Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Inspirtational Quote / Thanks

"A person's a person, no matter how small."- Dr. Seuss

I chose this quote because I work with the younger age group. Often times, there are special events, activities, and treats for the older children and nothing ever geared for my infants and toddlers (before I moved to preschool). So I began to include my children in each event that was happening and modifying it so that my children were able to enjoy it as well. I was always told "by my boss" that my babies were too young, until they saw my ending appearance and exactly HOW I was able to modify.

"Never underestimate what you are too lazy to try"- Sherrell Widgeon

I would like to personally thank everybody in our class whom I've had the pleasure of; blogging, discussion boards, and working with, during these past 8 weeks. I have truly learned a lot from each of you, and will be taking bits and pieces from each of your wonderful insights and implementing them within my classroom, and or storage for personal knowledge. I look forward to continuing on my Master's program, hopefully with some of you in my furture classes.

I hope and pray that everyone has an uplifting and spirt-filled Christmas, New Years, or whatever holiday that you may celebrate. Stay safe and always safe traveling for those who may be driving for the holidays.

-Sherrell

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Testing for Intelligence?

When we observe, assess, and evaluate; we are looking into so many different areas of the child. For instance; the various stages of develpmet, social interaction amongst peers and also their teacher, perception, performance, comprehension, etc. The next process would be if the child is being referred as showing signs of a delay. I do believe all of these areas should be measured; however, not measured based on "general standards", but according to the performance and abilty of each individual child. I feel this way, because each child operates and thinks differently; therefore every chld will not do as well as the next child if one shows signs of being delayed in math but brilliant in writing.

When researching Haiti, I wasn't able tofind much information about the educational aspect in the classroom; however I did find a lot of statistics about 400,000 six to eleven years old are out of school, 38% preschoolers are overaged and 72% being basic age group, as well as the illiteracy rate of thirteen years old and older are 57%. From digging a little deeper, I learned that Haiti does not assess their chldren because "the country suffers from a lack of qualified teachers and inadequate curricula" (2010, Office of The Special Envoy for Haiti)

I really believe that all schools should revisit their guidelines for assessment, because a teacher can not accurately prepare students for testing if they are not allowed to put their 100% inventiveness in it. What I mean, is that the teachers should NOT be mandated to teach per the curriculum, but from experience, sparked interests of the students, and passion. When you release so many controlling chains you tend to have a better outward response, which in this situation would be from the children and their performance levels.

Resources:
2010, Office of The Special Envoy for Haiti

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

The stressor I'm going to discuss is "Natural Disater". I have experienced my first Natural Disater last month around Halloween time, when Hurricane Sandy; approached, hit, and destroyed many areas in my state of New Jersey. You always see of things as such happen on the news from places far off; however, you never can really "feel the pain" until it hits home and you've become a victim of it. Although other areas (closer to the shore- Atlantic City) received much worse damage and turnmoil than I did, I experienced it as well. I never witnessed an Hurricane before, so not knowing what to really expect going into it, except from what the news reporters were saying. I just kept hearing it's going to be a bad storm, prepare, stockup, relocate, and etc. As days got closer certain areas were being told to vacate their areas because their lifes were in extreme danger.

Well Sandy came and it destroyed. We were displaced for exactly 1 week, coming back to check the house each day to see if the power was back on, if the trees that fell on our house, yard, and middle of the streets had been removed, if there were any leaks and water damage. Each day was a negative to all of the previous questions. Being out of work for a week, not having access to the internet to do school work; it was all becoming my norm as the days moved forward. Luckily we had a bag packed and were prepared as warned, we had clothes to wear and take with us. On the 8th day, we found out the power came back on, to only notice that the heat now was an issue. Another 2days of being relocated until the heat was fixed, and then having to deal with the next stressor of losing all of our food, about a good 7-8hundred dollars worth, and a refridgerator that completely shut down and never came back on. Fema sets up a local station in my area to over assistance to those affected by the hurricane, to only find out we're unelgible because we didn't lose our house. So was this Natural Disater a stressor to my family and I; it definetly was/is.



On June 2, 2011; Springfield, Massachusetts also experienced a Natural Disater, by way of a tornado. Many many people were injured by this devastating event that took place. There were roofs, homes, and even a steepple to a church that were all apart of the damaged property. Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown joined Governor Deval Patrick on a helicopter tour to survey the entire area, and the three agreed that Springfield looked like a "blast zone" Those affected by this disaster had to endear the tragedy for days, weeks, and even some for months. Schools were closed, shelters and emergency personnel; such as red cross were made available, as well as federal disaster aid.

