My Support

I am so lucky to have such a support network around me.  I live in a community that values early childhood education and the collaborative work that we do to ensure our youngest learners are ready to be successful in school and life.  I work in an environment where we truly love what we do and consistently support one another in our careers.  I have children who are proud of me for how hard I work and the values and standards I hold and am passing on to them.  My parents live in the community and have supported me in whatever adventure I sign up for and have for my whole life.  I have felt emotional support as well as physical support as they are very involved in my life and my children's lives as well.  My husband is definitely my rock; he is a sounding board, a sympathetic ear and my cheerleader all the way.  The animals in our home definitely support me as a stress reliever and source of great relaxation and satisfaction.  My church family supports my family and my faith in many ways.  Being in school and being able to attend trainings supports my yearning to be a life-long learner.  I also think my hobbies of music, reading and working out support me physically and emotionally on a daily basis.  They are good for the mind, body and soul! 

In some ways new challenges motivate and energize me but the unknown can also be very scary.  Our family is considering a move towards my husband's family a few hours from my home town.    For me this would mean new job, in a new city, away from my family and friends.  It may mean picking our children up and moving them away from the only community they have known.  It would mean being a supportive wife to a husband in a new area with a new job.  Because I have lived in the same town my whole life, I am not sure how I would respong Not only have my children had the same friends most of their lives, but I know the parents of the friends my children are spending time with. Careerwise I know it would be important to find a positive environment to work in, a team atmosphere.  I have experience working in a negative environment, and it makes it very hard for me to do my job well.  I also would love to work under supportive leadership.  It is important to me to do a great job and I would appreciate training, staff development as well as collaborative time.  I would hope we would feel the community was supportive and would fit our family right, as well as a place our children would thrive and feel a part of.  I realize much of the responsibility would fall on me to ensure I was making a informed decision and access to resources in that instance would be imperitive, whether it be resources provided to me or ones I seek out on my own.

My Connections to Play

                                 PLAY IS A CHILD’S WORK. PLAY CREATES THOUGHT!

 “When you asked me what I did in school today and I say, 'I just played.' Please don’t misunderstand me. For you see, I am learning as I play. I am learning to enjoy and be successful in my work. Today I am a child and my work is play.”    Anita Wadley, 1974.

I believe that play enhances language development, social competence, creativity, imagination, and thinking skills and see how play is the chief vehicle for the development of imagination and intelligence.  It needs to be self motivated, valued by the player, freely chosen and engaging.

As a child, and as a parent I have loved playing games with my family.  Whether it be a game night with extended family or a simple game of cards with my parents I love games. I also remember playing outside all the time.  Whether it was creating a fort, riding bikes or playing kick ball we played outside with friends, family and neighbors.  We knew we had to come in for dinner as a family but would go right back out after for more play time.  I also really enjoyed playing with other children, whether it be helping in the church nursery or babysitting around the neighborhood I have fun playing with children.  I think there were less demands placed on children when we were young, it was expected that we would have responsibililties yes, but one major one was to play.  My parents took time to play games with me and encourage good old fashioned outside play by letting be be creative.  I would use materials in many different ways depending on my elaborate life of the day.  I enjoyed having babysitters over that would bring fun and new things to play with and so when I became old enough I too brought a treasure bag along with me when I babysat.  As I continued to work with children I would bring fun game ideas from my childhood into the classroom and saw how that slowly changed.  In our busy society we are expected to go, go, go and do, do, do.  To me that means there is pressure for children to do their best at everything (not just enjoy the activity and process) and be involved in as many activities as they can.  There is much more expected out of children at school today and the time it takes outside of school to be prepared to be a successful student takes time away from play.  Add that to the pull of electronics and we have no chance.  We take my children to our cabin up North, play fun car games on the way and talk about what our weekend is going to be like.  We get there and it takes quite a while for my children to remember how to play outside.  They continuously ask if we can have a TV in the bedroom at the cabin (NO!) or can they bring their computers and playstation along too (NO!).  After encouragement and brainstorming with them to come up with ideas of things to do outside, I almost will resort to additional chores if I hear the word BORED one more time.  I think it is sad the lack of creative, imaginative play skills our children have today and think it is important to remember that just because their agendas may be different than ours, does not mean they are not benefitting greatly from good old fashioned play.

