Life must be lived as play.
-Plato
In our play, we reveal what kind of people we are.
- Ovid
Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.
- Fred Rogers
Those three quotes broadly describe my feelings about play and my childhood play. I don't have any pictures of my favorite play things. My mother loved to throw things out just as soon as she could! I can describe them though. The very first thing I can remember playing with was a small stuffed white elephant with red velvet ears. I slept with it all the time and then one day it was just gone! Growing older, I loved to play with Barbie dolls. My grandmother used to sew clothes for them all the time and I was very happy. I loved to play with my grandmother also. She would always let me help her in the kitchen and it holds many happy memories for me. She supported me and my play during my childhood.
Play today seems to be very different to me. When I was growing up, we had lots of time for free play and it was much safer to play outside too. We could stay outside all day and not have to come inside until the street lights came on. We did not require direct supervision and could take the time we needed to play free choice activities with our own rules and made up all by ourselves. In the neighborhood, our favorite game was kickball.
I still love to play with my "kids". It is the most enjoyable part of the day, and they often request me to play with them! I thoroughly enjoyed playing with my boys and my grandsons too! I don't think I will ever be too old to play! At least I hope not!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Relationship Reflections
I feel like I have many relationships, so I have chosen the most important ones in my life!
First and foremost would be my relationship with Jesus Christ. I am a Christian, and I believe that God sent His son, Jesus to die for my sins (and everyone else's) so we may have eternal life. This relationship is most important to me because He is always with me. He gives me strength, peace, encouragement and guidance. I can always count on Him to be there for me. He loves me unconditionally!
My husband, Dwight is my solid rock. We will be married 3 years in September and we have known each other for 6 years. I never thought of re-marriage until he asked me. He is a God fearing man of integrity who tries hard to always get it right. He is a balance of logic for my emotions, loyal and dedicated, and I love him dearly. He has embraced me and my life and accepts all of it. He showed me that unequivocally when he partnered with me in caring of my 88 year old mother for 2 years before she entered a nursing facility.
My sons are my joy! My oldest, Michael, 33 has a family of his own, but still never hangs up the phone or leaves a room without saying, "I love you Mom."
My youngest, Jacob is 26 and getting ready to deploy on May 15th~to someplace "classified" for at least 9 months~ He is an EOD tech (Explosive Ordinance Demolition). So, right now, and for the immediate future, my positive thoughts, energies and prayers will be with him. Before he left, I bought him a children's book, "My Love Will Always Find You..." by Nancy Tillman to take with him.
And of course, there is my relationship with all my children at work over the years. There would be just too many pictures! I have been a preschool teacher for 32 years now and I have loved and cared for each one of the children entrusted into my care to the best of my abilities. They are too numerous to mention, and while I have given them all that I could, they gave me an awesome amount of love right back and taught me patience and persistence pays off!
First and foremost would be my relationship with Jesus Christ. I am a Christian, and I believe that God sent His son, Jesus to die for my sins (and everyone else's) so we may have eternal life. This relationship is most important to me because He is always with me. He gives me strength, peace, encouragement and guidance. I can always count on Him to be there for me. He loves me unconditionally!
My husband, Dwight is my solid rock. We will be married 3 years in September and we have known each other for 6 years. I never thought of re-marriage until he asked me. He is a God fearing man of integrity who tries hard to always get it right. He is a balance of logic for my emotions, loyal and dedicated, and I love him dearly. He has embraced me and my life and accepts all of it. He showed me that unequivocally when he partnered with me in caring of my 88 year old mother for 2 years before she entered a nursing facility.
My sons are my joy! My oldest, Michael, 33 has a family of his own, but still never hangs up the phone or leaves a room without saying, "I love you Mom."
And of course, there is my relationship with all my children at work over the years. There would be just too many pictures! I have been a preschool teacher for 32 years now and I have loved and cared for each one of the children entrusted into my care to the best of my abilities. They are too numerous to mention, and while I have given them all that I could, they gave me an awesome amount of love right back and taught me patience and persistence pays off!
Monday, April 16, 2012
When I Think of Child Development...
"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment." Maria Montessori
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tory for all her support and her willingness to share information with us. Thanks Tory!
Also, a note of thanks to Julie! She always seemed to know which questions to ask that would spark further research of the topic! Way to keep us thinking outside of the box!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tory for all her support and her willingness to share information with us. Thanks Tory!
