My Supports

        I have many factors within my daily environment that are supportive to me. I feel that my faith helps me get through my day to day life. Without my faith I would not be here or where I am today. No matter what I go through, I feel that I am able to pray and get through all situations no matter good or bad. I also feel that one of the factors that play a huge role in my support system would be my husband and my family. My family has stood by my side through my education and all other life events. I also look at my professors as being my support system. I am taught to look at different situations objectively and apply my knowledge effectively. I have had a really rough few months health wise and without the help of my family and professors coming together to get me through, I would have given up on my education and on a lot of other things. I feel that I have the push I need to get things done and continue to accomplish my goals. I love working with children and being able to complete my courses and getting all of the different insights from my colleagues, I would be lost. I love being able to take what I have learned and try it out in my work environment. I feel that I am able to experiment and get results that I would have never gotten, had it not been for me pushing through each class! I have conquered many challenges with my support system, and to my whole system I am grateful, blessed, and encouraged! One thing that I have learned thus far is that I have to learn to first support myself, before I can look for support from others! I truly love my life and very excited to see what my future holds!!!

My Connections to Play

My Connections to Play

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.”                             Kay Redfield Jamison

“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.”          James L. Hymes Jr.

 

 Every year I had to have the newest Baby Alive

I think that every girl had to have one of these growing up!!!!

I just loved being able to play in the kitchen area in school!

I also think the housekeeping are was the area that everyone learned the most…

Growing up I was always encouraged to go outside and play. My family would always get together and go to the park during the weekends and we would BBQ and have a great time together! I loved being able to play with my friends and family. My mom would allow me to have sleepovers once a month and I would have about 7-10 girls to come over and we would have and absolute BALL!!!

I feel that play is much more different than it was when I was growing up. I feel that parents are allowing children to watch more tv than ever before. Children learn what the different shows teach them but they don’t get to explore and learn from trial and error. Children are not developing as fast physically because parents aren’t engaging with them as much. I see a lot of people doing what’s convenient for them and not what’s best for the children. For example, instead of helping the child walk, the parent will just put them in a walker or carry them around. When I was growing up we didn’t use a walker, our parents allowed us to roam free and pull up on the sofa and table. If we fell they would make sure we were okay, and let us continue on.

I feel that play has helped me become more social and has given me the tools I needed to be able to work with the many different people in my field of work. I find it very easy to make friends and communicate with others. Play, to me is the key to being able to understand how other people interact with one another.

 

Relationship Reflection

Relationship Reflection

There are many different types of relationships that a person can have. I feel that every relationship that is built depends on the person and the actions that are taking place. Relationships are central to a person’s successful life. If you accomplish all your material goals but you do not attend carefully to your relationships, you will end up empty, alone and miserable. But if you have wonderful relationships with people who care about you, and whom you care about, then no matter what happens in the outside world, you will still be happy.

I have many different relationships. The most important relationship that I have is with my own family. I have all the support that I need in everything that I do. All of my accomplishments are the result of the continued support that I get from my husband and children.

I have a work relationship with a couple of my coworkers that help me through my career. I look at them as mentors. We work together to build each other up and share our experience and ideas on how to help the development of you children.

At times it can be hard when trying to develop relationships, because everyone incorporated in the relationship has to have a sense of trust and must feel that their morals and values are being viewed just as important as everyone else’s.

With every person that I meet in the early childhood education field, I strive to communicate my passion for the children and show that I am willing to put my biases aside to come up with the best developmental plan for all of our young children. If we all work together and network with our ideas, we would be able to do great things in the early childhood education field.

Thank You!!!

I would like to say thank you to my family and colleagues for all their support. I have endured so much this semester and I am very grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a group of positive people. In the past weeks I have learned so much on child development. I was able to take a lot of what I learned and apply it to real life experiences. I would also like to thank my professor. I felt that she was very involved with each assignment and was very understanding through everything. The feedback from everyone really gave me new insights about all the topics we discussed!


#mastersdegreeinprogress

Margaret Mead

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
― Margaret Mead

HaPpY bIrThDaY!!!!

Measuring Quality Learning Through Assessments

I feel that assessments are very important to measure a child’s development. Assessments allow teachers and parents to see where children are both academically, emotionally, and socially. With the help of assessments it allows children to be placed in the correct classes and programs to help best suit their needs. Placement testing is the most accurate way of making sure students are placed in skill appropriate classes. However, I do believe all standardized testing should be a mix of multiple choices, true or false, and essay. These types of tests give the child a chance to feel confident that they are given the opportunity to their best. Some are better at certain kinds of test. When assessing a child, we must make sure that we are free from and biases and are prepared with the proper tools to deal with the results. Assessments are a great way to find if there are any developmental flaws that a child may have. I we can catch any problems before it’s too late, we can prevent long-term problems.

Germany's state-run primary school pupils start their education at the age of five or six. For the first two school years, they are not given marks for their academic performance. Parents are merely handed a school report on their child's abilities and behavior at the end of each school year. From the age of seven, pupils are subjected to continuous assessment. Every piece of work, including tests and homework, is marked on a 40/60 per cent oral/ written basis. The marks go towards an annual school report. When pupils leave primary school at 10 or 11, they are provided with a recommendation, based on continuous assessment, to decide what type of secondary school they attend. I like the fact the children are given a specific idea of what type of school they should attend based on their assessment (Cassidy, 2008). I feel that this would give the child the best chance at succeeding in school and learning in a way that they could understand. Going to a school that would cater to their needs could also boost their confidence in schooling and make them feel that they can accomplish anything. Have been to three different colleges, I feel that if schools gave an assessment to see what school would best fit that person, the dropout rate would be less.

Cassidy, S. (2008, February 08). Our children tested to destruction. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/our-children-tested-to-destruction-779790.html