How do families select a strong family support group or system and what can educators do to help?

During this weeks reading in Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 189-195 "Who Cares for Our Children" the author talked about low income families who may be in poverty, homeless etc, which they are searching for safe and affordable childcare. According to the text on p.191 the author talks about human rights for child care and the importance of creating a "Positive State" for women and children. How do families select a strong family support group or system to help their child get into childcare programs? Today there are child care programs that can help low income families send their child to school such as Head Start programs etc.

As I read, "It's All of Our Business" on p. 197-200 the author discussed the issue of employment on which, the government needs to take action to create business standards that reflect on public values (p.199). I feel that it's our job as educators to help support families as much as possible so that their child can get the education they need.

The last two readings from p. 201-208 talks about a similar issue that discuss wages for childcare and providing improvements on working conditions for educators in childcare programs. Is there an easier way to handle public financial investments on wages?

What can educators do to help children learn more about different types of famillies and diversity?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education on p. 177-182 "Heather's Moms Got Married." The author talked about a subject the children were interested in learning about, which was different types of marriages and families such as, white and brown people, gay or lesbian marriages, and having two moms and two dads. She also mentioned family diversity. How do you feel about mixed marriages and families? I feel that everyone comes from different life styles and people should have the right to do what makes them or others happy. I enjoyed reading about the different activities and ideas for children who are learning about stereotypes on gender differences. Some activities that I found interesting would be having the children share and display their family stories and pictures, and by making a class book of the boys and girls drawings as they engage in non-stereotypical behaviors. When is it appropriate to teach children about stereotypes on gender differences? I recently experienced four children playing in the dramatic play area where they were playing house. One child wanted to be the baby, another child wanted to be the sister, and two other girls both wanted to be the mommy, However one of the children said, "their can only be one mommy" and another child said, "you can be the daddy" that child didn't want to be the daddy, so she told one of the teachers that she wanted to be the mommy too. The teacher told them that they both can be mommy's. Then they both decided to be the mommy and went to look for another child to be the daddy.

What's an appropriate or inappropriate way to discuss race and culture with young chidlren?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 3-6 "What Color is Beautiful?" the author talked about her Kindergarten class and a child named Ernesto who is Spanish. He didn't like his skin color because he wanted to be white. The author also discussed her experience on teaching children about skin color. For example, she read children stories that related to her topic such as, "The Ugly Duckling" and "Nina Bonita" those stories both discussed the issue about changing the way you look and feel. What are some appropriate and inappropriate ways that preschool teachers can do to discuss race and culture to young children? Some appropriate ways could be like the text explained, reading children stories that can relate to multiculturalism, using puppets of different cultures, sing songs, role play or using photo's etc. Some inappropriate ways would be stereotyping etc. We haven't really experienced a child who didn't like the color of their skin or the way they look. However, if we do experience this I feel that it's important to observe the child.

While I was reading "Why an Anti-Bias Curriculum?" the author talked about children and how they should appreciate who they are because everyone is unique. I feel that it's important for children to learn from an anti-bias curriculum because it may help them to understand more about cultural diversity and gender.

Do children get enough play time?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education on p. 57-59 the author talked about a child named Vivian and how she experienced her first day in prekindergarten. The child's school rarely had any time for the children to engage in free play. They mostly did worksheets, and photocopied activities in school. According to Peter Campbell, children in prekindergarten ages 4-5 are expected to do work suited for first graders ages 6-7. What should you do if the child's not ready for first grade work in pre-K? I feel that if the 4-5 year olds are ready and know how to do the work it should be fine. However, if other children are having a difficult time I think they should be given their age or grade level work and not advanced work that is too difficult for the children.

While I read, "What About Play" I was surprised to read that children consume forty hours of media each week (mostly on screens). The text also talked about children and how they hardly get the chance to play while at home because some parents are increasingly using electronic games as "babysitters". Do you think it's appropriate for children to get more or less media throughout the day? I feel that children can learn a lot more through play and interacting with their peers. We experienced a child in our program who enjoys playing and being by himself, while observing him he pretends to be Thomas trains and sometimes he will talk to himself. He also mentioned that he plays games on the computer a lot. He's also the only child in his family and we try to encourage him to play with others, but sometimes he'll just walk away or say "no I don't want to". I feel that he might be uncomfortable playing with other children and he doesn't really know how to express himself. What do you think might be the appropriate thing to do for this child?

Is there a right or wrong way to solve a problem or solution?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 41-42 the author talks about the story "The Three Little Pigs" and how there homes where built differently with straw, sticks, and bricks. She also mentioned stereotypes and the "many approaches to solving a basic human need" such as living things need places to live. In the reading, "Why we Banned Lego's" the author talked about a curriculum which, they have experimented with children on building with Lego's. The children built a large Lego town where they could explore the values of power and ownership. However, the teachers decided it was best to banned Lego's because the Lego town leaders took charge and told others they couldn't join in and help with the project. When that topic or experiment didn't work the teachers from Hilltop introduced another game called Lego trading. Each colored Lego had its own point value which, also had problems because there were some children who kept winning and others had no chance in winning. Therefore, some of them lost interest in that game. Is there a way for children to cooperate effectively?
In our program we try to think of curriculum topic that children are interested in and we also include topics that are important for the children to know such as, family, friends, community helpers, feelings or emotions etc.

Is there a seperation between boys and girls when it comes to toys and games?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 29-33 the author talked about different toys for boys and girls. Usually toys for boys are action figures, race cars, etc and for girls it would be princesses, dolls and many more. Do you think parents or others react in a negative way if boys are playing dress up or with dolls and if girls are playing with action figures or race cars? At our school we recently experienced a boy who enjoys wearing princess costumes in the dress up corner. One day the child's father dropped him off at school and the child wanted me to help him put on the costume. I helped him put it on while his father was talking to someone. The child's father saw that he had the princess outfit on and he was shacking his head while saying "Ah no no". However, the child didn't react to what his father was saying then he began to play again. I think that children just want to experiment with different clothing and what they want to play with. While I read, "Where are the Game Girls?" the author did a curricula where her students researched on boy and girl games to find out what types of games would be appropriate for both boys and girls. The students also got to design their own game inventions that girls and boys can play. From the reading, "Playing with Gender" the author talked about boys playing in the dramatic play area where they pretended to care for their babies while girls wanted to do sports, ride bikes etc. What can we teach children about gender?

What makes a classroom experience valuable?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 123-130 the author discussed the importance of culture, which may encourage us to move from one place to another. She also talked about her experience with children when she takes them exploring such as field trips or different environments that are both fun and educational for young children. At our program, we usually take the children on field trips once a month to teach them about the environment. For example, in the beginning of the school year we took the children to IAO Valley where we taught they about the different cultural pavilions such as Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Korean etc. We take photo's of the children so they can reflect on their experience at IAO Valley. We also help encourage their learning by having them draw what they enjoyed the best on the field trip. How can you tell if the children are learning through this experience? I believe they are learning because they talk about what they have seen and some of them might be able to name the different areas. While I read "Bringing the Earth Home" on p. 131-132 the author talks about professional development for childcare programs. What do we value while working with young children? Some of the things we try to value in our program is for the children to learn, problem solve, and have fun.

I chapter 6 New Possibilities for ECE the author talks about her experience on teaching women. The women shared their life stories and what they do when they work with children and they also discussed numerous topics.