My connections to play

Quotes that i feel relate to play:

 "Play is our brain's favorite way of learning" Diane Ackerman

"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning" Fred Rogers

Essential Play items as a child







As a child growing up with one sibling my parents were very supportive of play as long as my sister was by my side since i was the oldest. After-school i had to make sure that my homework and chores were completed before i could ask if i could go outside and play. My parents allowed me to be involved with extracurricular activities but it was never forced. My parents allowed me to have friends and to go outside and play as long as i came home before the street lights came on.  As a child i enjoyed going to the local park district with my friends and playing at the playground and making up games such as house, IT(tag). On the weekends i enjoyed swimming at the local park district  with my friends.As a child i was a great swimming and enjoyed using my swim pass to go swimming everyday during the summer. Growing up as a child and  being involved with my peers allowed me to gain socio-emotional skills and bonds that would last a life time, since i still hangout with my peers from grammar school.

Play is very much different now than how play was when i was a child. I feel that children are more into video games and technogolgy now than going outside and playing. As a child, obesity wasn't a big concern as it is now, as a child we enjoyed playing and running around. As a child i remember making up games with my cousins and using our imaginations. Now children seem to be into TV and dangerous activiteis such as gangs, bullying and etc.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships to me are very important not only are they building blocks but its a support system. Not everyone has the same support as others, but i feel that all support is better than nothing. I consider myself has being very close with my parents, and my immediate family. I am trying harder to have a more close knit relationship with other people in my family, but that is work in progress.

Some of the people that i feel i have a close knit relationship with is my mother and father,and my sister. I am also very close with my fiance and building a continuous relationship with my 4 year old daughter(the love of my life).  And i am currently building a relationship with my coworkers.

My mother and father are significant people in my life, they have been a true blessing to me. They support me with everything that i put my mind to. We have a bond that is unbreakable. I hope that this bond will never be broken.

My sister, has been a support person to me every since we were little kids. We have gotten into a lot of trouble as kids; but as we have grown up, we have a bond that only sisters can have. She has a listening ear, and she respects me for who i am.

My immediate family which consistent of my future husband and my daughter; these people have my back no matter what. My fiance Tyrus has a listening ear, he is passionate about the goals i have set for myself and he will not let me settle for less than the BEST. My daughter who is only four cares so much about her mommy everyday she ask,"how was work mommy, and were the kids good".

When I Think of Child Development …

We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

From birth to age three children have a lot to learn...

...but not all children are learning as well as they can.

Every child deserves a good start in life.

http://www.birth23.org/

Testing for Intelligence?

I think it is necessary to assess school-aged children. Even an educator who access children in Early head start programs teachers find out areas that the child needs improvements in, and where can we find resources to help that child develop and grow to succeed in the future. As well as resources that can help that family at home. Although i was never a great test taker,because i was always nervous or over think the questions. In saying that some children may experience those same symptoms, but i still believe think that children need to be tested to learn more about how the school systems need to be changed, as well finding out if they child might have a learning disability.  A negative factor is that educators or peers begin to label those students who may be labeled as having learning disability or judging them because of there difference.

I decided to study Japan, as many of use have heard that women,men,boys and girls have a very streaked  educational system, well that's at least what i heard. As i conducted research i learned that the educational system in japan is highly valued, in the japanese culture, the teachers are paid well. The japanses government supports the educational system. Children in the school system attend school accordingly:

• 6 years primary school (shogakkou)
• 3 years junior secondary school (chugakkou)
• 3 years senior secondary school (koutougakkou)
• 4 years university

The Japanese culture still places importance on creativity, internationalism, and critical thinking in schools. The government still regulates all curricula at every level of the system, however. Even preschool has an official curriculum.
Resources:http://www.justlanded.com/english/Japan/Japan-Guide/Education/Introduction

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

My mother was the eldest of six children during the 70s. At this time, my family was experiencing poverty. My mother not only had the responsbility to be in charge of everyone, but she also had to get a job to help support the family with the income that my grandmother was bringing home at the time. My family grew up in low-income housing on the Southside of Chicago,IL and they had a hard time. My grandmother was very much so the Authoritarian parent, in which her word was the law, there were no questions of why, or i can't, you had to obey her or you would get into serious trouble. I believe being poor and having the responsibility to look after all my uncles and aunts put alot of stress on my mother, because she was not allowed to go outside at times because she had to look behind my aunts and uncles. While my grandmother worked to bring home the little amount of money she did, i believe she was stressed as well. The amount of stress that my mother had, made her move at the age of 16. I mother did graduate from high school and later received her cosmetology license, and she vowed to never be like my grandmother, she took several parenting classes and help her be the best mom she could be.


