My Supports

I am fortunate to have many supports in my life, including my husband, my family and my friends.  Raising two children while working full time and taking classes for my graduate degree. I often rely on the support of those arround me.  My husband provides emotional support to me when the stress of my busy schedule seems to be too much.   My friends and family also help provide emotional support as well as help to care for my children and their needs.  In addition to the people I have supporting me, I rely on electronics to communicate with others, keep my schedule, remind me of important tasks and complete my work.  I also rely on my car for work and for my personal life.  Living in a rural area, having transportation is an essential part of life.  Without any one of these supports, my life would be much more difficult.  Of these supports, I could live without the electronics because they could be replaced with other methods to organize my life.  However, the supports of my family and friends would be impossible to replace.  I can not imagine my life without them.

I am also fortunate that I am physically able, however I have often thought about the supports I would need if I had a physical disability.  For example, if I had lost muscle  control of my arm, leg or another part of my body, I would need the support of a device to help me get around.  I would also need the supports of a doctor, hospital and physical therapist.  I would need the supports of others for income if  I were unable to work.  I would also need the supports of my family and friends and maybe others in the community to do the things that I would not be able to physically do and to help me handle these challenges emotionally.  I have a hard time relying on others and I don't like to ask for help, but with a physical disability I would need to have others help with things that I would  not otherwise be able to do..  From basic care and management of my needs and that of my home and family I would need to rely on the supports of others.  I can't imagine having medical needs but not having the support of a doctor and hospital staff.  I also can't imagine how difficult life would be without the devices that would allow me to get around on my own and do some things by myself.  I also think that my friends and family would be even more of a source of support as I would need their help as well as their love and support.

My Connections to Play

I tried to teach my child with books,

He gave me only puzzled looks.

I tried to teach my child with words,

They passed him by often unheard.

Despairingly I turned aside,

How shall I teach this child, I cried.

Into my hands he put the key,

“Come”, he said, “play with me!”

-Author Unknown

These are a few of the toys that I played with while growing up in the 70's and 80's.  Although I had plenty of toys growing up, my brothers, my friends and I spent the majority of our time outside- riding bikes, jumping in mud puddles, swimming, running through fields, sled riding and building forts.  We would stay outside in the summer and winter and would only come inside once it became dark.  I can remember my neighbor and I using our imagination to turn her families' shed into a school.  Not surprisely, we are now both educators. Growing up in a rural area and living on farms, we had a large area that we could explore.  I can remember spending hours playing as a young child and I look back now and realize that it was one of the best times of my life.   I think that in today's  world many children have so many toys and electronics that they aren't using their imaginations in play.   They also spend much of their time in play that is not active.  As I am raising my own children, I want them to spend plenty of time outside playing and have opportunities to use their imaginations.  I know as an adult I still like to play and I enjoy spending time playing with my kids. I think play for young children is an important part of growing up and learning.  I think adults can benefit from play too.  I think it helps with productivity and creativity.  

“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play”
― John Cleese

Play Today?

You say you love your children,

And are concerned they learn today?

So are we- that's why we're providing

A variety of kinds of play.

You're asking us the value

Of blocks and other such toys?

Your children are solving problems.

They will use that skill everyday.

You're asking us what's the value

of having your children play?

Your daughter's creating a tower;

she may be a builder someday.

You're questioning the interest centers;

They just look like useless play?

Your children are making choices;

They will be on their own someday.

You're worried your children aren't learning;

An later they'll have to pay?

They're learning a pattern for learning;

For they will be learners always!

by Leila P. Fagg

Relationship Reflection

"The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships" - Anthony Robbins

This quote really expresses how important relationships are to me.  My friends and my family members make my life so much more full-filling.  The relationships that are important to me are my friendship with my best friend Britt, my connections with my Mom and Dad and brothers,  and the relationships with my husband and kids.  When I think about these relationships each one provides something special in my life.  My best friend, Britt, has been a friend since preschool.  We have grown up together and shared so many experiences.  We have laughed and cried.  She is someone who I have been able to confide in and talk with about anything.

 My parents and my brothers have been a source of support for me.  When I have an important decision to make, I still talk to them for guidance and support.

My relationships with my kids are the ones that give me the greatest sense of joy and accomplishment.  The love that I feel for them is unlike any other that I have in my life.

 

The relationship I have with my husband is the one however that I would characterize to be the most like a partnership.   Our relationship is one of give and take, trust, mutual love and support.

Relationships take work to maintain. Through experience I have found that there are some things that help to build relationships.  First, both sides need to contribute.  Second, good communication is an essential element.  Finally, there also needs to be a feeling of trust and a commitment to make the relationship work.

In the same way in which I have maintained relationships in my personal life, I have used the same commitment in my work in the early childhood field.  I work to establish relationships through communication and trust with children, co-workers, families and others.

All I really needed to know....

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

 In today's education system in the United States with the focus being on academic outcomes, Kindergarten has changed from a time when children could learn through active exploration and play to one of drill, test, and push children to produce outcomes that justify the amount of money that schools are receiving and to hold teacher's accountable.  While accountability is important in every work situation and in every job, let's not forget that young children need to learn so much more than the academics that are used to hold the teacher's accountable.  Let's hold our school systems accountable for providing high quality environments in which children can grow and learn in all areas of development-  cognitive, physical and social emotional.  Let's not forget that children still need to learn how to get along with others and take care of their basic needs as Robert Fulghum points out so well in this poem.  And finally, be aware of wonder and the places that an active imagination can take our children and our nation...because in and through their imaginations you never know what great things could be in store.   



