Week 4: ECE Quotes

Excerpts from writings of each of the two people I identified for my Discussion assignment this week:

"Most primary school teachers would probably agree that they don't expect kindergartners to enter first grade with a complete mastery of spelling and addition. After all, it is in the early elementary grades when children learn these academic competencies. However, teachers of entering school-agers do hope that the children who come into their classrooms can concentrate, pay attention, and be considerate of others. These areas are developed not by using flashcards or computer programs, but through interacting with peers during play." -Dr. Elena Bodrova & Dr. Deborah J. Leong in Why Children Need to Play (Scholastic Early Childhood Today, Sept. 20, 2005; 20, 1; Proquest Central pg. 6

"Research comparing half-day and full-day kindergarten strongly suggests children benefit more from a full-day kindergarten. Full-day kindergartners are more prepared for school: they do better with the transition to first grade, show significant gains in school socialization, and are equipped with stronger learning skills. These children have enhanced social, emotional, and behavior development, and equally important, reduced retention and remediation rates."-Marian Wright Edelman in Child Watch Column on October 14, 2011 (Retrieved from: www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/child-watch-columns/child-watch-documents/full-day-kindergarten-missing-half-step.html)

Quotes about passion, motivation, and wisdom from the professionals in the media segment I watched during Week 2 of the course:

Leticia Lara LCSW, the Regional manager of Outreach and Professional Development ZERO TO THREE stated “When I think of the word “passion” and the meaning to the word “passion”, what comes to mind are: What are my values? What are my beliefs? What are the ideas that lead me to action? What do I do so naturally that perhaps seems natural to me but may be challenging to others? What’s in my heart? I also want to say that my passion has been evolving through the years. It’s an ongoing process. It’s like a ripple. You throw a little rock and you have sort of the center- but it grows” (The Passion for Early Childhood)

Sandy Escobido, the Deputy Field Director for the Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative CA Community Foundation said “We as professionals in the early childhood field have an opportunity to shape a child’s life for the better...”

Note: Add additional quotes and excerpts you find inspiring to this section of your blog as you proceed through this course and your program of study.

Week 3: My Childhood Web- Happy Memories

I am so grateful to say that I had the best childhood! I think back and have nothing but happy memories! I had so many people who cared, nurtured and loved me. I have one older brother and 2 younger sisters, so we always had a great time together!

My mom, brother and I making silly faces!

My Mom

My mom was a stay-at-home mom and I loved it growing up because I have so many memories with her! She babysat for a few other kids too, so we grew up with great social interaction as young kids. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, but I remember one week, she had themed dinners for us to try. My favorite was the Hawaiian themed dinner because she had the kitchen set up all with "palm trees', got us grass skirts and leis to wear and I remember being so excited for dinner that night- We waited for dad to get home to eat.

My sisters and I waiting for dad to get home!

Another favorite memory with mom is when she used to grow her own vegetable garden and grapes on a grapevine. I remember the smell of the kitchen when she was jarring her home-made jelly from the grapes and spaghetti sauce from the tomatoes in the garden! I beg her still to this day, to start doing that again! (She says she will when she retires since it's a lot of work- so I'm holding her to it! hehe) Mom is quite the seamstress too! She made all our Halloween costumes growing up and even made some Christmas dresses when we were young! The fact that she took the time to make things (so time consuming) for her family, showed us how much she cared for and loved us.

Mom's seamstress skills =)

My mom is always there for me, supports me in everything I do, shows me by example what it means to love and care for others. She always practices what she preaches and I look up to her so much. I hope that one day I can give my own (future) children all that she has given me. No more and no less. She gave me the right amount of love, the right amount of fun, and the right amount of "tough love." She did it right.

Kisses for my momma!

My Dad

My dad is equally as amazing. He is a hard worker, family man, hilarious and the best dad in the world. (Some could say I'm a daddy's girl!) One of my favorite memories with dad is from the first day I moved home after graduating college, and I was crying in my room because I was scared of all the changes in my life that was to come. He knocked on the door to check on me, and ordered me to open up. He sat down with me and talked to me about how everything I was feeling was normal and just comforted me. That was the first day I truly understood what an amazing man I had for a father. He worked so hard (and still does) to support his family. He will do anything in his power to make me smile when I'm not in a good mood. He calls to check in on me when we haven't talked in awhile. He shows me how to fix things around the house when needed. He gives me financial advice (often! haha) and gives the best hugs. I used to love when dad would come home from work and play with us. He made the living room into a tent one night and told us "scary" stories with a flashlight.

