My Wonderful Support System

Support.......for me it means to have people to lean on through good times and bad.  To have people be there for you to turn to when advice or guidance is needed.  I believe that I have a wonderful support system.  I have wonderful friends that I have stayed in contact with since I was 5 years old.  I also have my dad, step-mom, grandmother, sister, brother-in-law, and my niece who all live in the same town as I do.  They are there for me whenever I need them, even if it is for silly things.  My main support is at home with my fiance.  He is there for me through every single thing.  He pushes me to achieve things I never thought I could.  He is the main one that I lean on.  He is my match and I would be lost without him. 

If I didn't have anyone in my life that I could lean on, I probably would not have gotten as far in life as I have.  I am not a perfect person by far, I have made many mistakes.  So without those who have been there for me, I probably would not have overcome a lot of those mistakes.  My fiance is the one that holds me up when I want to fall.  He makes me challenge myself and helps me to live a happy and complete life.

The challenge that I would have to pick is becoming a mom.  My fiance and I are wanting a family of our own and we have faith that it will happen when the time is right.  However, it still scares me.  I often wonder if I will be a good mom, and if I can handle everything that involves.  My fiance knows my feelings and has told me that I am not alone and we will be doing this together.  That makes me stronger.  Besides that I have my family and his wonderful family who will be there for us whenever we need them.  My step-mom is excited for us to add to the mix, and my mother-in-law can't wait.  I have 2 very strong women in my life that will be there for me to turn to.  Without that support system, I probably wouldn't even try.

I am absolutely grateful for all that I have in my life and I look forward to what the future has in store for me because I know I won't be alone.

Picture of my fiance and I

Part of my giant support system that I have......many others are missing from this photo.

My Connections to Play

Quotes:

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” 
~ Plato

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” 
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

"You're never too old to do goofy stuff."  
~From the television show Leave it to Beaver, spoken by the character Ward Cleaver

"So, like a forgotten fire, a childhood can always flare up again within us."  
~Gaston Bachelard

These quotes make me think about my childhood.  It is true that you learn more about a person after playing with them for only an hour than you do in a year.  People tend to show their true colors when they are playing because their mind is not on impressing that person.  I can remember playing with kids and knowing that I do not want to be friends with them after that day.  I can remember my grandfather telling me that you are never too old to play.  The last two quotes brought that memory back to me.  Before my grandfather got sick he made me promise that I would never grow up too much, just enough to take care of business, as he would say.  Even in his 60's he was never too old to do goofy stuff, and I know that I am not either.  

Pictures:

The metal slide: absolutely loved playing on these when I was a kid.  However, if they were hot you definitely would burn your legs, and if there was a break in the metal you might pinch your legs.



Dome climbers:  Oh the days!!!! I miss some of the things we had to play on.  Kids today are missing out.



The famous merry go round.  I miss those the most.


My days as a child were spent outdoors.  My parents felt like it was a crime to stay inside all the time.  They believed that we needed a certain amount of fresh air everyday.  So we would go to the park or school playgrounds with all of the neighborhood kids and spend the day playing.  We were only allowed no more than 2 hours of television unless it was raining or too cold to play outside.  Having play time was very important in my family.  First, my sisters and I were able to run our energy out so we would go to bed at a decent time.  Also, our parents were able to get things done because we were not in their hair all the time.  Babysitters and daycares were not something that was even thought of when I was a child.  My parents believed that physical activity was the best way for us to stay healthy.  My grandfather always told us that vitamin D is healthy for us, and we knew what that meant, and that was it's time to go play outside.

Today kids rely on technology too much.  Most do not even know what it is like to spend several hours outside entertaining themselves or their friends.  It is sad what we have come to as a society.  My fiance and I are going to be starting our own family soon and I am going to encourage them to play outside, and soak up the fresh air.  I don't want them to stay inside glued to the television all day.  I want them to explore, learn, and experience new things.

Early Childhood Australia

Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes and works towards what is best for children and the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. Since 1938, ECA’s main focus has been advocacy, influencing many significant issues relevant to the care, wellbeing and education of young children in Australia. They develop projects in the sector and produce a variety of resources by way of subscription-based publications for their members and the broader sector which includes early childhood educators, services, academics and students. Their vision is that every young child is thriving and learning. 

They advocate for the best interests for children and they aim to identify and promote the best practice in the field.  They do so by:

• developing and advocating policies on early childhood education and care
• promoting and reviewing the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics
• contributing to the development and evaluation of government policies and programs through submissions, committee membership, delegations, and discussion with politicians and departments
• promoting increased awareness and understanding of the needs of young children and their families
• supporting informed debate and good practice in early childhood settings through its own specialist early childhood publications

The one thing that I liked about this site is how they are so concerned with trying to not only help the children but the families as well.  They have programs that work at home with the parents, and at school with the children.  This program also works with other programs in Australia to make sure the children and their families receive health care, education, and other further assistance.  It seems like it is almost similar to our Head Start programs, but more involved.  They have turned this into a huge program involving not only their government, but many other programs.  Their only goals are helping children and their families, to make their lives better, and not only through education. 

