Child Development~ Quotes

"The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic." Bill Cosby

*Childhood development hinges on the aspects of play.  Through play children learn and grow to their full potential.  Discovering the mysteries of how things work, how to be creative, and how to problem solve all can be found in the play of a child.

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood." Tom Robbins

*One of the great things about child development is the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a child.  As teachers and educators, it is our duty to be sure that children have a happy childhood during the time that they are in our care. 

"The world knows how to straighten out a spoiled child but never makes it up to a child deprived."  Robert Brault

*One of the important aspects of child development is providing children with a rich environment full of opportunities to explore, learn, and grow.  Research show that children who are deprived of basic needs and opportunities have a significant delay in development, particularly in the cognitive growth.  It is important that we give EVERY child the opportunities to learn.

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." Ladybird Johnson

*One of the greatests gifts you can give to a child to help their development is to have high expectations for them.  Children will only be able to acheive what we desire of them, so if we desire and expect more, it gives them the chance to prove they can do it.

Testing Intelligence~ Early Childhood Development: Week 6

As part of my personal philosophy of education, I believe that there is a basic core of knowledge that each child must posses in order to be successful in the world.  Given this philosophy, the only way to be sure that each child has this core knowledge would be through assessment.  Assessment can take on many forms and it is important that each assessment is valid, fair, and reliable.  In caring for the child as a whole, or through a holistic view, there must be many types of assessment used to gauge a child's learning and ability. 

One type of assessment that can specifically pinpoint knowledge are standardized tests.  These tests are designed to assess the knowledge that a child has currently mastered.  However, understanding that each child is unique, there are some children who do not test well.  Perhaps they are unable to concentrate for long periods of time, they lack the understanding of the language of the test questions, or they simply panic during these tests.  This would cause standardized tests for students to be invalid.

Another type of assessment is through observation.  Observing students as they learn is a great tool for assessment, as students are more likely to perform in their comfort zone as observation usually takes place in a natural setting such as the classroom.  Students are more likely to be confident in their abilities if they know they are not being tested in pencil and paper form.  Observations must be from an impartial point of view and must be without bias from the observer.

Portfolios also are a form of assessment as they provide a visual picture of the child's learning and abilities over a period of time.  Portfolios can take on many forms.  There are many aspects to the validity of portfolios in that they must be aligned with daily classroom activities and show a true visual of the students learning. 

All three assessments listed above must be combined in order to provide a detailed report of a students learning and abilities.  There is great benefit to the students when teachers and educator use several types of assessment in order to effectively understand and provide proof of a students learning.  Assessment is an area of education that is always changing and needs to be looked at with each individual child. 

As the US is always comparing our school system to China's school system, I thought it would be interesting to look at the assessment form of China's students.  An article written by the New York Times does just that.  Written by an American parent who was living in China with her school age children, she reports that children in China's schools are constantly being tested through paper and pencil tests.  They are thought of in China as normal parts of the school day, not anxiety provoking assessments as they are thought of here in the United States.  Children are evaluated simply based on these standardized assessments.  I also found it interesting that in China, college entrance exams are the sole basis of where a student is placed in college!  China would not fit in well to the US's view of the child as a whole!

Reference:
Rosenthal, E. (2010, September 11).  Testing, the Chinese way. The New York Times.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Childhood Stressors~ Early Childhood Development: Week 4