As i look at other countries and how poverty plays a role in their lives as well, I was very intrigued about learning about Ethopia and how they deal with poverty. About 90% of the Ethiopian population are living below poverty line with about 62% deprived of adequate schooling. People who live in Ethiopia depend on the agriculture and if a drought happens it makes it worse and allows for so many people to go hungry . Because poverty and the lack of food is so high in Ethiopia, makes for children of school age not to be to complete school and leaves the children to become apart of child labor, child trafficking, and child prostitution( Major problems facing Ethiopia today,2011).

Major problems facing Ethiopia today. (2011, September 27) Africa and the world. Retrieved from http://www.africaw.com/major-problems-facing-ethiopia-today

Breastfeeding

I felt breastfeeding was a good topic to discuss for my blog, because there are so many feelings and thoughts behind the issue. Breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for an infant, it provides the child with great brain development. Breast milk also is very important, it promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects infants from infectious and chronic diseases.It is suggested that breastfeeding starts an hour after birth if possible(Kidshealth, 2011).

Although Breastfeeding is a personal decision and its your choice as a mother, when my daughter was born in 2007 i felt that i didn't have the time to breastfeed my daughter because i was still in college and i thought it took a lot of time out of my day. Plus i thought that it was painfull.After completing Early Childhood classes, i felt that i made a big mistake at the beginning of my child's life which was not to breastfeed, but if i was to decide to have another child that would be the only option for me.

I studied Breastfeeding in Africa allthough many mothers in africa are affected with HIV they still breastfeed. Which was something new to me. According to the World Health Organization the  transmission of HIV from an HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding is called mother-to-child transmission. In the absence of any interventions transmission rates range from 15-45%. This rate can be reduced to levels below 5% with effective interventions( World Health Organization).
After studying about Africa, Breastfeeding is common to some when and not to others. According to Berger, in some African nations HIV-positive women are encouraged to breastfeed  because the risk of dying of the infection is not likely ( Berger,2009,p.155).


Although Breastfeeding is a great chose for your baby, breastfeeding will not affect my work as an early head start teacher, i will just make sure that i give the mother her rights and her privacy.



Reference

KidsHealth. Breastfeeding Vs formula Feeding. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/breast_bottle_feeding.html  

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

World Health Organization. Infant and Young child feeding. Retrieved from  http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs342/en/

Birthing experience

When i had my daughter at 22 years old i was very scared because i still had to finish/complete my course work at my University so that i could graduate with my Bachelors degree. After realizing i had a great support team comprised of family,doctors and friends, i knew this would turn out to be great. I was due on March 20,2007 and had my daughter on March 15,2007 after being induced because of my doctor saying i had lack of amount of fluid for my daughter. According to my Mother i had an easy pregnancy, i hardly got sick just dehydrated once, i didn't gain a lot of weight and my daughter was very healthy. I was in labor for maybe 5 hours if that.Some of the traditions in our family is that after leaving the hospital you have to wear lots of warm clothing so that you have a "set back" which means getting sick because of your pours being open. My mother would not allow me to drive or walk up for stairs for weeks after my daughter was born.

After researching birth customs i came across the history of Germany because i had a a high school from Germany.I wanted to learn about their culture differences. After conducting research its seems as though pregnant when in Germany are highly faved. Unlike women in America we see doctors for prenatal care women from Germany see Midwives, doctors in Germany are optional. When mothers want to name their babies in germany the government has a list of "accepted names" unlike America you can name your child/children anything you like. Unlike most mothers who go back to work six weeks later after having a child, German women are forbidden to go back to work until eight weeks later all with pay.When women in Germany find out that they are pregnant if they like they can tell their boss they would like to take a leave of absence, and their job is still secured. (http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=3).

References
Parents healthy kids. happy family magazine (2011, September 6). Birth customs around the world: German. Retrieved from  http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=3