My Supports

The daily support that came right away to my mind would be: my daughters. They are my support when I’m feeling sad; they are my motivation for getting up early in the morning. Watching their beautiful smiles with their gorgeous bed hair in the morning is priceless. The other factor that I consider as a big support is having a house. I have a shelter were my daughters feel safe and can grow. Another factor would be having a car. Having a car allows me to move wherever I need to go. I can pick up my daughter from school, I can do the groceries, I can go to the hospital is case of an emergency, etc. I don’t even want to think if for some reason my daughters are no longer with me. If I had no house anymore I would have to go to my parent’s house and stay there while the situation comes back to normal. If I had no car I would probably take turns with my parents.

The factor that I chose to imagine would be: not having a house. I think having a house it’s very supportive because I can protect my girls, have our own privacy, gives me a sense of belonging, and a sense of authority. Without a house our lives would be a little tense. The first thought that comes to my mind is moving with my parents. For them I would be their little girl and they would want to treat me as such. I would have to live under their rules and my daughters would become their daughters too. They will want to educate my daughters and that’s one think that I couldn’t tolerate. My daughters would no longer see me as the one in charge. My husband will also be not so happy living there. Without a doubt having a house is a stress free condition, a home is a refuge, is a heaven of my own, where I do as I want.  

My Connections to Play

“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” ~ Plato (Greek philosopher)

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce (author)

“For a small child there is no division between playing and learning; between the things he or she does ‘just for fun’ and things that are ‘educational.’ The child learns while living and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play. ~ Penelope Leach (psychologist and author)

 
 

When I was a child I remember I loved to play outdoors with my cousins. My mom tells me that before my sister was born I used to have an imaginary friend. I remember that I would play for hours on my own with my imaginary friend and the fact of playing alone didn’t bother me. But when my sister was old enough to play with me, I rarely played by myself. I always wanted a playmate. Of course, like any other 5 year old girl, I loved to play with dolls and I being the mom was the greatest feeling ever. I experienced what it was to have the control over what I wanted to do. My mom supported my play when she took us over to my cousins’ house and to the park. When we went to the store she would buy us sporting goods to use at our house with our cousins. I hardly remember her playing with us outdoors, but boy, she was mad about playing board games with us! During my childhood I played the same amount of time indoors and outdoors. But my favorite was going to my cousins’ house and play outdoors with their neighbors. Now, I rarely see a child riding a bicycle, playing soccer, playing hide and seek, or kickball. Now that I’m a mother in these times, to be honest my heart can’t let go of my daughter riding a bike on the streets because of the fast cars. She only plays outdoors in our backyard, when I take her to the park, or when we go to our ranch, but never in the streets. Play definitely is what freed my soul when I was a child, running, feeling the air in my face, my heart pounding fast, experiencing the adult world, and then going to bed thinking that I wanted to do the same things the next day. That was what play was to me, and it shaped who I’m today because I can freely express myself and feel free.    

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because they make me feel supported and loved. I know that someone loves me and it gives me the necessary strength to go through hard times. We can also learn through partnerships about experiences they’ve come through or simply guidance when we can’t find our way out.

The first person that comes through my mind as a partner is my husband. I know that he will be with me through hard times, and he will have me. We rely on each other because we know that we are priority. We’ve developed these partnerships mainly because of our daughters. But besides that we’ve always thinking ahead and think about the things that we like, and do them just to make each other happy. For example I know that my husband likes chocolate ice-cream, so I always try to have in our freezer chocolate ice-cream, just as a compliment to him. The other partnership that is important in my life is my mother. I know that she will always have her unconditional love when I need it the most. There are no words for this love but I know that my mom will always be there.  

I’ve learned that in partnerships you always have to be the first one to give a helping hand, and consider the little details that are important for that person. Most of all, be true to yourself and do what you feel is right. Past experiences in partnerships help me to be an effective early childhood professional because I’ve learn that there’s need to be a 2 way communication. I’ve learned that we need to have a common vision in order for us to work at the same performance level. Both parties should know that they are pulling the rope with the same strength.  

