My Connections to Play

Just Playing Quotes:

Whoever wants to understand much must play much.
~Gottfried Bern 

Life is playfulness…We need to play so that we can rediscover the magic all around us.
~Flora Colao 

Play is the highest form of research.
~Albert Einstein 

Helpful sites:

http://thingstodooutside.com/ 

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/make-these-items-with-your-kids-and-go-play-outside.html 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/170633-kids-games-to-play-outside/ 

Essential Play Items:

I love nature, as a child all I would need is imagination and a friend.  We loved collecting nature items and turning them into pieces of art.  We built stick forts, we made mud pies, we threw pine cones and hit them with sticks for baseball, we used trees as bases for tag...  it was so much fun not having "items" to play with, but simply using our imagination.  Although, I do have found memories of using store bought chalk.  :)

Play was supported by our parents, a safe community and nature itself.  We were told to go outside and come home when the street lights came on.  We were not allowed to watch TV all day, or play with electronic devices.  Our parents did not entertain us, they gave us creative ideas for our own imaginative play.  I remember discovering the world through play and experimenting.  I made sense of the world through role playing and imagination.

Play today is SO much different.  Our communities are not as safe, electronic devices rule our children who are less physically active and use less imagination.  Children are maturing faster, and becoming independent from adults, not in imagination, but in worldly topics.  As a mother of two, I fight the battle to get my kids outside without an adult to entertain them.  

Play is SO vital to development of children on every level at ALL ages.  We are loosing our imagination and gaining technological skills.... is that a good trade off?

 

Relationship Reflection

I feel that partnerships in this world are crucial in one's ability to maintain sanity and survival.  They provide us the opportunity to not only be supported, but to support others as well.  I have surrounded myself with many partnerships, both professionally and personally.  They guide me through decisions in life, and they help me celebrate the accomplishments I have achieved.  One such partnership is in my wonderful husband.  He is my rock.  We give each other support, compassion, reality, and encouragement... not to mention adoration, respect, and the freedom to be who we are deep inside.  Partnerships, no matter what the context (personal/professional) are rewarding for both sides.  My husband is my biggest supporter.  I keep him in check and he keeps me grounded.  I consider my relationship with my own children to be a partnership.  We work as a team within our family.  This team is surrounded with trust and respect-these things are critical for working fluently with one another.

 Adam age 11, Juli age 4

 Elementary school graduation, middle school here we come!

Daddy and his princess, 4th birthday party.

Professionally, I have my direct supervisor, who I am honored to say is my closest friend.  She inspires me to be the best I can be in my work.  She believes in me and constantly encourages me to preserver in all I do.  I support her with a dedication to my work and friendship that I didn't know I had deep inside.  We have overcome many obstacles in our work, and together we are stronger.

Ms. Harriet (my best friend and director of my program)

Maintaining a relationship/partnership requires work and dedication.  This is true in the field of early childhood education.  Our partnerships with the children and families requires such attention.  We overcome obstacles and challenges everyday within these partnerships.  Within the profession, we utilize these partnerships for the benefit of the children.  Challenges such as differing cultures, ideas, methods, strategies, and beliefs may inhibit these partnerships, but with an open mind and heart, they can be embraced and leaned from. 

Quotes About Children...

What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.  ~Sigmund Freud

The great man is he who does not lose his child's-heart.  ~Mencius, Book IV

The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us.  When the world seems familiar, when one has got used to existence, one has become an adult.  ~Eugene Ionesco

Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap.  ~Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

  http://www.quotegarden.com/children.html

 

Testing for Intelligence?

What is the most effective way to measure 

children’s minds and abilities? 

Many professionals across interdisciplinary profession recognize that understanding the whole child requires a wider perspective especially in the area of multiple intelligences which includes emotional intelligence.  

Early childhood professionals can learn from different approaches to measuring the mind of children.

Assessment can be defined as a systematic process of gathering a range of information relating to a child, to help identify their strengths and needs, in order to decide on appropriate further action. Assessment can provide a baseline of information against which a child's development can be measured.   

