"My Supports"

Support to me means to be there for someone emotional, physically and mentally. Support can also be encouragement or inspirational. The type of support that I need on a daily basis is encouragement, physical and mental support to keep pushing myself to get to where I need to be. The reason that I need this type of support because daily life events such as work, traffic, family life can be stressful. I also need physical support such as team work around the house because after a long day at work, attending to dinner, homework and household chores, it can be exhausting and can take a toll on you mentally.

The challenge that I can see that I currently do not have is being alone to support my household. I will need financial, mental and emotional support to keep me from falling apart. My family keeps me going, because they are always there to lift me up and give me the words of encouragement to keep me from giving up. I am mentally strong, but we all can be put in situations in which we feel that we can no longer do what we do. Life can be challenging all by itself, but with the support of family, friends and the community can make a big difference in your life.

My Connections to Play

Play represents me as a younger child through this quote by Almon, 2002 "creative play is a central activity in the lives of healthy children". The second quote by Almon, 2002 "Their learning is a

combination of their own deep inner drive to grow and learn coupled with their imitation of

the adults in their environment". Both quotes represent me as a younger child because I was always imitating my mother or something that I had experienced. The people that supported play for me when I was younger was my parents. They were very positive about the type of play that I demonstrated. My mother told me that the way I demonstrated play showed her that I was caring and affectionate towards other people. She was right because because I am a mother to so many children outside of my own and I am always willing to help anyone feel better.

Play is different from when I was a younger child. There were physical exercise in our curriculum at school and we had better controlled after school programs to help keep us in shape. We also played outside after school to stay active, until dinner was ready. All of these things have been taken away due to lifestyle changes, technology and environmental influences. Children are not free to explore their minds or the world around them. Everything that a child does in the classroom today is based on academics, not on who they are developing into. Many children do not get a chance to be themselves and enjoy childhood. Since technology is so advanced now, even the younger minds are using computers for everything. Technology has weakened the minds of children by doing everything for them. It seems to me that a child cannot even think for themselves anymore due to everything being done for them. I used to create games, drawings or paintings on my own just to use my imagination, but now children do not have an option.

The role of play have so many benefits because we as a child can use our imagination and explore the options of who we want to become as an adult. Play can help a child like me get to know their feelings and what they are good at. The role of play as an adult gives me the opportunity to observe what children are feeling inside.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships/partnerships are important to me because all individuals involved can collaborate together to doe what is in the best of the child. The relationship between an educator, parent, sister, brother, mother, father or coworker are very important because it helps the development of a healthier person in life. The reason that I say this is because with these relationships the individual will not feel alone and they are able to share and trust in these individuals to be there for them. The individuals that are important to me is my daughter, son, brothers, sister, grandson and my best friend from childhood. The relationship with my daughter is positive because we are always there for each other, we confide in each other, share our feelings and thought and mainly because we love each other. The relationship with my son is positive because we always communicate, share our feelings and thoughts and we are honest with each other. The relationship with my sister is positive because we always encourage each other and focus on how important family relationships are. The relationship with all of my 6 brothers is positive because we are always there for each other, motive each other and we keep each other going in life. The relationship with my grandson that I am building is positive because I provide that secure attachment as a mother and always there to nuture, talk and interact with him. The relationship with my best friend is positive because we share our thoughts, feelings and emotions like sisters. We are always there to lift each other up, and encourage each other to never give up on our dreams in life no matter how old we are. The factors that contribute to all of the positive relationship listed is the respect for each other, close family ties as a child. The challenges of maintaining these positive relationships with my family were the absent distance between us after our mother died and the support that most of us did not give. The special characteristices of these relationships that make the relationship was the open heart and kindness that we all share. The experiences with relationships impact my work as an effective early childhood professional by helping me contribute what I shared with my younger siblings and family toward other individuals, children and family.

When I Think of Child Development...

Developmental Overview: Ages 0-2

Developmental Overview: Ages 6-9

                                                                     

                                                                            Developmental Overview: Ages 3-5

When I think of childrenand their development, I will take with me the learning experience of early stages in childhood development, the major body changes, brain development, birth complications, physical development, environmental influences on a child, language development, cognitve skills and emotional development. The search instistute has advice for every develoment stage " The way parents choose to deal with these issues has an important impact on how healthy and competent their children grow up to be. That’s why we’ve organized our information into the ages & stages of child development" (Search Instistute, 2010). All of the images and stages in age represent my view on child as a demonstration of how a healthy environment, early childhood education and social awareness can make a difference with a smile on each child's face regardless of age, background, gender or culture.