Also, a note of thanks to Julie! She always seemed to know which questions to ask that would spark further research of the topic! Way to keep us thinking outside of the box!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Intelligence??
A commitment to the "whole child" does not need as assessment. A child's development is as individual as the child, and as long as major milestones have been met, the rest is truly not relevant. I want to reference a video I watched about preschool in Sweden. There is no formal curriculum. There is a continuum of care and children are encouraged to play. Our western culture would frown upon such things, but Sweden has no intention of changing what is working and has been for years. Mandatory school age is seven, and that is the child's first venture into formal education. Statistically, by the age of ten, they have some of the highest reading scores in Europe. Is it because there was no pressure to learn before they were ready to?
The children stay together in a group (1-6) for their entire time in preschool. The younger ones learning from the older ones and the older ones being entrusted to do as much as they can. They help with meal times, cleaning, and caring for the younger members of their class. The teacher is truly a facilitator encouraging their independence. They seem to function much as members of a family would. The children develop confidence in their own abilities. They spend approximately 1/2 the day outside, regardless of the weather. They are dressed appropriately and become quickly acclimated to the weather.
The additional comments I would make are in reference to why our western culture wants three and four year olds to become "little adults". Perhaps we should look at other cultures who allow their children to be children before they are "forced" into formal education. Seven seems like the proper age. The NAEYC claims a child is not ready to track letters on paper until between the ages of six and eight.
Reference:
How the do it in Sweden(video, 2011), Retrieved April 1, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/how-they-do-it-in-Sweden-preschool
The children stay together in a group (1-6) for their entire time in preschool. The younger ones learning from the older ones and the older ones being entrusted to do as much as they can. They help with meal times, cleaning, and caring for the younger members of their class. The teacher is truly a facilitator encouraging their independence. They seem to function much as members of a family would. The children develop confidence in their own abilities. They spend approximately 1/2 the day outside, regardless of the weather. They are dressed appropriately and become quickly acclimated to the weather.
The additional comments I would make are in reference to why our western culture wants three and four year olds to become "little adults". Perhaps we should look at other cultures who allow their children to be children before they are "forced" into formal education. Seven seems like the proper age. The NAEYC claims a child is not ready to track letters on paper until between the ages of six and eight.
Reference:
How the do it in Sweden(video, 2011), Retrieved April 1, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/how-they-do-it-in-Sweden-preschool
Saturday, March 24, 2012
How Racism Affects Development
It is critical that we follow a child's racial concept, from preschool years to at least middle adolescence to become aware of the major changes in the child's awareness. Data suggests that a sophisticated concept of race, in multifaceted manifestation, is not realized until adolescence.
"The reality of races as biological entities....is to be found in the human conviction that they exist...They are real because people believe they are..."(Williams and Moreland, 1976) I use this quote because I find the entire topic of race unfounded. We are all of the "human race", and that is really the only "race" I acknowledge. We are of many ethnicities, but only one race. How unfortunate children are forced by society to learn racism.
There are cultural stereotypes that children struggle with daily to overcome. Let's look at Trayvon Martin who was just assassinated in Sanford, Florida by a neighborhood watch captain who says he was only defending himself against a black teenager wearing a hoodie and NOT carrying a weapon while he was!
Comparisons are often made about self-esteem and the self-concept of ability. We are presently engaged in a struggle over the control of the minds(and the future) of our children.
References:
Allen, W.R., Brookins, G.K., Spencer, M.B., The Beginnings of Social and Affective Development of Children, 1985, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Hillsdale, N.Y.
Williams, A., and Moreland, R.L., Modification of children's racial attitude, Developmental Psychology, Volume 14 (5), Sept. 1976, 447-461.doi , Retrieved March 23, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/14/5/447
South African children face serious threats to health and development as a consequence of poverty, racism, violence and residual social inequality. There are contrasting conditions of hope and peril. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? (Barbarin, Richter, 2001) That is the contrast. Children in South Africa today know what they are told growing up is sometimes directly the opposite of what they are seeing.
There are two nations in South Africa. One black, one white. The second nation is black and poor and lives under conditions of a grossly underdeveloped economy. Given this gap, the challenge to equalize things for children is great. It is consistently the black children who struggle. They are poor, malnourished, in need of health care, with little or no access to child care or preschool. More than 2/3 of the 6th graders in South Africa perform below the level expected of them. Only 12 percent scored "achieved" or "outstanding". Only four of 100 are reading at grade level. (Barbarin, Richter, 2001) Children are often "stunted" because they lack good dietary habits. They are seldom given protein, dairy products or eggs.
