Sharing Web Resources

First off, I want to apologize for my late posting this evening! I usually try to get my work done in the morning, but found out yesterday afternoon that my Grandpappy passed away so I've had a hard time concentrating on my school work. But I finally got some motivation to finish it tonight, so here we go! 

While searching through the Pre-K website, I found an article that was relevant to looking through an economists eyes at the benefits of early childhood education. According to Albert Wat (2007), the Pre-K now’s research on several high-quality pre-k programs (for children ages 3 to 4) have confirmed that children who attend high-quality pre-k are more likely to graduate from high school and acquire secondary education. Pre-K now’s research also validates that a more educated workforce increases a nation’s productivity. Pre-K Now’s research concentrated on early childhood education’s impact on the nation’s macroeconomic growth and provides reasoning for growth in investing in nationwide Pre-K programs.  Through studying the research done by Pre-K Now and really focusing on how economists view the importance and value of Pre-K programs, I just wonder what it will take for our society and government to take action and make it available for ALL children. Also in the article by Wat (2007) he mapped out the lifetime benefits of Pre-K.

Some examples are:

Education Impacts

• Lower special education
• Lower grade retention
• Increased high school completion
• Increased test scores

Social & Emotional Impacts

• Fewer behavioral problems
• More self control
• Improved peer relationships

Economy Impacts

• Increased Earnings & Tax Revenues
• Decreased Reliance on Social Services/Welfare
• Decreased Criminal Activity

Child Well Being

• Less child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment 

Improved Health Behaviors

• Less Reliance on Health Services
• Better Health Outcomes

More Skilled Workforce

• Increased Productivity
• Higher employment
• Higher earnings

A new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I have gained from exploring the Pre-K website is that with the ongoing research and studies being done in our field, other professionals in varying fields are starting to see the importance and value of what we do. It makes me feel proud to be part of something that even thought we don’t get the recognition and appreciation we deserve, that I know I am doing something important and making a different for every child that walks into my classroom door.

References:

Wat, A. (2007). Dollars and Sense: A Review of Economic Analyses of Pre-K. Pre-K Now.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

Delfena Mitchell 

Delfena Mitchell is Director of the Liberty Children’s Home, on the outskirts of Belize City. This program opened in the summer of 2005 and is licensed to house up to 40 children, predominantly between birth to 5 years of age. However, older children who have younger siblings in care are and will always be accommodated. All of the children at the care center have been abandoned, abused or orphaned and many have disabilities, special needs.

From the podcast I learned that the Liberty Children's home is located in Central America. Belize City, unfortunately has the number 1 incidents of child abuse in the Caribbean. There are 42 children in Liberty Children’s Home. Children come to the Home because they have been physically or sexually abused, neglected or abandoned. When the children arrive, they are really broken down and need time to heal. So the workers there will give the children time to transition and get them back into school. They get to the know the child and let them open up when the are ready.

She gave an example of one young boy who came to them at 9 years old with 6 other brothers and sisters. He had not spoken in over a year because he came from a home where he was physically abused and observed his sister suffering the same. They started off homeschooling him because he wasn't ready to be in a normal classroom. When they did enroll him in school, he was kicked out in the first week. She took him horseback riding, and in that 30 minutes he began to talk about his abuse from his grandmother and how she would beat him with a stick and he'd take his food under his bed to eat so no one would take it away. Delfana had trouble understanding him at times because he had regressed in language development because of the abuse he suffered. He began to say a couple words as the weeks went on. They would give him informal sessions of school for a few hours a day and let him spend most of his time in the gardens because he loved it. With the combination of his meds and going back to school, he began to change and talk more as the weeks went on.

I have not heard back from Delfena yet, so I read information on childhood poverty and here are my 3 New Insights Regarding Poverty from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php

1. There is a crisis of childhood poverty is heartwrenching. An estimated 1 in 4 children (that's over 600 million kids) worldwide are living in poverty. In many countries there are over 60% of children whose family are living in poverty.
2. One of the effects of poverty is that over 10 million children under 5 years of age are dying from diseases that can be prevented. I believe that children, especially in developing countries that are bearing these effects, should have more advocates because these children are bearing both the physical and emotional costs of poverty such as death, malnutrition, poor health, life-long learning difficulties and lost opportunities.
3. Poverty tends to be passed on to children from their parents. This is why I love my job teaching in a Title 1 school. At my school 90% of our students are on free/reduced lunch (living below the poverty line) and 220 children out of about 500 benefit from our FUEL program. (FUEL program is through Kroger stores.... people buy FUEL bags of snacks for our students in the program to take home every Friday for days they can not benefit from food at school. I believe teaching my kindergarteners and giving them a good start to their education is the first step in tackling childhood poverty. To give them the necessary tools (to read, write, and do math) they will need to become whatever they dream to be.

