Saturday, December 6, 2014

My Supports

My son and his girlfriend Charlotte are daily technical and school support. They constantly help me with computer and technical computer support. They offer the personal support of daily encouragement on this graduate school undertaking. I cannot even begin to describe how much support I get from them. Charlotte. When I enrolled in school, they both helped me to navigate the computer. It would be hard to exist without this support as I pretty much need daily help with computer issues. For example, when the internet is down and needs to be reset. I am at a loss. They offer the personal support of daily encouragement on this graduate school undertaking. Above my desk a sign reads Above all, remember that you are doing a GREAT job. They remind me every day, when I feel overwhelmed they say, “you got this.” My son and his girlfriend live with us and I would have a negative impact on my life without their support and love on the daily basis.
I have my own room that used to be my husband’s office. It is now filled with loose leaf binders of Walden paper work both past classes and the current one. This room is actually a great support to me as it keeps me focused and out of the happenings in the house and is private. I am not sure how I would function without this room. It offers me a place to be able to work without distraction.
My husband is such a great support. He has picked up a lot of what I have a hard time accomplishing that means laundry and basic chores in our home. Aside from being an amazing sounding board, he listens and helps me work through everything. I do not know how I would function without his support.
My teaching assistant is a daily support that I could not function without. We work so well as a team. She helps me with daily planning and implementing of our classroom program. This is our second year together and I hope to continue to work together for years to come. I do not even like to think about my classroom experience without her. I have worked with many other women in the past but not a teacher like her. I wish her all of the success as I know she would like to be a lead teacher in her own class some day but it has been an amazing experience for both of us.
I feel supported at work on another level. My supervisor and director are a great support as they know my families and the children in my classroom. Their doors are always open to listen to a problem, make a suggestion or help to problem solve a situation. They always “have my back”. I do not think I could work in any other kind of environment. Knowing they are always there for me helps me on a daily basis.
I chose to imagine that my challenge was being an adult with the ADD/ADHD.
I would need daily supports in my life. I would still need a loving and caring family to help provide daily support. Everyone regardless of any challenge needs to have a loving and caring group of people in their daily life. We all have varying abilities and on some level, we all have challenges. We all could not survive without some positive relationships.
Daily supports would have to include lists and calendars to keep me organized and to help with keeping me focused on tasks at hand and upcoming tasks. The lists and notes would help me keep track of regularly scheduled tasks, projects and deadlines. Electronic calendars and Apps would help. I think without this support, I would not be able to complete what I need to complete in a timely manner. As an adult with this disorder, I would need these supports
 I may even need to be prescribed a medication to lesson my symptoms and help me to function to the best of my ability. I may not be able to be successful in my life without this support.
If I had this disorder I may struggle with erratic sleep, unhealthy eating or the effects of too little exercise.  This can lead to extra stress, bad moods and feeling out of control. The way to stop this cycle may be to take charge of my lifestyle habits and create healthy new routines. Eating well, getting enough sleep and exercising can help me stay calm, avoid mood swings and fight the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Sounds to me like challenge or no challenge this is good advice for everyone. These are lifestyle supports we could all use.


Saturday, November 22, 2014

My Connections to Play

Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.
-Kay Redfield Jamison

When we treat children's play as seriously as it deserves, we are helping them feel the joy that's to be found in the creative spirit. It's the things we play with and the people who help us play that make a great difference in our lives.
­-Fred Rogers 


        
 The people in my life supported me in play by just allowing time for uninterrupted play.  Life just seemed so much simpler then.  We came home from school, had a snack, did homework (which I do not remember taking half as long as it did my children to do) and then went outside to play. All age groups played together. The older ones played alongside and with the younger ones. There was no need for a “play date”. We did not come in until dinnertime.  We lived in NYC, Queens in a garden apartment.  A garden apartment has three two story buildings and a courtyard in the front.  There were grassy areas with trees and bushes in the middle surrounded by a sidewalk.  The sidewalk made a complete circle almost like a track. My first picture is a big wheel riding toy. My “court” was filled with children. Everyone had a big wheel or for the older kids bicycles.  We used to ride around the sidewalk every afternoon.  Games constantly evolved over time.  The bushes became toll booths and gas stations as big wheels became cars.  Our parents sat outside with us, chatted and just let us play.  

