My connections to play

"Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed."
- Maria Montessori

"Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn."

O. Fred Donaldson
Contemporary American martial arts master

I love these quotes especially the first one because I see so many times parents and teachers help children rather than letting them try first and having them work through the steps themselves. There are also many times I struggle with not letting my perfectionism affect letting the children make crafts and do projects. 

I grew up with two older sisters and two older brothers on a farm. We spent most of our time playing outside. My parents did not want us spending all our time watching television so there were several times I can remember growing up that our TV "broke", but would magically start working when the news came on. 

This is so different than children today because many children spend their time watching television or playing with their phones or iPods. I think this robs children of their creativity and problem solving skills. When my husband's niece came to live with us she had not idea what to do if we told her no TV or iPod. She also struggles to think through problems because the only games she plays are with technology. Technology is a wonderful invention, but it is relied upon too heavily and our children are suffering. Play is when children learn to cooperate with others and use their imagination. It also teaches them persistence and helps promote thinking. Playing with toys is so important to future success in school.     

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important because people help support you, encourage you, and help you grow. This summer my mom passed away and without the support of my husband, my siblings, and my friends I would not have gotten through. I am lucky to be very close to all my siblings and they are the ones I call when I need help. My sisters have really helped me since having my daughter because they were able to share their experience with me when I was having problems. However, since my husband is military we live 14 hours away from my family so I have had to work to maintain the bonds with my family through phone calls and Skype. This is also true for my friends that live far away. Without communication the relationship fades away so there are some friends that I am no longer close to because due to different work and family schedules we have not been able to communicate enough to stay close.

I have also learned there are many challenges to building a relationship. Since I am a military spouse I have had to move to a different area twice and each time it was hard meeting people. I am a naturally shy person and have trouble starting conversations with people. This has made it hard making friends because I have had to step outside of my comfort zones several times in order to make friends.

My husband and I have a special relationship in that we are equals working towards a common goal that we have for our family. This requires constant communication and compromise because we are different people who have very different perspectives sometime. Because we have common bonds with our daughter there is not the option of letting the relationship fade. Even in times of disagreement we must work together to find a solution and remember our love for each other.

Reflecting on my relationships with family and friends reminds that we have relationships with our coworkers and families we serve and we much work as partners to meet our common goal of helping children. There will be times we disagree with coworkers and families, however because we are partners we need to use effective communication and work through the problem. If we are not able to do this then we will lose the support and experience from our coworkers and lose the respect from our families. Without all these we will not be effective in our positions.

When I think of child development

"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.
- Dr. Hiam Ginnot

This quote drives home the point that parents and caregivers are such an influence on children. I hear many parents complain about how their children yell and scream and then yell turn around and yell at their child. Children learn tone, phrases, and behaviors from what they see and hear. 


I want to thank Jo Hester and Jolene Hernandez. It has been nice to be in these past two classes with both of you. I have enjoyed learning more about both of you, personally and professionally. Thank you both.

Testing for Intelligence

I do not believe in standardized testing. Many teachers are forced to teach to the test and miss out on educating students on so many other topics. It also detracts from letting student interest guide learning. While certain topics and certain standards must be taught, I think students should also be allowed to guide some of the learning. However, teachers are on deadlines so it prevents them from getting off topic even a little. Also because they keep raising what children should know at each grade I think we are putting too much pressure on kids and expecting so much more when children get to kindergarten. My sister teaches high school and they are now seeing some negative results from teaching to the standardized test because the way the kids were taught to answer questions on that test is not what is expected when they take the ACT or SAT so the kids are failing those tests and are having to learn a whole new way to write to pass the tests for college. It is very stressful for the kids and the teachers.

I read about testing in Russia and found that in recent years they have started using standardized testing similar to U.S.'s SATs to determine graduation and entering college. According to an article in the New York Times, many people were upset about the transition and did not feel it was the best choice to replace their old system (Kishkovsky, 2011). Officials stated that the new test is all done on computer and graded by the computer so it would eliminate the bribery that was taking place by students so teachers would give them good grades (Kishkovsky, 2011).

Unfortunately while I don't believe standardized testing is the best option, I am unsure what a better option really is. Every child learns differently and understands information differently so how do you judge children fairly? I'm not sure what or if there is a correct answer to this.