Sharing Web Resources

Pre-K Now believes that the success of public education begins in Pre-K.  In 2001, they began a campaign to encourage more states to invest in high-quality Pre-K programs. In 10 years, the amount of state investment has increased over 50%. The Pre-K Now campaign ended in 2011, but left with a challenge for all policy makers to move away from our current K-12 public school system to a Pre-K-12 one. 

Here is a short video giving an overview of their campaign...

 

 There are two current issues in the field that I am facing in my own career that has been unintentionally left out of our course due to the time constraints. As a kindergarten teacher, I am implementing the new Common Core standards this year. These standards have changed the expectations for what children must know when entering and "graduating" kindergarten. This means, that the early learning standards must change to align with our new common core standards. I also believe with the amount of knowledge my students must know before leaving, they would be more successful if they had exposure to letters, numbers, reading, cooperating with others, following directions, and listening to a teacher in a pre-k class. This is why I chose the Pre-K now campaign because I am a huge advocate for their focus and goals.

Looking at a graphic of data that shows the increase of investments in Pre-K by state, I was disappointed in Tennessee's growth (my home state). Click HERE to see the visual and see how your home state has grown. I was happy to see that they more than doubled their investments, but I don't feel that it's where it needs to be. For example, in my school district, ONLY qualifying families (low-income) may enter the public school pre-k system. It is my belief that EVERY child should be given the opportunity for public school pre-k. Our pre-k teacher at my school is WONDERFUL and prepares her students for kindergarten. Every year they are my highest students and are reading. Imagine how far I could take my students if they ALL came prepared to kindergarten! The possibilities are endless! 

Every being in my body wishes that this campaign was still alive so that I could become a Pre-K now advocate! I love everything I have read about this campaign and it is my hope that I can aid in the education to the country that Pre-K is as important as Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade when it comes to education!

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I emailed 8 different professionals off of the Global Alliance website and 5 emails were immediately sent back saying that the email addresses did not exist or they were not accepting emails for some reason. The 5th email was from Africa and I got a response today! She let me know that someone had already approached them about our assignment, and that it may be better (and more interesting for my peers and professor for our assignments) to contact a different organization. So she asked if I would like some other contacts. I emailed her back immediately to let her know I would LOVE some recommendations of Early Childhood professionals to contact. I am looking forward to her response! As for the other contacts, I have yet to hear back from them.

If I do not hear back from any of the contacts and continue to have no luck in contacting early childhood professionals (I'm not giving up yet!) I believe I may need to choose the alternate assignment for Part 1.

 I chose to follow the Pre-K Now website and I signed up for their newsletters as well. As a kindergarten teacher in a high-poverty area (and as a pre-K teacher at heart), I truly believe the Pre-K should be required before a child enters kindergarten. So when I read Pre-K Now's overview, knew I would be interested! The Pre-K Now website states:
"Through its successes, Pre-K Now changed the national conversation about pre-k education, and in its final report, challenged the nation’s policy makers to transform public education by moving away from the current K-12 system to pre-K-12."

 I look forward to browsing the website throughout this course and reading up on how the organization is working on their goal of requiring Pre-K for all students.

My Supports

Factors within my daily environment that are supportive to me:

Emotional support from loved ones

• My close friends and family have made such a huge impact in my life. I can go to them when I'm happy and want to share with them exciting or happy news. I can count on them when I am feeling sad or upset about something that happened at work or in my personal life. I can even just vent to them when I am having a bad day. They help keep me sane and give me advice when needed. They also help snap me back into a positive frame of mind when I'm not looking at the positive side of things. 
• My co-workers are also some of my best friends for this very reason. Like I have stated before in previous posts, I try to surround myself with positive, happy people so that I can remain that way myself. And I appreciate having people in my life that can help me keep that goal and stay focused on it, and hold me accountable as well.
• My faith: I can't even think of my life without thinking about my faith in God. I was brought up in a church that was welcoming to all and supportive of everyone in every walk of life. I have learned to pray and take time each day to talk to God and tell him my struggles. This is my greatest support!