Children's Quotes

Quotes will never stop inspiring us. Quotes about children will always reveal a world that should be admired. 

“Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.” 
― Robert A. Heinlein

The soul is healed by being with children.” 
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“He who teaches children learns more than they do”

― German Proverb

“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.”

― Dr. Haim Ginott

Week 6 Post

I believe that assessing young children, such as state’s standardized tests, it’s important because we need to be able to measure and see where are the areas that we need to improve. It gives us the opportunity to analyze how strong is the curriculum and how well it’s implemented. It’s not necessarily an exact measure, but it more or less serves as a guide to what should be proceeded. Assessing children not only assesses the child’s progress, but teachers, schools, and the school system.

In Japan, Elementary school has a focus on music, fine arts, and physical education.  They promote cultural diversity and its acceptance in the school system. Japan promotes the learning of more than one language. By the time they are in college, they are already fluent in other language besides Japanese.  From day one in elementary they are taught to value punctuality, loyalty to their peers, duties in the classroom with democratic choices.

I believe that in the U.S. we have a model sort of like Japan but we have too much to learn still. I’m not saying that the school curriculum is bad, but we need to focus more on cultural aspects and globalization in our curriculum. For example in many different countries children are encouraged to speak more than one language, we should make our children competent enough to face this new globalized perspective and not limit them to one.  

http://www.education-in-japan.info/sub1.html

Violence

As you all know in Mexico there is a strong war between the government and the cartels. Violence has struck everybody in some way or the other. In my particular case I have a friend who personally experienced the cartel violence along with her son. She was walking with her son to daycare at Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. It was like any other normal morning for Christina and her son, all of the sudden, she hears a car skidding towards them. The car was persecuting a truck and they happened to start firing their guns right in front of them. A caregiver was nearby and yelled to Christina and her son to hurry up, luckily they made it and were safe inside the school. From that experience Christina’s son gets nervous when he hears high pitch sounds resembling those of a gun. Sometimes he still has nightmares about it and wakes up frightened. Christina and her son coped with that stressor just like any other family in Juarez, trying to forget and be aware of their surroundings anywhere they go.

 It is important to mention that many middle class people in Juarez moved to El Paso as refugees for the inconsolable violence in Juarez and started a new life. Those children who migrated to the U.S. and have been exposed to some kind of violence due to the cartels’ war or assault violence may suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Here is a little piece of information about what is going on to those kids at El Paso.

Mental health and judicial experts say that children from Mexico attending schools in the U.S. can be just as vulnerable to PTSD after being exposed to beheadings, mutilated bodies lying by their schools or hanging from highway overpasses, gun fights, family and friends murdered or disappeared, or having actually been victims themselves. The toll may be an unexplored explanation for truancy, behavioral issues, poor academic performance, and inability to concentrate in class.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/06/13/mexico-violence-creates-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-in-children/#ixzz27tTpKj29

Malnutrition

The topic that I chose for this week’s blog is, malnutrition. Health is the most important factor that a child must poses for an optimal development. Without proper health care the rest is history. 

The country that I was interested on was Afghanistan. The rates are very impressive and demolishing. In Afghanistan 60% of all children suffer of malnutrition. Children between 6 months and 2 years old are part of the 50% who have anemia. This is like a vicious cycle leading one thing to another. Almost 50% of women who aren’t pregnant lack of iron, so when they become pregnant that deficiency worsens and affects the mother as well as the baby. Malnutrition leads to poor development of cognitive skills, schooling and productivity. As a consequence the work force in the country decreases, which leads to the impoverishment of the country, making it hard to provide enough health services for the people.

Malnutrition affects a whole nation, not only a few. This affects my future teaching because if children are not well nourished their eagerness to learn, physical activities, comprehension, social behavior, and cognitive development in school, would be affected do to this devastating problem.  