Developmental Overview: Ages 10-14

Reference

Search Instistute (2010). Ages & Stages. Retrieved from http://www.parentfurther.com/ages-stages

Testing for Intelligence

When viewing a committment for young childre, i believe that the brain should be measured first because that is the primary development for a child's behavior and learning capabilities. I also believe that each child's aptitude should be assessed to see what they are good at in a specific skill. This will hep educator to better assist in other ares in which the child need the most help (Berger, 2006).

The school-aged children of China are based on a skill assessment system that consist of literacy. The skill that the children are tested on are math, reading and writing. China skill assessment is focused on the economy and the demand of labor market.The secondary education age of enrollment is age 6 and sometimes age 7. ( Zhang, 2004).

The additional concerns that I have with testing for intelligence is that school age children should not be under so much pressure to prove their intelligence. I believe that each child has a talent and it should not take a specific test that is outdated and used for so many years to test the skills of each child. The word test and the attention span for a young school age child is not focused enough to handle the stress. I fear test, quizzes and exams because I always have anxiety attacks and sometimes forget what I learned because I am trying to hard to focus and do well.

Reference
Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Zhang, J (2004). China's skill assessment system. Retrieved from China_Skills_Assessment.pdf

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

The stressor that I personally experienced was violence as a child. I coped and survived many of the violent acts by keeping my distance, staying focused and motivated to do what was right. Many of the violent acts that I witnessed as a child came from drug, gang activity and domestic violence. I always stated to myself and never indulged in any violence. When I did witness domestic violence, I would cry and pray that it never happens to me. I grew up in the projects and many of my neighbors and school mates were trying to do whatever they could to make a fast buck to get out. Unfortunately it did not turn out that way. many of my neighbors turned on each other, which resulted in gangs, shoot outs and other types of violence. may of them also started to abuse the drugs themselves which resulted in a overdose at times. In my opinion, children all around the country are experiencing some type of stressor.

Violence can target any region or country. The effects of violence on a child's biosocial, cognitive and psychosocial development can be detrimental for life. The child that have to experience or see this type of stressor can develop mental issues, depression, post traumatic stress syndrome, and behavioral issues such as being violent as well. The child can grow up not knowing how to interact in a appropriate manner when in a different environment or around other children. This type of stressor can affect their learning ability in school in which in they will not be attentive in school, focused or happy (Berger, 2009).

The region that I focused was Philadelphia, because I am from part of this area. There is not much that is being done, only that people are moving out due to the violence escalating over the years. The majority of the violence in Philadelphia are in the schools. There is not much security in the schools of Philadelphia and the administrators are pointing the finger at each and the parents. Some of the authorities are holding all that take part in the child's responsible, because they all have a role in the child's education and development (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2011).

Reference

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (2011). Violence. Retrieved from http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/violence/

Child Development and Public Health

I chose nutrition/malnutrition. The topic is meaningful to me because, nutrition is the biggest part of a child's growth and development. Without the proper nutrition a child could have a small birth rate, have development delays, deadly illnesses, and brain abnormalities.

In India, children under age 5 die every year due to malnutrition and diarrhea. In 1993 the Government of India , the National Nutrition Policy was adopted to help pregnant mothers and children to receive the maximum of nutrition. the policy was set in place to monitor the need for good nutrition and malnutrition prevention. It is more common for children to be malnourished in Sub-Saharan Africa because of poor healthcare services, bad hygiene practices, and quality of care concerns for the children and expecting mother. Girls have a lower social status in India, which put them more at risk that boys.Malnourished children perform at a lower rate in school and the consequences affects the child's motor, sensory, cognitive, social and emotional development. Vitamin, mineral, iodine and vitamin A deficiency is a major public health problem because these all affect the child's development and survival rate in India (The Mother and Child Health and Education Trust, 2011).

The information that I have learned that may impact my future work as a educator, is that in order for a child to be able to survive to get the next level of development in cognitive, motor, sensory, social and emotional development, it need to start with good nutrition, hygiene, self awareness, healthcare services, preventative measures and knowledge.

