My Connections to Play

I choose this two quotes because they simplify the importance of play. the first one lists the exact skills and traits that children experience when they freely play amongst themselves or within a group. The second one caught my eye because expresses the impact play have on young children's lives. It is through play that children are developing lifelong skills.






As a child, I enjoyed reading books, roller skating and playing with dolls. My love for reading established when I entered second grade. There was a book report contest going on in our school and I wanted to win a prize. So every day I would read a book, write my report and anxiously turned it into my teacher. My other favorite thing to do was roller skate. I would practice skating every day in my basement until I was ready to skate outside. I also enjoyed playing with my dolls. Caring for my dolls prepared me for motherhood.

My Younger Days

Growing up with my sisters were the best years of my life. It was the bond that was built amongst my sisters that help me to build other relationships. Play help to build my self- esteem as well. I was the quiet and timid one of the bunch. I would play by myself or with my sisters. As I grew older, I began to express myself more. In doing so I was able to meet new people and made lifelong connections. I remember coming outside and a few of my friends younger siblings would follow me around on the playground. Some would eventually start calling me their pretend mother. It was these interactions that my passion for working with children developed.

Play Then and Now

Play for children today involves more technology than I remember as a child. Children prefer to play video games, tablets or smartphones over games with rules and involve interactions with others. When I was growing up you knew when school was out because the children were outside playing until the street lights came on. Now parents fear for their children's safety due to the rise in violence.

For Me

Play has molded me into a big kid at heart. Because I had the opportunity to play as a child with various children, it is portrayed in the work I do with my students. I was giving the opportunity to explore as a child through play and it has given me skills I needed to grow into the adult I am today.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because I feel a sense of support. I am an individual with a heart of Gold. With that being said, I love to help others out the kindness of my heart. Eventhough I'm a kind person, I still need that supportive relationship/partnership. One of my positive relationships develop from work. My best friend Ebony and I worked together for awhile before the friendship develop. When our work partnership ended we continued to reach out to each other thus the begining of our friendship. She is the one that i can talk too about anything. She was one of the first co-teachers i worked with to share the impact i made on their career as a child care professional.

Then there is my good friend Kali who I thought would be a little uptight. In all reality she is a very funny positive and supportive person. Her personality will light up a room. When we worked together the partnership was one that refelected years of polishing but in reality we were still learning one another. She made working with the children and famiies a joy because she always had something uplifting for us all,  Although I do not speak with these ladies on a normal basis, we maintain our friendship through emails, texts and social media. What i really love about these two woman, we dont have to speak on a daily basis. No matte the time of day, I
can always depend on them and vice versus.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

These two quotes remind me why I decided to become an early childhood professional. Children are uniquely different and learn on various levels. So we as educators ned to find creative and engaging ways to guide our children through development. I want to take the time out to thank my fellow colleagues for inspiring me on this journey. You have shared with me some insights on child development that have truly enhanced my understanding. I have been motivated to continue my career in ECE as a leader who's determined to bring out the best in each child I interact with. Looking forward to future endeavors with you all.

My thoughts on assessing school age children

In today's school system, school age children are being prepared for standardised testing, instead of an education. With those standards in place, student progress and achievement will be measured according to state tests designed to match those state standards and given to every child, every year (Rapple,2004,p. 195). If school age children must be assessed, then they should be conducted three times a year, beginning, middle and of course the end of the year. During these assessments, the teacher would be able to pinpoint the child's progress and develop a plan to help in areas that need improvement. I believe crowding unfamiliar information into the minds of children can be a bit overwhelming.  Most psychologists now agree that the brain is like a muscle, affected by mental exercise which often encourage or discourage by social setting. Brain structures grow or shrink depending on past learning (Berger,2016,p.359).  If teachers are able to teach children the basic skills they need for life-long lessons and assess them on these skills, the scores would be a much better  turn out.

 One of the countries I decided to research was Geat Britain. Just like our American school Britain, have standardized testing as well. But more than three- quarters of teachers believe that pupils' enjoyment of education is being damaged by the Government's methods for measuring and raising achievement - its tests and exams regime( Mansel,2008). It amazes me that the effect that testing has on school age children in various countries. In the article "Smiles better than testing", Warwick Mansel, express the concerns of vigorous preparation for testing have on children. However, many professionals believe that the testing side has dominated, marginalising pupil development. I particular, there is a widespread view that putting children through months of test preparation, with aim of raising their achievement, can be boring for some and make others anxious (Mansel,2008).