A general guideline for assessment should be structured as below:

 Preparation
Gather a range of information
Analyze the information
Identify strengths and needs
Plan further action

Often times, the whole child is not considered in these standardized tests/evaluations performed in the school age education realm.  I have a 5th grader who has been through North Carolina's "End of Grade Testing" or EOG's.  These were created to hold teachers and school accountable for material learned throughout the year, as a parent, I saw them as culturally bias and they do no consider the holistic child and his/her development.  It did not show my child's creative mind, his outstanding social skills or his strengths as a leader in his community, it did however, show his struggle in the mathematics area.  

In other countries, such as in China education looks very different from our own.  

Since the end of 1976, the education system in China has been geared toward economic modernization.  In 1985, the national government took responsibility for basic education to local governments through the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party's "Decision on the Reform of the Educational Structure and supported this with substantial funding.  The main focus was on science and technology, not the holistic child within the education system. Primary education in China is monitored, but not completely successful with a 90% rate of young children in formal primary, government run school. 

The Law on Nine-Year Compulsory Education (中华人民共和国义务教育法), which took effect on July 1, 1986, established requirements and deadlines for attaining universal education tailored to local conditions and guaranteed school-age children the right to receive at least nine years of education (five year primary education and four years secondary education). 
China's basic education involves preschool, nine-year compulsory education, standard senior high school education, and special education for disabled children.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:8fHSUiDohFIJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China+assessing+school+age+children+in+china&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com

Compulsory Education/ Primary School: Assessment term-end tests, year-end tests and primary school graduation examination are devised to examine pupils’ qualified levels. 
4 years in general /5 years in some special universities

Compulsory Education/ Junior High School: Assessment term-end tests, year-end tests and junior high school graduation examination are devised to examine junior high school graduates’ qualified levels.
Scientific assessment for examinations of graduating and entering are organized, and the assessment system of test question are set up progressively.
3 years in general/ 2 years in some special universities

Secondary Education/ Senior High School:  Assessment term-end tests, year-end tests and senior high school graduation examination are devised to examine senior high school graduates’ qualified levels.
3 years

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1126210664195/1636971-1126210694253/China_Skills_Assessment.pdf

The affects of WAR in other countires, and who helps.

The International Committee of the Red Cross
http://www.icrc.org

"The ICRC, established in 1863, works worldwide to provide humanitarian help for people affected by conflict and armed violence and to promote the laws that protect victims of war. An independent and neutral organization, its mandate stems essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
Since its creation in 1863, the ICRC's sole objective has been to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and strife. It does so through its direct action around the world, as well as by encouraging the development of international humanitarian law (IHL) and promoting respect for it by governments and all weapon bearers."
http://www.icrc.org/eng/who-we-are/index.jsp

Children protected under international humanitarian law

"Children are especially vulnerable in armed conflicts. Despite the protection provided by law, they continue to be recruited by armed forces and armed groups. They are often separated from their families, driven from their homes, killed, maimed, sexually abused or exploited in other ways.

Children in war benefit from the general protection of international humanitarian law as civilians or combatants. But there are also special provisions that recognize their particular vulnerability and needs in armed conflicts.

Children are still recruited by national armed forces. Over the past few decades the recruitment of children by armed groups, especially in Africa, became a serious humanitarian problem. In many situations children carry arms and actively take part in the fighting. But they can also be used in supporting roles, such as carrying supplies or providing military intelligence, that puts them in great danger.

The 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions were the first international treaties to try and tackle these situations. They prohibit the recruitment and participation in hostilities of children under the age of 15. In international armed conflicts, the first Additional Protocol also requires military recruitment of 15 to 18 year olds to prioritize the oldest.

The 1989 Convention on the rights of the child, which has achieved almost universal ratification, also included the 15 age limit. An optional protocol to this Convention, in May 2000, lifted the age for compulsory recruitment to 18 and called on States to raise the minimum age for voluntary recruitment above 15. It insisted that armed groups should not use children under 18 in any circumstances and called on States to criminalize such practices.

Recognition of a universal age limit of 18 by the international community has still not been achieved. The ICRC and its partners in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are pressing for such a limit through further development of both international and national law.

In the field, the ICRC assists the demobilization of child soldiers and provides psychological and other support to enable their reintroduction to a normal child’s life.

Children not involved in an armed conflict face a whole range of dangers for which IHL and relevant children's rights instruments provide special protection. They are guaranteed the general protection of non-combatants, but their special needs for medical help, food, shelter and clothing are recognized by the Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Protocols.