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Establishing Contacts and Expanding Resource

In this last week, I have had the opportunity to email two professionals in the Early Childhood field.  The first one I emailed was Yvonne Dionne, she is with the Canadian Child Care Foundation.  The second person I emailed was Mrs. Eva-Hammes-DiBernardo, she is with the German National Committee for Early Childhood Education.  Hopefully I receive responses back from them, as I am looking forward to talking to them and learning about their organizations.

The website that I chose to research was from the Australian Early Childhood Advocacy Organization http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

(Newsletter: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/contact_us/mailing_list.html )

I chose this website because Australia had always interested me and I have family that lives there.  My fiance and I are hoping that in a few years we will be able to move there, and I want to be able to know as much as I can about the field that I wish to work in.  

I am very interested in finding out how other colleagues in my class choose their websites.  The only advice I can give is to choose something that interests you, and something that you know nothing about.  Good Luck to everyone.

Relationship Reflection

Why relationships/partnerships are important to me

• They allow you to connect to people on a closer level
• You learn how to give and take
• You learn trust, dependence, love, and affection
• You have someone to keep you warm at night (for intimate relationships)
• You have someone to confide in and to keep your secrets
• Teach you how to be socially appropriate
• Provides stability and support (mentally, physically, and financially)
• Helps to set the foundations for new relationships

Identify several people with whom you currently have positive relationships

• My fiance Cameron, my sister and my niece, my dad and step-mom, my fiance's family, my co-workers, the students that I work with, and tons of friends
• These relationships are positive through the support, compassion, love, and affection that is shown between me and the ones that I am close with.  Factors that contributed to developing and maintaining these relationships are patience, trust, loyalty, compassion, kindness, empathy, and forgiveness.

Insights regarding challenges to developing and maintaining relationships

• Some don't like to compromise because they are set in their ways
• Some are not willing to open themselves up to others
• Some find it hard to consider someone else's feeling other than their own
• Some have huge problems with communication
• Some have to be in control of everything -- dominating

What do you see as special characteristics of these relationships that make some, if any, partnerships?

• Similar personalities
• Common likes and dislikes
• Similar demeanor
• Ethics
• A common bond (ex. going golfing)
• Making financial together
• Consideration of the other persons opinion, feeling, and thoughts
• Honesty and trust
• Open communication

How might you experiences with relationships/partnerships, including your ability to be an active, reflective contributor, impact your work as an effective early childhood professional?

I have a lot of patience, and I am a people person.  Having people in my life, such as friends and family, is hugely important to me.  I am loving, compassionate, caring, trustworthy, and understanding.  All of that will make me an awesome teacher.  I currently work at a school district, with children of all ages.  I find it very important to connect with them on their own level, and to build a trustworthy, yet authoritative relationship with all of them.  I want to be someone that they feel comfortable with, yet at the same time I want them to know that I am their teacher and there are things that have to be done.  My goal is to teach them not only to succeed in their educational lives, but also in their societal lives.

Quote about children......and Special Thanks!!!!!!

My favorite quote about children and learning is "Education does not just happen at school.  It is not just about Math and other subjects.  Your education and learning are happening all the time.  They happen any time your mind is open to learning" by Michael Stutman 2013.  

I really believe this quote tells it like it is.  Learning is not just in the school or classroom, and it does not just involve Math, Reading, Spelling, and other subjects.  Learning involves everything that happens in a person or child's lifetime.  Everyday is a new learning experience for me, and I am 30.  Children do not just learn from educators, they learn from t.v., society, video games, etc.  Every little thing plays a part in teaching children and people things.

A Special Thanks.......
I want to thank everyone in my group for all of the information and great blogs that they have provided.  I have learned so much from each and every one of you.  I also would like to thank our awesome and insightful professor that we had.  I really enjoyed taking this class.  I want to wish everyone good luck as they go through their degree, and throughout their life.

Testing for Intelligence

I believe that a child should be assessed based on their learning.  We need to know that they are learning what they need to in order to succeed in this world as an adult.  If they are not learning what is needed in school, then we need to make sure that child is provided with that necessary knowledge.  The assessment tests that my school district does on the children, is something that every school should do.  Every week the children are tested over every subject that they have covered during the week.  If they test low then the teacher will find them a tutor to work with so that they can catch up with the rest of the class.

I looked at Somalia to see what they do for their children.  In that country, they are just happy that children enroll into school.  They have one of the lowest enrollment rates.  The children that actually enroll, will be given books and paper and will be taught lessons every day that they show up.  Many are refugees from other areas that ran away from the dangerous environments that they once lived in.  There are not set assessments that are being done.  The educators there concentrate on teaching them the basics of reading and writing.

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/somalia_59551.html