My next pictures show my true love when I was a kid.  I just loved open-ended art supplies.  My parents supported this passion with me, my brother and all of our friends.  My parents never worried about there being a mess. They just encouraged us to explore and create.  What I remember most is that my parents and my mother’s mom would sit with us and actively engage in creating as well.  We had such great role models for creative play. My grandma was very much “old school”. She loved coloring books.  I think she did more pages than I ever did.  My dad loved to sketch and draw.  I know that is where my first love for artistic creative expression came from.  I guess that is why I love early education. We used all of the media above and more.  Collage stuff was abundant.  We always had bits of this and scraps of that to work with.  Play built naturally when my brother was old enough to play with me.  My parents always encouraged us to play together when we were not fighting. All of these materials easily turned into games of school. Those art materials turned into homemade books and projects.  My friends and I would take these supplies and play school, restaurant and office. We used our imaginations to turn those bits of paper into anything we needed in our game.   

Card games were also a big part of my childhood.  The older kids taught the younger ones how to play all kinds of games.  My best memories are going to my grandmother’s house, sitting at her kitchen table, eating ice cream and playing card games and having uninterrupted time with her.   

Play today is similar to the play in which I engaged.  Children are always going to love riding toys and learning to ride bicycles.  There are a lot more choices now with regard to toys on wheels.  There are scooters and skateboards and all kinds of toys I see in my neighborhood that I do not even know the name of any of them.  Children are not spending enough time outside playing. It is harder now as both parents are working and children are in daycare longer. Parents are putting their children are in so many after school activities. When I grew up, we all lived in the court or a nearby one. We all went to the same school. We walked to and from school together.  Now kids in the same neighborhoods are going to different schools. Play dates have to be scheduled. Children now need a scheduled time for socialization. Our parents could be outside with us or they could have stayed in the apartments. All they needed to do was look out the window or not at all.  The world was a safer place then. We could just be free to play and interact with our peers. 

Children are going to always want to create.  I wonder though if families encourage their kids to experience creativity and art in the way that I did.  Do parents consider all of that messy play just too messy for at home?  I hear it every day with children in my own class.  When they are working on their masterpieces in my classroom and want to continue it at home. They are always saying that they don’t have the same art materials. Mommy does not let me do that at home.  Young children are supposed to explore and make a mess. That is half the fun. 

Children today are playing video games and engaged in technology. It always amazed me that my children had their friends over. They would be engaged in play with each other but each on his own devise. It always looked like parallel play. My children could even play with their friends on-line and not even be in the same room. 

My hope for young children is that free play and creative expression are not lost. Children need time and space to run and play. Children need to be able to initiate games, create games and have the freedom to explore the world around them.


Play has been an important part in my life through childhood and adulthood. I have wonderful memories of play as a child. Just simply have time, stuff and space to play. As an adult, I have enjoyed play with and through the eyes of my own children.  As my children were growing up the same types of toys were important.  The four of us were always on some sort of riding toy or bicycle. My kids were always encouraged to be creative and use all kinds of open ended materials. I included the picture of the play dough because they spent hours playing with play dough. It was one of their favorite things to play. To this day, it is one of my favorite things too. Neighborhood kids used to always come to our house to play cards. My grandmother taught me games, I learned new games from other children and my kids and their friends taught us new games. I would love to watch the children interacting.  They were able to make sure everyone knew how to play, executed the games and made sure the rules were being followed, without adult interference. As they were engaged in play they were learning and growing physically, socially and cognitively.  Playing now for me revolves a lot around exercise. My husband and I walk, run, lift weights and ride our bicycles. We used to play tennis. I would love to go back to it. Play is important through childhood and adulthood. Children and adults need to make time to play. When asked about my thoughts on the role of play throughout childhood and adulthood, I go back to the quotes I picked.  


