Time Well Spent

Three deeply felt learnings from this program

“To take children seriously is to value them for who they are right now rather than adults-in-the-making.”
— Alfie Kohn

Respect for children: I have learned that we all play a big part in the early childhood field, but some of the most important people in the room are the children. For that reason, we should stop and think about their needs and take a moment to listen to them. Children that experience respect become fully aware of what it feels like and learn to treat others the same way they have been treated.

“Before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of education…to raise the lower ranks of society nearer to the higher.”
— John Adams

To continue advocating for the rights of every child, family, and educator: Improving the lives of children, families and the people that work with them is an important task. Every child, parent, and educator needs a partner that would take their worries, needs, opinions to the highest level of government to make change happen.

Love for the profession: I learned that everything I do pays back in the way of laughter, friendships, partnerships, and moments that stay with you forever. I have the greatest job as I help children establish the foundations that it would take to be responsible and thoughtful citizens of the world. If this is the only thing that I do in my career, I am okay with it because I have learned to love it again.

My Goal

I am overwhelmed by everything I have learned and confused about what to do with all that knowledge. I want to take the time to think deeply about my experiences and choose a path that would reflect everything I am today. I will continue working in the field, learning about possibilities, and researching careers that would fulfill my desires.

To my Instructor and colleagues

To all my colleagues, I enjoyed every moment I had with all of you. Through your posts, discussions, blogs, and interactions I have learned that each of you have touched my life and made me a stronger person. I am sad that it is ending. I told my husband that I was starting to feel lost and would take time to get used to not having all of you around. I am forever grateful for having had the chance to be a part of your world. Here is my email toniprego@gmail.com if you want to stay connected or send a message now and then. I would love to hear from all of you. Good luck to all of you with whatever you have chosen to do and thank you once again.

Toni

Dr. Parrish, it has been a pleasure to have had the opportunity to be in your class. You are an incredible educator and I appreciate every bit of information and resources you have given me. Your weekly feedback, guidance, and resources have made me realize that I really have a place in the field and after a period of doubting my expertise and thinking about leaving the profession I am returning to being that passionate teacher. Please stay connected, I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for everything.

Toni

TooTris. (2022). 40 Inspirational Quotes for Childcare and Childcare Providers. Retrieved from https://tootris.com/edu/blog/providers/40-inspirational-quotes-child-care-daycare-providers/

Kashin, D. (2019). All You Need is Love in Early Learning: Embrace the Cliché! Retrieved from https://tecribresearch.wordpress.com/2019/07/12/all-you-need-is-love-in-early-learning-embrace-the-cliche/

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

SAVE THE CHILDREN

Save the Children was the first global movement for children, boldly declaring that children have rights. They work in the hardest-to-reach places, where it’s toughest to be a child. I heard of the organization through the time I started my diversity courses at Walden, and I have seen followed their website and read some of their articles. I am aware of the work they are doing to provide educational needs for children that would not otherwise be able to have access to. I was taken by their fight to get girls educated in countries that are not girl friendly.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY WITH SAVE THE CHILDREN

Lead Associate, US Southern Border Programs (P2)

The Lead Associate, U.S. Southern Border Program delivers and manages partnerships and programs supporting families migrating to the US along the Southern US Border.

Manage and deliver ongoing technical assistance- trainings, workshops and presentations to strengthen local capacity to safeguard, protect and support children’s wellbeing.
In collaboration with Save the Children Program Technical colleagues support the development and delivery of appropriate trauma-informed child protection programming for children and families that adapts to the dynamic circumstances of the border.
In collaboration with Save the Children Program Technical colleagues, develop and deliver resource materials and trainings for multiple audiences including shelters, child serving organizations, childcare providers, educators, families, and community partners.
Lead and support working groups to guide community collaboration to identify and address gaps that help meet the needs of families migrating to the US along the Southern US Border.

I have the necessary qualifications for the job plus the language requirement (Spanish).