        

RELATIONSHIP REFLECTION

Reading this week’s resources has reiterated what I feel and have seen as the most important part of why I am doing what I am doing and what I continue to strive for: relationships.  As I think back to my childhood the memories are full of experiences, but more importantly are the relationships I held with the people I created memories with.  Sure I remember the special event when looking back at pictures but when I really think about what I remember most about childhood is the feelings that came along with the close relationships I held.  This is why I continue to work at relationships with my family, friends, colleagues and families I work with.  Because I know the difference a relationship can make.  I was lucky to grow up in a close family where I felt loved, supported and validated by my parents.  I continue to feel that consistent love and support today.  I have one sister who is 4 years younger than me, and although we had a few rough years growing up (who doesn’t?!)  I consider her my best friend.  Not only are we honest, respectful and loyal but loving, supportive and reciprocal in our relationship.  I have learned so much from her.  In becoming a wife and mother I have learned as much about myself as I did about relationships with others.  My biggest fan and supporter is my other best friend, my husband Tony.  I feel blessed to be able to spend my life with him and through lots of hard work we have the relationship I hoped for.  As a mother of 3 it is very important to me to continue to have a close personal relationship with each of my children individually and accept, love and cheer them on for who they are.  The relationships that are most positive for me personally are those that are consistent, trustworthy, supportive but also respectfully honest.  This leads into my professional life where I consider myself a lifelong learner.  I learn from others and appreciate being able to bounce ideas of others and share knowledge.  I appreciate honesty through respectful and caring interactions.  I realize the importance of cooperation, collaboration and compromise in a true partner relationship.  In my married life and my professional life I have seen the challenges of keeping open communication with others as we work together in diversity.  This may mean different ethnic, family or area cultures as well as different personality and learning styles.  What I continue to see though is, if we go in with an open mind, a positive attitude and a respectful nature we begin to take the steps to developing a positive relationship.  Relationships are the foundation to my professional career as a teacher I develop those relationships with students, family and staff and as a leader I hope to develop those relationships with other professionals in my community as well as policy makers and other leaders in our field.

Week 8 Blog:  a few favorite quotes:

“Let’s all break out the rainbow parachute, hide under piles of leaves, and howl like wolves more often.”  Quote from Laura Warner in “You’re It!” Thoughts on Play and Learning in Schools from Horace Summer 2008 Vol. 24 No. 2

One Hundred Years from now: an excerpt form "Within My Power" by Forest Witcraft

One Hundred Years from now, It will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money was in my bank account nor what my clothes looked like.  But the world may be a better place because I was important in the life of a child.

I find the topic of assessment very important as a teacher and as a mother.  I am frustrated by the amount of standardized testing and assessment done that does not take individuality into account.  When my oldest child started school, he was scoring below average in the standardized testing they use.  We struggled with this year after year; we would work with him all night at home, drilling, doing extra work with him and he just wasn't making progress. This was effecting my son's overall experience in school and how he felt about himself, he was starting to give up.  Luckily  his 5th grade teacher recommended a charter school for him.  That was the best decision we ever made for our son.  He was finally looked at as the whole child, where they built on his strengths, gave him extra support in his areas of weakness; they did not see him as being behind but a different learner.  He is now doing absolutely amazing in school and is deciding where to go to college!  I looked into the assessment practices of Canada since it is so close to our state.  Like the United States, Canada is increasing their focus on early childhood programs and centers to nurture the aspects of early development.  They are beginning to focus on a child's individuality and supporting an early identification or screening movement.  While staying accountable for educational excellence, the goal is to evaluate the child while respecting their individual differences.  That is what I want for our community and school system as well; assessment that is authentic and trully represents the individuals we work with!

