Wk 6: My Supports

My daily support factors are:

My religion is supportive in my environment, I am able to wake up in the morning and able to go to work, without a job I would not be able to pay bills, provide food or clothing, I would be lost, if I didn't know and believe that prayer works.

My husband supports me daily, he helps me by encouraging me to improve my education as well to build strong relationships with the children and their families.It would be very hard if my husband wasn't in my life, because he very positive. I would be lost without him.

The county that I work for provides the staff to open the building where I work on a daily basis, so that educators can teach children and children have a fun, loving and safe environment.
I have a Pre-K Coordinator that works outside the building, she is the contact person for the entire Pre-K program in our county, I also have a Bright from the Start consultant that works with the state of Georgia and the Pre-k classrooms that we can contact, Principal that is the top contact person for a building, then the Asst. Principal who is the contact person for classified staff as well as Pre-K
concerns or questions. Then there is the Lead teacher in the classroom that I receive support from daily in and out of work. I enjoy working with my teacher, she doesn't make it a big deal of who is in charge in the room. her concern is what is best for each individual children in our care.

It would be very difficult if these people where not in place to contact on Pre-K issues that may arise in the classroom, I have worked with Pre-K 17 years, but there is something new to learn everyday. If the above people where not available, my job as a Pre-K teacher would be more difficult then it already is and as far as my husband, Iwould truly be lost and miss his support and encouragement.

The challenge that I think would be hard for  me is to have the support of my husband and co workers during my Master's program.  My husband is very supportive and very encouraging and he always has something positive to say about my work and my grades. My co-workers that already have their Masters encourage me to work hard and always offer their help if I need it.

Wk4: My Connections to Play



 2 Quotes: 1).Playing reduces stress, improves life, and increases creativity. Who doesn't want that? Stevanne Auerbach, Dr. Toy 2). Along with milk and vegetables kids need a steady diet of rocks and worms.
Rocks need skipping,
Holes need digging,
Water needs splashing,
Bugs and Frogs and slimy stuff need finding.
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I always had someone with me outside and encouraging me to explore, but to be safe. I was the kid who was not afraid of picking up bugs, snakes or anything else and either trying to keep it or chasing the other kids around the yard with it in my hand.
I feel that play is different now than when I was a child, children don't go outside and play that much any more. They have way to many other things to occupy them, they have video games, computers and other electronic materials. I would hope that young children would be encouraged to get outside and play more and to explore the beauty of outside. I still love the outdoors, I love to get out and look at trees, bird watch and work in my flower garden. I am constantly collecting things to share with my students, we have snake skin, bird nest, bee hive, pine cones, leaves and even dead bugs that are in bug boxes. I love for my students to get outside and play, explore and learn. It is very important to get out and play.

6161 Child Development and Public Health Wk 2

Nutrition/Malnutrition
Effects of malnutrition can be devastating and permanent. Whether during the pregnancy or first year of life, it can have a profound effect on a child's health as well as their ability to learn, communicate, socialize, reasoning and the way they adapt with their environment.
We have to secure their survival, but ensure that they have a healthy and stimulating childhood. This will prepare them for the future and help them to contrubute to the social and economic development of their countries and communities. There were 925 million hungry people in 2010 abd 578 million are in Asia and the Pacific. (pdfcast.org)
In South Asia, 78 million out of 150 million childrenin developing countries are still malnourished. The leading causes of mortality are respiratory infections, diarrhea and birth related conditions.(Unicef, 2000). South Asia is the worst off among all the regions in the developing world including Sub-Saharan Africa. One-third of children in South Asia suffer from low birth weight. Low birth weight is inextricably intertwined with and is indeed a manifestation of maternal under nutrition.
I have learned that if a child comes to my classroom that could possibly be malnutritioned, that could be a leading cause of him or her to have not developed properly. As an early childhood professional, I must help to get the word out that no child should be hungry and no family should have to worry about not being feed properly or at all.
http://www.worldhunger.or/
http://www.pdfcast.org/
http://www.unescobkk.org/
http://www.unicef.org/

Two Notes of Thanks and Support for Colleagues

Maggie,
You brought many people's attention with the informaiton you provided about the horrible situation that was and is still going on in Haiti. You were a lucky child to have not grown up with the stressors in your childhood. Keep doing what you do everyday with the young children in your care, because rather you know it or not,you are making a difference in the lives of young children as well as adults.
Deborah,
I love the information you posted on the Assessment blog, children do have to be assessed regularly, so that the proper resources are available to meet their needs throughout the year. I love the story you shared about your ex-mother in law, it was very heart touching. You have alot of knowledge and wisdom to share not only with young children but adults, as well. Thanks for sharing and helping me to look at other aspects of young children as well as life.

