“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.” 

― Alison Gopnik

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.  

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://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/education/from-finland-an-intriguing-school-reform-model.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&ref=general&src=me

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

  

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

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.

http://www.unicef.org/india/nutrition.html

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/

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.  

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.