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION. (UNESCO)

UNESCO’s founding vision was born in response to a world war marked by racist and anti-Semitic violence. Seventy years later and many liberations struggles later, UNESCO’s mandate is more relevant than ever. Cultural diversity is under attack and new forms of intolerance, rejection of scientific facts and threats to freedom of expression challenge peace and human rights. In response, UNESCO’s duty remains to reaffirm the humanist missions of education, science and culture. What I like about this organization is their commitment to international cooperation in education, sciences and culture

CAREER OPPORTUNITY WITH UNESCO

Administrative Assistant, San Jose, Costa Rica

Department of Families

Under the overall delegated authority of the Director/Head of the Office and the direct supervision of the Finance and Administrative Officer (CFO) or the Senior Finance and Administrative Assistant, as applicable, the incumbent provides a series of administrative support services in compliance with UNESCO Rules and Regulations, practices, standards and procedures. I had some of the qualifications plus Spanish. I thought it would be interesting to learn about the culture and necessities of families in other countries.

THE ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

(OECD)

International organization that works to build better policies for better lives. Our goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all. We draw on 60 years of experience and insights to better prepare the world of tomorrow. Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting. It is the first time I have heard about the organization. After going through their site, I found that their work is important for the wellbeing of children and families.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY WITH OECD

The careers in this organization are more for people with economic, tax and management experience. They do offer some temporary positions as assistants in different departments for short periods of time. They have internships provided but you must put your name on a waiting list. You also must know languages, mostly French. All jobs are geared to the younger generation.

References

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (n.d.). http://www.oecd.org/about

Save the Children. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.savethechildren.org/

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2020). http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

JOBS/ROLES IN THE ECE COMMUNITY: NATIONAL/FEDERAL LEVEL.

MY THREE CHOSEN ORGANIZATIONS

Virginia Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children

Looking at their site I found a request for resources supporting infants, toddlers, young children with disabilities and their families in Ukraine. Requests to this point are for activities that are simple and require no or few materials. Strategies to support children who are exhibiting challenges in behavior due to the ongoing trauma of life in a war zone paired with diagnosis are particularly important.

Based on the necessity of adding resources that are easy and require the minimum of efforts and tools. I thought it was a great idea and I am starting to gather different resources to help the children and families of Ukraine as well as other countries that are going through conflict.

Job, I Chose from this Organization

Early Childhood Development Specialist

I was interested in the job because it has some of the things I would like to work on such as the implementation of developmentally appropriate curriculums and the training of staff members to support positive teacher-child interactions and a classroom environment that promotes each child’s cognitive, social, and emotional growth. I fulfil all their requirements.

ForKids Helping Homeless Families in Coastal Virginia

This organization provides emergency shelter to families and children, ForKids has grown to become one of the largest providers of homeless services to families in Virginia. For Kids delivers quality individualized client-focused solutions designed to achieve stability for families and a lifetime of success for children.

Job, I Chose from this Organization

Family Case Manager

The Family Case Manager serves as service coordinator for all adult and children’s needs, completing strengths-based assessments, making referrals and monitoring provision of internal and external service delivery necessary to obtain and maintain housing stability. I really would like a job where you can help families in need. I do have some of the qualities and qualifications that are needed but I lack a bachelor’s degree in social services.

United Way of the Virginia Peninsula’s Community Impact Partners

This organization improves the quality of life for people in our community by helping them live their best lives. The United Way fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in our community. They create Pathways out of Poverty for neighbors in need by bringing the community together to navigate through the Virginia Peninsula’s toughest challenges.

Job, I Chose from this Organization

Tutor Volunteer

I did not find any jobs in this organization but through their partnerships, I was able to find volunteer work to help families. Tutors provide one-to-one and small group instruction in reading, writing, math, ESL (English as a Second Language), and computer skills. I have the skills to do this voluntary job, I thought it would be a way to get involved with the community.

Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children. (2022). Retrieved from https://virginia.exceptionalchildren.org/

ForKids Helping Homeless Families in Coastal Virginia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.forkids.org/

United Way of the Virginia Peninsula’s Community Impact Partners. (2022). Retrieved from. https://www.uwvp.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

National Association for Family Child Care

This international association is designed to encourage the education of all children. It works with children from birth to their teenage years. Through the organization, educators can get the support and professional resources that they need. The ACEI provides the latest information about best practices in early childhood education. There are also grants, awards and scholarships to help educators learn more about the field. (NAFCC, 2021).

