"My Supports"

When I think of support I look at a stable job, a roof over my head, water, food, family, and friends.  Without these life can be very miserable and can leave a very empty spot inside a heart, a feeling of not even wanting to live.  I have been blessed to have all this support in my life.

Stable Job:  The job I work at currently supports me by giving me an opportunity to make money so that I can have a roof over my head, water, food, and other "Needs" in my life as well as "Wants" that I can afford to buy from my hard labor.  This job also supports me by providing me a chance to do something in life I love and that is working with children, being a good role model and leader.

A roof over my head:  Of course having a place to live is vital to giving me a place to lay my head at nights and really do what i need to do on my free will.  With a roof over my head I am protected from weather, and have a place to store and cook food.  I am supported by a place to ensure protection, baring burglary.

Family and Friends:  A huge support system in my life and has been since day 1.  Even when my mother was going through her tough times, I was blessed with family members that stepped in quicker than a snap of the finger to provide and support me.  I grew up playing sports so support is what I really need to push my success over the top.  My family and friends provided me with that always coming to my games and cheering me on.  I had such a great supporting cast every time I think about it I get the chills and smile because having support is bigger than what a lot people give it credit for.

Many people who commit suicide do it because of lack of support.  I believe every one in life needs a supporting cast because life is surely not easy and trying to beat life alone is very stressful and hard without someone there to laugh and joke with and tell you "your doing good" or "you need to do better."  Even when people think they don't need support, really they do.  Without support life can be a spinning roller coaster leaving any direction for a person to fall.  Support will have someone or something in that spot to catch you before you fall.    

"My Connections to Play"

When I think of play these two quotes jump to mind for me:

•  "Play is our brain's favorite way of learning."

            by Diane Ackerman

• "Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning."

            by Fred Rogers

Pictures of Play Items:

As a kid I loved G.I. Joe action figures.

Toy cars was another thing I loved to have as a kid.  I could take them with me anywhere I went and I also had the race tracks to go with them.  Brings back great memories lol!!!!!  I know I'm such a kid at heart now as well.

Supporters of Play and how it differs from when I was growing up:

People supported play tremendously during my times of growing up because technology was not a huge factor.  Kids went outside to play all of the time.  It seems like back when I was young parents loved for their children to run and play but had to yell for their children to come inside, now parents yell for their children to go outside to play to get them off the video games.  Teachers even supported play and during school time there was more recess time even in middle and high school.  Now all of that is either being short changed or not happening at all.  Things have change big time when it comes to play and I don't feel like children are getting the necessary play time they need to exercise their brains.  Health issues are even coming up a lot more now because children are not "Playing" anymore.  Everything is about reading, writing, and math and less on how to explore the three in play.

 

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are significant to me because they are worthy for our physical health, but our spiritual and emotional health as well.  It is through relationships with other people that we mature and progress and how we extend and magnify our experience of love and importance.  Relationships construct emotions and help on how to communicate with others particularly people of the differing sex.  A good connection with someone is vital to humans as good nutrition and exercise.

Several people whom I have positive relationships with are for starts my girlfriend.  We just have that great understanding with each other.  We can talk to each other about anything and 5 years of building has really grown into a strong relationship.  The communication and teamwork is there as well.  She is my best friend and knowing our relationship is strong makes me go about my day in a positive manner.  

My mother is another person I have a positive relationship with.  Although I do not talk with her on an everyday basis like my girlfriend, we still have a very loving relationship.  She is always there for me and knows when I am feeling down.  We have been through some tough times, including my sisters.  Even with the hard times of no electricity in the house or cable, we really had to push through and come together with positive love.  My father and I also display a positive relationship.  He was the inspiration in my life that got me linked into the sports world.  We can talk about sports all day every day.  He like my mother is always there for me as even though they weren't together.  My father and I always found time to communicate.  He would take me fishing or to ball games and everything just felt positive.