Source: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/

Early Childhood Stressors

This week's blog was hard for me to think about.  On one hand I felt incredibly blesses that I didn't have an overly stressful childhood.  I had 2 very involved, loving, supportive parents and my needs were well taken care of.  I feel that my husband and I are providing a very similar childhood for our children, and are lucky to have many of our extended family in the area to support us and our children as well.  My husband's upbringing was a different story, and one that is hard to talk about with him because he prefers not to think about it.  I had the chance to talk with him and his brother this weekend about what their biggerst stressor was growing up.  I went into the conversation thinking the stressor would be the poverty the family experienced during and after his parents divorce, but to him that wasn't the largest struggle.  He said they had food provided by the government and his mom was a wonderful cook that could put things together with very little resources.  He also had other family members around that would help provide clothing if needed and both boys got jobs very young to help provide for the family.  The biggest stressor for the children in the family seemed to be the chaos.  The divorce was very hard on his mom and she didn't deal with it well.  For a few years she was an absentee mother, as she was out most nights until very late and would come home drunk.  The boys were required at about age 10 to take care of the 4 siblings for sometimes days at a time.  Many times they look back and wonder how they didn't burn the house down when they were trying to make food or keep the house warm.  Keeping the house safe was another issue that got forgotten for much of their childhood.  Most often the flat roof was leaking and they had no door knobs to keep the animals out.  He remembers pushing the table in front of  the door to keep a hungry bear out.  I can understand why the responsibility to care for siblings along with the fear of being safe and having the resources to provide for the siblings had a large effect on my husband.  That being said, his school work suffered.  He didn't have anyone to help or keep him on task with homework, and many times he was up late worried about his mom and would fall asleep at school.  Luckily for their family the school was small enough that staff knew the family and would help out as much as they could; this meant letting the boys work as custodial help at 13, and allowing them to sleep in class when they needed to.  It makes me sad to think about that and then to compare what kind of father he is to my children is just amazing.  In comparing this situation to that in other countries I went to the unicef website (www.unicef.org) which talks about how the severe maltrition issue in Africa isn't because the mother doesn't care, she is busy in the fields and will take the time to feed the baby with her only if he cries.  It is important to provide these families as well as families all over the world with education about nurturing and supporting your child and the ways to do that with the resources available in your area.  I wish the county would've stepped in to help my husband's family.  It wasn't that she didn't care, but she couldn't even take care of herself, let alone her 4 children for a time.  In looking at early childhood stressors I think it is important to understand that even though the specific stressor might look different, the end result is similar: What happens - or doesn't happen - to children in the earliest years of their lives is of critical importance, both to their immediate well-being and to their future.  As I have said before, if the child isn't getting their basic needs met, they will not be ready to learn.

I chose to focus on child malnutrition because as a teacher I have seen the negative effects on families.  For the adults in the family it is very hard to provide educational support to children if they are concerned with getting basic needs met.  We have had cases where the child comes to school with such behavior issues, and once we figure out that they were hungry we added an extra snack in to the daily routine and the behaviors vanished.  When a child is hungry, he or she is not ready to learn in other areas, sometimes part of being a teacher is meeting basic needs.  In our district we have a weekend backpack program where children can pick up a backpack full of food for the weekend.  It was expanded from the free and reduced lunch program because they realized students were dreading the weekend because of the lack of resources.  It makes me sad when we think about how wasteful many of us are on a daily basis.

I was interested in looking into malnutrition in  Central America because I work with families that have moved from there.  Malnutrition is not usually thought of as a Latin American problem, but much of Central America there are cases of chronic child malnutrition as preveleant as it is in Africa or South Asia.   In Guatemala 50% of children under 5 are chronically malnourished and in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua 1 in 3 children under 5 years old are affected.  Good Nutrition is imperitive to survival, health and development of our future generations.  With well-nourished women there are fewer risks during pregnancy and childbirth, and well-nourished children perform better at school, become healthier adults and can offer a better start to their own children.  It is important that we not repeat the cycle.

Check out the full article at:worldbank..org,

Fighting Malnutrition in Central America

I think my favorite birth story is that of my 3rd baby, my daughter Averie.  I had 2 boys and was due to have another one on Mother's day 2001.  I was of course huge, hot and miserable and ready to pop!  We took a family boat cruise that Sunday to celebrate mother's day (many people thought I was crazy to go on an afternoon boat cruise when I could go into laber at any time) and then fortunately the next morning my doctor started the induction process.  Bless her heart she came in that morning with her own son in a front pack because she knew how ready I was to have this baby!  The gel started my labor slowly, and the room was full of my family.  I was pretty relaxed and comfortable as I knew some of what to expect in labor and had developed a birthing plan I was pleased with.  (This was the first time I opted for an epideral.)  Labor progressed as I visited with family, took a relaxing bath and sat on the birthing ball which I had never done before.  Needless to say I passed the point of being able to get an epideral without needing it at all!  The labor was very painful for the last 15 minutes or so and then I pushed quickly and my beautiful baby girl was born at 5:30 p.m.  I think the labor went the best for me because I was not as anxious and knew what to expect, I had my support system there, a doctor that knew me and the birthing ball and bath that kept me as relaxed as I could be.  I said a few times that I could have many more babies if all my labors went this easy!