I chose this association because every school I have worked for has daycare attached to their school hours. The site gives tips to parents on what to look for when looking for childcare. The site also has training and workshops for people that want to operate a childcare center or simply learn about the needs of the families and children in their care.

Council for Professional Recognition

The field of early childhood education includes an abundance of organizations that support the professional development of early childhood teachers and that promote improvements in services to young children. Teachers become members of one or more of these associations to help them grow professionally, stay current on early childhood issues, and participate in group efforts to promote change. (Council for Professional Recognition, 2021).

The site focuses on teachers and parents. It has resources on jobs that have to do with early childhood education. It has a library of topics such as teacher leadership and looking at the future of education. The site also has the names of other organizations that help with finances and workshops and media on diverse topics.

Council for Exceptional Children

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is a national, non-profit, professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, including disabilities, gifts, and/or talents. (The Council for Exceptional Children, 2021).

I really liked this site. It gave great ideas on things you can do to enrich your children’s learning. The site offers tools and resources, professional development and policies and advocacy as well as an extensive library of articles and programs for parents, students, teachers, and administrative personnel. You need to create an account to view the library resources, but it is free.

Job opportunities

CDA Professional Development Specialist: If you enjoy mentoring, coaching, meeting new people, and observing educational environments, becoming a CDA Professional Development (PD) Specialist™ may be for you. CDA PD Specialists™ use ECE expertise to assess CDA® candidates’ competencies and facilitate reflective conversations with the candidates. (Council for Professional Recognition, 2021).

I fulfill all the requirements for the job except the knowledge about local, state, and national requirements and standards for childcare programs serving children aged birth through 5 years.

Licensing Inspector at Virginia Dept of Education: The Licensing Inspector is responsible for reducing risks to children in childcare facilities through the promotion and support of improved quality of care and enforcement of state licensing laws, regulations, and evaluation of standards of practices. This position monitors and provides regulatory oversight by evaluating applicants, conducting inspections, and investigating reports of alleged noncompliance and alleged illegal operations. (Indeed, 2022).

I fulfill all the requirements for the job except the knowledge about to interpret and apply laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.

Online Part-Time Faculty – Early Childhood Education: Part-Time instructor to teach early childhood education courses. Requirements: Qualified candidate will possess a Master’s degree in any of the following disciplines: A Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Development, Early Childhood Studies, Early Childhood Leadership. (Indeed, 2022).

I fulfill all the requirements for the job except online teaching experience. I also lack the technical expertise to handle computer problems that might arise.

Council for Exceptional Children. (2021). Retrieved from https://exceptionalchildren.org/

Council for Professional Recognition. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.cdacouncil.org/en/ece-organizations/

Indeed. (2022). Jobs Opportunities in Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from www.indeed.com/jobs

National Association for Family Child Care. (2021). Retrieved from https://nafcc.org/

REFLECTING ON LEARNING

Edwards says “People often say doing something new is scary. It can be. But doing something you believe in, making something that hasn’t felt right to you right, taking a step in the direction of what matters to you is also exciting, challenging, yes, but challenging in that sense of I’m moving. Addressing something that hurts children is a proud and fulfilling moment.” (Laureate, 2011).

That is the feeling I get when I bring something that I learned new into the classroom. I think about how the children will react and what the parents would say when they get to know what we are doing. One day I wanted to bring the topic of fairness and unfairness to circle time. It was necessary to deal with the subject because there were times where children would tell each other “You are not fair.” I observed the child that said it and found myself wondering if she really understood what it meant. During circle time we read the book “That’s not fair” I introduced the children to Henry and his classmates Alex, Max, Lily, Bella, and Jack. and we started to notice like Henry did those kids in his school got to do different activities, have different privileges, and even seem to follow different rules. He wonders why and even gets frustrated because he thinks it is not fair. Then he learns with the help of his mother fair is not always equal. (Butorac & Allen, 2017), because fairness comes with the understanding that we have a diverse class and our needs are different but they are always met.