Goofing off with dad in the backyard!

We didn't go on too many vacations growing up, but I will always remember going to Disney World and Niagara Falls- I was so amazed at how beautiful the waterfalls were there! Mom and Dad tried to teach us how to cherish the memories we had together. I'd say they did that pretty successfully. Our family is so close and we enjoy spending our times together!

My parents raised two teachers, a social worker, and an amazing stay at home mommy- who aspires to be a worship minister when the timing is right! They inspired us to make a difference in this world and I am so proud to call them my parents.

A picture I made of my parents =)

Grandma and Grandpa

Some more important people in my life are my paternal Grandma & Grandpa. Grandma made it very clear that my siblings and I were her life. They would have us spend weekends with them and a week long in the summer. We LOVED to sneak into the house when we arrived and run up to Grandma and Grandpa and you could just see how excited they were to have us there! I always knew how much they loved us! Grandma used to set up the patio table and we'd have a "tea party".  Grandpa would be the butler and we'd giggle every time we heard called him that. We used to play card and board games a lot, and when we'd play SORRY, Grandma would ALWAYS lose, so we'd giggle and say "SORRY!!!" They came to EVERY Christmas since I was born. Grandma passed away when I was 17. That was one of the hardest times of my life. I still cry when I think about how much I miss her (11 years later)! At her funeral, my brother, sisters and I were standing at the front doors of the church and as everyone was leaving, they stopped and told us how much she loved us, was proud of us and we were her WORLD- needless to say, we could have flood the church with our tears! I'm tearing up, just thinking about it! When she was alive, we would write letters to each other often (through snail mail) and we'd always end it with "I love you INFINITY!" Grandpa lives with my parents now and I get to see him often! His eyes light up every time I walk into the house! I love going home and spending time with him and my family after a long week of working! Grandpa cracks me up with his quick-wit! I'm starting to realize where my dad gets it from! My favorite memory with Grandpa is when we would sit at the dinner table and he would tap his fingers on the table like a spider. Then he'd crawl them over to my arm and tickle me! Then my sisters and I would make him "wiggle his ears" and it would just fascinate us! Oh, and who could forget the packs of spearmint gum he had. He's go into his bedroom closet, pull out a pack, and give us each a piece to chew! It was a real treat! So now every time I smell or chew spearmint gum, I will always be reminded of my Grandpa. I love him so much!

My Grandpa =) He's grown a beard since this picture!

Mama and Grandpappy

My maternal grandparents are equally as amazing! My mama (pronounced: "mum-mul") and grandpap have 11 children!!! (My mom being the 2nd oldest.) So I had a large family on my mom's side... I always loved going to visit because there were ALWAYS kids around! Mama has the best home-cooking, and I STILL get excited when we get to visit and have some her of home-made meals! I love sitting down at the dinner table and waiting for her to say "We thank the Lord" after we pray! =) When she does the dishes, she would hum these pretty little melodies and I would just sit there and listen. It's so calming to watch how she just has this inner peace and expresses it daily! Even listening to her talk, relaxes me with her soothing voice. So when people tell me that I have soothing voice or love to hear me read to my students, it makes me happy to know I have picked up a little of that from her. Grandpappy is a big goof ball! He loved giving us extra long, sloppy kisses so we'd yell "Ewww!" and wipe our faces off afterwards. hehe! I remember talking to him about his navy days and his job in photography. I was so fascinated!

Looking at family pictures with Grandma and Mama when I was a toddler.

 My family has played a huge part in my success as an educator. Growing up with over 30 cousins (being the 4th grandchild out of 32), I had plenty of experience with children. I tell my cousins often, that they are the reason I went into teaching. Thea majority of them are now in high school/college. (Makes me feel old! haha) But I am so grateful that I had such a wonderful childhood with a supportive, loving family. I will never take that for granted!

Week 2 Assignment

Me, around age 3

A co-worker and I in my classroom a few weeks ago! (I am on the right.)

My Favorite Quote(s):

Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning.