Reference:
Barbarin, O.A., Richter, L. M., (2001), Mandela's Children: growing up in post-apartheid South Africa, Psychology Press, Routledge, NewYork and London.
"The reality of races as biological entities....is to be found in the human conviction that they exist...They are real because people believe they are..."(Williams and Moreland, 1976) I use this quote because I find the entire topic of race unfounded. We are all of the "human race", and that is really the only "race" I acknowledge. We are of many ethnicities, but only one race. How unfortunate children are forced by society to learn racism.
There are cultural stereotypes that children struggle with daily to overcome. Let's look at Trayvon Martin who was just assassinated in Sanford, Florida by a neighborhood watch captain who says he was only defending himself against a black teenager wearing a hoodie and NOT carrying a weapon while he was!
Comparisons are often made about self-esteem and the self-concept of ability. We are presently engaged in a struggle over the control of the minds(and the future) of our children.
References:
Allen, W.R., Brookins, G.K., Spencer, M.B., The Beginnings of Social and Affective Development of Children, 1985, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Hillsdale, N.Y.
Williams, A., and Moreland, R.L., Modification of children's racial attitude, Developmental Psychology, Volume 14 (5), Sept. 1976, 447-461.doi , Retrieved March 23, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/14/5/447
South African children face serious threats to health and development as a consequence of poverty, racism, violence and residual social inequality. There are contrasting conditions of hope and peril. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? (Barbarin, Richter, 2001) That is the contrast. Children in South Africa today know what they are told growing up is sometimes directly the opposite of what they are seeing.
There are two nations in South Africa. One black, one white. The second nation is black and poor and lives under conditions of a grossly underdeveloped economy. Given this gap, the challenge to equalize things for children is great. It is consistently the black children who struggle. They are poor, malnourished, in need of health care, with little or no access to child care or preschool. More than 2/3 of the 6th graders in South Africa perform below the level expected of them. Only 12 percent scored "achieved" or "outstanding". Only four of 100 are reading at grade level. (Barbarin, Richter, 2001) Children are often "stunted" because they lack good dietary habits. They are seldom given protein, dairy products or eggs.
Reference:
Barbarin, O.A., Richter, L. M., (2001), Mandela's Children: growing up in post-apartheid South Africa, Psychology Press, Routledge, NewYork and London.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Access to Healthy Water
I chose this topic because so many of us take clean water for granted. We feel it is a right to have clean water to drink and shower daily. Water quality affects us all. Access to clean, reliable water is essential to our health and well being, and is a foundation of a thriving community. (Skidegate, 2010)
The lack of access to safe water is directly related to poverty, personally and often times because that government does not have the ability to finance satisfactory water systems. The direct human cost is enormous! Widespread health problems, walking for miles just to get the water, and severe limitations for economic development. Polluted water is estimated to affect the health of more than 1.2 billion people, and contribute to the death of an average 15 million children every year. (Vital, 2005).
The world is on track to meet the United Nations Millenium Developmental Goal (MDG) drinking water target to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015. (CDC, 2009).
In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, nearly 1 billion people in rural areas have no access to improved water supplies. Throughout Africa, rural water services lag far behind urban services. Bottled water is not considered improved due to limitations in the potential quantity, not quality of the water.
References:
Assessing Access to Water and Sanitation, (2009), (CDC) Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, Retrieved March 5, 2012 from the World Wide Web; http://cdc.gov/healthywater/global assessing.html
Skidegate,A., Access to Clean, Reliable Water, Essential to Healthy Nations, 2010, WHO, UNICEF, New York, N.Y.
Vital, W., Inequity in Access to Clean Water, 2005, Unicef, New York, N.Y.
The lack of access to safe water is directly related to poverty, personally and often times because that government does not have the ability to finance satisfactory water systems. The direct human cost is enormous! Widespread health problems, walking for miles just to get the water, and severe limitations for economic development. Polluted water is estimated to affect the health of more than 1.2 billion people, and contribute to the death of an average 15 million children every year. (Vital, 2005).
The world is on track to meet the United Nations Millenium Developmental Goal (MDG) drinking water target to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015. (CDC, 2009).
