This past year and a half has been both challenging for me and rewarding both in my personal life and professional life. However, I kept my goals in sight and kept working to make my dreams of receiving my Master's come true. I sat in the hospital after a C-section doing homework, so I think I stayed dedicated :)
I have learned so much over this time. I learned that it is so important to realize our own bias and continuing working to overcome them, to treat each and every person as an individual and with respect, and that we are all human and we are not perfect. We all need help some times, so don't forget to talk with fellow colleagues and others to help you when needed because in the end we are all out to help the children and families.
My long term goal is to teach preschool or kindergarten and bring what I have learned here at Walden into the classrooms.
I want to truly thank each and everyone of my colleagues and my professors because each and everyone of your comments and directions has taught me so much and taught me to look towards other things for answers and guidance.I don't think I would have made it through this if it wasn't for the support and encouragement that I received. I want to wish each and everyone of you luck in your future and I hope that you all reach you goals. Each and everyone of you have the drive and passion to make it happen and I know you will. Best wishes!!
My email address is britanie_23@hotmail.com
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Week 6: Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally
Save the Children
Save the Children is an independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the US and around the world. They help children and families help themselves. They work with other organizations, governments,non-profits and variety of local partners while maintaining our own independence without political agenda or religious orientation.
You can sponsor a child, donate to their organization, become a fundraiser, read their eNewsletter, and they have videos for people to watch to see what their work and commitment is all about.
There is also internships and volunteer work available. The only job opening I seen was an Emergency Responder and that is not something that I am interested in. However, I do like the idea of sponsoring a child. It takes special people to do this and I am grateful that they are people out there who has the heart to give to others.
http.//www.savethechildren.org/
International Child Care
International Child Care is a Christian health development organization. There vision is health and wholeness for children and families in empowered communities.
Canada, Haiti, and Dominican Republic mission is to respond to Jesus Christ through caring service by sharing and promoting health and wholeness to those in need.
USA mission is to respond to a loving God by promoting health and well-being for the children and families of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through caring service and the education of others.
3 Goals: prevent illness, promote health, and restore health
They are involved in a variety of programs such as: In-Kind Gifts, Rehabilitation for disabled children, Integrated Community Health, Healthy Births, and HIV/AIDS just to name a few. There is also blogs, news, and newsletters available.
The videos provided really touches your heart and really shows what they are working for.
I found no job listings, however for an organization such as this one would really have to have faith, passion, commitment, be caring, and open minded to what situations you may come up on.
http://www.internationlchildcare.org/
Working Group on Early Childhood Development
This organization recognizes the importance of early years for development of a child and acknowledges ECD as an integral part of basic education. The organization was created in 1997 with UNICEF as the lead agency. There goal is to encourage and support national governments in Africa that commit to and invest in ECD.
There are Newsletters, Publications, Programs and Activities that keeps people update on their work and progress.
There were no job listings, but this is an important topic as early development is very important to the development of a child. I believe one would have to able to conduct research, advocate, have good writing and communication skills and be devoted to their work.
http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/
Save the Children is an independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the US and around the world. They help children and families help themselves. They work with other organizations, governments,non-profits and variety of local partners while maintaining our own independence without political agenda or religious orientation.
You can sponsor a child, donate to their organization, become a fundraiser, read their eNewsletter, and they have videos for people to watch to see what their work and commitment is all about.
There is also internships and volunteer work available. The only job opening I seen was an Emergency Responder and that is not something that I am interested in. However, I do like the idea of sponsoring a child. It takes special people to do this and I am grateful that they are people out there who has the heart to give to others.
http.//www.savethechildren.org/
International Child Care
International Child Care is a Christian health development organization. There vision is health and wholeness for children and families in empowered communities.
Canada, Haiti, and Dominican Republic mission is to respond to Jesus Christ through caring service by sharing and promoting health and wholeness to those in need.
USA mission is to respond to a loving God by promoting health and well-being for the children and families of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through caring service and the education of others.
3 Goals: prevent illness, promote health, and restore health
They are involved in a variety of programs such as: In-Kind Gifts, Rehabilitation for disabled children, Integrated Community Health, Healthy Births, and HIV/AIDS just to name a few. There is also blogs, news, and newsletters available.