Saturday, November 8, 2014

Relationship Reflection

Relationship Reflection
Having strong and positive relationships personally and professionally are so important.  My personal relationships over the years continue to connect me to the people I love.  My professional relationships help me to grow in the field that I am so passionate about.  I have many friendships, but the people closest to me are my family.  These are the most important relationships in my life.
I got married and moved away from NY when I was only 21 years old.   This is the one long distance relationship that I have maintained.  Sheryl and I met when we were just 13 years old.  We never see each other but still maintain a close friendship just on the telephone.  We only speak every few months but that does not seem to matter.  Every conversation feels like we just pick up where we left off and never miss a beat.  It sometimes can be challenging to maintain this kind of relationship as we rarely see each other.  Every few years, she brings her family to Florida and we have time for a short visit.  Sometimes it is hard because we are going through different things in our lives.  I was the very first to get married out of all of my friends, so my children are quite a bit older than hers.  The nice part of that and how I feel I am helpful to her is that I have already been through it.  I feel like I can offer some valuable advice. 
My husband and I have known each other since we are 16 years old.  I keep saying we raised each other.  This relationship/partnership is the one I treasure the most in my life.  We have such a strong and wonderful marriage.  David and I have been through a lot together.  We support each other through difficult times and share in the joyous times.  It is not always easy to keep up a healthy marriage.  It takes work and effort on a daily basis but worth every minute.  At times, it can be a challenge.  Especially when raising a family and maintaining a connection when you seem to be pulled in so many different directions.  It feels very much like that now.  School has been a bit of a challenge.  Finding time for everyone and everything in life is a balancing act.  Time management has definitely been an issue.  , I have to say that his love and support have been a blessing. 
My children and my oldest son’s girlfriend are important relationships in my life.  I have two sons both in college.  One is away at school and the other one lives at home with his girlfriend (who we love) with me and David.  It is so funny how our relationships have grown and developed as they are both now adults and we are all in college at the same time.  All of us have a strong relationship one of mutual respect and support.  Now of all times, I need a lot of support.  Jonathan, Ryan and Charlotte are constantly telling me how proud they are of me for making this decision to go back to school to earn my Master’s Degree.  There is a sign above my desk that says it all.  After countless sessions of the kids helping me get started with on-line classes and figuring it all out (blogging included).  It reads. “Above all, remember that you are doing a GREAT job.  You got this!”
My relationship with my mom is very important to me.  My brother passed away 6 years ago at the age of 36.  My dad passed away three years ago. He was only 67.  My mom and I are all we have left in my immediate family.  We were always close but now even more so. As I said before, I left home when I got married at 21 and moved away from NY.   She just moved to Florida from NY four months ago and it has been wonderful.  We are making up for the many years we have been apart.  It was hard being apart for so many years as I feel like she missed out on so much of my children growing up.  My mother has always been there to support me and give unconditional love.  I am just glad now to be together for all the special occasions and celebrations. 
My relationships at work are very important to me as well.  I work with an amazing young woman.  Her name is Ashley and she is right at the beginning of her career.  We have a wonderful friendship and partnership.  We were put together last year after my previous assistant teacher was moved into a different classroom.  We have a wonderful relationship.  We learn from each other every day and support each other in the classroom.  I feel as though I have been a mentor for her.  I see that she is growing and learning every day.  I know I am learning from her as well.  We make each other better teachers.  Other teachers have commented that we are such a strong team.  Ashley and I listen to each other share ideas and put together the best possible environment for our children to excel.  The challenge when working so closely with someone in the same classroom is melding into one cohesive team. 
My relationship with my supervisor at work is both a professional and a personal one.  Marcy and I are great friends outside of school and have a fantastic working relationship at school.  We are so close we travelled with a group including my mom and aunt to Israel last year.   Our challenge is keeping these two relationships separate.  I have always worried that other teachers would see our dual relationship and feel as though Marcy is showing favoritism.  I am never quite sure what others think and feel but the relationship works well for us.  She has always been my greatest supporter at school.  She has always seen my potential and strengths and helped me to build my skills as a teacher and most importantly self confidence. 

My experiences with relationships/partnerships, including my ability to be an active, reflective contributor has impacted my work as an effective early childhood professional.  I see how important it is to establish and maintain positive and healthy relationships.  I feel empowered and better equipped to build strong relationships.  Everyone is our lives teaches us something or makes us a better person.  I know I have learned and grown from everyone in my life.  I can see each passing year that my ability to relate and connect with families has improved.  It has not always been easy for me.  I can see that opening up lines of communication and having shared responsibility in the development of children only comes when parents and teachers establish a positive relationship.  The relationships you establish with your colleagues at work can only help to create a more enriching learning environment for students and families.    

Saturday, October 25, 2014

“It’s not that children are little scientists — it’s that scientists are big children. Scientists actually are the few people who as adults get to have this protected time when they can just explore, play and figure out what the world is like.” 
What a great statement.  We need to give our children time.  Time to play and explore and just figure it out and as we’ve learned over the course of the last 8 weeks, this protected time should last for everybody from newborn through early childhood to middle childhood and continue.
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.”
– Mr. Rogers
Children are not going to be able to own new skills, if they are not given the right environment and support to acquire them.  That means time to play.