Building a positive relationship with someone is challenging because everyone has their own thoughts about how a relationship really works so people bump heads with each other.  Trust is a big issue as well, because if two people want to be friends with each other but cant really trust each other, nothing positive will come out of the relationship.  I think by me understanding relationships will help me become a better instructor because I will have the experience of teaching children how to communicate and build positive relationships with other people.  Also my experience will help me when I am collaborating with other teachers.  Being in this field it is all about teamwork and communication and building a positive relationship with children, parents, as well as staff. 

When I Think of Child Development

A quote that pops up to me when I think of child development is:

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

Here is also another one just some food for thought:

“You think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you. But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew you never knew." 

-- anonymous

I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has commented on my blog or have just came to read.  This is still a far journey for us and I am enjoying every bit of it so far.  As long as we continue to encourage and motivate each other I believe everyone will come out successful.  Lets stay strong and positive and continue to strive for perfection.

Should Young Children Be Assessed?

When considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically a child's physical health should be assessed.  I'll take obesity for example.  Technology is improving rapidly and children are shying away from running and playing outdoors or even indoors.  This play allows a child to run off the food in which they consume.  Children eat more junk food so more running around is needed for them get rid of fat that maybe building up.  Overweight children more often have asthma, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol (Berger, 2012).  Over time it gets worse:  If they stay heavy, obese children risk diabetes, heart disease, and strokes and are less likely to marry, to find jobs, ad to live to old age.  Because of obesity, some children are not able to function well in school because they maybe getting picked on and laughed at from other children.  In 2007 the Australian government announced the development and promotion of healthy eating and physical activity guidelines for children.  These measures will form part of the government's plan for early childhood and plan for tackling obesity.  One quarter of all Australian children, or around 600,000 children age 5-17, were overweight.  The 2004 Australia's Physical Activity Recommendations for Children suggest that children aged 5-17 years of age need a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day .

Sources: 

Berger, K. S. (2012).  The developing person through childhood (6^th ed.).  New York, NY: Worth           Publishers.

World Health Organisation Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, Overweight and Obesity

viewed, (6 July 2009).  retrieved from: 

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1301.0Chapter11062009%E2%80%9310 

Natural Disaster in Our World

Where I am living now in 2007 a tornado hit this small town.  It sort of happened out of nowhere and it was pretty catastrophic damaging our hospital and put a lot of people in danger that night.  I was actually going to school at the time and living on campus.  I remember this time like it was yesterday because I was playing baseball for the school and we was suppose to have a game that next day.  I have never experienced such silence before and that next day was so sad for a lot of people in this town.  Everyone was walking around looking at the damages this tornado caused.  I always seen it or heard about it on television, never was I expecting such pain from an innocent town.  It took a while for this to build up and we have just recently gotten the hospital back in full force last year I believe.  

Two out of every three people face hunger as Haiti woes increase (Sweet, 2013).  Research shows that in 1997, 1.2 million Haitians didn't have enough food to eat (Sweet, 2013).  A decade later the number had more than doubled.  Today, that figure is 6.7 million, or a staggering 67 percent of the population that goes without food some days, can't afford a balanced diet or has limited access to food, according to surveys by the governments' National Coordination of Food Security (Sweet, 2013).  As many as 1.5 million of those face malnutrition and other hunger-related problems.  The hardship of hunger abounds amid the stone homes and teepee-like huts in the mountains along Haiti's southern coast.  The hair on very skinny children has turned patchy and sort of orange, their stomachs have ballooned to the size of their heads and many look half their age which is a true sign of malnutrition (Sweet, 2013).     