The videos provided really touches your heart and really shows what they are working for.
I found no job listings, however for an organization such as this one would really have to have faith, passion, commitment, be caring, and open minded to what situations you may come up on.
http://www.internationlchildcare.org/
Working Group on Early Childhood Development
This organization recognizes the importance of early years for development of a child and acknowledges ECD as an integral part of basic education. The organization was created in 1997 with UNICEF as the lead agency. There goal is to encourage and support national governments in Africa that commit to and invest in ECD.
There are Newsletters, Publications, Programs and Activities that keeps people update on their work and progress.
There were no job listings, but this is an important topic as early development is very important to the development of a child. I believe one would have to able to conduct research, advocate, have good writing and communication skills and be devoted to their work.
http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/
Monday, March 19, 2012
Week 4- Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community National/Federal Level
ZERO to THREE
This is a national non-profit organization that inform, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers, and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. I was drawn to this site because we used it earlier in this program and it provided such great resources and articles dealing with children's development and I found it to be very useful.
This site provides journals, and baby brain map that shows how early care enriches development, webinars/conferences, and various downloads. There were job openings available, but none that truly interested me, however this would be an organization that I would enjoy being a part of.
http://zerotothree.org/
NATIONAL CHILD CARE ASSOCIATION "Linking Hearts-Growing Minds"
There mission is to promote the growth and safe guard the interest of quality early childhood care and education focusing on licensed, private providers of these services. This organization provides training, webinars/online hours, an E-Magazine, and other resources such as public policy and advocacy. I was drawn to this because it focuses on the quality of early childhood care and education. All children deserve a high quality education and the same opportunities to receive it. I didn't see any job listing.
http://www.nccanet.org/
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL AGENCIES
There mission is to promote national policies and partnerships to advance the development and learning of all children and to provide vision, leadership, and support to community child care resources and referral. I recall using this site earlier in this program, so I thought I would review it again. They provide conferences, publications, child care resources, programs and services such as training, and public policy. This is a great organization, but there were no job opportunities available I was interested in at this time. This would however, be something I would look into in the future.
http://www.naccrra.org/
This is a national non-profit organization that inform, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers, and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. I was drawn to this site because we used it earlier in this program and it provided such great resources and articles dealing with children's development and I found it to be very useful.
This site provides journals, and baby brain map that shows how early care enriches development, webinars/conferences, and various downloads. There were job openings available, but none that truly interested me, however this would be an organization that I would enjoy being a part of.
http://zerotothree.org/
NATIONAL CHILD CARE ASSOCIATION "Linking Hearts-Growing Minds"
There mission is to promote the growth and safe guard the interest of quality early childhood care and education focusing on licensed, private providers of these services. This organization provides training, webinars/online hours, an E-Magazine, and other resources such as public policy and advocacy. I was drawn to this because it focuses on the quality of early childhood care and education. All children deserve a high quality education and the same opportunities to receive it. I didn't see any job listing.
http://www.nccanet.org/
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL AGENCIES
There mission is to promote national policies and partnerships to advance the development and learning of all children and to provide vision, leadership, and support to community child care resources and referral. I recall using this site earlier in this program, so I thought I would review it again. They provide conferences, publications, child care resources, programs and services such as training, and public policy. This is a great organization, but there were no job opportunities available I was interested in at this time. This would however, be something I would look into in the future.
http://www.naccrra.org/
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels
Three local or state organizations that appealed to me:
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services is one that appealed to me because it provides programs for family support, which helps family with nutrition assistance programs, work programs, transitional programs and family alternative programs. This helps the families receive the care and assistance they need to function on a daily basis. The child care program supports quality child care through programs and plans that promote the improvement and expansion of statewide child care services and resources. This program is beneficial because it helps single parents or working parents receive the help they need to go out and to work to provide with their family without worrying about the financial burden of child care.