In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, nearly 1 billion people in rural areas have no access to improved water supplies. Throughout Africa, rural water services lag far behind urban services. Bottled water is not considered improved due to limitations in the potential quantity, not quality of the water.
References:
Assessing Access to Water and Sanitation, (2009), (CDC) Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, Retrieved March 5, 2012 from the World Wide Web; http://cdc.gov/healthywater/global assessing.html
Skidegate,A., Access to Clean, Reliable Water, Essential to Healthy Nations, 2010, WHO, UNICEF, New York, N.Y.
Vital, W., Inequity in Access to Clean Water, 2005, Unicef, New York, N.Y.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
My Birthing Experience...
The birth experience I have chosen to write about is the birth of my youngest son. We had a difficult time getting pregnant, and then staying pregnant, so it was a joyous time in our household! I remember telling my husband to leave the plastic on the brand new mattress we bought when I was about 8 months pregnant. He looked at me strangely, but decided to humor me! Good thing, as my water broke in the bed about 3 weeks later! Must have been a pregnancy premonition. This happened about 3:00am, and by 5:00am, we were at the hospital.
It went pretty smoothly for a few hours, but my contractions were very slow. They gave me Pitocin three times to increase my contractions, and by that time, I scarcely had time to take a breath in between them! I dilated, effaced, and moved along according to plan until pushing time came! My son (and we didn't know the sex of the child)was definitely strong willed, and had decided he needed to see where he was going! The doctor would push his head back down and he would pop it right back up. After a couple off hours of that, I was informed I would be having a C-section. Well, I became a little panicked because when we had gone to childbirth classes; on the C-section day, the nurse giving the class was sick. My husband also tried not to come with me, but I was adamant that if he could gut a deer, he could certainly come with me! So, he did, and I received a spinal anesthetic and was totally awake during the procedure. However, intervention is not always best for the mother and child. In general, cesareans are easier on the fetus, and quicker for the doctor and the mother, but can increase the rate of birth complications in later pregnancies. (Berger, 2009).
My husband was giving me a play by play and my son was born shortly afterward. He looked huge to me! The doctors were joking about his size and said that he must weigh 10 or 11 lbs. My OB said he could not pick up a 10 lb. baby with one hand! So, his father took him to the nursery with the promise he would come right back and tell the doctors what his exact weight was. His official weight was 9lbs, 8.5 oz. He looked like a 3 month old baby to me!
I chose this example because it is still so clear in my mind, and it happened 26 years ago!
My thoughts regarding birth and child development are that I believe certain characteristics are evident from the very beginning! And long lasting too. He was strong willed (stubborn) at birth and that characteristic has served him well for the past 26 years too. I am sure it is with him to stay!
References:
Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
It went pretty smoothly for a few hours, but my contractions were very slow. They gave me Pitocin three times to increase my contractions, and by that time, I scarcely had time to take a breath in between them! I dilated, effaced, and moved along according to plan until pushing time came! My son (and we didn't know the sex of the child)was definitely strong willed, and had decided he needed to see where he was going! The doctor would push his head back down and he would pop it right back up. After a couple off hours of that, I was informed I would be having a C-section. Well, I became a little panicked because when we had gone to childbirth classes; on the C-section day, the nurse giving the class was sick. My husband also tried not to come with me, but I was adamant that if he could gut a deer, he could certainly come with me! So, he did, and I received a spinal anesthetic and was totally awake during the procedure. However, intervention is not always best for the mother and child. In general, cesareans are easier on the fetus, and quicker for the doctor and the mother, but can increase the rate of birth complications in later pregnancies. (Berger, 2009).
My husband was giving me a play by play and my son was born shortly afterward. He looked huge to me! The doctors were joking about his size and said that he must weigh 10 or 11 lbs. My OB said he could not pick up a 10 lb. baby with one hand! So, his father took him to the nursery with the promise he would come right back and tell the doctors what his exact weight was. His official weight was 9lbs, 8.5 oz. He looked like a 3 month old baby to me!
I chose this example because it is still so clear in my mind, and it happened 26 years ago!
My thoughts regarding birth and child development are that I believe certain characteristics are evident from the very beginning! And long lasting too. He was strong willed (stubborn) at birth and that characteristic has served him well for the past 26 years too. I am sure it is with him to stay!
References:
Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
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