I enjoyed reading about labors and deliveries in Australia.  Most often families are encouraged to stay home and labor as long as they are able to, and then come in for just the last part before the delivery.  In each story that I read on http://www.birthcenter.com/ the woman mentioned the importance of the midwife or midwives present at the birth.  The doctor and nurse were still attending but midwives were there to support the women in labor.  The significant difference I think was the sense of calm that I felt when reading the stories; I felt such a support system with each woman and her midwife that I think not everyone here experiences.  I was lucky enough to have that support system in my family there but I think felt less support by hospital staff and definitely did not feel like the staff was there to support my experience but was there for the baby.

My birthing experience connects to the family support I have in my life and in my children's lives that definitely have a positive impact on my children and me.  I feel incredible support from those around me and have a network of loved ones that surround my children and are involved in their upbringing and effect their growth in development.  I also think the way in which the children in Australia were brought into this world, in a calm and supportive environment will help them not start their life with risk factors

The items included in the NAEYC and DEC Codes of Conduct that spoke most to me were:

1. The value to base our work on knowledge of how chldren develop and learn, continually reflecting and assessing teaching techniques
2.  The value to appreciate and support the bond between the child and family
3. Respecting the dignity, worth and uniqueness of each individual- working to build individual relationships with each child
4.  The importance of using assessment information to understand and support children's development and learning to support instruction, and to identify children who may need additional services.
5.  The importance Caring and educating children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and that support each child.
6.  The importance of referring families to community resources and support services.
7.  The importance of collaboration among professionals
 The one I would like tocontinue to  work on the most is serving as advocates for children and serving as a leader/mentor in the early childhood field

Reference List

• Minnesota Department of Education Website
• http://education.state.mn.us/mde/index.html

National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

Pacer: assistance for children with disabilities www.pacer.org

Fun Learning Activities:

www.sesamestreet.org

www.pbskids.org

www.create-a-reader.com

www.coolmathgames.com

www.funschool.com

www.nickjr.com

www.makinglearningfun.com

www.fisherprice.com

www.crayola.com

www.preschoolexpress.com

www.preschooleducation.com

www.preschoolfun.net


Family Resources:

www.education.com

www.familyeducation.com

www.sandbox-learning.com

www.momenough.com

www.workingfam.org

www.helpmegrow.com

www.headstartbodystart.com

http://www.cherishspringfield.org/pages/read


http://www.skiptomylou.org/2011/09/15/shape-stretchies/

http://fun.familyeducation.com/toddler/music/37371.html





Fun and Educational and Free Apps for Kids
Dog Story (about opposites)

MyFirstBooks (community helpers) Fun story and lots of things to talk about.

Grasshopper Apps has great story books with real pictures of people and things, and simple puzzles

Super Match Madness

FreePreschool IMM (matching)

PuzzlerFarm

Abby ABC Puzzle Lite

Timmy’s Preschool Adventure Lite

My Playhome

ABC Magnetic Alphabet

Vocab PCS

I Hear Ewe

Scribble Kid

imazing

Tozzle Lite

Toddler Teasers- Shapes

Draw Cast


Listed below are five web sites for parents to learn more about literacy and educational resources for young children with and without special needs.

1. Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) - www.cehd.umn.edu/CEED/

Developed by the University of Minnesota, this website provides Information about education and literacy for young children, including children with special needs.

2. Center for Early Literacy Learning www.earlyliteracylearning.org

Valuable tips and literacy resources for early childhood intervention practitioners, parents, and other caregivers of children, birth to five years of age

3. Is Your Child Ready - www.isyourchildready.com

Take a 5-minute online quiz that will help you gauge your child's readiness for Kindergarten. Find resources to help you find early care and education opportunities in your community.