Reference

Sweet, D. (2013, June 10).  Hunger in Haiti Worse Than Ever.  Retrieved from 

http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/hunger-haiti-worse-ever#sthash.SkIAVGlV.dpbs

Access to Healthy Water

This topic is extremely meaningful to me because healthy and clean water is the essential part of a healthy lifestyle.  Water makes up over 70 percent of our overall body and 75 percent of our brain, 80 percent of our blood and a whopping 96 percent of our liver.  Water is included in practically every facet of our health, and drinking ample quantities of clean water each day is crucial.  Shortages can have serious effects.  A 5 percent shrinkage in bodily fluids can cause a 25-30 percent loss of energy in the average person, and a 15 percent decrease in water can cause death.  It's not just the water we drink that is significant, but also water that we are visible to over bathing, cooking, and leisure events as well like swimming or fishing.  These contacts can disturb our health. When the streams are contaminated, fish and wildlife that depend on on those water systems are also affected.  Across the globe, access to clean water has grown into a major health problem.

In 2003, in discussion with First Nations, INAC and Health Canada established the First Nations Water Management Strategy (FNWMS) to guarantee First Nations communities have access to harmless, reliable drinking water and operational waste water amenities.  The Government of Candada is devoting $600 million over five years to advance water and water waste water services on reserves.  Funding will be used to offer new and advanced systems, expand management practices and upkeep the training and certification of workers.

Resources:
Arnoldsen, K.  Huntingdon Health and Wellness Association.  The Importance of Healthy Water.
Retrieved from http://hhwa.org/natural-conncetion-articles/97-the-importance-of-healthy-water

Access to Clean, Reliable Water Essential To Healthy First Nations Communities.
Retrieved from http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100021600/1100100021604

Birthing Experience

I don't remember my birthing experience but my mother told me something very interesting.  Before I was born my older sister use to hit my mother in the stomach, not hard just playing around because she was only 6 years older than me and she was really cling to my mother.  I have a little knot on top of my head and to this day my mother, sister, and cousins tease me saying I have this because my sister was hitting me on top of the head in my mothers stomach.  Nothing came about from it because I came out perfectly normal.  My mother explained to me how she used to read to me while in her stomach and play educational songs that dealt with counting and different stories.  I believe this is why I love education so much and have always loved to read.  I believe it is very important to go about birth in a positive manner and to take care of the body.  A child can be affected by things that go on around before they even come out.  If we listen to the doctors and take every step to perfection, I honestly believe a child's development will be a success.

In China for the last 25 years they have sought to curb the growth of its vast population by restricting many couples to having just one child.  More women are taking fertility medicine to help them become pregnant (Gu Ling, director of Maternal and Child Hygiene) reported.  Seems to me it doesn't matter how many we have in the U.S. compared to China.  Having one child has been promoted as ideal and the limit has been strongly enforced in urban areas, the actual implementation varies from location to location.  In most rural areas, families are allowed to have two children, if the first child is female, or disabled.

Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4708432.stm

A Professional Thanks!!!

I must say this has been a great start towards our quest to graduation.  Honestly, I was nervous coming into this online experience, but working with you all made me realize I am not in it alone.  I really appreciate all the feedback and encouraging words from all and I wish everyone the best of luck as we move forward.  Lets continue to encourage each other and collaborate as much as we can to make things easier and exciting.  Always remember,  Each one, Teach one.

Code of Ethics

I-1.3—To recognize and respect the unique qualities,

abilities, and potential of each child.

I-1.10—To ensure that each child’s culture, language,
ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and

valued in the program.

-1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early
childhood care and education and to stay informed

through continuing education and training.

The reason I chose these three conducts is because I feel they are very important for a successful program to be ran.  As professional educators it is important to understand the uniqueness and difference in every child's ability.  Each child is going to be different and as educators we must respect their qualities to ensure further success.  With that being said each child will come from different backgrounds so as professional educators we have to make it as comfortable as possible so they can want to educate themselves.  I want the best for each and every child that comes my way so I need to be knowledgeable about the early childhood field and take pride in remaining well-versed through continuing learning and preparation. 

Course Resources

The Early Childhood field has great resources for families, children and even professionals in the field to view and learn about.  Through my college experience I have had tons of valuable resources to view to.  Here are three resources that I have found to be interesting.

