Thank you!

Children are one third of our population and all of our future.  

~Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981

Children are unpredictable.  You never know what inconsistency they're going to catch you in next.  ~Franklin P. Jones

Boy, n.:  a noise with dirt on it.  ~Not Your Average Dictionary

Thank you to all my colleagues and Dr. Ferrari for your support and guidance throughout the past semester. I have so enjoyed discovering new topic areas in early childhood development and studies. I appreciate you sharing your comments and experiences that I will be able to take with me to enhance my knowledge and abilities in the field. Hope you all enjoyed your holiday!

Best of Luck to everyone! 

Holistic Development of Children

As part of the holistic study of children, it’s important to observe all applicable areas of development for each individual child. I think that physical, language, intellectual, social and emotional developments are some of the many important factors that should be considered in holistic study of children.

Biosocial development involves the physical growth of the body and the brain. As the brain matures, in both normal and abnormal patterns, the ability for the child to use their body and skills as a result will show differently. Physical intelligence, as summarized by Niranjan, is “wise nutrition and exercise, proper rest and relaxation, and stress management” (2007). If one of these areas becomes skewed, it’s becomes difficult for a child to maintain balance in other areas, especially when it calls for a mental grasp.

Cognitive growth can encompass a variety of measurements, from academic knowledge, emotional regulation, self awareness, discipline, learning by teaching and doing (Niranjan, 2007). Using standardized testing to plot a child’s mental capacity is important, but only to a point. Childhood mentality is composed of and affected by so many different experiences and sources. From an educational standpoint, testing for academic ability often includes language arts, mathematics, reasoning, etc.

Emotional development also plays a large role in mental ability, made up of self awareness, personal motivation, self regulation, empathy, and social skills (Niranjan, 2007). A quote by Daniel Goleman states the impact of emotion well: “If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far” (Niranjan, 2007).

In China, children are viewed differently in schools and centers than they are in the United States, and their strong, socialist values almost seem to take away from the study of one child versus the group. Children seldom work independently or in small groups on self-selected tasks. Instead, the emphasis is upon teacher-directed, total group instruction. All children are expected to do the same thing at the same time (Vaughan, 1993). Children in early education centers in China do not have the same opportunities to show their individuality and unique creativity in their work and skills when the group is constantly placed on the same level. Therefore, it’s difficult for educators to meet each child’s needs and plan out how to work with him/her for what they personally require. So without seeing these needs, how can these educators prepare a holistic learning environment?

Reference List

Niranjan, Ajay Singh. (2007). Holistic Child Development: To Help and Support for Holistic Development of Children. http://childdevelopment.cfsites.org/

Vaughan, JoAn. (1993). Precious Children” Early Education in China. http://www.udel.edu/bateman/acei/.

Childhood Isolation

To start, I apologize for my very late posting - I have been dealing with illness.

I decided to do some research on childhood isolation. I can't say that I experienced isolation during my childhood, but my husband has had times in his childhood where he felt lonely, whether he was really by himself or not, particularly at school. He had a difficult time making friends during his childhood years, as he was growing into himself and through an awkward stage. He got involved in sports teams after school and on the weekends, but never really had a good friend to rely on and play with.
Since he felt an extreme lack in his life, he compensated for his saddess in a few ways. One of the most powerful struggle was his cognitive need to seek approval from his peers and a need to look "cool" to his classmates or teammates. This need for approval carried with him through his schooling and, now looking back, even into high school and college, he found it difficult to step out this emotional need. He also spent a lot of time crying himself to sleep to get an immediate emotional release as well as learning new instruments and releasing through music. After some time, he became very interested and busy with music and sports that his isolation actually grew so much that his daily schedule was all about him doing activities by himself.

According to studies done in the UK, there have been a few reports of children raised in isolation and studied for the effects on normal development. In the UK, courts have seen cases in which caregivers or parents have been charged with gross neglect, manslaughter, or actual bodily harm. In these cases, children are not only experiencing isolation, but also physical or emotional abuse. One of the most unbelievable facts that stood out to me was that 18 of the 24 cases dealing with gross neglect included mothers who left their child(ren) for long periods of time to work or SHOP; and those children were only 1 week of age or older. When children are left alone, without adult supervision or care, their is absolutely going to be biological, cognitive, and emotional damage happening, especially at such young ages when an immense amount of growth is occurring.