Down below is a picture from that particular event in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Tornadoes

Resource:
Singer, S. (2011) Massachusettes Tornadoes Leave People Dead and Towns Damaged.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/02/massachusetts-tornadoes-aftermath_n_870175.html

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Child Development and Public Health

Choose one public health topic from the list above (or one that you think should be added to the list).
 
  •  Access to Runnint Water- Haiti 
    Describe in what ways this topic is meaningful to you.

  •   This topic is meaningful to me, because I work at a Head Start facility; which is an state funded program for families that are from the low income group. My families may have several situations that may prevent them from being able to uphold a household as a traditional family would be able to.
  •  
    Find information about this topic from a different part of the world, and include this information in your Blog.


  • Haiti has experienced struggles in obtaining clean running water and sanitation for some time now. The local government there has been attempting to strengthen the ability for the island to have access to clean running water. Haiti has improved their water source by 60% in the rural area, in comparison to 56% in the urban area. However, the urban area has a better department of sanitation standing at 28%; whereas the rural area is still lacking at only 14% in health and sanitation.
  • According to Wikipedia, the earthquake that occured in 2010 left millions of people without; their home, food, clothes, and or running water.
  •  While researching the island of Haiti, and the lack of running water, I came across a non-profit organization that has been created to assist those from Haiti with necessary essentials. The organization is called: Clean Water for Haiti, which is a faith-based volunteer group. Clean Water for Haiti's mission is "to provide the people of Haiti with affordable access to clean water in their homes through the use of Biosand water filters." (2011, Clean Water for Haiti)
  •  
    Share ways the information you have learned may impact your future work
    •  This information will inform all those who work in the educational field, or similar too; to educate, teach, and model the children the importantce of running water; ways to use it properly, and the fact that it is apart of keeping them healthy and clean.
    • I have children at my school, who you can tell are not being guided, taught, nor modeled too; about using running water. It really hurts my heart to see children who come to school and you can just tell they have not had a bath in days. Children, not only in foreign countries or far away, but also in our own backyards would be considered "the end of the world" to just be able to have and use claen running water.
    • We as professionals should also encourage the parents and provide them with resources about using it for giving the children baths, drinking water because it carries flouride in it and will help protoect children from getting cavities easily.
       
     
     
     
    Resources:
     

    Monday, November 5, 2012

    Childbirth in Your Life and Around Your World

  • Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child's birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development?
  • -I'm going to talk about a birth that I have been told about; being that the three suggestive questions do not pertain to me. I'm going to describe my brother's birth, who is 2years older than I am. My brother's name is Jeff, and he was overdue by 1week. My mother had a docter's appointment on a Monday and she was told that if she didn't go into labor over the weekend, that she should to the hospital 6am Monday morning. My father took my mother in on that Monday morning so she could be induced. My mother can't remember if she asked not to know, or if the sex of the baby was unavailble; but at that time of being induced, she had not been told yet as to what she was having. Sometime that afternoon, after being induced, she birthed a son. My mother experienced a very hard labor, and the pain medicine was not very effective. The baby was larger than expected which caused a very stressful labor. At birth, the baby weighed 8lbs, 15 oz. and had a very large head!
    -I chose to write about this experience, because this was my mother's worst labor and her only late baby of three children. My mother was having other health complications; such as gestational diabetes, and very bad swelling of the legs and feet; which caused her having to use crutches. My mother's other two children, my sister and I were normal deliveries and didn't cause too much pain. :)
    -The birth of a baby at times can produce it's ups and downs. But after the end results of some happy and sad times, a beautiful baby is born.

  • Choose a region of the world or a country, other than the U.S., and find out how births happen there. Write about what you learned, and the differences and similarities with your experience (in the personal example you provided). What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience on development, did you gain from this comparison?
  • -I have selected Bermuda to research and find out what similiarities and differences do they share with the USA, when it comes to women giving birth. In Bermuda, it is common for women to go to the hospital; one in particular: King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. KEMH allows the new mother to recover depending on private insurance companies and what is covered. The new mother is also allowed to have visitors during specific hours of the day as well as some down time during the "quiet hours" of the ward. 1 piece of information that I did find interesting is that all Maternity Nurses are both RN's and registered nurse midwives. I think that is an plus and if families decide to change their mind and or are sent home because of a false alarm; the same maternity nurse that have been dealing with will also be able to be their midwive because of the duplicated education.
    Resources:
    Bermuda Hospitals Board, 2012; http://www.bermudahospitals.bm/womens-services/maternity.asp

