My Supports

 

  My daily supports come from my husband, children, and aunt and mother in law. I am supporrted financially, spiritually and lovingly by my husband. He provides and pays the bills for the family. My children support me and give me a reason to be me. They accept me for who I am and love me regardless of my flaws. My step daughter provides me with support by always being there to assist at home with chores, cooking, or keeping the children when my husband is not there. My aunt and mother in law are my supports because they keeep the children during the day while me and my husband work. Without them, I would not be able to work and help provide for the family. Day care is entirely too expensive. If any of the these supports were gone, it would impact me personally and spiritually. I have a deep connection and need for allof these individuals and would not even want to imagine living my life without them.

 

 A challenge that I had in the past when I was pregnant was being on bedrest. This was a challenege for me because I had to leave my job where I was making a substantial amount of income to stay home. I had to stay in bed all day and only get up to use the rest room or shower. This was a challenege because I had a daughter and household to take care of. My supports were my husband, who took care of us financially and never burdened me or complained about having to take care of us on his own. My step daughter helped out with keeping the house clean and chores. She also would help me with fixing my daughter's hair, getting her cleaned and dressed for school as well.  My aunt and mother in law took turns keeping my daughter and cooking me for us. Like I stated, it would be hard to live my life without these supports. They have supported me and my family through challenges and continue to support us today. It would be extremely hard and difficult to be without them.

My Connections to Play

Select two quotes that you feel summarize what play represented for you in childhood.

 

Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

 

“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.” ~ James L. Hymes Jr. (child development specialist, author)

 

Include two to three pictures of essential play items for your younger self.

I was the only child for so long before my aunt had children. However, I was involved in so many activities at an early age. Tball, dance, gymnastics and etc. I also remember playing board games with my family and kickball out in the street with my aunts. Even though I was an only child for so long, they always did things to interact with me and keep me busy.

 

I believe play today is the same as when I was young. I offer and engage in my children the same opportunities for play as I was provided as a young child. I think any parent who was offered the opportunity to play will offer the same to their children.

 

Throughout my life I feel as though play has made me a person who enjoys learning and finding out about new things and has also made me a kind of free spirit. Like my quote stated, I feel like a “free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself type of person”.

Relationships

Relationship Reflection

There are many important people in my life. I was raised by my grandmother and four aunts. However, the relationship between my grandmother and the eldest aunt that assisted in my upbringing is the most important. Today, I am close with all of my aunts because they all had a hand in my upbringing. However, I am extremely close to my eldest aunt and my grandmother. They instilled Christian and familial values in me that I use with my own kids. In addition to them taking care of me since I was born, bringing me home from the hospital, and providing me with shelter, clothing and unconditional love, they also paid my way and supported me through college. They are the reason that I am the woman, mom, and wife that I am today.

 

Identify several people with whom you currently have positive relationships and/or partnerships

My grandmother

4 aunts

Husband

children

 

Describe the ways in which each relationship is positive and factors that contributed to developing and maintaining each relationship

My grandmother has been my rock through so many of my ups and downs. She loves me unconditionally and keeps me lifted and grounded in prayer.

My eldest aunt is my best friend. She too has always supported me financially, mentally, spiritually and any other way in which I needed her.

My other three aunts have all contributed in one way or another to my upbringing. One is a principal, and inspired me teach. One used to keep my hair fixed. She always kept my hair looking nice. She provided me with the skill to keep my daughters hair done and looking nice. My baby aunt is the one with the kids. By example, she showed me what a good mom should be like.

My husband has been my rock and my provider. He takes very good care of me and my children. We have a beautiful home, cars, and he takes care of all the bills without even complaining. He only wants me to take care of the kids, cook, and maintain the house. My children are the loves of my life. I am not sure who I would be if it weren’t for them. The love I have for them is unmatched. Everything that I do and am is because of them. My daughter is a mini me. She and my two year old son are alike in that they always want to please me and make me happy.

 

Describe insights regarding challenges to developing and maintaining relationships that you have learned from your experience over time

The challenge is that people change over time. However, as they change when you love someone you take their challenges and changes and get over it. Love is unconditional and no obstacle is too hard to break relationships.

 

What do you see as special characteristics of these relationships that make some, if any, partnerships?

My partnership is with my husband. He is our provider. We are partners in love, spirit and as parents.