• http://www.makinglearningfun.com/index.html.  This is a great site that can be used by teachers, children, or parents.  Has cool activities and plenty of themes to help jump start an idea.
• http://www.naccp.org/.  This is the National Association of Child Care Professionals.  They provide valuable programs and resources for professionals who are out to lead our young children as well as other professionals.
• http://www.pbs.org/parents/.  Good source for parents, teachers and kids.  I recommend this site to all that is in the Early Childhood field.  

Quotes from Early Childhood Professionals

"The complete sentence is the battering ram that knocks down the door to college."
~Doug Lemov~

"Teaching is a performance profession."  It's a profession that requires practice.
~Doug Lemov~

"Without Great Teachers, Nothing Else Matters"
~Doug Lemov~

"In the good years, work very hard to win everything that's possibly winnable.  In the bad years, work just as hard to keep your losses to a minimum.  There are good times, and there are bad times.  But you have to stay in the game.
~Edward Zigler~

"They are our partners in this learning enterprise, and we have a special responsibility to use this knowledge-not to fill up journals, but to make the lives of these children better."
~Edward Zigler~

Personal Childhood Web

My mother- Is a very strong-hearted woman who has overcame a lot in her life.  She was never able to bless me and my siblings with the greater things in life but she has influenced my life by simply teaching me how to be a responsible man.  I learned how to cook and wash clothes at an early age so I was able to help out around the house while she worked overtime.  My mother made me feel special by coming to my ball games even when I knew she was dead tired from working.  I could look up in the stands and see that smile on her face which made me elevate my level of play even more.  To this day she still works hard and offers to help me with anything I need and tells me not to struggle where I am at.  Let her know if I need anything and she will provide. 

My father- Has always been there for me since I was born even though he and my mother were never together.  He kept me out of trouble by introducing to me sports at an early age.  I could always count on my father to be at every little league, middle school, high school and even college game.  He has been an inspiration in my life and has always been the person I looked up to and wanted to be like, my hero I would call him.  My father was known for being a great athlete and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.  Every day we would go out and throw the baseball, hit in the cages, and even lift weights.  He always told me “Son if you want to be a great athlete, it starts in the classroom and getting your grades done!”  That was enough said for me so I can say he has encouraged me to get my studies done so I can have the opportunity to play sports.      

My grandmother- My Mema has always treated me great.  I am actually known in the family as the “Golden Child” to my Grandmother.  I am the only one in the family who can sit in her recliner chair when she is still in the living room.  My Mema has always been there for me.  As I got older, my mother and I did not see eye to eye on some things and my Grandmother opened her door to me with no questions asked.  She would always have breakfast for me in the morning and a great dinner in the evening.  Christmas is really our big bonding time.  We put up decorations and listen to the Jackson 5 Christmas songs and talk about past Christmas moments.  I can always look for my Mema to be there for me at any occasion and for that I feel so special in her heart.  

My aunt- She was the one who inspired me to become a teacher.  My Aunt Trina has really showed lots of love in my life as well.  She is also a teacher so I could always go to her on advice and help as far as different ideas to use.  She has always come to my ball games and supported me like a second mother figure.  I can count on her to be there for me when I need it.   

My stepmother- I do not even call her my stepmother because she has been around since I was a youngster.  She is always there for me and when asked by others how many kids she has, I am included.  I have a sister and a brother from her and it makes me feel so special and loved knowing even though I am not her actual son, I am treated like it.  My mother is very supportive and also believes in me highly.  I am the oldest of my sibling from my dad side and my stepmother trusts me to guide her children to the right ways of life.  To this day whatever I need from my stepmother she will provide for me. 

A very exciting day of my life! College graduation! But many more to come

Title of a Children's Book I Love

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson

This is one of my all-time favorite books.  I could read this story over and over again.  If you have not yet read this book I recommend it to you.  Truly a great book.

A meaningful quote to me

We all need someone who inspires us to do better than we know how.

--Anonymous

Hello everyone

This is my first official blog post! Just want to say thanks for viewing my post and I am sure to have many more in the near future.