in my yard. My parents encouraged play and allowed our home to be the head quarter for friends to hang out at all day over the weekend and after school!

 

Today's play is much different from the 70's. Today children have videos, x-boxes, wii games and so much more. In the 70's we all had sticks and balls to play with. I'm glad today that toy guns are not as welcomed as they were in the 70's.

My hope for the parents today, is let your child have a balance of structured paly with free play!

 

The role of paly was a part of life everyday. We were expected get homework done then go outside until the street lights came on.  Today play has it's same meaning.....freedom and fun. Children should be given that break each toady to run from their world of stress through play! As for adults we need that pleasure....we should train our self to have fun, it could be the form of sports, bile riding whatever, but we most have be intentional about working hard, resting and PLAYING!

 

Relationship Reflection

Relationship Reflection

 I love meeting people and sharing history.

Unfortunately, I can’t say that I have childhood friends in my life or even a friend that I speak to on a daily or monthly basis. My daughter, son  and my husband are the wonderful people that keep me motivated.

My husband and I made up in our minds that we would treat each other better than we treat our co-workers or other family members. We agreed to handle things on our own and if we needed help, we would seek  a seasoned, wise, Christian, whom values truth and love  for guidance.

In our experience over time, we have learned that others truly look for drama to divert them from their own issues; we just don’t have the time nor do we want to entertain those people.  Special characteristics are confidence, kindness, and care in how we deliver or have a crucial conversation.

The expectation of a healthy relationship was actually modeled for me from a former department on my job, at the Hospital, where investing in tools to have a successful crucial conversations or learning gratitude , to produce the  best outcome in patient care, reminded me that this tool could be used anywhere: home or work. So for the best outcome in a child’s development; honesty, respect and participation to build a relationship is how I like to think I  contribute to an effective partnership with families.

 

PLAY DURING EARLY CHILDHOOD IS NECESSARY!

Play  during early childhood is necessary if humans are to reach their full potential  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=606725958741575962#editor/target=post;postID=7401553333293654715

My Commentary

I have learned so much about play and interplay. My greatest wish is that adults truly look at infant play and advocate for  our smallest citizens  while praising them on the hard work  to communicate their silent language of cues.
Mister Rogers was wonderful and  I have quoted him on play, yet  even in his powerful role of influence he missed the opportunity to shared about the wonders and excited joy our infants have in discovering their world:-)

One quote about children

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/fredrogers193081.html#BZl4GiPrDwRpLwZM.99

 

Fred Rogers AKA Mister Rogers:-)

 

 

 

Testing for Intelligence

Testing for Intelligence

 

 Child: plural noun: children

1.    a young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=what+does+child+mean

 

 Holistic;

1.    characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

                         2.  Medicine characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=what+does+holistic+mean

 

 

When I think of the whole child and an asked what is my opinion on how a child should be assessed?  My answer, is not only testing in academic achievements which on paper give us a portion of how the child  comprehend questions , but in the environment of how a child  functions. Example …emotions, respective, descriptive and expressive language during interaction. Also vision, hearing, taste, and smell, also physical development plays a great part on how the child takes information in and applies  the data. We have Ages and Stages Questionnaires from birth to six, at this point in elementary and secondary peers play a crucial role how children isolate themselves or flourish because of confidence. So an environmental assessment of the whole child would be beneficial.

 

Let’s look at China   

 

 May 2007 | Volume 64 | Number 8 Educating the Whole Child Pages 70-73

China and the Whole Child

Yong Zhao

A nation with a rigid thousand-year-old testing system struggles to implement a more holistic approach to education.

Half a century ago, Mao Tse-tung articulated the central aim of Chinese education: “Our educational policy must enable everyone who receives an education to develop morally, intellectually, and physically and become a worker with both socialist consciousness and culture” (1957). China embraced, in theory, Mao's appeal for educating the whole child, and this approach remains the guiding principle for education in China today. Yet it has had a minimal effect on Chinese education.

Overworked, Underrested

Students in China continue to be burdened with long school days, mountains of homework, and time-consuming school-oriented extracurricular activities. Sleep deprivation among students as a result of excessive schoolwork is a persistent problem. According to the Beijing Education Commission, over 60 percent of students don't get sufficient sleep (Zhang, 2006). On weekdays, students leave for school at approximately 7:00 a.m.; they typically get home around 6:00 p.m., with at least two or three hours of homework to complete. On weekends, students attend tutoring sessions, training courses for various contests, or test preparation events (Liu & Liu, 2004; Lv & Song, 2005). They are simply too busy to sleep or engage in leisure activities.

Reference;

Yong, Z. (2007, May 1). China and the Whole Child. . Retrieved , from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may07/vol64/num08/China-and-the-Whole-Child.aspx

 

 

Additional Comments

 

Above all else the cliché “ the children are our future”   is very try, and as educators  it is our responsibility to stay current in education and  objective  to how to enhance, create and implement fair assessment that look at the whole child’s   way of taking in and applying life skills.