Practical support

• Grocery lists: help me find things quickly at the store so I'm not wasting time trying to remember things I need. Also helps me so I don't forget anything and have to go back later. Without my grocery list, I will end up spending more time than needed at the store, buying things I don't need or forgetting something.  
• Monetary support I am able to buy my groceries, pay my bills, and enjoy some fun every now and then when a budget allows me to do so. If I didn't have this support, I would be living on the street. 
• Help around the house: Living alone has it's benefits (no arguments, no cleaning up other people's messes, doing whatever I want) but it's not always as easy as it sounds. There are some days I come home exhausted OR days when I'm sick and feel miserable. But the sink is full of dishes, I have no clothes to wear, the trash needs taken out, the house needs cleaned, the yard needs mowed, the flower beds need maintained, etc. These day to day tasks can become a huge burden when your health is down. A little over a year ago, I had a ruptured disc in my spine and was in extreme pain anytime I was not laying down flat on my back. So doing anything as little as my laundry to something like mowing the lawn was extremely painful. It was a huge struggle at that time in my life to live alone. But now that I have had surgery and am healed- I feel stronger than ever because I was able to do that all myself. I have a good friend who is a single mom and I tell her every day I don't know how she does it. She is an amazing mother to her 4 year old and I have respect for parents in general- but man... thinking about the ones who do it all on their own- I am simply amazed! (quick side note: I hope this doesn't sound like I was whining about being single... I love my life- it just makes it hard when I could use the help and there is none around) After living alone for 3 and half years, I've been much more helpful to my parents when I go home to visit b/c I now understand how hard it can be to maintain a happy home!
• My cell phone: I use to to keep in touch with my family and friends, as an alarm clock, a food tracker when I'm motivated to watch what I eat, check the weather, take pictures, listen to music, and so much more. Ever since I got my first iphone (just a few months ago- haha) I can't imagine my life without it now! On my old flip phone I could only use it as an alarm clock. It didn't take good pictures and it couldn't hold any music. 
• My laptop (with internet): I use it to do my lesson plans for work, create centers and classroom management tools to print off, online shopping, check my email, facebook, and of course, complete my masters program! I would be bored to tears and feel disconnected from the world if I didnt' have internet/my laptop! =) I can also use it to educate myself when it come to feeling ill, finding a good recipe or creating something fun through pinterest!
• My glasses: I am blind as a bad without them! Contacts make my eyes dry out, red, and hurt! So i wear glasses most of the time. They help me drive, read, recognize people's faces and see things farther than 2 feet from my face! I wouldn't be able to do much without them. 
• My car: It gets me to and from work, takes me to visit my family who lives over an hour away, to the grocery store, to visit with friends near and far. If I didn't have my car- I would have to take the bus/walk/ride a bike and that would be so inconvenient. I love being able to have the freedom and leave when I need to. Otherwise I'd be living for bus schedules and taking into consideration of how much longer it would be to ride a bike, rather than drive. (But I'd be in GREAT shape!)

Physical support 

• This may or may not be a good example- but thinking about my rupture disc- I will never, ever take for granted my health and being able to walk without pain- that was such a painful experience that I hope to NEVER re-live again. I have been working hard to lift with my knees if necessary and to never bend over like I used to. My friends and family will NOT let me lift anything heavy anymore because they saw how much pain that it had caused me in the past. So to have assistance in completely a physical task such as lifting, is crucial in my life. Otherwise, rupturing another disc in my spine is highly possible. (I fear it every day!)

 Supports I would need if I was ESL/ELL:

• We have an ESL/ELL program in the school I work at and it amazed me every day at what these students can accomplish. I try to imagine if I were to be fully immersed in a school that spoke a completely different language from my own and it would be terrifying to me. I would need much support, as do the children in the ESL/ELL program.

Emotional support

• I would need friends who spoke my home language as well as my family support. If I were to live in a country that I didn't not speak their native language- I would feel homesick. So to have my family would give me a sense of home. Friends also contribute to the feeling of home. When I am able to speak in my home language freely- I am comfortable and feel at peace. If I am forced to speak in another language that I am not familiar in- I become anxious and intimidated.

Practical support

• ELL/ESL services would also be helpful. To have someone to help teach me the new language would be beneficial to me because if I truly didn't understand something in that language- the teacher could assist me in understanding. If I didn't have these services, I feel I could fall behind in whatever I was trying to learn because I wouldn't have the support to help me learn the new native language.

Physical support

• I can't really think of anything physically I would need in this case. Unless maybe I was learning how to do something I would need that person to physically model it for me if they didn't not speak my language.

My Connections to Play

Quotes that I feel summarize what play represented for me in childhood:

In our play we reveal what kind of people we are. -Ovid (Roman poet)

"The Rules {For Toddlers}: Be cute. Stand on the table. Play with your food. Splash in the tub.  Climb on everything. Eat the playdough. Jump on the bed. Give hugs. Splash in puddles. Dump out all the toys. Scream at the top of your lungs. Everything is mine. Giggle til your belly hurts."