Administration for Children and Families: Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center appealed to me because it provides great insight into the importance of head start and school readiness. It helps you find head starts available and assistance if needed. They also provide Training and Technical Assistance in Cultural & Linguistic Responsiveness, Dual Learners and Families, Parent, Family and Community Engagement, and Health Care. All these programs are of such vital importance to the early childhood field. It is never to early to begin the best future for your child and that is why one needs to find a head start or organization that can help with this.
United Way of Kentucky: Has great programs that focus on the importance of early learning and the benefits children receive from early learning. They have a program called Success by 6, which is a network or early childhood coalitions focused on improving school readiness through community change and a program called Born Learning, which is a national public engagement campaign, focused on creating early learning opportunities for young children. This organization appealed to me because it has such focus on the betterment of the children and giving them early opportunities to learn, grow and flourish as individuals. Beginning early will help the children succeed inside and outside of the classroom
Three job opportunities that I found and was interested in were:
Each one of these jobs focused on different aspects of the early childhood field and each was equally important. However, if I had to chose from the three it would be the Early Childhood Teacher because I want to interact with the children one-on-one. That has always been my passion, to be in the classroom trying to make a difference in each child's life in some way.
For each of these jobs one would have to be very dedicated, organized, great communication skills, leadership skills, great listener, concerned about the needs of others, and knowledge of the early childhood field and programs available. Knowing available resources and organizations is always a plus when you are trying to meet the needs of others and also the desire to keep learning and growing as an educator. New programs and research is happening everyday and it is very beneficial to stay on top of this because we always want the best for the children and families involved.
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services is one that appealed to me because it provides programs for family support, which helps family with nutrition assistance programs, work programs, transitional programs and family alternative programs. This helps the families receive the care and assistance they need to function on a daily basis. The child care program supports quality child care through programs and plans that promote the improvement and expansion of statewide child care services and resources. This program is beneficial because it helps single parents or working parents receive the help they need to go out and to work to provide with their family without worrying about the financial burden of child care.
Administration for Children and Families: Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center appealed to me because it provides great insight into the importance of head start and school readiness. It helps you find head starts available and assistance if needed. They also provide Training and Technical Assistance in Cultural & Linguistic Responsiveness, Dual Learners and Families, Parent, Family and Community Engagement, and Health Care. All these programs are of such vital importance to the early childhood field. It is never to early to begin the best future for your child and that is why one needs to find a head start or organization that can help with this.
United Way of Kentucky: Has great programs that focus on the importance of early learning and the benefits children receive from early learning. They have a program called Success by 6, which is a network or early childhood coalitions focused on improving school readiness through community change and a program called Born Learning, which is a national public engagement campaign, focused on creating early learning opportunities for young children. This organization appealed to me because it has such focus on the betterment of the children and giving them early opportunities to learn, grow and flourish as individuals. Beginning early will help the children succeed inside and outside of the classroom
Three job opportunities that I found and was interested in were:
Early Childhood Education Teacher
Children's Resource Center, Executive Director
Program Specialist, Save The Children
Each one of these jobs focused on different aspects of the early childhood field and each was equally important. However, if I had to chose from the three it would be the Early Childhood Teacher because I want to interact with the children one-on-one. That has always been my passion, to be in the classroom trying to make a difference in each child's life in some way.
For each of these jobs one would have to be very dedicated, organized, great communication skills, leadership skills, great listener, concerned about the needs of others, and knowledge of the early childhood field and programs available. Knowing available resources and organizations is always a plus when you are trying to meet the needs of others and also the desire to keep learning and growing as an educator. New programs and research is happening everyday and it is very beneficial to stay on top of this because we always want the best for the children and families involved.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Reflecting on Learning
My passion is to make a difference in each child's life by showing them respect, listening to them, supporting them, building pride in themselves and in their culture, and letting them know that I am there for them and will always stand-up for what is right. I also want to form partnerships with each family so I can make them visible in the classroom and to let them know that their culture, their needs and wants for their child is respected, and that they are welcomed into my classroom at anytime as I am always there to help. I want to have that trust with the families that I am out to do what is right for their children and I want to help them grow and flourish into beautiful, respectful people.
I would like to thank all of my colleagues for helping me learn so much throughout this course. The discussion boards and blogs each of you posted provided different points of views and gave me more insight to each topic. I want to wish you all good luck in the future and God Bless!