 

 

 

Noise and Limited Play as Stressors

Noise  and Limited play as stressors

I asked my daughter what was a stressor for her  as a child. She share with me noise was a big one. Being an only child meant it was always quiet in the house. When my daughter was  about thirteen  visiting  family (cousins) especially the  younger ones which  were always running through the house, made her feel anxious. As a teenager she said she would never work with children. She felt they were loud, and had way too much energy.  Today at twenty-two she is a counselor at a recreation center, I’m glad she grew out of the anxiety I think what change her mind was as a college student she needed a job. She thought about how much fun it was( as a teen)  to be a part of  an after school center . She didn’t have to watch anyone,  it was about her and her friends while the counselors  focused  on the children. YET in a home away from home environment  children running up and down the stairs in a house felt annoying to her, or children fighting  over  toys made her feel like a referee . Somehow maturity and needing a job help her grow out of the anxiety. Today she shares many stories each night about how a child makes her laugh.

 

 

From the other end of the spectrum , think about the children from  Koriyama. Because of air pollution/ radiation, they cannot play outside  because of living  close to a nuclear plant.  

 

Child Stress on Rise after Fukushima

March 10, 2014, Monday @ 17:03 in World | Views: 17

 

 

 

Children in Fukushima in 2011. Photo: flickr.com

Some of the children in Koriyama, just a short drive away from Fukushima nuclear plant, barely know how it feels to play outside, as fear of radiation has kept them inside, Voice of Russia reports.

Even though the rigorous safety limits for outdoor activities, set after multiple nuclear explosions took place at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in 2011, have now been lifted up to a certain degree, parental concerns and deep-seated habits still keep the children indoors for most of the time, Voice of Russia says.

- See more at: http://www.independent.mk/articles/2461/Child+Stress+on+Rise+after+Fukushima#sthash.2avCQold.dpuf

I would think the easiest solution would be to move, but what happens when you simply don’t have the resources.  We all know just how important play, exploration, and certainly being outside is part of a child’s experience of development.  This article was very heart breaking and the impact for change in this situation is very costly.  

Reference;

http://www.independent.mk/articles/2461/Child+Stress+on+Rise+after+Fukushima

 

Mental Health of Mothers

 Mental health of mothers

I have thought about this topic and need to become transparent I have dealt with depression in my life. My dad, mother and sister died years ago, my dad in 2002 and my mother and sister both in 2005.  I fell into a deep depression while trying my very best as a single parent to raise my child.

In 2005, after the death of my sister, there were many times I tried to rest only to wake up not remembering my own child’s name, I‘d wake up yelling for  Shell ( my sister) as if I could feel her in the room. When my daughter came running, it would take me a minute to remember her name and face the fact that my sister died. Months later, I went through the same thing with my mom. This traumatic period in my life affected me mentally and physically getting  out of bed, was a fight. My daughter was sad and worried for me and of course this was a domino effect on her not being around her friends  and school work. Finally, I  got it together for her! .

Below is a website that focus on the varies reasons why women suffer from Mental health.

Women and Mental Health

The mental disorders affecting women include the following:

·         Anxiety Disorders, including OCD, panic, PTSD, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorders.

·         Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, ADD)

·         Bipolar Disorder

·         Borderline Personality Disorder

·         Depression

·         Postpartum depression

·         Eating Disorders

·         Schizophrenia

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

 

 Different Countries

Women in Africa India, and China suffer from depression because of being less valued, social roles and status. High rates of domestic abuse while pregnant  is a leading cause of depression, while infant deaths are also a great factor. Woman have been given the tools to understand and recognizes the symptoms and signs. Yet dealing with pregnancy and after birth in the situations they live in without support  sometimes leads to suicide.

http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/Perinatal_depression_mmh_final.pdf

 

How can I make an impact for future work? The foundation has been laid with centers like Women helping women and   Help clinics ran through community churches. My part is being a resource  and for the small groups that I’m in, I’ll  touch on this topic as an  invitation to share.

My Own Birthing Experience Compared to Pakistan Women

I’m sharing my own personal birth experience that I had back on 10-31-91 and comparing it to what I have learned about a different country.

After being in labor for 36 hours with my daughter, I was disappointed that it had to end in  performing an emergency C-section due to Deja swallowing her own bowel movement.  The care that she received was absolutely top notch. Deja was taken away from me for a couple of days because she was at risk for other complications.  After a week of being in the hospital, we never had to look back other getting wellness checks….Thank you Heavenly Father.

My care throughout the pregnancy was excellent. My doctor kept a close watch on Deja’s development and my health.