The experiences made me feel great. I had put into practice something that was new that I had not thought about before. I gave the children the tools to think about what “fairness and unfairness” meant and now they come to the meeting and discuss the things that are not working and find solutions. That was what I wanted to do, give them the power to see that they can change things. My passion is to guide their learning and change their future. My families are my partners. They drive my passion to make the goal of continuing trying to do the best thing for all of us. Without their help the classroom would not be working.

A Note to My Classmates

We have come to the end of another eight fantastic weeks filled with discussions, opinions, challenges, and essential information to take with us on our chosen paths. I want to thank all of you for helping me grow and allowing me to be a part of your journey and I wish you all the best.

Toni

Butorac, C. Allen, C. Zieroth, E. (2017). That’s Not Fair!: A Book About How Fair Is Not Always Equal (The A-Team Presents) Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Thats-Not-Fair-Team-Presents/dp/1548563870/ref=asc_df_1548563870/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312674999652&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16682239104851800687&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008532&hvtargid=pla-570941864810&psc=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Your commitment to anti-bias work. Baltimore, MD: Author

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world I chose and why

The area of the world I chose to talk about is a country in the Western part of the Middle East called Yemen. I have always been interested in what is happening in that area of the world, why do they have so many problems and how their population is affected. Yemen is experiencing largest humanitarian crisis in the history. Twelve million children need food, water, shelter, and medicine. Children are fighting an epidemic, a pandemic, famine, and a war at the same time. (UNICEF, n.d.).

Some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting.

More than 10,000 children have been killed or maimed since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015 – the equivalent of four children every day. As these are just the incidents that the United Nations has been able to verify, the true figure is likely far higher. Eleven children have been killed or maimed in Marib in the past month alone. (UNICEF, 2021).

The war’s impact on children is staggering. Nearly 400,000 children under 5 years of age suffer from severe acute malnutrition,11 and over 15.4 million people urgently need WASH services.12 These conditions heighten the risk of cholera, malnutrition, and other WASHrelated diseases. Immunization coverage has stagnated at national level, with 37 per cent of children under 1 year of age missing routine vaccinations.13 The country is experiencing regular outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Since 2019, Yemen confirmed 35 cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus,14 34 of which were in the Sa’ada governorate. (UNICEF, 2021).

How these experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

During the early years of life, which are characterized by multiple, rapid and complex physiological, cognitive and emotional changes, developmental factors influence the young child’s perception and experience of a potentially traumatic event. Exposure to trauma may interfere with infants and toddlers’ normal development of trust and later emergence of autonomy. (Slone, 2016).

Most studies clearly demonstrate that the nutritional status of displaced children is poor. The poor nutritional status of children in conflict situations increases the risk of infections and diseases which are actually preventable. The children, especially those of school age, suffer from stunted growth due to inadequate food and their ability to learn will be affected by prolonged poor nutrition. (Onyango, 2011).

The War in Yemen Is a War on Children | UNICEF USA

My Personal and Professional Reflection

As I was reading the articles and the UNICEF website I was reflecting on our children and how lucky they are not to have to go through such traumatic experiences. I thought about my parents and their experiences during the Spanish Civil War and how they always said to us how lucky we were not to have lived it. They continue to talk about it even today. I wondered about why we have a need to make children’s lives miserable. What can we do to stop the madness and allow all children to grow up in a more peaceful world?

As a teacher I can take the experience of reading about what is happening and share it with others. Although I do not have families from areas of conflict, I can still choose to get involved in community work that allows me to meet and help others. I have military families in my classroom, and I wonder if any of them had to go through any war. Now I understand that I need to learn about how to deal with the consequences of war to help my families and their children.

Slone, M., & Mann, S. (2016). Effects of war, terrorism and armed conflict on young children: A systematic review. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 47(6), 950–965. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-016-0626-7 

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

Onyango, P. (1998). The impact of armed conflict on children. Child Abuse Review, 7(4), 219–229. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0852(199807/08)7:4<219::AID-CAR473>3.0.CO;2-6

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

It is a topic that has been going on for a long time and continues to happen. It is shocking as a parent to see what is going on in some communities. As a parent with a daughter, I have always tried to keep my child away from toys that portrait girls as sexual objects. However, I cannot shut her eyes to the images of sexualization portrayed in the media. Many of the programs for children are being used to commercialize fashion, make-up and other products that send the message that to be beautiful and successful you must dress and act in a certain way. The American Psychological Association (2007) says that “When people are sexualized, their value comes from their sex appeal, that is equated with physical attractiveness.”