Reference List

Rogers, Sinclair (1976). Isolation in Early Childhood (ED 128073). US Department of Education. 14pp. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED128073&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED128073

Nutrition: A Public Health Measure for Child Development

I believe that nutrition and malnutrition a a vital aspect of child development and physical, cognitive, and emotional growth. As members and instructors in the early childhood field, it is our responsibility for educators and caregivers to assist families in providing healthy choices for children as the growth through those early years. In an article published by the New York Times, "malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a person's body is not getting enough nutrients" and may result from inadequate or unbalanced diet, improper digestion, or medical conditions. One of the most significant problems of malnutrition is the lack of certain necessary vitamins that children require during growth that will impact all forms of growth, physically and mentally. Specifically, children and families dealing with poverty, natural disasters, and other problematic conditions are at risk of poor diet. Children living in third world countries take the greatest hit. Urvina states that there will be enough food for everyone worldwide, but still 500 million people were malnourished (Urvina, 1984). Councils and organizations are continuously working toward providing food aid to these countries and prevent people from starvation, but the money and energy required to spend toward this cause remains overwhelming, and many people and children suffer the diseases and effects of associated with malnutrition.
In Kenya, it is common for both adults and children to have many infestations, including hookworm, diarrhea (leading cause of death associated with malnutrition), measles, and parasitic infection. Studies have shown that 50 percent of Kenya's public school pupils are found anemic. 
Children cannot fend for themselves, nor do they have the proper knowledge of what nutrients their bodies need. As an administrator in a child care facility, I can help our families by ensuring proper nutrition for our students and campers during school and camp meal times, including nutritious choices.

(2010). Malnutrition Overview. The New York Times. Accessed 5 November 2010 at http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/malnutrition/overview.html?scp=1&sq=malnutrition%20overview&st=cse

Urvina, Sally (1984). Malnutrition in Third World Countries. Christian Century, pp 550. http://www.christiancentury.org

Birthing Experience

I do not have any children yet (although it is a goal of my husband and mine), and I have not participated in the process for another woman, so the only story I have any sort of insight on is what I've heard of my mother's experiences giving birth to me. I can't personally recall any information about the event, but among stories I've heard include my father casually dropping my mother in labor at the front doors to the hospital to go park the car, it was a natural birth, probably with an epidural, the overall process took 17 hours long, and I came out with a no hair and a head that you could shine like a bowling ball.

I think that the birthing process has a huge impact on a child's physical and mental development. One example that I heard recently in the child care facility where I work was about a mother that has three children here. During the birthing process of her oldest son, there became a strong need to get the baby out as soon as possible and the doctor chose to use clamps to pull him out. A few years later, she found out that due to the physical strain that was placed on his head and neck during birth, he now has Torticollis - a twisted neck in which the head is tipped to one side, while the chin is turned to the other side. While the urgency may have overwhelmed the situation, I think this really shows how vital the birthing process, along with adequate prenatal care, can be to a growing child.

I found an article (link below) living in Bamako, the capital of Malian in West Africa. The typical age of pregnant women in this area is 15 years old. There is an extreme lack of education for these women, poverty, and poor health care and prenatal care. The statistics that accompanied a story of a young girl who died giving birth were shocking. About 1200 women become pregnant each day, 230 have complications, and 20 women die in the birthing process. There seems to be an underlying ignorant regarding the need to improve care for pregnant women in Malian. It would cost only $79 to help save a life during birth, but instead African leaders would rather pay $500 - $1000 for a girl's funeral.

There are so many differences between women who give birth in America - like my mother - and women who give birth in Africa. The biggest difference is the that Africa is still a developing country. The range of health care is so vast between the two countries that women often receive no care at all. After birth, a lot of children in African countries do not survive past only a few months old because they don't have resources for the treatment that infants require. I really feel a sense of comfort to be living in a country where women can receive necessary medical attention before and after birth; but at the same time, my heart goes out to young girls in developing countries that lack these valuable tools and are often placed under such strict ruling and minimal choice to become a mother in their teenage years. Statistics will show that the babies conceived and birthed by these women will have more stress in their youngest years and many don't have the chance to live much longer after that.