"How to really love a child. Be there. Say YES as often as you can. Let them bang on pots and pans. If they're crabby, put them in water. Read books out loud with joy. Go find elephants and kiss them. Encourage silly. Giggle alot. Remember how really small they are. Search out the positive. Keep the gleam in your eye. Go see a movie in your pajamas. Teach feelings. Realize how important it is to be a child. Plan to build a rocketship. Stop yelling. Invent pleasures together. Surprise them. Express your love. A lot. Children are miraculous. " - Sark

{click on the picture above to go to the source where I downloaded it from}

Essential play items for my younger self:

This was my absolute favorite thing to play with as child!!! I loved this doll house!!! I wish I still had it! hehe

My sisters and I LOVED collecting all the girl kids meal toys form McDonald's....

I remember playing with these a lot too!

How people supported play when I was younger:
Growing up with 2 younger sisters and an older brother, made for some fun in my childhood. We always had a playmate or someone to blame "They did it!!!" on. My mom had a whole room in the house dedicated to our "toy room". This wonderful room had all our stuffed animals, toys, kitchen set, dress up clothes, and games in it. We were encouraged to use our imaginations as I have many fond memories of playing the following with my sisters and brother: house, school, office (we'd set up our bedrooms as offices and pretend we were working), pool (we'd set up a snack stand outside, blow up an inflatable pool and pretend to pay for snacks)... Mom set up plastic on the ground and put a hose on it for a slip n' slide, and I remember taking the hose back to the swingset and letting it run down our slide to pretend it was a water slide. Dad set up blankets to make a tent in the living room and we'd turn out all the lights and pretend we were camping and tell ghost stories. Dad also would play with us outside after he came home from work and teach us how to play any sports we desired (basketball, softball, soccer... the list could go on). My parents gave us every opportunity to explore our world and find out what we enjoy doing.

My grandma would let us wear her fancy hats, heels and dresses, set up a table on the screened porch and we'd play tea party. Grandpa would be the butler and serve us our tea and crumpets. She also, had several dolls and barbies, as well as arts and crafts and games for us to play. She loved spending time with us and encouraging our imaginations. I still cry when I think about how much I miss having her in my life, 11 years later. (She passed away when I was a junior in high school- Oct. 1, 2001).

I also remember taking side walk chalk, drawing "roads" on the driveway and riding my bike around, like it was my car. One of my favorite things to do as a child was go to the library. The library where I grew up looked like a huge castle. And in the basement, was the children's section. On the walls, they had painted trees and other murals to make it look like and outdoor park. They even had a little reading nook with comfy chairs for us to sit and read. I used to get so excited to go and pick out books and take them home to read for fun.

How I feel play today is similar or different from the play in which I engaged as a child and what I hope for young is now with regard to play.

As a child, learning never felt like a "chore." It was enjoyable! With technology advancing with the video games, ipods, iphones, ipads, nintendo DS, and more... I feel like kids are using their imaginations less, not getting enough social time and spending too much time with their faces glued to a screen. When I was little, we only played video games and watched TV when it was a rainy day and we couldn't go outside. We were ALWAYS playing... and didn't spend too much time indoors. I also get frustrated when I see people together, with their faces glued to their iphones texting or playing a game. I hate this because I believe you should be focusing on the people you are WITH and spending time with them. This is where I see the social skills lacking. If children are spending too much time with technology and less time with actual people- how will that affect their social skills?

It is my hope that parents will provide experiences for their children, like my own parents did. I hope that they also are keeping in mind the amount of time their children are spending using the imaginations vs. with technology.

My thoughts regarding the role of play throughout my life:
Looking back at my childhood, I remember role playing a lot. Whether it be with my siblings, with dolls in the doll house or my favorite stuffed animals- I was always pretending and using my imagination. I feel that my experiences as a young child helped develop the curiousity and love of learning in me. (Hence, why I became a teacher!) I'm also told that I am "so creative" by many- including my school's administrators! I love thinking of new ways and researching how to improve my teaching and ways to assess my students. I also believe that play has had a huge role in the way I can cooperate/ work a team player. I'm currently job searching closer to my family and after reading my administrators' and academic coach's letter of recommendations, they all noted that I am a "team player." Growing up with 3 siblings, I had to learn how to share, work together to complete a common goal and take turns. I feel that is one of my strengths as an older sibling due to my childhood experiences.

Relationship Reflection

The people who are most special to me in my life are my close family and friends. They help build me up when I feel down. They give me a shoulder to cry on. They give me a hug when I need it most. They make me laugh, they bring me joy and they give me hope, when I've lost all of what I had. I try to surround myself with positive people who bring out the best in me.