4. Minnesota Parents Know - www.parentsknow.state.mn.us

On this website you will find age-specific early childhood information from the Minnesota Department of Education

5. Reading Rockets - www.readingrockets.org

This website offers fantastic resources and booklists to help parents with young and struggling readers.

• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
  
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
  
  
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
  
  
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
  
  
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
  
  
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
  
  
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
  
  
• Children’s Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
  
  
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
  
  
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
  
  
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
  
  
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  
  
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
  
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
  
  
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
  
  
• Voices for America’s Children
  http://www.voices.org/
  
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
  

Another idea worth thinking about...

Dr. T.  Brazelton still sees his most important mission as fostering a sense of competent, loving, joyful parenting.    (That says it all to me!)


 Thomas Berry Brazelton Biography (1918-) http://www.faqs.org/health/bios/49/Thomas-Berry-Brazelton.html#ixzz1pmDcsioS

My favorite quotes....

Quotes from NAEYC (Susan Bredekamp, Ph. D)

"Children benefit most from teachers who have the skills, knowledge, and judgment to make good decisions and are given the opportunity to use them." – NAEYC, Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 (2009)

"We are decision makers. As adults caring for children, it is our responsibility to seek out and intentionally plan the best opportunities for children that support their over-all well being and healthy development. Developmentally appropriate practice, commonly known as DAP, is a comprehensive educational perspective that supports optimal healthy development for every child. Understanding DAP - its meaning and intentional practices - is essential in guiding the decisions we make for young children". ~NAEYC article

"...most joyful experience.  Everything in me was being called to teach."

"...rewarding, made me feel whole, made me feel creative."

My favorite thoughts from Early Childhood Professional Louise Derman-Sparks

For me, as well as Renatta Cooper, "It's about whats best for the child.......the Early Childhood Experience opens up the world for you."  In my current position I have learned also about supporting families and agree with Leticia Lara as she "realized families needed support.......with resources and access to resources.  I feel lead similarly to Leticia to change practice and policy.  I could also relate to Raymond Hernandea when he saw the importance in showing a "committment to services I want to give them opportunities, open doors, create opportunities for parents and their children....helping them learn about the resources for their children."  He went into administration to have a larger impact, in order to shape programs to benefit not only the children but the families as well.  This was my favorite quote from him: "I'm not here to save the world, I'm here to make a difference in the community I live in"  That is related to the quote that moved me from Louise Derman Sparks: "I had....a built-in passion that it was important to make a real contribution to the world....to fix the injustices in the world....through teaching." It is imperative that we provide the tools for the entire family as it has been her passion to "make sure that all children were taught in environments and ways that trully nurtured their ability to grow and develop to their fullest ability."

My influential family

My favorite books

I love to read to the preschoolers, as well as to my children at home.  Growing up I remember loving the Berenstein Bears books, and the Dr. Seuss books.  I still love to read Cat in the Hat and Hop on Pop to the students to show how silly and fun books can be and how they rhyme.  My new favorite books are the Llama Llama series or the If you Give a ......series.  I love how the Llama Llama books teach social emotional situations and skills, and I just love the predictive text in the If you Give a .....series.  We also love to read I Know an Old Lady.....series just for fun!

Sweet Student Stories

I keep a notebook of sweet sayings from my preschoolers, the things they say can be hilarious and heartwarming. I love when kids ask where I sleep at school, or tell me I am their favorite teacher ever, or that they love me, or that that day was the best day of their life. It just moves me....We have one little guy that asks every morning if he gets to go to school, (he only comes 2 days per week) and on the days he doesn't come he still stands out waiting for the bus. When he does come to school he cries when he has to get on the bus to go home. Am I making an impression on this little guy's life right now? You bet! I get homemade presents, cards and coloring pages to hang up in my office, I get hugs and kisses on a daily basis; one student tells me everyday, don't worry Ms. Sara, I will be back another day! The one day she came in crabby she said she was sorry her mommy was running late and she didn't want to miss school! When I hear things like that, it reassures me that the team is doing a good job, we are comforting, supporting, teaching and having fun!

my first blog!

I am excited to begin this journey of earning my masters in early childhood.  At this point it is going to work best to work online because of my job and family life.  I feel lucky to have my supportive husband and 16 year old son to help get me started!