WK 8 Quote about children

Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children. Rosaleen Dickson.

Wk 6 Testing for Intelligence?

In my judgment, all children should be assessed or measured especially in a school setting. Without an assessment or some type of assessment tool, how can a childhood professional know the needs of the child or how can the needs of each child be met. Each child should be assesses at the beginning, in themiddle and the end of each school year, so that each child is able to receive the proper resources needed to meed their needs, especially if the child is in need of extra or special resources. All children should be provided the proper resources outside the classroom, jsut as well as inside the classroom. The regular teacher and the outside teacher and /or resources can and should work together to help each and every child reach his or her best potential.

I choose to look at Ugandan, due to the fact of having a child from that country in my classroom and I taught her brother two years ago. I found a study that was conducted on a cohort of 89 healthy children (45 females) aged 5 to 12 were follwed over 24 months and had cognitive tests measuring visual spatial processing memory, attention and spatial learning administered at a baseline, 6 months and 24 months. Nutritional status, child's education level, maternal education, socioeconomic status and quality of the home environment were also measured at baseline. A multivariate longitudinal model was then used to identity predictors of cognition over the 24 months.
RESULTS: A higher child's education level was assessed with better memory (p=0.03), attention (p=0.005) and spatial learning scores over the 24 months (p=0.05); higher nutrition scores predicted better visual spatial processing (p=0.0002) and spatial learning scores (p=0.0008) and a higher home environment score predicted a better memory score (p=0.03).
CONCLUSION: Cognition in Ugandan children is predicted by child's education, nutritional status and the home environment, community intervention to improve cognition may be effective if they target multiple socioeconomic variables.

References:
Bangirana,P., John C.C., Idro, R., Opoka, R.O., Byarugaba, J. et al. 2009. Socioeconomic: Predictors of Cognition in Ugandan Children. Implications for Community Interventions, PLoS ONE 4 (11): e7898. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0007898

Wk 4 Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

     The stressor I chose for myself as a child is Violence.  As a child, I experienced violence in my home. My biological father was an alcholic and drug user. When my father was drinking or using drugs, which was very often he could and would be very violent, I would either hide in a closet or sneak out the back door and run across the street to my grandparents or aunts house. My father would physically, verbally and emotionally abuse my mother at any time of the day or night. My father would destroy our home, wake us up for no apparent reason and I was terrified to be with him from the time I was about 7 years old. The night that my mom said she had enough was the night that he drug her out of their bed, wanting her to cook him something to eat at about four in the morning and she fault back and he broke both of her jaws with the end of a shotgun and she had to be wired shut for about 12 weeks and finally pressed charges and had him arrested and she divorced him, but the scars were already there!
     I the way I survived was by having my grandparents and aunt living across the street from us, so when I wanted to get out I could run to either house and be safe no matter what, because my father knew not to mess with my grandparents. Both houses were available to me, no matter what time is was or what day of the week. My grandparents always had opened arms and their love was unconditional, that was my safety blanket.
     The ramifications that I had as I began to date was I always had a guard up and I didn't trust any male figure except my Paw-Paw and Uncle Craig, until I met my now husband. Once I realized that my now husband loved and respected me no matter what and I then learned how to be loved and respected. I was so afraid that I would go through what my mom went through and I didn't want to do that, at all. My husband is a hard working man, who drinks occasionally but after almost 22 years of being together, he has never yelled, disrespected me or our kids.
     I found an article about "A mother and her six month old child that is facing food and health insecurities inder bonded labor." This is happening in India, the Asian Human Rights Commission has recevied information that a mother and her six month child are currently living in the Balangir district of Orissa regularly migrated to Bangalore for the last two years to earn their daily food by working in a brick kiln. They did not have any resources to survive in the village. The mother lost her first daughter in 2008 due to the lack of medical care. She is currently faces a similar situation that may casue serious illness to her son and herself as the brick kiln owner allegedly does not provide adequate food and health care. (http://www.foodjustice.net/)
   The children will not develop properly if he is not given the proper nutrition. The child will not be physical condition to do the things that typical children do as he grows into a young child. Every child deserves to be provided the proper food, medical care and a chance to live a normal and happy live, however we all know that is not always possible. As an ealry childhood professional, there may be a child or family in our classroom or care that might going through the same issues that we read about on an everyday basis. We have to be aware of our surroundings and if we suspect that there may be special needs or special concerns, then these families or children should be referred to the proper resources.