“There's one basic rule you should remember about development charts that will save you countless hours of worry.... The fact that a child passes through a particular developmental stage is always more important than the age of that child when he or she does it. In the long run, it really doesn't matter whether you learn to walk at ten months or fifteen months--as long as you learn how to walk.”
-Lawrence Kutner
As we were able to see in our observation media pieces over the course of the last 8 weeks, development is on a continuum.  No two children are going to develop at the same rate.  We need to worry only if developmental milestones are not being met.

Thank you
I would like to thank Dr. Pickens for her posts to the announcements regarding the week that was to come.  I felt like we had an additional source for learning other than the course texts and media segments.  I appreciate all of your responses to our posts with thought provoking questions for us to answer.  I have learned so much. 

I would like to thank Renee and Angela.  I looked forward to reading your posts each week.  I learned so much from you.  Your personal stories on your blogs were always heartfelt and gave us all something to think about.   I want to also thank both of you for commenting on my blog and discussion posts.  I enjoyed reading your responses and comments.  I truly hope that our paths cross in future courses at Walden.  I wish you both and all of our colleagues at Walden the very best.  

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Assessing Young Children

When assessing young children holistically, where the whole child should be assessed not just their cognitive ability, teachers should assess children looking at all domains of development including cognitive, physical, social and emotional growth and development.  We have an Observation Check List that looks at developmental milestones three times a year, in October, January and then again in April.  We have progress reports that go home two times a year and two parent-teacher conferences, one in the fall and then again in the spring.  We keep anecdotal records on each child every month.  As you can see, we are continually assessing our children.  The observation check list looks at all areas of development including fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, social and emotional and  self help skills.  I think we do a very good job of assessing the whole child.  It is our goal that by the end of the school year the children have acquired most of these skills.  I think that all of these areas of development should be measured and assessed.  If we do not evaluate children, we cannot know whether a child is developing typically in a given area versus demonstrating performance that may indicate risk for a potential delay.  Doing assessment also helps us as teachers to evaluate and reflect on what experiences we are giving our children.  We may need to reevaluate or teaching environment to meet the developmental needs of our children. 

Elementary schools in Finland have an interesting approach to teaching and assessment.  The teaching style in their elementary schools is one of teaching the “whole child”.  The core curriculum is just made up of a small number of skills and core concepts for each school year.  Teachers are given more autonomy in what they teach.  Teachers work together to develop curriculum and assessments that allow students to be active learners.  They believe the main goal of assessment is to guide and encourage students’ own reflection and self-assessment.  Teacher feedback is very important.  The children are given numerical scores based on performance.  Teachers evaluate students on more than just exams.  Teachers ask children open-ended questions and teach their children to problem solve.  Children are often engaged in independent or group work.  They may even have the opportunity to select the tasks in which they choose to engage.  Children develop analytical thinking and problem solving skills.  Students will only be given an exam prior to attending a university.  I think Finland is on the right track, elementary schools in this country and around the world should use Finland as a model.  Schools is Finland are going against the tide of the “global education reform movement” which is based on core subjects, competition, standardization, test-based accountability and control (Anderson, J. 2011).

Anecdotal record keeping and developmental check lists that look at the whole child are important to be able to see development and tailor your program to meet the needs of all the children in your care.  I keep a portfolio for every child.  The portfolio includes our observation check list, photographs and samples of the child’s “work”.  When I meet with the parents at the end of the school year, I have the documentation to show them were their child started and how far their child has come. 