Reference:
Kishkovsky, S. (2011, February 6). U.S.-style college exams take hold in Russia. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/education/07iht-educSide07.html?_r=0

Consequences of Stress-Week 4

I have a second cousin, Brooke, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 2. She also had a fraternal twin, Cassie, which made the situation more complicated. The disease not only impacted the Brooke, it also had an affect on her sister. It was a year and a half long journey of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and therapy. Both children suffered extreme attachment problems since the twins had never been apart before. Because of their age they could not understand why they couldn't be together. Cassie was raised mainly by her grandparents while her parents were in the hospital which caused more attachment problems. This also led her to become slightly spoiled because everyone did not want to further upset her since she was already separated from her parents and sister so there was little discipline. For Brooke, she underwent several painful treatments and suffered tremendous sickness. Because of the location of the tumor she did have to receive therapy to regain her motor skills. This caused her frustration because she would see her sister do an activity, but she could not do the same thing. She still has some trouble walking because of damage done while removing the tumor. Though she has been cancer free for seven years, both girls become extremely anxious the weeks leading up to her annual brain scan. They have trouble sleeping and eating. Though they were young when this happened, the feeling of being separated still lingers today.  This disease caused stress on the entire family and impacted the physical development of Brooke and the emotional development of both children.

The entire world hears about natural disasters several times throughout the world. It seems every time I watch the news there is a tornado, earthquake, hurricane, flooding, landslides, and so many more some where in the world. While it is easy to think about the immediate impact on children physically, we also must think of how this will change them permanently. Children who experience a natural disaster whether it is massive or even minor can carry those memories and be scarred for life. After a natural disaster, children will likely experience a degree of poverty, hunger, noise, chaos, disease, environmental pollution, and possibly violence. Areas of natural disasters can be hectic and chaotic and it could be a while before a child has a stable environment again. This will cause stress and will have a life long impact on development. I have never considered the long term consequences of natural disasters on children and now wish there was more I could do to help those who have lived through these horrible experiences.

Child Development and Breastfeeding-Week 2

I really believe more information and more support needs to be given to new mothers to help with breastfeeding. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Breastfeeding is something that seems like it should be easy because it is natural and yet there are many complications that without support and knowledge could cause a woman to give up. After I had my daughter I had no assistance in the hospital and actually had a nurse tell me she should go about 4-5 hours between feedings. This caused her to be extremely hungry and would not latch and she became dehydrated. After spending a very long evening in the ER, we had to start supplementing with a bottle. Luckily, I had a friend who was a lactation consultant who was available to come help me and when my daughter was a week old she finally latched and I was able to exclusively breastfeed until six months and continued to breastfeed until she was a year old.

Not all women have access to support and will give up when it becomes difficult. I also learned that in some countries babies who are not breasfed instead receive low-quality replacement milk which causes poor growth development (Chan, 2011. In 2009 Chine had 13 million children who were stunted because of this problem (Chan, 2011). Breast milk is the best nutrition for a new baby, but if mothers cannot or do not want to breastfeed they still need information and access to quality formula. I am so saddened to read about these children who will be affected for life because their mother did not have the same advantages that I did. I would love to help spread to word of the benefits of breastfeeding, both for mother and child.




Chan, J. (2011). UNICEF: Lack of Optimal Breast Feeding in Developing Countries. Retrieved from http://www.asianscientist.com/health-medicine/unicef-breast-feeding-china-india-mortality-rate/

Childbirth

Giving birth was the most amazing experience, though the whole day is kind of a blur. I was in labor for 15 hours, 2.5 hours of pushing to finally deliver an 8 lb 13 oz beautiful little girl. Even with bouncing on a ball and walking, my daughter was extremely stubborn and did not want to come out so after 9 hours I got an epidural. I almost had to have a c-section because she was not making progress, but they turned off my epidural and I was able to feel the contractions better and push her out. I was impressed with the hospital staff because they were not in a rush for a c-section and made every effort so I could have her vaginally. However, after all the pain and the exhaustion I will never forget the moment when I finally learned if we had a boy or girl (because we wanted it to be a surprise). When they placed my daughter in my arms she didn't cry she just looked around with the biggest eyes. She was so precious.

After reading the article Birth and Maternal Health Around the World, I was surprised at how some countries vary greatly and many still practice traditional customs. This also means some countries still face high mortality rate during birth such as Nigeria where 1 in 18 women will die in labor (Davis). In Korea the mother is not supposed to express pain because they believe negativity will have an adverse impact on the baby (Davis). After reading this I am extremely grateful I did not give birth in Korea because I definitely expressed pain during labor and had a few choice words for my husband.

Reading about the different customs and beliefs surrounding childbirth was interesting. I feel for the mothers who experience labor alone and in primitive conditions. I was grateful for everything modern medicine had to offer when I gave birth.

References
Davis, Lisa Selin. Birth and maternal health around the world. Parenting. Retrieved from http://www.parenting.com/article/birth-maternal-health?page=0,0