"To laugh often, to win the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 My Favorite Children's Book:

I read this book to my kindergarteners and they have it memorized by the end of the year. They love every time I bring it out and read along with me.  It is a great story they can sing along to, about Pete the Cat in his new white shoes. He steps into piles of strawberries, blueberries and more, but he never cries. He keeps walking along, singing his song, "because it's all good!" I love the moral of the story and how it encouraged kids not to get upset when things don't go as planned.

Here's a live story telling of it by the author:

A Story about a Child that Touched My Heart:

When my niece was born in Sept. 2011, she had some complications. My sister had a great pregnancy, no major problems, but after she delivered, her sweet baby girl had trouble breathing. So they whisked Sonorah away to the NICU and left our family crying and worried about what was going on. A few hours later they came back to tell us they were monitoring her because of her breathing complications. Sonorah ended up staying in the NICU for a week after her birth. It was heart wrenching!
After a day or two, they finally started letting 2 visitors at a time come in to visit with Soso for a while. We couldn't touch her, but we could stand there and admire what a beautiful little person she was. There were lots of tears shed the first time I met my niece. Seeing her hooked up to all the monitors and breathing devices was so upsetting. One memory I will never forget is going to visit her with her new daddy. She had never opened her eyes since they whisked her away from her momma to the NICU. Her poppa started talking to her and she opened her eyes and was trying to look at him. I started bawling like a baby. He got it on film and everything. It was the sweetest moment I have ever seen. At that moment, I never knew how much you could love someone, as much as I did her. (Makes me excited to have my own children someday!) Here is the video:

Sadly,  I had used up all my personal days to spend time with my family 3 days after Soso was born, and was so discouraged when I had to return back to school, without holding my new niece. (Anyone who knew me, knew how excited I was to be an aunt... so it was a devastating experience leaving her in that hospital for our whole family (especially her new momma and poppa!)
The next weekend I raced home, knowing I could finally hold my newborn niece. The moment my sister put that baby into my arms, my heart melted into goo. No one could ever take that memory away from me. She was so perfect and reminded me so much of her mom when she was a baby herself.

The first time I got to hold Sonorah

My life has never been the same since that baby was brought into our family. She has been a huge inspiration in my life. When it comes to teaching, I try to treat every child as if they were my niece/nephew so they can get the best education possible. (B/c I know that is what their own parents would want!)
Sonorah's presence in this world is my biggest influence in life. She brings so much joy to our family and I can not imagine life without her. <3

Child's Drawing:

As a Kindergarten teacher, I get numerous drawings throughout the year from my students- but this is one I just adore....

 This is a drawing that was given to me by one of my kindergarteners from last year.
I love this drawing for many reasons...

1. She drew me smiling. So she sees me as a positive/happy influence in her life!

2. She wrote "You get pink!" which is part of our classroom behavior plan. I reward children who are making good choices by moving their clothespin UP on a chart and when they get their clothespin to pink, they get a sticker at the end of the day!  So needless to say.... she LOVED getting on pink.

3.  All the hearts show me that she really loves her teacher. =)

4. On the back she wrote: "I really miss you so bad. And you are cute and precious." (She drew this over a weekend. haha! This is one of those drawings that makes me realize I am in the right profession. When children want to bring me drawings to hang up... it shows that they value my opinion and KNOW that I care about them enough to display their beautiful creativity! =)

Funny kid stories that fuel my passion for working in the Early Childhood field:

1. (Quick note: I have a recess horn that I take out on the playground and use to let the kids know when it is time to line up. It's a plastic horn from the dollar tree.) As my kindergartners are lined up to go outside a week ago, I was tapping the recess horn on my leg while waiting for one of my girls to line up. Then one of my boys say "Nice rhythm Ms. G!"(I love it when kids have a good vocabulary! So cute!)

 

2. Each week I teach my kindergarteners 2 new high frequency words. We chant the spelling of the word, we cheer it, and we use them in sentences. When I was teaching them the word "so"... one of my sweet and hilarious girls' raises her hand. I call on her to use "so" in a sentence. She replies with "Ms. G is soooooooo fashion!" (as in fashionable.) Please keep in mind that I am in NO WAY fashionable. And as she used the word "fashion", she flipped her her hand like "valley girl". It was priceless!

3.  That same little girl was playing with a new friend during recess at the beginning of the school year. I was listening to her conversation as she played and overheard her say "I am too hot to handle, because I'm a rockstar..."

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