Childhood Connection to Play

Adults are obsolete children.  ~Dr. Seuss

In my soul, I am still that small child who did not care about anything else but the beautiful colors of a rainbow.  ~Papiha Ghosh

Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do.  ~Jean de la Bruyere

Being able to run and play. We lived on a mountain in the woods and we had big imaginations with what little we had.

Camping was a big thing for us growing up, especially since we didn’t have to leave the mountain to do it. Again, using our imaginations to pretend we were somewhere else.

This picture is so similar to the tree house we built with my dad. We had so much fun playing in there.

Being able to run and play in the open without our parents having to worry, it was a great childhood. We would get up early in the summer and play until dark, even after dark when we were camping. I had a hard time when my children were growing up we lived in the town, even though a small town, there were still worries of someone or something happening to them. I did play outside with them but not until they were older did I let them venture out on their own. We would go to my parents and they were allowed to run free. It’s sad that times have changed so much that we have to worry about someone taking our children.

Play is such a vital part of being a child and growing up. We develop cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills through play. Children need to be children.

Relationship Reflection

"Human relationships, and the effects of relationships, are the building blocks of healthy development" (Shonkoff & Phillips, 200 p. 4).

My number one relationship is with my husband, Brian. We meet when we were only 15 years old and have been together ever since. We have been married for almost 22 years and he is my soul-mate, we understand each other more than any two people I have ever met. It took me a while to decided to pursue my education but when I did he was very supportive. He has cooked, cleaned and taken care of the children while I attended college. Our children are grown now but he is still there for me helping me achieve my dreams and goals.


Next would be my relationships with my sons, Jeff is 21 married with a baby on the way in December, our first grandchild. Marcus is 18 and full of life. They have always been my rock, my motivation, to show them that if you set your mind to it, it can be done. I hope that I have instilled these qualities in my children. I hope that I can use the tools that I developed with my children to become the professional that I was meant to be.


Getting the parents’ perspective on many topics and learning from them will build a partnership based on mutual respect and trust. The give and take of positive conversation is a plus. Each interaction moves us toward our goal. We can learn a lot from the parents in our programs. To recognize that they have much to teach us is the first step in building the partnership.  And, when we have their trust, they will share with us.


The partnership between the parent and the teacher cannot be underestimated. When it is built on mutual trust and respect, everything else falls into place.

When I Think of Child Development....

Wow, its hard to believe another class is almost over!!! But isn't it exciting that we are getting through these together??

Reflection:

I would like to thank all my colleagues for their support during these eight weeks.  I have really enjoyed reading you all blogs and discussion within the past weeks.  This has been a great journey for me and my knowledge from this experience has sharpened in some many aspects.  By the responses given to me during this course, it has really helped me to stay on task and to exchange vital information that was useful and needed.  Not only that, you all made me feel welcome in so many ways, especially when I didn’t understand certain parts of the assignment. I would especially like to thank Dr. D for all your support and encouragement.

I wish everyone well as they continue their education and continue to obtain more information that will allow them to prosper in the near future with the intent that you all have set in your mind to do after your accomplishments.

Thanks again and I wish you all the best!

Catherine

Quotes:

This is my favorite quote: "They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel."--Carol Buchner

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
― Albert Einstein

“The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
- Malcolm Forbes

“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.”
- Dr. Hiam Ginnot

Testing for Intelligence

Looking at children holistically, I believe there are two areas that should be assessed.  The first area is the child’s well being.  This includes yearly health exams. Children should be checked to see if they need glasses, need speech help, or have some kind of disability.  These are just to name a few.   Learning cannot happen if the child cannot see, or hear the teacher.  I often think of the kid who comes to school hungry and cannot focus.  His hierarchy of needs has not been met, so learning cannot take place just yet.  The second area is of course assessing their learning through testing.  I think testing shouldn’t just be pencil and paper.  I believe it should vary from group projects, oral presentations, book reports, and verbal testing with the teacher. Today, we have all kinds of learning styles, and it is important to reach all our students.  Incorporating social learning into our assessment is an important tool I believe. 


I read an article entitled, “China’s Children too busy for playtime.”  The children go to school Monday through Friday for nine hours a day. Their parents only work eight hours.  Most children spend their weekends studying and doing extracurricular activities.  They lack in play, and are missing out in socialization.  The children are assessed through testing like here in the states, but these children strive for perfection.  In one study mentioned in this article, only four out of ten children said they had friends to play with when they were allowed to play.  This could contribute to why the children are so unhappy.  A 16 year old even committed suicide because she failed an entrance exam to high school.  I think this says it all.  Children in China are simply assessed in one area only and that is their grades.  These children are missing out on childhood and playtime which allows them to develop in other areas. 

All around the world, we are assessing our children.  In some countries, success means nothing less than perfect.  In other countries, as long as you try, you have succeeded.  Every child is unique and has something to offer.  It is our job as early childhood professions to help our students be the best they can be.  If it really is a calling for us, we will bend over backwards to make sure everyone is learning.  In some classrooms today, you will find teachers just using worksheets after worksheets. This shouldn’t be us.  I do believe if we give our children more opportunities to collaborate with their peers and have time to just be kids that we will see assessment scores rise.  I feel that if school is all work and no play then students will be no longer interested in school by second grade.  Assessment should comes in many forms. 

Reference:

“China’s Children too busy for playtime.”  China Daily.  Retrieved from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/13/content_871182.htm

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Natural disaster

April 2011, the area where I live suffered a string of deadly tornadoes. This is something that was not heard of here in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. It was a terrible ordeal for many families who lost everything. In the aftermath we could drive by one house that was demolished and the one right beside it not even touched.