My mom and dad

My parents the most influential people in my life. They have taught me so many things throughout my life, it's hard to pin point them all. But here are just a few: 

• It's okay to put on green footy pajamas and hop around like a frog to entertain your kids, even if you are a grown man.
• You're never too old for a bear hug from dad or cuddling up with mom when you had a bad day.
• You can do anything you dream to if you put the work in and your mind to it.
• "You is smart. You is kind. You is important." (That one's for my momma!)
• Don't let anyone ever make you feel inferior. (That one's for my pops!)
• For a kid, the most memorable moments are the ones where you are active in them: making tents in the living room, turn out the lights and get out the flashlights and tell ghost stories; Hawaiian family themed dinners- hula skirts and all!; Reading chapter books and books on record, before bed- every night)

These are just a FEW of the many things I have learned throughout the years from my parents.  Growing up, I have always adored them and never wanted to disappoint them. I never went through my rebellious phase because I always wanted to make them proud. (I did, however, go through my teenage phase- had my moment of defiance and laziness!) But the one thing throughout my childhood into adulthood that never changes, was their unfailing love for me. Never once, did I feel that my parents didn't believe in me or care about my best interest. They taught me how to be patient, caring and instilled in me a love of working with children.

My sisters

Wow! Where do I begin? I was only 11 months old with Erica was born (middle), then Stephany (right) came into the world 20 months later. We have been through thick and think together! If any of my relationships could be considered a partnership- it would be with them! You could consider us partners in crime! Growing up as kids, we were always getting into some sort of trouble and blaming it on each other. However, those are not the memories I hold.... my memories with my sisters consist of playing barbies and bumper cars in the basement, playing school and making our rooms into little offices as we pretended to be adults. Then there were our heart to heart talks in middle school and high school- bringing each other up through the heartbreaks, sticking up for one another when someone tried to bully one of us, and having bonfires together with all of our friends. Throughout college we drifted apart, but now that we are all college graduates, Erica (a stay at home mommy),  Stephany (a social worker) and I (a teacher) have grown closer again. I love talking with them and getting their perspective on things. I love laughing and joking with them (we do that often!) and hanging out with mom and Sonorah (my 15 month old niece) while enjoying a girls' day!
Our relationship has been through hardships and it's seen the best of times. I will always treasure my relationships with my sisters because they are two of my best friends! I had so much fun growing up with them. Through our relationship, I have learned how to share, cooperate and have fun with others! I think they are a huge part in what makes me a good kindergarten teacher!

My best friend since kindergarten

I can't even remember the first time I met Andrea because we were so young. We grew up together since kindergarten and would become best friends, off and on- any year we were in the same class, but truly became best friends (FOR GOOD) in 7th grade. Our amazing friendship didn't last long because the next year (in 8th grade) my family moved 2 states away (6 hour drive) and it was devastating. I thought I would never see my friends again. Little did i know, what an amazing friend I had because she would drive out to visit me and let me come visit her whenever we had the opportunity! I'm so blessed to say that we have been best friends through it all and continue to be, with the distance between us. We have both moved about 3 or 4 times since middle school and have never been closer than a 4 hour drive. But the distance doesn't separate how much we care about each other because the short time periods we do get to see one another- it's like we never are apart. We are both teachers, love our jobs and love to talk about it. I'm pretty sure her husband hates when I call because that's all we talk about! She inspired me to work harder in college and still does to this day. She just recently passed her National Boards! She amazes me with her motivation and passion, and it is so inspiring! She definitely has a huge impact on my role as an early childhood educator.

My kindergarten team (+ Hannah) (minus Candy) - We went on vacation together for our fall break and still loved each other afterwards!!! It was such a wonderful time!

My Kindergarten team at work are some of my best friends. They keep me motivated and inspired to keep working hard for my students. We share everything with each other and love working together. I can't list one thing as to how they DO NOT impact my work as an early childhood educator. They lift my spirits when I feel down, they make me laugh when I'm stressed, they help me out when I am sick, they challenge me, they motivate me, they inspire me to be a better teacher and are truly some of my closest friends. We've seen each other celebrate accomplishments, cry in frustration and all the in between! We were joking the other day about how we all have our bad days, our "time of the month" and we always end up still loving each other no matter what. We feel like a true family and that is so rare in the work place! I'm truly blessed to work with such a wonderful group of women!

There are so many more relationships in my life that I value- my grandparents, my brother, my neice, my cousins, aunts and uncles, and of course all the rest of my friends. Like I said before, I try to sorround myself with people who inspire me to be a better person and bring out the best in me. Relationships aren't always easy, but  I have learned that they are always worth the work!