Reference:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFGHANISTAN/Resources/Afghanistan-Reconstructional-Trust-Fund/Malnutrition_inAfghanistan_for_High_level_audience.pdf

Different countries, different birth methods

Giving birth to my two girls will always be the most memorable experience that my brain will ever remember. Thanks to our Lord,  they turned out to be very healthy natural births with no complications. I had both births 4 years apart, but the nervousness and fatigue were the same. I want to talk about my last one since it was only four months ago. My second girl’s name is Rennata, when she was born everything happened so slowly but when I started pushing she was with us in only 25 minutes. It seems that mothers are the only ones who suffer when going through labor, but babies also are tense. They experience a rise of adrenaline much stronger than a heart attack, they breathe for the first time, and it is pointless to say that it is crucial that they perform this action vigorously. After giving birth, many mothers could suffer depression. Post-partum depression affects the mother directly and indirectly to the baby. A recent study on depression showed that mothers who didn’t interact with their babies with apathy (due to depression), these babies demonstrated major implications with their heart and brain development (Berger, 2009). Without a doubt, the task of being born and being dependable from older adults is not easy. We are so vulnerable at this stage, that any abnormal situation could be perpetrated in our lives.

Cultural influences are so strong, that even births are different because of this. I chose the Netherlands as a country to learn more about births. In Holland about 50 % of women give birth at their home. Doctors are only required for uncommon cases. Another interesting fact, was that the epidural in only given if it fits the anesthesiologist’s schedule, or if an obstetrician demands it. Definitely, here in the U.S. we are pampered and spoiled. I honestly can’t think myself surviving without the epidural. But I guess is always from a cultural point of view.

References

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

Schalken, L. (n.d.). Birth customs around the world. Retrieved from http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=2

Thanks for your support !

Dear Walden Colleagues,

During these 8 weeks we have gained so much knowledge about the importance of the Early Childhood field. I've grown as a practitioner thanks to our instructor and the insight from all of you. Dr. Kien has been very strict with APA style and I want to thank her for that because that helped me to gain better skills. When I first got a 100%, I was going nuts and felt very proud of myself. During our course postings I got to see the many perspectives from all of you. I discovered camp programs for children with special needs, inspirational quotes, helpful internet sites, and my classmate’s personal goals. It was a little challenging for me to keep up throughout the course due to the fact of my newborn baby girl and my oldest daughter’s assimilation. Besides all the controversy, my girls were my motivation, and my husband my support. Thanks to everyone and I hope to see you in the upcoming courses.

Elisa

Examining Codes of Ethics

Children

We shall care for and educate children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and that support each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure. (NAEYC)

The best way to demonstrate that we care is by respecting the child’s background and the value that it represents for a child.

Family

To listen to families, acknowledge and build upon their strengths and competencies, and learn from families as we support them in their task of nurturing children. (NAEYC)

Acknowledge that every family has something positive to contribute, no matter how minute it could be.

Co-Workers

To create and maintain a climate of trust and candor that will enable staff to speak and act in the best interests of children, families, and the field of early childhood care and education. (NAEYC)

We need to believe on the potential of our fellow co-workers because they will be the ambassadors of our thinking; we do these by stating a common goal and sharing our knowledge with them.

Professionalism

We shall strive for the highest level of personal and professional competence by seeking and using new evidence based information to improve our practices while also responding openly to the suggestions of others. (DEC)

Our passion demands us to improve.

Early Childhood Resources

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• 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://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
  
• 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.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

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.

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/main/about.cfm
  
• 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//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
  
• 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.preknow.org/
  
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
  

Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

• 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

Center for the Child Care Workforcehttp://www.ccw.org/(Newsletter: http://www.ccw.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=78&Itemid=72

Society for Research in Child Developmenthttp://www.srcd.org/(Newsletter: http://www.srcd.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=238&Itemid=543

Early Head Start National Resource Center: http://www.ehsnrc.org/

Brilliant Baby: http://www.brillbaby.com/

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

"The first lesson was never to oversell what you can accomplish."