Reference:
Fighting for life in birth. (2001, May 11). BBC News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1325293.stm

Thank you!

I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Longo and all of my classmates who have enhanced in my entry into early childhood studies this semester. I am extremely grateful for the ideas, skills, and backgrounds we shared over these past weeks that I can now use to strengthen my own experiences and progression through the MSECS program.
I wish you all the best of luck in your exciting and unique journeys ahead!

Caitlin

Code of Ethics in the Educational Workplace

According to NAEYC, an ideal reflects the aspirations of practitioners in education. Their commitment to support children development, learn to live, play, and work cooperatively while respecting individual differences, NAEYC has formed ideals as codes for ethical conduct.

I-1.3—To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child. 

This ideal impacted me because it's so important to recognize the uniqueness of each child as an individuals, and to help each child to learn to recognize their own qualities and gifts as they grow and development in their education and home.

I-1.12—To work with families to provide a safe and smooth transition as children and families move from one program to the next. 

This is a concept that comes about a lot in our school and childcare center, especially in the youngest groups ranging from 6 months to 3 years. Depending on the child's abilities, they will transition up to the next class level. Making this an easy and smooth process is important for both the child and the family taking this new step together.

"The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is a public statement of principles and practice guidelines supported by the mission of DEC."

The following is a code developed by DEC:

We shall honor and respect our responsibilities to colleagues while upholding the dignity and

autonomy of colleagues and maintaining collegial interprofessional and intraprofessional

relationships. 

This ideal is essential for a group of people working together. Recently, we've been dealing with an employee who has shown passive disrespect and disregard for the guidelines set in place for all employees and has begun to create a "clique" of certain teachers. It's put a lot of strain on the workplace when staff neglects consideration for the whole and focus too much on a certain selection.

Additional Resources

This is the additional resource from Week 6 that I would recommend for those interested in child development and the educational policies that are put in place based on scientific studies surrounding this topic:
Pinto, Kristina. (2007). Growing up Young: The Relationship between Childhood Stress and Coping with Early Puberty. The Journal of Early Adolescence. 27:4, 509.

Below are a few other resources that I came across while looking through the Walden library database and the Internet. The Week 5 resources are listed at the bottom of the page as well.

The following is an article I came across on the ProQuest database. It talks about the importance for young boys to develop their language skills as toddlers to help them also develop their self-control.

Pediatrics; Building language skills more critical for boys than girls

Anonymous. NewsRx Science. Atlanta: Oct 10, 2010. pg. 47

Two books that I know our teachers have peeked through every once in a while are written by Maryln Appelbaum that I thought maybe someone else might like to check out.

Appelbaum, Maryln. (2009). How to Handle Hard-to-Handle Preschoolers. Corwin Press: Thousand Oaks.

Appelbaum, Maryln. (2006). 167 Startegies for Excellence Reach, Teach, and Motivate Difficult and Defiant Children. Appelbaum Publishing: Sugar Land.

The last resource is an website that I came across whie doing a general search for "child care support." This resource is a terrific way for families to located child care centers in their area that best fit what they're looking for in a program, using referrals for providers, licensing and registration rules, and Keystone Stars information for assistance:

http://www.philadelphiachildcare.org/

Contributors to Early Childhood Education

"The quality of the early childhood workforce is a critical factor." Dr. V. Buysse

"I found that rewarding relationships with patients was the surest antidote to stress and burnout." Dr. T. Berry Brazelton
"A family's responses to crisis or to a new situation mirror those of a child. That is to say, the way a small child deals with a new challenge (for instance, learning to walk) has certain predictable stages: regression, anxiety, mastery, new energy, growth, and feedback for future achievement. These stages can also be seen in adults coping with new life events, whether positive or negative." Dr. Brazelton

Professionals in Early Childhood Education

"The reason some kids don't succeed isn't because of their lack of intelligence, but the lack of the tools they need."

"I want to make sure all children are taught in environemtns and ways that truly nurture a child to their fullest ability."