I would like to thank all of my colleagues for helping me learn so much throughout this course. The discussion boards and blogs each of you posted provided different points of views and gave me more insight to each topic. I want to wish you all good luck in the future and God Bless!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Impacts on Early Emotional Development
I chose to look into the Latin American and Caribbean region and focus in on Jamaica because I remember a woman talking at work that she and her husband went there on vacation one summer and they stayed at the Sandals Resort, which was beautiful, but the rest of the area was very poor looking. So, this drew my interest into looking more into this area.
-There are 313,656 children aged 0-5 living in Jamaica
- Immunization rates for all vaccines have been declining steadily since 2001 due to: difficulties in accessing health services, inadequate transportation, violence, limited health staff for vaccinations and financial restraints.
-Poor nutritional status are reflected in low birth weight, low height for age and low weight for height
-Pediatric deaths to Aids declined in 2003 by 17.3% due to the The Health Ministry which improved services provided through the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission Program and improved care and treatment of infected children.
- Quality of education, stimulation, and care offered in some facilities leaves much to be desired. In some institutes staff are untrained, classrooms are crowded, lack of resources and inappropriate curricula.
-The children of Jamaica are also faced with violence, abuse, and exploitation. Children are being murdered, stabbed, sexual assaulted, and shot.
These children are faced with some much fear and trauma in their lives. They are fighting to live their life, but so many challenges face them. This leaves children emotionally and physically damaged. The lack of adequate health care, protection from abuse and violence, and appropriate education. There are facilities available to them, but they are so over crowded that children are not receiving the individual attention they need to be successful. To address the main threats of Jamaican childhood-HIV/Aids, violence, and exclusion-UNICEF and partners work together to ensure all children get the best start in life, receive a quality basic education and grow up protected against violence, abuse, and discrimination.
I am personally saddened to see children faced with such harmful challenges in their lives at such young ages. These children didn't ask to be brought into a life such as this, but it is what they are forced to live. I couldn't imagine waking up every morning with the thought of my child being harmed by another or losing a battle to an illness due to lack of resources available to us. I believe this makes you thankful for what we have because you never know what someone else may be facing in their life. Life should never be taken for granite.
Professionally, I believe we should be advocates for these children that are faced with a life of hopelessness, trauma, and fear. All children deserve to live a life free from harm and have medical treatment available to them and provided with an education where they can hopefully overcome the life they are living now. We should never give up on the children. We should provide them with comfort, love, and acceptance and to let them know we are there to help them in anyway that we can. If not we are in the wrong field.
www.unicef.org/jamaica/index.html
-There are 313,656 children aged 0-5 living in Jamaica
- Immunization rates for all vaccines have been declining steadily since 2001 due to: difficulties in accessing health services, inadequate transportation, violence, limited health staff for vaccinations and financial restraints.
-Poor nutritional status are reflected in low birth weight, low height for age and low weight for height
-Pediatric deaths to Aids declined in 2003 by 17.3% due to the The Health Ministry which improved services provided through the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission Program and improved care and treatment of infected children.
- Quality of education, stimulation, and care offered in some facilities leaves much to be desired. In some institutes staff are untrained, classrooms are crowded, lack of resources and inappropriate curricula.
-The children of Jamaica are also faced with violence, abuse, and exploitation. Children are being murdered, stabbed, sexual assaulted, and shot.
These children are faced with some much fear and trauma in their lives. They are fighting to live their life, but so many challenges face them. This leaves children emotionally and physically damaged. The lack of adequate health care, protection from abuse and violence, and appropriate education. There are facilities available to them, but they are so over crowded that children are not receiving the individual attention they need to be successful. To address the main threats of Jamaican childhood-HIV/Aids, violence, and exclusion-UNICEF and partners work together to ensure all children get the best start in life, receive a quality basic education and grow up protected against violence, abuse, and discrimination.
I am personally saddened to see children faced with such harmful challenges in their lives at such young ages. These children didn't ask to be brought into a life such as this, but it is what they are forced to live. I couldn't imagine waking up every morning with the thought of my child being harmed by another or losing a battle to an illness due to lack of resources available to us. I believe this makes you thankful for what we have because you never know what someone else may be facing in their life. Life should never be taken for granite.