In other jobs I have come across parents who dress their girls very pretty and hear adults telling the children how beautiful they are and look. As children struggle to understand what they hear they learn lessons that frighten and confuse them. (Levin & Kilburn, 2009). Many schools allowed the presence of toys such as princesses, castles and other gender-oriented toys that further sexualize girls. I heard comments such as “I am the most beautiful princess, and I am going to have lots of nice things” Hains, (2014) says that princess culture focuses so strongly on physical appearance that it teaches girls that how they look is incredibly important. It teaches little girls to seek praise for their appearance. I can think about the time that while watching television I came across a show that focused on very little girls entering beauty contests. They were dressed as grown-ups and made to make moves that were to adult like. It took me a while to connect with my thoughts because I could not understand what was happening. Why do parents allow their children to participate in those contests, why do they even exist? I wondered. When it comes to the sexualization of small children some of the parents are detached from reality and see their children as money-making machines. It is also the industries and media that allow children to be used as sexual beings for them to make a profit. (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).

Sadly today, instead of having the positive experiences they need for healthy development, many children are having experiences that undermine it. (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). Children at this stage become more withdrawn and depressed. I noticed during the time I watched that show little girls were being interviewed without the presence of their parents. They were talking about their dislike of the beauty contest and how they just wanted to be normal kids. I listened to them, and I could picture health and mental problems as they continued to become adults. exposure to ideals of sexual attractiveness contributes to body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders…[Sexualization] were linked with three of the most common mental health problems in girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression or depressed mood. (Committee Hansard, 2008.).

Hains, R. (2014). What’s the problem with pink and princess? The marketing, not the moms. Retrieved from https://rebeccahains.com/2014/03/29/whats-the-problem-with-pink-and-princess/

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction] So sexy so soon. The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved

Parliament of Australia (2010). Chapter 3 – Effects of premature sexualization on child development. Retrieved from https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Completed_inquiries/2008-10/sexualisationofchildren/report/c03

Zurbriggen, E, L. Collins, L, R. Lamb, S. Roberts, T. Tolman, l, T. Ward, L. Blake, J. (2007). APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-summary.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

I specifically have experienced Linguistic discrimination, known also as linguicism or languagism. This type of discrimination is based among others on language and accent. Many times, I have been punished for not knowing how to pronounce a name, accentuate a word or fail to find words to facilitate a conversation. The way I talk has many times stopped me from getting employment, and on an occasion the administrative employee of a college I wanted to attend spoke to me very slowly stopping and asking, “do you understand.” I assume that the person that spoke was thinking that she was being nice to me, and it was not her intention to be rude and disrespectful. However, that microaggression made me think that maybe I should take classes to reduce my accent and improve my pronunciation. Dr. Wing-Sue says that this form of racial Micro-aggressions deals with what we call microinsults that demeans a person’s racial heritage by suggesting they are intellectually inferior in one way or another. (Walden University, 2011). Those experiences have made me aware of the need to treat others with respect and accept their home language and culture as a gift that enriches my life.

Most of the time, people do not even notice their culture. We only notice when something changes or makes us uncomfortable. (Derman & Edwards, 20I0). I anticipate that it will be at that time when families and children notice their differences and now families and their children are in a place that is new, speaking a language that does not belong. I have heard it in many classrooms from children, statements like “I don’t understand what you are saying”. I have heard teachers make statements like “I don’t think she speaks English can you translate”, “Her parents are Muslims. I think they only speak to her in their language and that is why she cannot learn”, and even heard from parents “You cannot invite Peter to your party he does not speak English.”

Cheung says that one of the challenges, when dealing with social economic class and culture and language, is the differences between the families. Because they all come in together from different places, from different social economic places, from different languages, from different countries, from different family cultures. (Laureate, 2011). It is up to us to break the cycle and create classrooms that have the diversity and language of every child, embrace the families, and create school communities that integrate every aspect of every language and culture.