Children who are orphaned or separated from their families must be identified, protected and provided with special facilities that ensure their physical safety. Their educational needs must also be provided for. At the same time, all appropriate steps must be taken to facilitate the reunion of families temporarily separated.

Children who are detained as the result of an armed conflict must be treated humanely. They should be kept with their family group. If this is not possible, they should be separated from adult prisoners or detainees.

IHL aims to limit the impact of war on children. Regrettably, the very nature of today’s conflicts means that even greater efforts need to be made on the ground, by the ICRC and others, to save children from the horrors of war and to help them rebuild their lives once the conflict is over."
http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/protected-persons/children/overview-protected-children.htm 

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

Stressors are everywhere, and occur naturally and sometimes forcibly in all our lives.  There are many ramifications of these stresses and how we cope and survive is dependent on many factors including support from others.  

The stressor I chose to examine is war and its affects on children's biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development.  War, unfortunately is currently affecting us all.  Some children are sheltered, protected and far removed from war, others know too much about the violence and suffering.  Because the topic of war is so broad in its stresses, I chose to focus on the affects of a parent/parents leaving on deployment here in the United States.  

I have several children in my class this year who's parent/parents have been previously deployed and some who are anticipating deployment or currently waiting for a loved one to return.  War and military life can bring so many hardships to a family with young children.  

 A resource for families understanding the affects of deployment on children and families:

 http://www.military.com/benefits/resources/deployment/your-children-and-separation

A great resources for educators helping children cope with deployment:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/homefront/homefront.pdf 


 A resource for supporting military families in your community:
http://www.operationmilitarykids.org/public/home.aspx 

It is heartwarming to share how communities rally around families affected by deployment and how they aid one another in coping with, and compensating  for, the stress of war.  I have experienced children and their parents learning new routines within a single parent household and how they became dependent on caregivers for emotional support and love.  I have held mother's as they cry, aided father's in making a video message or video journals for their children prior to deployment, I have cooked meals for an over-stressed newly single mom and three children, I have helped make hundreds of cards and letters for service men and women in our military over the past 10 years.  We reside in North Carolina and are surrounded by three large military bases.  This stress affects at least two families in our program each year, sometimes many more.  We offer parent workshops on how to help their children cope when a mommy or daddy leaves for months at a time.

Later this week I will post on the stress of war and its affects on children in other countries.

Child Development & Public Health

For this assignment, I chose to explore the concern of public access to healthy water.  

This topic is important to me as an educator of children.  This affects all children globally.  I drink several bottles of purified water each day,( from my re-usable bottle) and I feel guilty to have access to this privilege when other people/ children do not. Not having access clean water affects children's development, academic progress and health.  I feel very strongly in supporting communities world-wide in obtaining clean water and reducing (plastic) pollution.  This can be taught at the early childhood stage of life.

I chose to research clean water access consumption in Mexico. 

"Tourists are warned not to drink tap water in Mexico but what do locals drink? In Mexico 94% of surface water is contaminated but not everybody can afford to buy purified water."   -this is a problem!

 http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/5900/proj5832a.html

 This organization has begun a donation bank to aid children of Mexico.  

Project Needs and Beneficiaries

The bottled water industry in Mexico is one of the largest in the world causing huge environmental concern as to the amount of waste plastic being produced. Along with discarded plastic bottles, the beaches are littered with rubbish that has been washed up from all over the world.The people of Mexico need to be taught to purify their water and reduce plastic consumption. 

We work with the people of Mexico to obtain drinking water without purchasing plastic bottles and encourage families to collect rubbish from beaches.  Those participants who collect the most are presented with a water filter to use in the their homes.

http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/facts/

"Today’s water crisis is not an issue of scarcity, but of access. More people in the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet. And as cities and slums grow at increasing rates, the situation worsens. Every day, lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills thousands, leaving others with reduced quality of life."

• Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
• Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. 
• Diarrhea is more prevalent in the developing world due, in large part, to the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as poorer overall health and nutritional status. 
• Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time. 
• In the developing world, 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes like diarrhea contracted from unclean water. 
• 1.4 million children die as a result of diarrhea 

Sources:

Asian Development Bank web site. 2009.

UN Water. 2008. Tackling a Global Crisis: International Year of Sanitation 2008

World Health Organization. 2008. Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, benefits, and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health.