Refrences:

http://standardizedtests.procon.org/sourcefiles/assessment-for-learning-around-the-world-what-would-it-mean-to-be-internationally-competitive.pdf

  

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Disease and It's Effect on Children

My son Jonathan experienced one of these stressors as a child.  He is a cancer survivor.  When he was sixteen years old he was diagnosed with B Cell Lymphoma.  Even with a diagnosis of cancer, he still had the same needs as other young people - going to school, having friends, and enjoying things that were a part of life before cancer. My husband and I helped meet these needs by letting him live as normal a life as possible.  This was a contributing factor in what helped him to cope with his illness.  Jonathan kept in touch with his friends.  They were a big part of helping him cope with his disease.  As Jonathan was in chemotherapy treatment one week on and one week off and had to be hospitalized for the week he was on Chemo (three months in total).  He returned to school on his “off weeks”.  He kept up with schoolwork which made him feel good about himself. This for him was another coping mechanism.  Even when he felt the worst he always had a positive attitude.  I know that his outlook on his disease had a positive effect on the rest of the family.  We were all supported by a loving family and wonderful friends.  Our family’s greatest support came from Arnold Palmer hospital.  What a loving, caring and overall marvelous staff of doctors and nurses.  One of Jonathan’s most surprising support system came from the families that we met while staying at the hospital.  Parents are allowed to stay with their children for the duration of their hospital stay.  Jonathan made so many friends in the hospital.  All of these children and families dealing with similar diagnosis in the Pediatric Oncology Unit (blood cancers).  These children were all dealing and coping together.  All of the families were dealing and coping together.  His treatment was intense but only lasted for three months.  Honestly, we did not seek out outside resources for support.  I am sure that a good resource for families dealing with a cancer diagnosis would be the American Cancer Society. www.cancer.org/‎.  Jonathan’s love of music was another great coping strategy for him.  He is a musician.  He plays both base and rhythm guitar.  While Jonathan was in the hospital, a music therapy program was just getting started.  Jonathan was a part of the beginning of the program. He is shown in the very first flyer playing his base guitar. Jonathan is now a senior at UCF.  He is healthy and working toward a degree in Hospitality Management.  He works in Group Sales at the Marriot Hotel where we live in Lake Mary Florida.  He made it through his illness in a remarkable way.  It was a terrible time in all of our lives.  The disease and the chemotherapy affected his body.  I believe his disease made him a stronger person.  He has a great appreciation for his life and lives every day to the fullest.  He knows he can and will accomplish anything he sets his mind to. 
In Africa, many children in this region of the world suffer from poverty, hunger and disease.  These stressors have a great impact on the physical, emotional and cognitive development of the children affected.   Malaria is contracted from the bite of a mosquito.  Malaria is both preventable and curable.  Children in this region of the world are contracting this disease.  It infects approximately 219 million people each year (a range of 154 – 289 million), with an estimated 660,000 deaths.  Malaria infection during pregnancy is associated with severe anemia and other illness in the mother and contributes to low birth weight among newborn infants.  It is one of the leading risk factors for infant mortality and sub-optimal growth and development. Malaria has serious economic impacts in Africa, slowing economic growth and development and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty. Malaria is a disease of poverty.  It afflicts primarily the poor who tend to live in malaria-prone rural areas in poorly-constructed dwellings that offer few, if any, barriers against mosquitoes. Severe malnutrition puts children at greater risk for malaria due to reduced immunity. (UNICEF, 2013)

What UNICEF is doing to help through prevention and treatment:
·         provide Insecticide-Treated Nets
·         work with governments and communities to improve and promote prompt and effective malaria case management, and to ensure that children have access to medications within 24 hours of the onset of illness. 
·         provides pregnant women with at least two doses of an anti-malarial drug to reduce the risk of anemia in the mother and low birth weight in the newborn.
·         reach underserved children, helping to strengthen management of child illnesses including malaria at health facility and community level.
·         work together to ensure a complete “continuum of care” from resource mobilization to implementation – ensuring that those most vulnerable to malaria are the beneficiaries of preventive and curative interventions for malaria. 
·         continue to provide support to countries to move towards malaria elimination, wherever possible. (UNICEF, 2103)
Resource:


http://www.unicef.org/health/index_malaria.html

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Public Health Issue

I chose the Public Health issue Nutrition/Malnutrition.  This issue of nutrition is important to me as an early childhood classroom teacher.  Children need the right balance of nutrients to develop physically, cognitively and emotionally.  Children that are malnourished and hungry will not be able to concentrate on anything but being hungry.  Children that are being fed non healthy foods that are high in sugar, fat and empty calories may feel full but these are the wrong foods for healthy development. “Preschool children maybe a greater nutritional risk than children of any other age, because it is easy to satisfy their smaller appetites with unhealthy foods, leaving no room for nutrition they need.” (Berger,2012).  I do understand that this is an issue for families with low socioeconomic status and families in poverty.  These families are choosing cheaper food because healthier food may be more expensive.  In our classrooms we were seeing it more and more every year.  Lots and lots of prepackaged foods, cookies, cakes, and fruit packed in high sugar fructose syrups.  We are working so hard as a school to promote healthy eating and good nutrition.  We provide morning and afternoon snack to our children.  We completely stopped serving juice and switched to water.  We always served milk.  The children are bringing enough juice boxes in their lunch.  We have a curriculum that we put into place two years ago called Healthy Habits.  This curriculum teaches the children about “sometimes and anytime foods”.  We expose the children to better and healthier food choices.  While at the same time working with our parents to help make healthier chooses. 
According to UNICEF: Nutrition/Malnutrition in India:
·         In India 20 percent of children under five suffer from wasting due to acute under nutrition
·         43 percent of children under 5 are underweight
·         48 percent are stunted
·         India accounts for more than 3 out of every 10 stunted children in the world
·         Under nutrition is more common for children of mothers who are undernourished themselves
·         India has the highest number of low birth weight babies
·         70 percent of children ages 6-59 months are anemic. 
·         Only one half of the households use adequately iodized salt
·         Only 25 percent of newborns are breastfed within the first hour of birth
·         Less than half of children under 6 months are exclusively breastfed
·         Only 20 percent of children age 6-59 months are fed correctly according to the recommended proper feeding of young child feeding. 
·         Women that are under nourished and uneducated raise children that are under nourished.  (UNICEF.org)
“Anemia in young children can be related to impaired cognitive performance, behavioral and motor development, coordination, language development, and school achievement.” (UNICEF.org) 
I can relate this information to my future work with children and families through child and parent education.  While in my community here in Orlando Florida there may not be children as malnourished as those in India but there are children that are not receiving the appropriate vitamins, minerals and nutrients for healthy growth and development. 

References:
Berger, S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.




Saturday, September 6, 2014

Childbirth in My Life and Around The World

My First Son- Birth Experience
My first son was born on July 27, 1992. From start to finish, I had a very good experience.  There were some funny stories that accompanied his birth.  I will not go into them all except to say I went to the hospital 2 times in false labor.  The second time, I arrived on the maternity floor.  The nurse took one look at me after I told her I had taken a shower, washed my hair, blew it dry and put on makeup.  She said, “honey, you are not in labor, go home”.  The third time was it…I woke my husband David up at 3:00 in the morning.  We walked around for a while not sure if this was it  and at 6:00 in the morning we left for the hospital.  I got to the hospital, but I was still not really progressing.  Third time was a charm.  They were not sending me home again.  At about 7:00 they broke my water and shortly after that induced labor.  My husband was by my side and so was (believe it or not) my Mother-in-Law.  My mom lived in NY at the time and was not in Florida yet.  I really do not remember too much about Jonathan’s delivery except that Lamaze sort of went out the window.  I do not want to scare anyone who has not yet given birth but the only thing that really mattered was the epidural.  Thank g-d for the epidural.  I stayed in the hospital overnight and brought home a gorgeous 5lb 8oz baby boy. 
I chose this experience because it is my own personal story.  What a wide range of emotions.  I felt disappointed as I was turned away from the hospital when I thought I was in labor.  Next, when it was actually happening I was terrified.  The feeling of relieve when I received the epidural.  Finally, I felt the joy of this new little life.  Lastly, lots of nerves taking this new little life home the very next day and having to nurture and raise this baby with no instructions….I had lots of family support.  My husband and Mother-in-Law were by my side the whole time in the hospital.  My mom came to Florida a few days later and stayed with us for four weeks.  What a help she was.  I was 23 years old not sure about anything.  My maternal instincts kicked in and I quickly adapted to my life as a new mom and loved every moment of it. 
After all of the reading we have done this week, I have learned that child development does not start after birth.  Children are not born a blank slate.  What happens from conception through birth will affect future development.  The stress factors in an expectant mothers life, what she puts into her body and the socioeconomic status of the mom.  Any one or all of these factors can adversely affect the child’s development.
Birth in Japan
In Japan, the majority of Japanese women want to give birth without the use of painkillers. This preference relates to the Buddhist perception of suffering: There is a belief among Japanese that labor pains act as a kind of test that a woman must endure in preparation for the challenging role of motherhood. This centuries-old belief endures despite the fact that a growing number of doctors in Japan are recommending epidurals for their patients, suggesting that they create a more peaceful birth experience. Although more women are beginning to exercise this option, centuries of tradition still keep many mothers from considering the procedure.  Many Japanese women deliver in hospitals, but it's not a given that the baby's father will act as the labor coach or even be in the room. Dads can be present at the birth only if they have taken prenatal classes with the mother-to-be; if a c-section is performed, they must go to the waiting room. In general, hospital stays in Japan tend to be longer than in the U.S.; mothers can expect a minimum of a five-day stay for a vaginal birth and 10 days or more for a cesarean delivery. After leaving the hospital, mother and baby often stay at the mother's parents' home for a month or sometimes longer.  It is a cultural tradition that women stay in bed with their baby for 21 days.