    Saturday, October 20, 2012

    Examining Codes of Ethics

    I.1.1- To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and traning.
    I think this is a very important skill to have, regardless what field of study one may work in. Every year, my job requires that each employee to obtain a minimum of 24 hours of training and workshop hours in our content area. During my quarterly evaluation, I always manage to score high in that particular area, because I try to attend all trainings and workshops that sound interesting. I love learning and also like to stay up to date with current policies, laws, rules, and practices. Once I attend those trainings, I then take bits and pieces from each presenter and incorporate it into my curriculum, lesson plans, and classroom.

    I.1.0- To ensure that each child's culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.
    This idea is also another very important skill to incorporate; not only within your classroom, but also in the entire program. Recently, the influx of international children have increased almost double than years previously, and it is important to instill into the children the meaning of diversity and why we recognize it. There are so many different ways in how you can incorporate diversity and different cultures into the classroom; such as, having family members come in and read a story or share something from their culture with the class, posters and pictures of children from different countries, or you can take a virtual field trip to the different countries that are represented within your class on a computer or white board. All of this can be done, to teach young children that there are different cultures that make up the world, and how to accept and appreciate difference.

    I.1.2- To work with families to provide a safe and smooth transition as children and families move from one program to the next.
    In my HeadStart program, it is our responsibility to ensure that all children entering the program is able to make a smooth transition into the program, not only for them but also for their families. Our policy states that two weeks prior to the school year beginning, the teachers are to go into the community and conduct an home visit to each of the children's homes that are pre-registered in each class. By doing so, the children are able to meet their new teachers, the teacher is able to see how the home life is setup and flow of how the parent and child interact, and lastly the teacher gets to sit down with the parent to learn some information and facts about the child that can be useful upon the child entering into the program; ie: if this will be the child's first time away from mommy and daddy, and to expect some crying for the first few weeks, the child's been having potty training accidents lately, or if the child only speaks their "native" language. Then the child's actual first day of school, all parents are required to attend with their child that will encourage a smooth transition for both parents and child.




    Resource
    NAEYC (2005 April) Code of Ethical and Statement of Commitment http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
     

    Tuesday, October 2, 2012

    Growing Your Collection of Resources

    Helpful Resources:

    1) National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
    www.naeyc.com
    - Founded in 1926 by Patty Smith Hill
    - Located in Washington, DC
    - NAEYC's Mission Statement is based on three main goals:
     * Bettering well-qualified practitioners and improving their working conditions.
     * Improving Early Childhood Education by working to deliver a high- quality system of  supporting  the programs.
     * Encouraging the excellence in Early Childhood for all children.

    2) Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
    www.zerotothree.org
    Zero to Three is a non-proffit organization; that informs, trains, and supports proffessionals, policymakers, and parents, in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers.
    - Zero to Three's Mission Statement:
     *Is to promote the health and development in infants an toddlers.

    3) Highscope
    www.highscope.org
    Highscope assists teachers and caregivers promote and provide young children learning experiences that will encourage their development.
    -Highscope's vision is to create an evironment which all educational settings use active participatory learning so everyone has a chance to succeed in life.

    4) Pre[K]Now
    www.preknow.org
    PreKNow which is also known as "The Pew Center", helps each state deliver better results and achieve long-term fiscal health by investigating in programs that provide the strongest returns.

    Three additional resources:

    1) Janet Gonzalez-Mena
    2) Mari Montessori
    3) Howard Gardner

    Three educational quotes:

    1) An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life. - Author Unknown (Retrieved from www.quotegarden.com, 2010)

    2) Aim for success, not for perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will loose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks beind perfectionism. - Dr. David M. Burns (Retrieved from 75 Inspirational, Educational Quotes for the Classroom, 2010) (www.accreditatedonlinecolleges.com)

    3) We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but an habit. -Aristotle (Retrieved from www.theteacherspot.com, 2009)


    Resources

    www.naeyc.com
    www.zertotothree.org
    www.highscope.org
    www.preknow.org
    www.quotegarden.com (2010)
    www.accreditatedonlinecolleges.com (2010)
    www.theteacherspot.com (2009)

    Saturday, September 29, 2012

    Words of Inspirtation and Motivation

    Bill Clinton:

    "If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, now how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit." (Clinton, B. 2006)

    "People are more impressed by the power of our example than the example of our power." (Clinton, B. 2008)