Several of my students were subject to the horror of what these storms brought. Even today every time it storms, a little thunder and lightning, they are horrified. It takes a lot of consoling and reassuring them that everything is okay.

Natural disasters happen all over the world including flood, wildfire, tornado, earthquake, blizzard, hurricane, landslide and volcano. We never know what will hit us so we have to prepare for any and every thing. We have tornado, fire, and earthquake drills at our schools every month.

Here are some of the natural disasters in 2011:

2011

Natural Disasters Around the World

March 11: JAPAN -- A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck Japan triggering tsunami activity. It is said that over 10,000 may have been killed.

Feburary 22: NEW ZEALAND --The Canterbury Region of New Zealand was struck by a 6.3 earthquake that has killed over 98 people. *SEE MORE ABOUT NEW ZEALAND HERE*

January 13: BRAZIL -- Thousands of families living on mountain slopes face risk of being washed away in the heavy rains and flooding that have killed more than 900 people.

January 1: AUSTRALIA -- The Australian city of Brisbane has experienced widespread flooding, although the peak level is a metre lower than feared. The death toll in Queensland's flooding went up to 15, with dozens more reported missing.

References:

Natural disasters around the world. Retrieved from http://gvc1007.gvc10.virtualclassroom.org/

Immunizations

Disease prevention is the key to public health. It is always better to prevent a disease than to treat it. Vaccines prevent disease in the people who receive them and protect those who come into contact with unvaccinated individuals. Vaccines help prevent infectious diseases and save lives. Vaccines are responsible for the control of many infectious diseases that were once common in this country, including polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella (German measles), mumps, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) (CDC, 2009).

UNICEF promotes the worldwide use of immunization and vitamin A supplementation as effective means of achieving international goals: one-third reduction of the under-five mortality rates by 2010 and the Millennium Development Goal of two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality by 2015.

I am a strong supporter of vaccines and immunizations. I believe that we must do everything we can to keep children safe and healthy. I know that there are questions about whether or not immunizations cause a range of physical and mental complications.

It is sad that there are so many children that die every year in third world countries due to no funding and no means of getting the vaccines or the people to administer them to the children.

I am posting below my resources and extra resources for anyone that would like more information.

Resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009).  Vaccines and Immunizations. Retrieved
            from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/howvpd.htm

http://www.unicef.org/immunization/index_bigpicture.html

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00053391.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10376617?dopt=Abstract

http://www.vaccinesuncensored.org/third.php

Childbirth In My Life and In China

At the age of 17 and in the first weeks of my senior year in high school, I found out that I was pregnant. Boy, was I scared to death!!! I had no idea what to expect and didn't know what to do. My pregnancy was a difficult one with being in and out of the hospital, from being dehydrated to preterm labor. At 30 weeks I started spotting and leaking fluid. I had to go on complete bed rest  only being able to go to the bathroom. I asked to go to my senior prom but at 34 weeks the baby's lungs were not ready. At 37 weeks I was allowed to attend my graduation, where afterwards I began having contractions and when we got to the hospital I was told that we would have a baby by morning. After a couple of hours the contractions just stop!!! I was told it was because of the medication they had me taking before to keep me from going into labor, being off it for a few days and the excitement of graduation just started the contractions. I went home and it was 2 weeks later at 39 weeks my water officially broke. I felt excited and scared at the same time. I ended up getting a epidural too early and they left it on too long. After 18 hours of labor I was finally able to start pushing, but I couldn't feel anything from the waist down. I had a nurse on one side and my husband on the other holding my legs and watching the monitor and telling me when to push. After 5 hours of exhausting pushing I was unable to continue, they had to use forceps to pull my son out. He ended up having a dent in his forehead. He was beautiful, I worried throughout my pregnancy what was I gonna do with a baby....it was so natural when I saw him I just knew what to do. I miscarried 2 years later and 3 years later I had another beautiful baby boy. 


I chose China to research about childbirth. Chinese culture traditionally has preferred males to females. Male children are preferred because they continue ancestral rites that care
for the soul after death (Myers, 1997). Males also have the responsibility to care for elderly parents. Because daughters tend to leave home to join the husband’s family, elderly people are concerned about who will care for them if they do not have a son. Extended female family members help the new mother during the birthing period. Traditionally, women from the extended family attend the birth rather than the husband. Childbirth is seen as “women’s business,” and most health care providers are female. Zuo yue zi (“doing the month”) is a unique aspect of Chinese childbearing. A Chinese woman will typically stay indoors for 1 month after giving birth (considered a vulnerable period) to allow her body to recover, regain balance, and avoid present and future illness. Other rituals surrounding zuo yue zi include washing the mother’s and family’s clothes separately, avoiding sexual relations, and limiting movement so the mother can rest as much as possible. A postpartum woman should also avoid drafts, stemming from the belief that any wind or cold can enter the body and cause future disease, like arthritis. Clothing must cover the entire body. A woman should not shower, brush her teeth, or wash her hair for a month following childbirth, although she may take a bath with ginger and red wine a week after childbirth (Hao & Moore, 2000).

References:



Hao, G. L., & Moore, J. F. (2000). Perinatal care: Cultural and technical differences between China and the United States. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 11(1), 47-54

Myers, J. H. (1997). Birth-planning policy in rural China: The cultural imbalance between innovation and tradition. Journal of International and Area Studies, 7, 22-31