Personal Childhood Web, continued

All the influential people in my life have at some point contributed to the woman I am today.  My loving and nurturing upbringing has shaped my outlook on life.  Because I felt safe and loved, I am able to love and make others feel secure.  This is the foundation of emotional development. 

This week we are exploring family ecosystems theories.
Most theorists outline an ecosystem, most particularly a human ecosystem or a family ecosystem, as being composed of three organizing concepts: humans, their environment, and the interactions between them.
Urie Bronfenbrenner's defines the components of the system as the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. The microsystem is our most immediate context, and for most children, is represented by their family and their home.  The mesosystem is where a child experiences reality, such as in a childcare setting. It has been proven that links between the institution in the mesosystem and the child's family enhance the development of the child. 

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Urie_Bronfenbrenner

I had wonderful experiences within the mesosystem as a child.  I attended a preschool setting prior to entering kindergarten.  I have vivid memories of my mother participating in my early care and education, she continued that academic connection and interest throughout my younger years.  Through showing an interest and being involved, I gained an appreciation for the academia world and the families involvement within

For more information on family involvement and access to helpful resources:
http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement/early-childhood-education

Personal Childhood Web

This entry assignment is dedicated to 

the special people in my life who have 

nurtured and cared for me as a child.

My Mother, Cindy- An amazing role model as a woman, wife and now in her later years, a care-giver to my father who recently had a brain tumor removed which left him paralyzed on his right side of his body.  Over the years, our relationship was up and down, but I have gained a tremendous respect for her endless commitment to our family.  When I was a young child, I can remember feelings of security, love and a sense that I was special.  My mother went out of her way to make sure I had all the essentials in life, then she provided me with warmth, friendship and the foundation to be the woman, wife, mother I am today.  She remains my best friend.

My Father, Al- He is, and continues to be an amazing source of strength and security.  Ad a child, he was the type of father who was not extremely loving, but was honest, fair and always available to help in any situation.  He was my problem solver, and I have grown up to be my families problem solver as well.

 

My Son, Adam- I had my son at age 19, so I feel that I was still a "child" when i had my first child.  He is perhaps the most influential person in my life.  He has made me the mother I am today.  I went to the hospital a self-centered teenage and left as a woman willing to devote my entire existence to a 5lb 4 oz boy.  Our journey has been extraordinary, and to him I owe my sense of pride as a mother.

 

My High School English Teacher, Ms. Watkins- She encouraged and nurtured me to find my inner passion for the love of English literature.  When my grades began to slip, she took our student/teacher relationship further and came to my home and made contact with my family, tutored me after school and weekends, and encouraged me to join a local "Big Sister" (mentoring program) chapter in our community.  She made a huge impact on my high school career, and was a immense help in my beginnings of my college education career.  She was a leader, mentor, adviser, and role-model.

My childhood best-friend, Carrie- She was the same age as I was, but in terms of caring for and nurturing someone, she was my support and overall happiness.  When I needed someone to listen, offer advice, hold my hand, or push me-she was the person.  Even though she was not wise in years, she supported me in so many ways, I am the woman today because of her and my mother.  I could do no wrong, and when I did, she helped me.  When I think back on our friendship, past and present, I smile deep within my heart.

Next post this week- How these people have influenced my life and their continual impact on who I am.

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)

In my previous Blog, I mentioned CSEFEL and included a link to some information.  Several people have commented on this so I decided to include more information. 

Social & emotional development in young children is a passion of mine.  In my classroom I have used the CSEFEL pyramid and model as a guideline for how I teach social and emotional competency. 

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age five. CSEFEL is a national resource center funded by the Office of Head Start and Child Care Bureau for disseminating research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the country.  http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/  

This is a link for an informative video on social and emotional competence:
 
http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/social_emotional_competence.html

I am successfully using the strategies provided in the CSEFEL model after I completed a one day training and visit to a local CSEFEL model classroom.  These strategies include calming down techniques, dealing with  difficult behaviors, teaching emotion recognition and management, valuing the importance of child initiated social problem solving and creating appropriate behavioral support plans.  I recommend checking out this site for any early childhood educator!  It has tools fro educators, parents, trainers, and policy makers. 

My favorite concept is that of a "Super Friend".  Children who exhibit the ability to effectively problem solve, help others without prompting, and are productive members of our classroom family are "Super Friends".

Visit: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html  to view this concept and many others!

I wish all adults could be "Super Friends", what a wonderful world it would truly be.

Personal & Professional Passion: Early Literacy

• My professional passions in Early Childhood studies include social/emotional development and early literacy development.  When we were asked to list and describe our favorite children's book, I became excited with the opportunity to combine my passions.  I love the books: Glad Monster Sad Monster and Go Away Big Green Monster By Ed Emberley & Anne Miranda.  These books support social emotional development in so many ways through teaching emotion recognition, management and confidence in dealing with difficult emotions.  I have used them as an educator, a mom, and as "therapy" for children coping with trauma.  
• Try the website: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/booknook/glad/glad.pdf 

• Want it?  Try:  http://www.amazon.com/Glad-Monster-Sad-Anne-Miranda/dp/0316573957

A sample of my daughter's work (she is three years old & in my pre-k class this year): Valentine's Day card for me from her.  It reads "I love you, Happy Valentine's Day" and includes a picture of us. So much love!

  My beautiful baby & me!

A quote that I love and live by is from B.F. Skinner:
"We shouldn't teach  great books; we should teach a love of reading."

Some great interactive websites to try in regards to early literacy for young children:
www.pbskids.org     
www.starfall.com  
www.storylineonline.net

It is difficult to pick a single story that has touched my heart as an early childhood educator.  One that will remain with me for my professional career involves a four year old girl.  This child came to us from an under-shriveled household with little to no access to books or literacy materials.  After a few weeks in her new preschool, she turned to me and said "Ms. Amy, your school is so beautiful.  It has books, I like books.  My mom said that because I like books, she is going to take me to the library!"  This warmed my heart because during our parent orientation, the mother disclosed to me that she cannot read, and so to have the courage to take her child to the public library was so amazing.  Reach for the tissues!

Six Word Sentence

I am currently enrolled in an educational program for my Masters of Science in Early Childhood Studies with a specialization in Teaching Adults in the Early Childhood Field.  So, for my class @ Walden University, I am working on my six word sentence that describes me. This task is actually very fun.  My husband and I came up with several different ones:

Mother, wife, student, need some sleep. 
Short in stature, tall in pride.
 Always looking forward, secretly glancing back.

New Blogger Alert!

Ok, so I am really new to this, and this is my first post!  How exciting. I hope this works for my instructor @ Walden U!