While I was student teaching in a third grade class several years ago, one of my students lived in severe poverty.  I was made aware of the situation upon my arrival in the classroom as she was a part of many programs that the school offered in order to help her survive.  She was one of many children and lived with her single mom.  Dad was no longer in the picture and they lived without his support.  Mom was not able to provide even basic necessities for the children.  They lived in low-income housing just around the corner from the school.  The children were all given free breakfast and lunch at the school.  They were also part of a program called "Backpacks for kids".  This program provides a backpack full of nutritious, quick foods that children are sent home with on Friday's in order to be sure that they have food for the weekends when they are not in school.  The girl in my classroom often wore the same clothes every couple of days and they were not very clean.  She did, however, have many friends in the class and did not seem to be the focus of teasing or bullying from the other students.  The school also provided new clothes for her twice a year.  At Easter time I can remember one of the guidance staff coming to the room and taking her for a shopping trip at the local K-Mart.  She came back with a few bags of new clothes and wore those clothes with pride for weeks after!  I'm not exactly sure where this money came from, but I thought it was an awesome opportunity for the school to help out this family!  Because her mom worked two jobs with one at night, this young lady was responsible to look after he younger siblings.  As mom was not home to help with homework at night, she was allowed to come to school about a half hour early where I, or my co-op teacher, would sit with her and help her with her homework.  She always seemed to appreciate the effort we made to help her and was humble and sweet regarding any help she received.  I'm sure there were days where she went hungry, or was cold at home, or wished she had new clothes or shoes, but she never showed it.  She was a well-adjusted 3rd grader whom I enjoyed spending time with and helping as much as I could.  Without the help of the school, this little girl would have been in a much worse situation than she was.

I am particularly interested in the stressors that face children living in countries such as Iraq, after the terrors of war.  There are obvious stressors such as war, poverty, and homelessness, but there are also many others.  Many children lack the accessibility to medicine or proper medical care.  Because their mothers are staving, children are born with malnourishment, or lack of proper nutrition.  In 1996, UNICEF reported that 4500 children under the age of 5 die every month due to starvation.  Due to the use of depleted uranium (a form of nuclear warfare), childhood cancers have risen.  1.5 million children are orphaned in Iraq.  I would think that the stressors in the lives of children in Iraq are far beyond what any American could conceive, unless it has been seen first-hand.

Reference:
http://www.ibiblio.org/prism/Mar97/iraq.html

Early Childhood Development: Week 2

Breastfeeding:

"Is Breast the Best?"

               Breastfeeding is linked to many aspects of development in infants. Mothers who breastfeed ensure proper physical development by providing important nutrients and disease-fighting antibodies, protecting their infant's delicate system from illnesses. Breastfeeding is also linked to social development through a stronger mother-infant bond, as the process of breastfeeding provides closeness and intimacy. A breastfed infant's mental health is also being cared for as breast milk is suggested to provide specific fats and sugars that are better for developing brains. It has also been suggested that mothers of breastfed babies are better caregivers.

 
             As a mother of three children, ages 4, 2, and 10 months, I chose NOT to breastfeed. As a large chested woman, I found the changes to my breast tissue, as I started to produce milk during the last two months of my first pregnancy, to be excruciatingly painful, with many odd side effects that could not be explained by my doctors such as a painful burning sensation in and around my nipples particularly at night. I was also uncomfortable with their increasing size and felt that I could not endure several months of breastfeeding while trying to work full-time. After talking with my prenatal doctor, pediatrician, and doing some research of my own, I decided that my children would be exclusively bottle fed and was given the okay by both my prenatal doctor and my pediatrician.

 

               When I went to the hospital to deliver my first daughter, I was asked if I would be breastfeeding or bottle feeding. I told them bottle feeding and the nurse was very pleasant about it. After delivery, I was asked once again if I wanted to try breastfeeding and holding this tiny baby, I started to question my decision. However, I was still in pain from delivery and opted not to. This was my first encounter with a nurse who made me feel guilty for not breastfeeding. My husband assured me (and the nurse) of our decision and I put my guilt aside.

              Our children are very healthy, active children. They are rarely sick and fight it off quickly when they start to get a cold or the sniffles. In contrast, I have several friends who breastfeed their babies and they seem to be sick quite often. Our children are very bright, with our pediatrician always commenting on their intelligence and early speaking skills. They are also very well attached children with a secure bond with both myself and my husband. I do believe that children who are bottle fed while being held close and interacted with, as all of our children were, are to no disadvantage below those who are being breastfed. In fact, I see a lot of our friends' breastfed children who are always in need of feeding and seem to be at mom's breast for most of the day. Finally, I certainly do not think breast feeding or bottle feeding has anything to do with the idea of being a better caregiver. For us it was a personal choice, with no ill effects on our children thus far.