Professionally, I believe we should be advocates for these children that are faced with a life of hopelessness, trauma, and fear. All children deserve to live a life free from harm and have medical treatment available to them and provided with an education where they can hopefully overcome the life they are living now. We should never give up on the children. We should provide them with comfort, love, and acceptance and to let them know we are there to help them in anyway that we can. If not we are in the wrong field.
www.unicef.org/jamaica/index.html
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sexualization of Early Childhood
This week I had the opportunity to read the article, So Sexy So Soon and it was very eye opening to me due to the fact that it was true. Children are forced to grow up to fast because of society and influence. The media exposes children to sex and violence through movies, music, toys, and ads. Levin and Kilbourne (2009) said, children are surrounded by a sexualized environment, which shows children they have to be beautiful and willing to make it in this world. However, in my opinion media is not the only thing to blame. Children learn a great deal from family and others in their lives. Think about it who is buying their clothes and letting them go out looking like they are older than they are, who is letting them put tons of make-up on, letting them listen to music that shows women as sex objects, or watch movies they are not for their viewing-the parents! I think they should have to take some of the blame because they are teaching these young girls that looks are what matters and that is very harmful to young children.
There are so much emphasis put on young girls looks and how boys have to be "macho" and how they judge and treat girls (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). Children are being devalued and their innocence taken away from them and for what reason. Sexualization in early childhood is a big issue because children are still developing themselves and some much pressure is put on their looks and their bodies, so what are we teaching our children.
My little cousin was forced to grow up to fast due to the influence of her family. Her older cousins would dress her up and put make-up on her, have her nails done, and have her hair all done up because they thought it was cute, but it wasn't. She just turned thirteen and she wears belly shirts, short skirts, skin tight jeans, her nails done, spray tans and so forth and I blame no one but her parents.. They let her do all of this and they paid to let her do it. She has never really had a childhood and now she acts well beyond her age and doing things well beyond her age.
Parents are putting their children in beauty pageants to display how beautiful their girls are. My friend at work is obsessed with putting her two little girls in pageants all the time and she gets upset if they don't win and she goes as far as talking about the other little girls in them. I ask her why she does that to her girls and she says because they like it. They are 3 and 1 year old. I don't think they can say I like to be in pageants please put me in one. Parents are forcing their children to grow up to fast, making them look older than they are, and putting to much pressure on them to be beautiful. This picture above shows a little girl dressed up as Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman "a prostitute". What kind of message is that sending to people.
Last I hear little children singing songs that is first to old for them to even be listening to, but for them to know the words to them. These songs are degrading to women and so much is put on their looks, their body, and the things they do for their men.
I think it is so important for professionals to have meeting with parents to discuss with them the importance of letting children be children. Share this article with them to shed some light on the situation at hand. I also think they should be a dress code for children to follow to help cut back on the older looking clothes. We need to advocate to let children be children. To grow, laugh, and learn at their own pace and let them have the time to just be a child.
Reference:
Levin, D.E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books.
There are so much emphasis put on young girls looks and how boys have to be "macho" and how they judge and treat girls (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). Children are being devalued and their innocence taken away from them and for what reason. Sexualization in early childhood is a big issue because children are still developing themselves and some much pressure is put on their looks and their bodies, so what are we teaching our children.
My little cousin was forced to grow up to fast due to the influence of her family. Her older cousins would dress her up and put make-up on her, have her nails done, and have her hair all done up because they thought it was cute, but it wasn't. She just turned thirteen and she wears belly shirts, short skirts, skin tight jeans, her nails done, spray tans and so forth and I blame no one but her parents.. They let her do all of this and they paid to let her do it. She has never really had a childhood and now she acts well beyond her age and doing things well beyond her age.
Parents are putting their children in beauty pageants to display how beautiful their girls are. My friend at work is obsessed with putting her two little girls in pageants all the time and she gets upset if they don't win and she goes as far as talking about the other little girls in them. I ask her why she does that to her girls and she says because they like it. They are 3 and 1 year old. I don't think they can say I like to be in pageants please put me in one. Parents are forcing their children to grow up to fast, making them look older than they are, and putting to much pressure on them to be beautiful. This picture above shows a little girl dressed up as Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman "a prostitute". What kind of message is that sending to people.