Reference

The Mother and Child Health and Education Trust. (2011). Mother and Child Nutrition. Mother infant and young child nutrition and malnutrition. Retrieved from http://motherchildnutrition.org/malnutrition/index.html

Childbirth-In Your Life and Around the World

My first child's birth, was life changing experience becuase I was only 17 when I had my first. I ate plenty of fruits and vegetables and recieved WIC to help with my nutrition of my unborn child. I took prenatal vitamins and had other prenatl care through my OB/GYN. I did not know what to expect and the father was justas lost and unprepared as I was. My labor was not too bad, but it took a very long time to deliver. I was always nurturing to my first my born. I always talked with her, read to her every nighta and spent quality time with her. I enrolled my daughter into a pre-k program when she was 3 tohelp me to help her development process and learning abilites. I chose this example becaue there are more teenagers out there like me that need a support system.

I chose the region of China to discuss. The pregnant women in China, read stories before going to bed and there is no sexual activity. The pregnat women should not do any strainfurl work or attend funeral because it can cause a miscarriage. The pregnant women of China must eat their food mashed, properly cut and dark colored. The women do not have baby showers until the baby is born. During labor the women drink a strong herbal potion to help with the pain. Once the baby is born the women pray to godess with the offerings of sweet meats and incense. The women labor in a armchair or futon (Brown, 2011).

The difference between my childbirth and the women of China is that there tradition requires that the women do not work hard, they are fibben to have sex, and they must eat certain foods in a special way. The women of China do not have their babies in a hospital bed or any other bed, they have their babies in a chair. I gained the experience of how different tradtions of childbirth affect how you eat, sleep, engage in certain activities, how you handle labor and deliver your child.

Reference
Brown, L. (2011). Childbirth traditions around the world: China.

Examining Code of Ethics

The 3 ideals that are meaningful to me at The Division for Early Childhood code of ethics are

1. Enhancement of Children's and families quality of lives
2. Professionals development and preparation
3. Professional Collaboration

The 3 ideals that are meaningful to me at NAEYC are

1-1.1 To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

1-1.3 To recognize and respect the unique, abilities, and potential of each child.

1-1.10 To ensure that each child's culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and values in the program.

The significance of each ideal to my professional life is that they all pertain to respecting, appreciating and communicating to each indivual and collegue regardless of their age, beliefs, values, culture, and language. They are all significant because they illustrate my responsibility, role, awareness, preparation and devotion to the children and families that we serve. The three ideals also point out the behavior, rules, and laws that each professional must abide by.

Reference

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.dec-sped.org/

Growing Your Collection of Resources

Cramer, L. (2011, March 20). Choices should put children's education first. Retrieved from http://www2.morganton.com/news/2011/mar/20/cramer-choices-should-put-childrens-education-firs-ar-877041/

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

OMEP. (2009). World Organization for Early Childhood Education Retrieved from
http://www.omep-usnc.org/

Reschly, A. L. (2011). Engaging families in early childhood education. University of Georgia. Retrieved from http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/family/engagingfamilies

Zastrow, C.V. (2009, June 23). What works in Early Childhood Education: A view from the field. Retrieved from http://www.learningfirst.org/what-works-early-childhood-education-view-field

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

Inspirational Words of inspiration and determination

Quotes from Janet Gonzalez-Mena “We all want children to grow up in a world free from bias and discrimination, to reach for their dreams and feel that whatever they want to accomplish in life is possible.”

Quotes from  Lyndon B. Johnson "Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose."

Passion, Motivation and Wisdom

Quote from video segment by Louise Derman-Sparks “I had a built in passion that it was important to make a real contribution in the world to fix all of the injustices that existed in the world.” Another quote from Louise Derman-Sparks “I had the passion to make sure all children were taught and environments and in ways that truly nurtured their ability to grow and develop to their fullest ability.”

 

Personal Childhood Web

I currently do not have any pictures of my mother and father that contributed to the person that I am today, but I want to acknowledge them. My mother made me feel special by always being there to cheer me on. She was there to nurture me and keep me happy. She taught me how to cook, be thankful and to be a caring young lady. My mother whom is deceased had the biggest influence on me becoming a successful, loving and nurturing person. My father made me feel safe and taught me how to be independent and strong while also being able to accept a hand when needed. My sister was always there to listen to what I had to say, help see things in a positive manner, help me explore the world especially the wildlife and the things that I enjoyed doing like writing. This page is dedicated to my family for being there when I needed them to the most. My nephew, daughter, son and grandson always have demonstrated their apprecciation for being so caring, loving and thoughtful. My family help give me that extra purpose of being dedicated to being there for other children and families.