Assessing school age children should be an enjoyable moment between the teacher and child. In these moments, one should be able to locate the child's strengths and or weaknesses. From these skills, I believe children should be tested on so that the process can be memorable and a complete success.

References
Mansel,W(2008).Smiles better than testing?TES: Times Educational Supplement,(4780),14-15.
Rapple,Brendan.2004 "Standardised Testing in AmericanSchool:Lessons from Matthew Arnold's Britain:Contemporary Review,285(1665),193-198

Stressors in Young Children. Does it impact the development of the child?

As an educator, you will encounter various experiences with the children. One of the hardest things about this profession is dealing with any type of stressors that may rearrange a child's development. Over the past two years, I have had three of my students loose a loved one to senseless street violence. It's never easy trying to explain to a young child why someone very close to them will not be coming back.  One particular student I had was really having a hard time adjusting to the loss of her dad. She was beginning to be very argumentive with other children. She would sometimes even hit. Every day she had a new story about what she did with her father. So as a concerned teacher , I reached out to the mental health consultant. Later, with permission from the parent as well, she would spend time with the mental health consultant in school and at home to help her grief with her dad's death.

In other countries, such as China, the interactions with the teacher is very different from the United States. Their structure is more teacher lead instructions instead of children leading their play time. One thing they do not tolerate is violence in their classroom. Corporal punishment in schools was outlawed I China in 1986. The habit can easily slip into abuse,scholars say( Tatlow,2016). In China, parents believe in corporal punishment, and later in life, the children grow up to be violent and repeat the same behavior. 

Reference,

 Tatlow, Didi Kirsten, 2016 March "China's Harsh Child Discipline Through the Lens of Domestic Violence"Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Immunization

Immunization is something I thought was a mandatory requirement for young children. Children who are given immunizations are least likely to become exposed to other diseases.  As an educator, this topic is very important to me because the health of my students and other staff are at risk. I believe immunizations are beneficial for providing protection from viral outbreaks.  

In Latin America, they have developed a computerized registry that allows them to monitor vaccinations that are administered. These computerized communication technologies are called national immunization registries (NIRs) and can facilitate coverage monitoring in terms of particularity, timeliness, and accuracy. This has been shown to result I better coverage.

Although in my present position it is not my duty to enforce the health policy on immunization but we certainly utilize a system that allows us to keep track of the children’s attendance and health records. With this system, the proper authorities are capable of identifying when a child is due for their physical, dental or immunization checkup.

References

Immunization Registries in Latin America: Progress and Lessons Learned. (Cover story). (2012). Immunization Newsletter, 34(6), 1-2.

Childrearing Methods

I can remember like it was yesterday when I gave birth to my first child. I was two days overdue, so one late evening I thought I was experiencing some abdomen discomfort from my dinner earlier so I laid back down ignoring the pain. Well, the pain just kept coming at a steady pace, so I alerted my mom and we proceeded to the hospital. This is one of my most memorable births because my mom was with me the entire time. She made sure that the staff provided me with the best medical care for my daughter and me especially after I had fallen after giving birth. I believe that childbirth can be very influential to a child's development.  It has been researched and studied how complications during childbirth can affect the development of children if not properly treated.
It was interesting to read on the birthing methods in china, especially the early years. In the article"Childbirth in Early Imperial China" childbirth could have had a positive or negative impact on the mother and family. If the birth was a success then  the family and the community could celebrate. On the other hand, if the mother died

 the child and the family lost support. If the child died it was only a matter of time that the mothers mind and body would be impacted. But as time progressed so did the medical care for childbirths in China. Hospitals were developed to care for pregnant women and their maternal care based on the economic status of the county or township.

After reading on the variations of childbirth compared to my personal birth experience and in China, I still  stand strongly on the connection between birth and development of young children. This is why prenatal care is  very important to the mom and fetus to ensure that both are growing healthy.



ReferencesJen-Der,L(2005).Childbirth in Early Imperial China.NAN NU--Men,Women and Gender in Early Imperial China,7(2),216-286