Last I hear little children singing songs that is first to old for them to even be listening to, but for them to know the words to them. These songs are degrading to women and so much is put on their looks, their body, and the things they do for their men.
I think it is so important for professionals to have meeting with parents to discuss with them the importance of letting children be children. Share this article with them to shed some light on the situation at hand. I also think they should be a dress code for children to follow to help cut back on the older looking clothes. We need to advocate to let children be children. To grow, laugh, and learn at their own pace and let them have the time to just be a child.
Reference:
Levin, D.E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Week 5: Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice
I am a very shy and quiet turned person until I really get to know someone and at times people get the impression that I am snobby or better than them because I don't speak first to people and make direct contact. This really hurts my feelings when people jump to these assumptions without even knowing me because I am a very friendly and kind person.
I can imagine working in an early childhood setting and children coming up to me and asking me if I'm better than them because I am white, are you better than my family because you make more money than them, do you have better things than my family, or even why don't you talk to my family that much, do you not like them. These questions can really make me feel bad because that is the last impression I want to make. This would lower my self-esteem because I would then worry about how to approach the children and their families. This could also make the families and children feel ashamed and embarrassed of who they are and what they have in life and I don't want that. I want both the children and families to know that I am approachable, kind, caring, and there for them. I want to have a trusting relationship with each family and to let them know how important their child's care and education is to me.
In such a case I would really need to take a step back and look at my non-verbal cues because I am sending the wrong message to people. Also my communication skills needs to be worked on so I am more open, talkative, approachable, and make eye contact while talking. Children and families need to know that not one person or group is better than any other and I want that known in my classroom by making it welcoming, comfortable, and displaying a variety of cultures around the room.
I can imagine working in an early childhood setting and children coming up to me and asking me if I'm better than them because I am white, are you better than my family because you make more money than them, do you have better things than my family, or even why don't you talk to my family that much, do you not like them. These questions can really make me feel bad because that is the last impression I want to make. This would lower my self-esteem because I would then worry about how to approach the children and their families. This could also make the families and children feel ashamed and embarrassed of who they are and what they have in life and I don't want that. I want both the children and families to know that I am approachable, kind, caring, and there for them. I want to have a trusting relationship with each family and to let them know how important their child's care and education is to me.
In such a case I would really need to take a step back and look at my non-verbal cues because I am sending the wrong message to people. Also my communication skills needs to be worked on so I am more open, talkative, approachable, and make eye contact while talking. Children and families need to know that not one person or group is better than any other and I want that known in my classroom by making it welcoming, comfortable, and displaying a variety of cultures around the room.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Week 3: Observing Communication
I have a lot of baby cousins, so I decided to observe my one year old cousin Chance. We were all at my grandparents house after church one Sunday and Chance was ready to play. However my family was all caught up in talking. They would watch Chance walk around, play with his toy, and laugh and clap, but they never did connect with him. They would talk about him and how cute he is to each other, but never addressed him by name.
When doing this the baby is disqualified on a personal level. Repeated encounters like this tell the baby he/she is insignificant. Acknowledging and speaking directly to the baby by name tell the baby he or she is respected as an individual (Kovack & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011). So, what I done was called him by name and told him to come and talk to me. When he walked over to me I got his hand and asked him what he had been doing all day. He then showed me is toy and what it done. I then went on to talk to him about his toy and asked him if I could play with it, he smiled and handed it right to me. Children know what you are talking about and really enjoys when you take interest in what they are doing. Adults need to be patient with the children, address them by name, give them ample time to respond, and be on their level ( Kovack & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011).
What should have been done was my family should have talked to Chance and given him the opportunity to express himself, acknowledged what he was trying to show everybody, and listened to him. I have to admit that at times I talk about babies with their moms in front of them and not even think about addressing the child. I have learned this week that by addressing the child by name, listening to them, responding to them, and giving them the opportunity to express themselves they have a lot to say. They just need someone to stop and listen to what they are trying to say.
Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66 (2), 48-50.
When doing this the baby is disqualified on a personal level. Repeated encounters like this tell the baby he/she is insignificant. Acknowledging and speaking directly to the baby by name tell the baby he or she is respected as an individual (Kovack & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011). So, what I done was called him by name and told him to come and talk to me. When he walked over to me I got his hand and asked him what he had been doing all day. He then showed me is toy and what it done. I then went on to talk to him about his toy and asked him if I could play with it, he smiled and handed it right to me. Children know what you are talking about and really enjoys when you take interest in what they are doing. Adults need to be patient with the children, address them by name, give them ample time to respond, and be on their level ( Kovack & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011).
What should have been done was my family should have talked to Chance and given him the opportunity to express himself, acknowledged what he was trying to show everybody, and listened to him. I have to admit that at times I talk about babies with their moms in front of them and not even think about addressing the child. I have learned this week that by addressing the child by name, listening to them, responding to them, and giving them the opportunity to express themselves they have a lot to say. They just need someone to stop and listen to what they are trying to say.
Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66 (2), 48-50.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Creating Affirming Environments
I have worked in many day cares, but never in a home care center. So when I was asked to imagine that I was starting my own Family Child Care Home it really made me think about the important materials I needed for the children and what areas I needed to concentrate on to connect with the families as well.
I think it is very important to stay connected with the families and have them involved in the classroom as well. I liked Adriana's idea of meeting the children and families outside at drop off to greet them and talk with the parents. At that time I believe I would have the parents fill out a form of information that I might need to know for the day about their child or any suggestions or ideas that would have their child more active and involved.
I would also invite the parents in for activities and sharing time. They can tell stories to the children about their culture and traditions, share songs, food, or music. I would also use a wall like Adriana mentioned that displayed the children's culture and heritage. This will show that the families are important and present in the child's learning.
I would also send home weekly reports that shows what their child has been doing and learning about that week and display pictures of the children within the room.
The rooms should also have posters of different families, cultures, and people of different abilities hanging up. Items within the room should be labeled in other languages, the books, music, and DVDs should represent all colors, cultures, gender, abilities, and so forth. I really liked the idea of using persona dolls to help children learn of emotions/feelings, skin color, children of disabilities and so forth. By using these dolls and coming up with stories they can represent specific children and families in the classroom causing the children to connect more and learn.
I believe that having circle time with the children where they can talk about situations, feelings, and so forth is important because it helps children open up more, learn to talk about feelings, and learn to work through them as it will develop conversation among the group.
I have learned so much by watching the video and from the reading materials this week. There is so much to think about when opening up your own Family Child Care Home, I thought what I mentioned was very important, but I know there is so much more that I didn't even think of.
I think it is very important to stay connected with the families and have them involved in the classroom as well. I liked Adriana's idea of meeting the children and families outside at drop off to greet them and talk with the parents. At that time I believe I would have the parents fill out a form of information that I might need to know for the day about their child or any suggestions or ideas that would have their child more active and involved.
I would also invite the parents in for activities and sharing time. They can tell stories to the children about their culture and traditions, share songs, food, or music. I would also use a wall like Adriana mentioned that displayed the children's culture and heritage. This will show that the families are important and present in the child's learning.
I would also send home weekly reports that shows what their child has been doing and learning about that week and display pictures of the children within the room.
The rooms should also have posters of different families, cultures, and people of different abilities hanging up. Items within the room should be labeled in other languages, the books, music, and DVDs should represent all colors, cultures, gender, abilities, and so forth. I really liked the idea of using persona dolls to help children learn of emotions/feelings, skin color, children of disabilities and so forth. By using these dolls and coming up with stories they can represent specific children and families in the classroom causing the children to connect more and learn.
I believe that having circle time with the children where they can talk about situations, feelings, and so forth is important because it helps children open up more, learn to talk about feelings, and learn to work through them as it will develop conversation among the group.
I have learned so much by watching the video and from the reading materials this week. There is so much to think about when opening up your own Family Child Care Home, I thought what I mentioned was very important, but I know there is so much more that I didn't even think of.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)