Assessing young children...what is best?

One of the biggest debates in American education today is the use of standardized tests.  Often these tests are used as a means to hold schools and teachers accountable. But do these tests really measure what matters?
I believe that an accurate assessment of a child's ability should look at all of the areas of development and consider more than just a knowledge of academics. When you think about all of the skills needed to be successful inside and outside of the classroom, from getting along with others to having a healthy self esteem, measuring only a child's academic ability seems as though it is not enough.  Also children like adults excel in different areas of development.  One child may excel in physical ability while another in academics.  Looking at Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory, intelligence can be measured in eight areas:  linguistic, logical/mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spacial, kinesthetic, musical and naturalist.  A person may excel in different areas but could be considered equally successful in their own individual way. 
However, standardized tests are not unique to the United States, they are used around the world.  In fact, China has a long history of standardized tests and is know for it's test the gaokao, or college entrance exam, that is a standardized test at the end of high school that is taken over 2-3 days.  China is also know for rote learning, and standardized testing that places a big psychological strain on students and favors children from big cities and well off families while stifling creativity. 
I can't help but to wonder if this is the future of education in the United States...more standardized tests that do not take into account all areas of development or the value of creativity and individual skills that can not be measured by a standardized test?  While there is a need to measure progress and use the information in planning an education system that helps children excel, the real challenge is finding a way to accurately assess children in a way that is more helpful than harmful. 



Wong, E. (June 30, 2012) Test that Determines the course of life in China gets a closer examination. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/world/asia/burden-of-chinas-college-entrance-test-sets-off-wide-debate.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Greenspan, A. (August 25, 2008) China Vs. America? Learning Strategies in the 21st Century.  The Globalist. Retrieved from: http://www.theglobalist.com/storyid.aspx?storyid=5264

Children and Stress

Stress can be difficult for adults to handle. But when children are exposed to ongoing stress or the devastating stress like that experienced by children in war torn countries, the effects of stress can have long lasting and life changing effects.  

Having worked  for Head Start, I have witnessed many families that have struggled with stressors like poverty, domestic violence and the incarceration of one parent.   I can remember one particular family that consisted of a single mom and her four children.  The father was in jail for involvement with drugs so she was raising her four young children on her own.  She worked full time.  However, it seemed as though no matter how hard she worked she could never catch a break.  As things would start to get better for this family something would always happen to add more stress to their lives.  This single mom had little family support because the grandmother of the children did not agree with many of the choices her daughter made.  The family relied on public assistance like child care subsidy, housing/rent assistance and medical access to survive.  I can remember doing home visits with this family while they were living in a motel room because they had been evicted from their apartment.  I can remember talking with the mom after an incident of domestic violence that occurred when the father was released from jail and had returned home.  I could see the affect the stress had on the children's behavior.  The children often acted out and tested boundaries.  However, mom was very caring and very involved with her children, her love for them was apparent even in the midst of the chaos in their lives. 

In addition to the affects of ongoing stress on children, it has always concerned me about children growing up in war torn parts of the world like the Middle East.  Living in a relatively peaceful society, I can't imagine the terror and the stress that war places on children and their families.  How do children in these situations cope?  In researching this I found that modern day conflicts often result in more civilian casualties with children often being affected the most.  According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2 million children have been killed by conflict over the last decade; 6 million children have been made homeless; 12 million have been injured or disabled; and there are at least 300,000 child soldiers operating in 30 different conflicts across the globe.  This does not even take into account the amount of children affected by the loss of parents, family and friends and the number of children that are injured emotionally and developmentally by war.  The United Nations (UNICEF), the Red Cross and many other charitable organizations are trying to bring focus to the terrible effects that war has on children.  However, wars in the Middle East continue and the innocence of children is still part of the collateral damage.

Unfortunately, children are often the ones who are affected most by stress in the family, no matter where that family lives or what the cause of the stress is.  Stress on children also has a long lasting impact.  As a parent of two children, and an early childhood educator, I feel it is my responsibility to help parents find ways to cope with stress and lessen the impact on children.  Unfortunately there is not much I can do to directly help the children in the Middle East, but I can help child care programs in my local community make referrals for families who are coping with stressors like poverty and domestic violence. 

Immunizations: Protecting our children

In the United States, some parents have become very concerned over vaccinating their children.  In Pennsylvania, the Department of Public Welfare requires that preschool children attending regulated child care programs have up to date immunizations.  Kindergarten children are also required to have immunizations prior to entering school.  As a former child care director, I can remember more than one concerned parent who, for whatever reason, did not what their child immunized.  I always found this somewhat ironic because in an effort to protect their child from what they might consider "unnecessary" shots, they were actually putting them at risk of a life threatening disease.  Diseases that immunizations are designed to protect them against.  I recently found information about immunizations in Europe and not was not surprised that many of their immunizations are similar to  the United States.  Like in the United States, immunizations in Europe have dramatically reduced many preventable diseases.  However, they have also seen outbreaks of measles and polio due to an unimmunized population.  As for my children, I have always followed the American Academy of Pediatrics immunization schedule because I can not imagine taking the risk exposing my children to life threatening or life altering diseases that are completely preventable.

References
What Recent Measles and Rubella Outbreaks in Europe Can Teach the U.S. (2012, July 2) Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gerganakoleva/2012/07/02/what-recent-measles-and-rubella-outbreaks-in-europe-can-teach-the-u-s/