“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.”

-Rita Mae Brown

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Learning about fairness: Culture, language, and economic class. Baltimore, MD: Author

Mis Panda Chinese. (2020). Quotes about Language and Culture. Retrieved from https://www.misspandachinese.com/bilingual-parenting-raising-bilingual-kids-quotes/ 

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

OBSERVING COMMUNICATION

I observed the next-door teacher during lesson time and found that the way she interacts with the children is different from mine. Her tone of voice is one of authority and that made the children uncomfortable. Kontos & Wilcox-Herzog (1997) says that teacher talk is a powerful classroom tool. Studies document the importance of teacher language in children’s development. The children in the classroom were not engaged in a positive way. They were told to do their work as the teacher stood by the counter looking at the children to see if they were following directions. I did not see any group activities being done with the children and the coworker sat on a chair next to the children but did not communicate with them.

Kolbek (2011) says “the way I know a child is to see their play. And the way I can find out about their play is first watch them, and then ask them questions about where they are in their play-mind. That is the way I look at children, I observed them from the time they entered the room. I can have a feel for their emotional state that day and that helps me adapt or change the lessons plans for the day. I talk to the children and ask questions about their interests. In that way we can introduce different themes that include every child in the classroom.

Kontos & Wilcox-Herzog (1997) says that “questions that promote children’s thinking require children to think beyond one-word responses to make connections, compare, and hypothesize.” Our class is always engaging in group activities that are fun and bring out problem solving and teamwork. My coworker is always talking and engaging with a group of children, asking open-ended questions that make the children think about finding solutions to the topic in question. Dangei & Durden (2010) tells us to find questions that promote children’s thinking beyond one-word response.

Differences between the way teachers choose to run their classroom has an impact on the children. Our classroom is always ready to learn, always happy, less the blue day now and then, versus the classroom next door where the teacher runs the classroom like a boot-camp and children do not have the opportunity to have other experiences.

I am still a work in progress when communicating with children, sometimes I get it right and others not so much. From the readings I learn how to take a topic and convert it into a learning experience, how to ask questions that give children the opportunity to think and come up with other ideas that add to their learning and language. Hadley, Newman & Mock (2020) says that deciding what materials will entice students into conversation that is rich with novel vocabulary and opportunities to explore new concepts. This is a critical step of preparing the environment for a specific learning goal. Now I have been given the tools to improve my communication with the children that will help me provide a richer environment versus the one they had before.

Hadley, E. B., Newman, K. M., & Mock, J. (2020). Setting the Stage for TALK: Strategies for Encouraging Language-Building Conversations. The Reading Teacher, 74(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1900 

Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Communicating with young children. Baltimore, MD: Author

CREATING AFIRMING ENVIROMENTS

Adriana Castillo’s statement “The children. The main purpose is to support the children’s lives.” (Laruate, 2011) made me think about the environment I wanted to create for children. I wanted a place where children would feel safe and have all the emotional and social support they need. Richards (2011) says “children must feel safe, loved and nurtured to develop the basic trust they need for healthy development.”

I like open spaces with a few tables, and areas where the children can have easy access to all the materials they need and writing center with different paper textures, colored pencils, child safety scissors and other materials.

They need a manipulative center with duplo bricks, puzzles, peg boards and others. There should be a library with books that represent the diversity of the children and families as well as anti-bias books that let the children see other points of view.

They need a math center with blocks and number puzzles and other play-based materials and a dress up area with mirrors and clothes and diverse dolls and other toys that allow children to bring their creativity.

There should be an art center with all types of colored materials, chalk and chalk board, pencils and others. I want posters, pictures and other artifacts on the walls that show the many ethnicities of the children and their families.

The last space that is the most important is a place where the children can go and relax when they need to with cushions, comfortable chairs and mattresses where the children can lay down if they need to. For me this place, as Adrian Castillo says, “it’s the place where I invite the child when he’s having a hard time. I set up this room to feel comfortable, to continue to express their emotion.”

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Building on children’s strengths. Baltimore, MD: Author

Pexels Free Photos (n.d) retrieved from www. WordPress.com.