 

How might your experiences with relationships/partnerships, including your ability to be an active, reflective contributor, impact your work as an effective early childhood professional?

I think it will help me to realize the importance of relationships and how they can impact a child’s development and learning. My experiences and readings have taught me that any person who comes in contact with a child plays a part of that child’s learning and development.

 

 

 

When I Think of Child Development

Thank You........

Being in this class, has been such a great learning experience. I got to meet and learn about some extremely wonderful  people. In addition, I also learned a lot from my classmates as well. I am sorry this course is coming to an end. I didn't want to thank just two of my colleagues because so many of you have impacted my learning. I want to say  Thank you to my classmates for helping to enrich my learning.

Testing for Intelligence.

 If you are looking at the holistic child, you need to assess the developmental (bio-social, cognitive, and psychosocial) domains of the child. It is pertiant to assess how the child learns an dthe pace at which they learn. I think it is also important to assess what they child already knows. Therefore, as educators, we are able to undestand the child as a whole and can cater lesson plans and assignments to meet the needs of the indivdiual child as a whole.

In Singapore, they are taking measures to ensure that children are assessed holistically.

Each child is provided with a portfolio and over the course of the school year, they are assessed in different areas such as math, public speaking and grammar. Parents are able to view the portfolio and better track their child’s strengths and weaknesses as each subject is broken down into various topics.

Violence

I choose Violence. I remember when I was younger, my aunt's fiancee had his two nieces move in with us temporarily until family services came and took them and place them in a foster home. Their mother was jailed for child abuse. The two girls who were older than me were placed in foster homes. I remember coming home from school and crying because they were gone. Eventually, their mother married and had another child. She never got custody back of the girls. Then she went to prison for killing the last child she had. She hung the two year od on a door knob by his suspenders and beat him with a belt buckle. The child died from wounds received during that beating.

I am not sure how they coped with being in foster care. However, I knew when they came to stay with us, they were always sad and crying. My aunt tried to do things with them to cheer them up but they were extrmely sad.

Many Asia children refugees have experienced events related to war or persecution that may affect their mental and physical health long after the events have occurred. While in their countries of origin refugee children may have experienced:

• violence (as witnesses, victims, and perpetrators)
• war
• lack of food, water, and shelter
• physical injuries, infections, and diseases
• torture
• forced labor
• sexual assault
• lack of medical care
• loss of loved ones

Breastfeeding

The topic I chose to write about is breastfeeding. All of the topics are important to me however, I breastfeed my son and am expecting now. Breastfeeding is really healthy to the wellbeing and development of infants.

In Mexico, breastfeeding is based on income and education. People with lower incomes and that are less educated breastfeed longer than 2 years since moms don't have money to buy formula or to provide for their children. Moms that are more educated and have better finances breastfeed for only 6 months since they believe that breast milk starts losing its health benefits after the age when babies start solids. Some woman will breastfeed up to 12 months just for bonding but after that babies are weaned gradually. The ability of buying healthy foods compensates for the lack of use of breast milk.

Birthing in the US and Japan

When women in Japan have babies, they have to have their babies in hospitals and their husbands are not allowed in the delivery room for a vaginal birth unless the husband has taken prenatal classes with the mom to be. If a Japanese woman has to have a c section, the husband is not allowed in at all. It is also a custom that japenese women give birth with no painkillers. There is a belief among Japanese that labor pains act as a kind of test that a woman must endure in preparation for the challenging role of motherhood. This centuries-old belief endures despite the fact that a growing number of doctors in Japan are recommending epidurals for their patients, suggesting that they create a more peaceful birth experience. Although more women are beginning to exercise this option, centuries of tradition still keep many others from considering the procedure.
Also the hosiptal stay for giving birth is five days for a vaginal and 10 days for a c-section.
When the mom and baby leave the hospital after their stay, the mom and baby must stay at the mother's parents house for a month and must stay in the bed with the baby for 21 days.

In the US, birthing is very different. Woman have the right to decide if the baby will be born at home, hospital, or birthing center. Husband do not have to attend any prenatal classes although they are offered and they probably should take them!! The fathers are allowed in the room when a c-section is performed but only at the head of the mother. Painkillers are up to the mother's descretion. If a mother wants painkillers, she has has the right to receive them. The hospital stay for a vaginal birth is two days and up to four days for a c-section and that is with no complications. When leaving the hospital, the mother may return to any home that she feels comfortable going to.