As you can see, the similarity is that both births occur in hospitals.  In my son’s birth, an epidural was a given. My husband took prenatal classes with me and Japanese men do as well.  I only stayed in the hospital overnight while a Japanese mom will stay in the hospital five days for a vaginal birth.  In my experience, my mom came to stay with me for 4 weeks.  A Japanese woman will go to her mom’s for a month.  The custom of staying in bed with the newborn child was new to me as well.  The insight that I gained after looked at the similarities is that in both cases is family support through the experience.  I see this as having a positive impact on the development of the newborn baby. 

Reference:


http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Thank you

I would first like to thank Dr. Parrish for leading us on a path of learning from our resources and from each other.  I looked forward each week to posting to the blog and especially looked forward to seeing everyone else’s blog.  It gave us the opportunity to add a personal side to our professional interconnection as we posted our relationship web, quotes we love, resources we rely on and books we read to and about children.  I feel as if I have learned so much already from everyone.  It is so nice to be a part of a community of people who share the same passion, motivation and drive for early childhood education.  I have no doubt that this group of women will make a great impact on the life of children and families.  I want to thank Vanessa, Corryn and Rachelle for posting comments to my blog.  I enjoyed reading your responses and encouragement.  I wish only the very best for my colleagues at Walden and look forward to our continued journey together.  

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

NAEYC Ideals on Ethical Responsibilities to Children

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

This ideal is meaningful to me.  As an Early childhood educator I want to have an understanding of child development to be able to offer a rich and meaningful educational experience for all children and families in my care.   The early education field needs teachers to continually be engaged in professional development through continued education and training. This is very significant to me as I want to teach adults early childhood. 

2. To base program practices upon current knowledge and research in the field of early childhood education, child development, and related disciplines as well as a particular knowledge of each child

This ideal is important to me as a classroom teacher.  I am gaining more and more knowledge each year in my teaching career about related disciplines.  I am now working with Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists.  Year after year, I am seeing more children that are in need of referral for support services and intervention.  As a teacher, having knowledge of each child, I am better able to be an advocate on behalf of children and families.

3. To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child

This ideal is significant to me know as a classroom teacher.  I am such a “kid watcher”.  I am committed to really knowing all of the children in my care.  I want to learn how each one ticks.  I recognize that all of my children are unique and diverse learners.  I have respect for where my children are and how they learn.  This helps me to give each child what they need to thrive and grow. 


Friday, August 1, 2014

Resources

Course Resources
Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices
Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
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
Websites:

World Organization for EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATIONhttp://solidsaving-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Read about OMEP's mission.
Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/

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/
Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
Children's Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/
Center for CHILD CAREhttp://solidsaving-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png 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 CHILD CAREhttp://solidsaving-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png Association
http://www.nccanet.org/
National Institute for EARLY EDUCATIONhttp://solidsaving-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png Research
http://nieer.org/
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
YC Young Children
Childhood
Journal of Child & Family Studies
Child Study Journal
Multicultural Education
Journal of Early Childhood Research
International Journal of Early Childhood
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Developmental Psychology
Social Studies
MATERNALhttp://solidsaving-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png & Child Health Journal
International Journal of Early Years Education


Additional Resources

Child Development
Play…The Foundation that Supports the House of Higher Learning
by Lisa Murphy www.ooeygooey.com

Research
Jessica Vick Whittaker

Professional Resources for Teachers
Early Childhood News www.earlychildhoodnews.com


Quote
  “A teachable moment is an unplanned opportunity that arises in the classroom where a teacher has an ideal chance to offer insight to his or her students. It is not something that you can plan for; rather, it is a fleeting opportunity that must be sensed and seized by the teacher.”-Beth Lewis