               In Africa, breastfeeding is common practice with about 95% of African mothers choosing to breastfeed. Children in Africa are commonly breastfeed for anywhere from 16 to 28 months. However, there are different reasons for breastfeeding in Africa such as poverty, inadequate water supply, and lack of access to formula. There is much concern over the AIDS epidemic in Africa when it comes to breastfeeding, as transmission of the disease can occur through breastfeeding. There are many studies occurring in Africa regarding breastfeeding, AIDS, and the rate of infant mortality.  I think this will be an important issue in future years, as the results of the research begin to emerge.

                Breastfeeding is a very personal choice that should be honored and respected, regardless of the choice. This subject is important to my professional experience and future experiences in that I may be working with infants again and need to respect a mother's choice about what or how she chooses to feed her baby, breast or bottle. Also, if I do not work with infants, it is important to understand that there are choices made by families that may not be the same as my own choices, but that do need to respected and honored by me as an educator, provided there is no harm being done to the child.

 

 

 

 

Reference:

Breastfeeding in Africa~

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11943640

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

Early Childhood Development: Week 1

I have given birth 3 different times and have had 3 very different experiences.

Our daughter, who is now almost 5, was a planned pregnancy. We were able to get pregnant the very first time we tried purposefully! The pregnancy went wonderfully, with no signs of morning sickness, no gestational illnesses, and we were ready to give birth when the time came. I went into labor on my own very early in the morning on her due date, December 8, 2006. I was 5 centimeters by time we got to the hospital and in mild pain. I was moved to the delivery room and the doctor who was going to do my epidural was called. I knew from the moment I conceived, that I wanted to have drugs during delivery as I do not handle pain very gracefully. However, after the 7th time that the doctor tried to administer the epidural, I was in extreme pain from his procedure and it was worse than the labor pains. I decided not to try again and finished out a very painful labor and delivery with a lot of pain medicine through my IV. I had a lot of trauma to my body and had a very painful few days in the hospital and a rough couple weeks at home.

After this experience, I wanted to wait a while before we tried again. When our daughter turned 3, we decided to try for a second child. We got pregnant right away again, but this pregnancy brought on new challenges. I was working full time in my first year of teaching, had a three year old, was finishing up my first Master's in Education degree, and was also working part time as the Children's Ministry Director at our church. I encountered morning sickness for about 3 weeks and had trouble keeping my blood pressure in check. For the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy, I had to go for weekly non-stress tests to be sure the baby was not affected by my blood pressure. A week before my due date, my doctor became concerned about the high blood pressure and lack of fetal movement, so they sent me to the hospital to be induced on August 20, 2009. The induction went great and the labor was going good, so I decided to try the epidural again. We requested a different doctor than we had the first time and he was able to get it in on the second try. The rest of the labor went great, but during the delivery, my doctor hit a moment of panic when my son was born with the cord wrapped tightly around his neck three times with two big knots. He was only 6 pounds, much smaller than our eight and a half pound daughter and much smaller than they were anticipating at 10 plus pounds. The doctor finally got the cord removed and he seemed fine. She told us we were very lucky that he was born alive and she suspected that the knots in the cord was why he was so small. He is a happy, healthy two year old now with no signs of the drama that happened at his birth.

Our third pregnancy was unplanned, occuring just 7 months after the birth of our son. I was using birth control and was not expecting to get pregnant, but when I was a week late I knew something was up. Although there were a lot of unexpected emotions with our "bonus baby", I knew we would be okay with a third. This pregnancy was fairly easy until the last trimester when I developed high blood pressure again, as well as gestational diabetes. They monitored me closely with non-stress tests for the last 8 weeks, and also had me test my blood sugars at home. Two weeks before my due date I was set up for an induction on December 16, 2010. The labor and delivery were very smooth with a sucessful epidural and a wonderful delivery doctor. It was text book perfect, with an easy recovery and I went home in two days with no complications.

All three births were different and unique, just like our three blessings, and I wouldn't trade anything about each birth!

One thing that I was after each delivery was exhausted. Even with two days in the hospital with each birth, I was completly wiped out when returning home. And after the first one, I had little ones to come home to and care for which made getting that extra rest extra hard! One practice that I had heard about from other cultures was the idea of several weeks rest and bonding time for mommy and the new baby. So I did some research to find out where this wonderful practice takes place. In almost all non-Western countries, 40 days of postpartum care is considered appropriate for recuperation of the mother. During this time the mother is strictly limited on what she may do, is encouraged to rest, and is taken care of by female family members.