    Janet Gonzalez-Mena:

    "Part of being who you are has to do with feelingns, which means you have a wide range of emotions- not just constant sunshiny happiness." (Gonzalez-Mena, J. 2008)

    "For the individualist the goal of child rearing individuation. For the collectivist the goal is integration-become part of rather than seperate from." (Gonzalez-Mena, J. 2005)


    From Week 2's Media Video

    "We as professionals in the Early Childhood field have the opportunity to shape a child's life for the better." Escobido, S. (2012)

    "That young children from young african american families do not succeed in school not because they could not, but because they did not have the tools that were needed to succeed."
    Derman-Sparks, D. (2012)


    References
    Clinton, B. (2006) Former President Bill Clinton interviewed by Fox News- Sept. 24, 2006
    http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2fc_1178502567

    Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008) Child, Family, and Community: Family Centered Early Care Education
    http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/568473.Janet_Gonzalez_Mena

    Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2005) The Program from Infant Toddler Caregivers
    http://www.pitc.org/cs/pitclib/download/pitc_res/726/Culture%20Quotes_JGM.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d

    Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010) The passion for early childhood [Video webcast].
               In Foundations of early childhood studies. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

    Saturday, September 22, 2012

    Personal Childhood Web

    The five people that nurtured and cared about me when I was a child were: my mother, 2 aunts, home economics teacher, and fifth grade teacher.

    My mother was and has always been there for me through thick and thin. She is  a good nurturer and very caring. She always put her children first, even before herself. She rasied all of her children to have good values, love God, and to never settle for less.

    My two aunts were there for me when my mom was either at work or other engagements. Neither one of them had children, so my siblings and I have always been treated as their children. On the weekends I would always talk my mom into allowing me to spend the night over one or the other aunts house. They always remembered us on Christmas and our birthdays.

    My home economics teacher treated everybody in the class the same. She was a caring person and went out of her way to cheer me up if I came to class sad. During a special school ceremony, my mother couldn't afford to buy me a dress, so my teacher took me down to one of the local stores and purchased one for me. I always thought of her as a God Sent.

    Mr. Agresta was my fifth grade teacher, whom I enjoyed going to his class each day. He taught me how to make a camera out of a oatmeal box, in which we then took actual pictures. When I got to highschool, he remembered me and was able to get me a job in his office.

    The only person who still influences me to this day, is my mother. My mother has and always is there for me. She encourages me to; try until I succeed, be patient, honest, and stay focused on God, and all things will work out for me. I love my mother and will literally do anything in the world for her. She is my motivation to strive to do better. As much as she's capable of doing; she has always tried to provide me with a better life than she experienced.

    This is a picture of my mother, from our cruise this past summer.
    My two aunts are both deceesed and I no longer have contact with them.

    Sunday, September 16, 2012

    Children's Book

    Product Details The Book I selected was: Olivia Helps With Christmas
    Author: Ian Falconer

    This book can be enjoyed by children between the ages of three and five years old. At this age, children are normally excited about the coming of christmas, as was Olivia. Olivia wanted to help decorate the house and the christmas tree to produce some christmas spirit internally.The literature and illustrations can both be used to tell the story, if thee other were not available.

    I can relate to this book, because I love the christmas season. It seems that society as a whole takes part in awaiting such a wonderful holiday; by the christmas tunes that grace the radio, the decorations and gifts in the stores, christmas trees and other decorations in the neighbors house and on the front lawn, as well as sending holiday greetings to family, friends, and loved ones.

    Resources:
    Falconer, I., 2007, Olivia Helps With Christmas

    Inspirational Quote

    Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.- Chinese Proverb

    I selected this quote because it has a lot of meaning to it. No matter how many lessons, resources, or tools that we provide children with, it is up to the child to apply what they have learned.



    Resources:
    Inspirational Quote (Chinese Proverb)

    My Birthday Cruise 2012

    This picture was taken 8/10/12, aboard the ship of Royal Carribean's Explorer of the Seas. My lovely wait staff surprised me with the delicious Chocolate Cake, and a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday". Staff members from Left to Right: Tasha, Phillipe, Head Waiter Patrick, and Edgar.

    Thursday, September 6, 2012

    WELCOME

    Welcome and Thank You for coming to visit my blog site. I will be sharing some helpful and useful information here, that hopefully will be beneficial to each one of you within your career. Any comments or questions that you may have while you are reading my blog, please do not hesitate to drop me a line and ask.

    Thank You Again and Happy Reading,
    Sherrell