Special People in my Life

My husband, Jeremiah, is one of the most loving people in my life. We met three years ago when I began working at the school. He and I are really very opposite personalities - he is very outgoing while I am on the quiet, shy side. He's a big guy, but I call him a 'gentle giant' because he has such a kind, caring, and considerate spirit. That is a quality in him that I truly admire. He has taught me a lot since we've known each other and never ceases to amaze me with the amount of his time and energy he gives to others. He is certainly special to me because we each bring what we have to our team, making up for what the other lacks. We also have the future a head of us to grow and experience new things, a journey that I don't want to share with anyone else.

My parents has always been special to me throughout my childhood and into adulthood. I am so lucky to have the constant love and support I have from each of my parents in two very different ways. My father has always reached out to talk when he saw my need. He always shows love unconditionally and truly prides himself in supporting his family, wife, and three children. I feel very blessed to have him today after he battled heart problems and mending surgeries a few years ago. My mom is very different from my dad. Being her only daughter and oldest child, she and I certainly had our battles. Between the two of them, she was certainly the day by day disciplinarian to us kids, but I also learned from her as she prepared me to grow up and I've gained a lot of her best qualities. Most of my perfectionist habits come from her genes, but it's my organizational skills and persistence that have driven me to get where I am today. Through my childhood they both instilled family values in me that I will someday teach my own children and now after getting married, Jeremiah and I have the opportunity to view their relationship to learn within our own.

In addition to my parents, I have also had the great pleasure of knowing my husband's parents, who have both been a new blessing to my life. Now that I am working toward learning the livelihood they've had for the past 40 years, I'm learning more about them and about myself. They are both truly admirable people for the work they have done to build such a loving environment for children. They give more of themselves in more ways than I ever thought imaginable. Families come into the office with heartbreaking stories and they reach out to help without thinking twice. They live on the school's property and have even given up parts of their own home for the betterment of the children and teachers. They have taken in children and staff, and worked to put three of their own children plus five additions through a college education. Their greatest drive the inspires me is the faith that they both holdfast to through thick and very thin. They remind us whenever we need it that the Lord is our source and everything we do should be for Him.

Although I know I could go on with lists of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, the last and probably one of the most dear in the very different way, is my only female cousin on my mother's side. Her name is Avery. We are ten years apart and now she is 13, but I still remember the night we met. She and I have grown up together like sisters, since we're the only two girls among two brothers each. I babysat her, took her places, made art projects together, and constantly learn from her. She is very similar to my husband, very outgoing, social, and energetic. She has definitely influenced my life as my only "sister" and will continue to be a support to me whether or not she knows it.

A Child's Story

At The Curiosity Shoppe, we have two brothers that come to our After School program, the older boy 9 years old and the younger boy 7. They have been coming to the center since they were very young. Only a few years ago, they were on a family cruise with their parents and witnessed their father commit suicide by jumping from the deck they were all watching from. Both of them still struggle deeply with their emotions and behavior. One multiple occasions, typically around the holidays and Father’s Day, they still mention to the other kids that their father will be waiting for them when they get home. In the years that they’ve been with us, they continue to show progress every day. Their mother was absolutely devastated that her husband would choose to end his life in the eyes of their sons, but she confided to us all she had left and it’s been our pleasure to work with these boys and be an aide to her while she works to support the family.
Their story truly tugs on my heart strings every time I see them show improvements and I can’t help but feel honored to have been gifted the opportunity to take part in their healing.

A Favorite Children's Book

Edward the Emu was a book recently introduced to me by my husband, who teaches Kindergarten right now. Through this story, Edward begins to lose his sense of self when he overhears the zoo visitors say that some of the other animals are really neat. He tries to fit himself into the habitats of the "cool" animals, until someone claims the emu is the best animal at the zoo. He finally returns to his home to realize that he really likes just being himself, Edward the Emu.
This book came to mind a little late, but I thought I'd share it. I liked the sense of self it sends to young and old readers and that it's alright to be yourself. I've also seen the book performed by young theatre students, who did a great job adding a little humor to a good message.

Introduction

Welcome to my blog! This has been my first experience creating and using a blog, so I will definitely have to get used to the ins and outs. However, I'm really looking forward to using this new method to keep track of work and sharing with you all.