Dr. Edward Zigler

"Constructive criticism can ignite positive changes that benefit those the program is intended to benefit."

 Dr.Edward Zigler

"Learning to love by being loved may be the most precious heritage we can provide for our infants."

Dr. T. Berry Brazelton

"Cognitive development cannot proceed without a firm emotional base."

Dr. T. Berry Brazelton

"What do I do so naturally that perhaps seems natural to me but may be challenging to others? What's in my heart?"

Leticia Lara

"Create an environment that truly nurtured their ability to gwo and develop to their fullest ability."

Louise Derman-Sparks

Personal Childhood Web

                                                     I'm the one with polka dots

I’m the oldest of three daughters. I had a very joyful and wonderful childhood thanks to my 7 primary family members. Mother- my mother of course was the essential part of my childhood. She would always make me feel better when I was sick by hugging me and stay with me until I fell asleep. Just knowing that she would always be at home and make me delicious food, she made me happy. She was the kind of mother that I wanted to be. Dad- my dad was the one who set academic expectations for me. He was constantly pampering me and hugging me and telling me how pretty I was. He made me feel confident about myself. Aunt Chuyita- She was very energetic and took my cousins and I to bike trips, park, movies, circus, etc. She was constantly telling me that I was her favorite one. She made me feel special. Aunt Eva- my tia Eva was the cook aunt. She would always prepare delicious food to gather the family together at her place. I loved to go to her house because I had a great time with my cousins and uncles. Grandmother- my father's mother was the typical grandmother who would have a lot of "toys" (from a child’s point of view) in her house, but you weren't allowed to play. My granny would teach me poetry and talk about her days back in school. Sister- my sister Miriam gave me confidence even though she was younger than me. Wherever we went I wasn't afraid because I knew that she would always be with me. Neighbor- our neighbor became my mom's best friend. We would go to her house almost every day because my mom and she were very close. Sometimes she would babysit us and stay home with us. I discover that we can sometimes a friendship is more than just friendship.

Week 2

This is a pictrue that my daughter Reginna (she is 4 years old) drew for her baby sister, who at the time wasn't born yet, her name is Rennata.

• A book to share: "The Power of Guidance" by Dan Gartrell . This is not a story book but rather it is a book for teaching in early chidlhood classrooms. Even though it is for a classroom I think all parents should read this book because it talks about common mistakes that we as adults make regarding children in the social-behavioral area. This book really changed my thoughts about the world of the little ones and made me understand them a little bit more.
• A quote to remember: "Patience is rarely necessary when one is understanding." Nancy Weber
• Story of a child: 
  The best story that I can share is my own story, the story of my daughter. When I entered the world of motherhood I realized that there was more than just loving your baby. You have to teach her/him the rules of society, what’s acceptable and what’s not. This war between what society wants and what my child wants, put me in a position of standing in the middle. My daughter is a child just like any other child. She likes to play, get herself dirty when exploring, asking questions, throw tantrums when things don’t go her way, etc.  I knew that it was very important to accept that she is a child, but I just didn’t know how to combine being understandable and being firm. The most helpful class that I took during my formation as an educator was the early childhood class. I not only applied it with my students, but with my own daughter. Seeing change her negative behavior to a more positive one, and my own, led me to the conclusion that most of the kids who don’t always listen to their parents or teachers is because they are not being understood. Perhaps is simply because some adults lack of strategies and don’t know how to approach them. All children are good children; they just need the correct guidance.
• Children's Book: My Duck by Tanya Linch. It is a story about a little girl who draws an assignment from her teacher, but her teacher doesn't have the little girl's imagination. It results in an odyssey to meet the terms of her teacher.
  
  

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