Here are some other countries ideas for helping the mother to rest after delivery:

*Guatemala~ a midwife visits the mother at home for up to 2 weeks after delivery to check on mom and baby and to wash the family clothes so the mom may rest!

*China~ mothers are given a 30 day confinement to her home, where live in relatives take care of all the household duties so mom can rest!

*India~ 40 days are required for a mom to be confined to her home with her baby to avoid the evil spirits as well as illness.

*Middle East~ someone comes to the house for 40 days while mom rests. This person takes care of the baby and any other children and performs all the household duties while mom is resting.

(information from http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=408218)

I wish I had some of those same customs when coming home with my own children. Two days in the hospital is all I had and when I returned home to "full duty", I have never full recovered my rest and sleep!! :)

Foundations: Early Childhood~ Reflection

Looking back on the last seven weeks of the Introduction to Early Childhood course, I am amazed at the many avenues that this degree will allow me to pursue. I began this program believing it would allow me to venture into the field of early childhood as perhaps a preschool teacher, or maybe a curriculum coordinator, but never did I imagine all the different ways careers that exist in the early childhood profession. I am certain, now more than seven weeks ago, that I chose an excellent field of study to pursue.

Foundations: Early Childhood~ Week 7 Code of Ethics

Wouldn't it be great if everyone lived by these codes and ethics, regardless of their profession? What a different world we would live in!!

The three ethics that I chose:

*Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimadating to children. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code. (P-1.1)

This principle is one that I strive to maintain on a daily basis with my own children and those children with whom I interact. I find it much harder to stick with this principle with my own children and am making a concerted effort to remember that my own children deserve to be treated in the same manner as the children that I teach. The idea that we should not harm children should ring through our entire society, and yet sadly, it does not.

*Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague). (Core Values)

Knowing that each child is different and unique allows us as professionals to not assume anything in regards to a child's development. This is particularly hard as a mom when other children who are the same age as my own are doing different developmental things that my children may not yet be demonstrating. Comparing children is always a hard truth, but remembering the uniquness of every child allows each child to develop in his or her own best way.

*We shall demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in all our professional activities in order to inspire the trust and confidence of the children and families and of those with whom we work. (Professional and Interpersonal Behavior, #2)

Personal and professional integrity, which includes truth and honesty, is something that every person should strive for regardless of their profession. Particularly in the area of early childhood, children are always watchin the adults with whom they interact and respect, and we must always be conscious of our integrity as we are always influencing those who are watching!

References:

• NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
• The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.dec-sped.org/Three of the ethics

Foundations: Early Childhood~ Week 4

Deborah Leong, PhD: on the important connection between dramatic play and literacy "That is why I think what is most important, what best prepares preschool children and kindergartners for reading, is play." "Through play, children actively turn their environments into anything and everything-weddings, schoolrooms, castles. Through this rich dramatic play, imaginations develop. And when children enter these fantasy worlds, they are practicing entering the fantasy worlds of the author, who uses words alone to create scenes and people and entire worlds." Marcy Whitebook, PhD: when addressing the issue of high staff turn-over rates and low pay in the child care field "If our field does not value the contributions of teachers and providers, it is highly unlikely that the rest of society will." "The question is, how do we make our child-care system better, rather than how do we make parents feel terrible that they have their children in child care?" Louise Derman-Sparks: explains why she became a teacher “I always wanted to be a teacher. But as I grew up I think I wanted to be- continued to be a teacher because I had just a built-in passion that it was important to make a real contribution in the world and to fix all the injustices that existed in the world and I wanted to do that through teaching.” Raymond Hernandez: describes what drives him to work in the early childhood field

"I think my passion comes from wanting to make a difference. I think, like I’ve said before, and I truly believe, that I’m not here to save the world. I’m here just to make a difference in the community that I’m working. And to me, making a difference may sometimes mean helping one child be able to be successful in the classroom."