As I was reading about other countries, I felt sad for the Pakistan women.  “Pakistan has the highest first-day mortality rate for babies in Asia making it the most dangerous place in the region to be born, says the report. About 60,000 Pakistani babies die within the first day of life, accounting for 30 per cent of all newborn deaths. Reasons include high rate of preterm births, low birth weight, poor nutritional status of mothers, poor family planning, lack of health workers and early childbearing” Sethna, R. (2014, May 7)

When I read this article, I thought 60,000…wow; I think the culprit is lack of health care workers or the lack of funds to have the necessary instruments, equipment an advance technology. This is a  cry for making an impact for change.

I choice this story because of awareness. I'm putting out there what I have learned, hoping this becomes a conversation that causes change. The impact of giving birth has to be the most scariest event ever, and if a child survivals the odds, then I would assume  development stages are crucial if resources are not in place  

 

 Reference

 Sethna, R. (2014, May 7). Mothers and children in conflict. . Retrieved , from http://www.dawn.com/news/1104774/mothers-and-children-in-conflict

Examming Codes of Ethics

Here are three ideals from the code of Ethics that I picked to talk about, yet all of  the codes are so meaningful

Responsibilities to Children

Ideals

1-1.1        To be familiar with the early base of early childhood education and to stay informed through continuing education and training…….This is why I’m in school today! This helps  me to in helping others. To feel confident in what I believe in, to enhance what I feel passionate about!

 

Responsibilities to Families

Ideals

 

1-2.8 To help family members enhance  their understanding of their children and support the continuing development of their skills as parents………. Recently, I realized an important piece of information that I have not shared with families until they started child care which is sharing that we do assessments Brigance,, Ages and Stages, and DECA all to get a better Idea of how to help their children’s development in each domain. I am turning that around with my next tour.

 Responsibilities to Colleagues

Ideals/Principles

We shall recognize the contribution of colleagues to our program and not participate in the practice that diminish their reputation or impair their effectiveness in working with children and families………………These is a code that I will put in some of my teachers evualtion to remember that their perpetuated negative energy will not be tolerated, because it does affect others staff performance in attitude with families and staff.

 

 

 

One more resource to add!

I forgot to add my third resource I like this website it's about encouraging language.

 Strategies to Encourage Language Learning, Strategies to Support Language Development and Learning http://www.education.com/reference/article/strategies-language-learning/

Resources Section

Resources for Early Education

•NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap

•NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf

•NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

•NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

•NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

•NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf

•Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller

•FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf

•Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

•Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

•Websites:  ◦World Forum Foundation

http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us

This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage

◦World Organization for Early Childhood Education

http://www.omep-usnc.org/

Read about OMEP's mission.

◦Association for Childhood Education International

http://acei.org/

Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week's Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

•National Association for the Education of Young Children

http://www.naeyc.org/ •The Division for Early Childhood

http://www.dec-sped.org/

•Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families

http://www.zerotothree.org/ •WESTED

http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

•Harvard Education Letter

http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85 

 

•FPG Child Development Institute http://www.fpg.unc.edu/

•Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

•HighScope  http://www.highscope.org

•Children's Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/

•Center for Child Care Workforce http://www.ccw.org/

•Council for Exceptional Children http://www.cec.sped.org/

•Institute for Women's Policy Research http://www.iwpr.org/

•National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

•National Child Care Association http://www.nccanet.org

•National Institute for Early Education Research http://nieer.org/

•Pre[K]Now http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067

•Voices for America's Children http://www.voices.org/

•The Erikson Institute http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the Journal option under Search & Find on the library website to find journals by title.

•YC Young Children

•Childhood •Journal of Child & Family Studies •Child Study Journal •Multicultural Education

•Early Childhood Education Journal •Journal of Early Childhood Research

•International Journal of Early Childhood •Early Childhood Research Quarterly

•Developmental Psychology •Social Studies •Maternal & Child Health Journal

•International Journal of Early Years Education

 

Additional Resources

 

Brigance Early Development Screeners

http://www.curriculumassociates.com/professional-development/subjects.aspx?subject=br#ScrnIII-035m35y

 

Resources for Teacher  class room management  and a free download guide

http://www.coreknowledge.org/resources

 

 

 

 

 

Cont' Words of Inspiration and Movtivation

From week 2,  I have included two people that I feel are great contributors to education. Renatta Cooper, she and I have so much in common as Infant/Toddler Master teachers. I wish I could sit with her for a day to learn all that I can. As for Raymond Hernandez, I'm ALWAYS proud to see a male figure work within the ECE field.

 

Renatta Cooper

Program Specialist

Office of Child Care

LA County

Chef   Administrative  Office …………………………..It’s not all about you, take your ego out of it. Think about what’s best for the child”

 

 

 

 

    

Raymond Hernandez

School of Early Childhood Education

California (Manager of Programs)………”My passion from wanting to make a difference, I’m not here to save the world, just the community I’m working in”