Foundations: Early Childhood~ Week 2

This is my beautiful family, with me on the left, my husband Justin, and our 3 kids. I'm holding our newest member, our son Colton who is 8 months, in the middle is our daughter Payton who is 4 and a half and Justin's holding our oldest son, Grant who is 2. God has blessed us for sure! *~*~*~*~* I have SO many favorite children's books that it is hard to narrow it down to one! So I'll share 3 with you! One of my favorite children's book is Tedd Arnold's, "Parts". This book is about a little boy who finds lint in his belly button, skin falling off his toes, and wax coming out of his ears and he is convinced he is falling apart, until his parents (after reading through the book "Parenting for Dummies" which is shown in the illustration) tell him it's all normal! Tedd Arnold happens to be a local author from my town! :) I love this book because it's so true that children are mesmerized by the silly things like belly button lint and ear wax! Two other favorites are written by my favorite Christian author, Max Lucado. Although all of his books are fabulous, one favorite is titled, "You are Special". This books tells the story of the Wemmicks, who are little wooden people made my Eli, the woodcarver. The Wemmicks go around town all day sticking stickers on other Wemmicks, either stars for good behaviors or dots for bad things. If you're talented, you get lots of stars, but if you're not good at things you get lots of dots. One particular Wemmick named Punchinello only gets dots, but when he starts to spend time with the woodcarver, Eli, he begins to see how important he is to Eli and the dots no longer stick! The other favorite book by Max Lucado is called, "Because I Love You". This book tells the story of a village built by a man called Shadai where the children he loved could live in safety. He loved them, cared for them, and gave them everything they needed inside the village. One day Paladin, a curious boy, discovers a hole in the wall surrounding the village and Shadai warns him that it is not safe outside of the village walls. But Paladin's curiosity sends him looking and then venturing through the hole in the wall where he discovers that he can not return to the inside of the village. But just when he thinks he's lost forever in the scary, dark forest, Shadai rescues him and returns him to the safety of the village. Both of these books are mirror images to the love the God has for us and are told in a way that even children can understand. *~*~*~*~* My favorite "quote" about children is actually taken from the Bible and is a particularly meaningful verse to me. It is found in Psalms 127:3 and says, "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." This verse is so meaningful to me, especially after we found out that we were expecting our third child and our world was turned upside down. During this time, I found comfort in knowing that the little one inside me was a GIFT from God and he was rewarding me with this new life. There is no greater gift than to be a mommy! *~*~*~*~* I think the one thing that fuels my passion for working with children is the fact that they just want you to love them and have fun with them. They don't care if your hair looks bad, or your outfit doesn't match, or if you forgot to brush your teeth. If you greet them with a smile, ask about something in their life, give them a hug, or make them laugh, you are the coolest thing since legos! :) That was the best feeling when I was teaching kindergarten is the love that I had and the FUN that I had everyday with my students. There wasn't a day that went by when I didn't love my students and my job! (And although I love being home with my kids, there are some days where I really miss my classroom!) ;)

Welcome!

Good Afternoon~ Welcome to my Early Childhood blog, as required by Walden University. I am looking forward to this new journey. I never expected to be back in the "college classroom" so soon, as I just graduated from Walden in April of 2010. God had different plans for me, though, so here I am. I am currently a stay at home mom for our three children, our daughter Payton who is 4 and heading to Pre-K in a week, our son Grant who just turned 2, and our special blessing son who is 8 months! Up until July of 2010, I worked as the kindergarten teacher at Corning Christian Academy and I loved everyday. I had completed my Master's degree, had a wonderful husband and kids, and LOVED my job. Everything was going perfect... and we found out we were having another baby! I knew that meant giving up the career that I had worked so hard for and walking away from the perfect job. But, with the cost of daycare and trying to manage 3 kids under 4, I knew I had to do it. God knew exactly what he was doing as I sit here now, a stay at home mom of our 3 beautiful children, having been blessed with a financial situation that allowed me to stay home, and enjoying every day with my kiddos! My goal in starting this Early Childhood degree is to stay in touch with the world of education while raising my kids. Hopefully when I am ready to enter the working world in a couple years, this degree will open up some other options and allow me to find a job quickly! In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the fact that afternoon naptime means I get a nap too, and the toughest part of my day is changing dirty diapers! :)