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.

How do we teach our students?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 49-53 the author talked about teaching different winter celebrations such as Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa etc. She was teaching children that not everyone celebrates Christmas because they have their own values and beliefs. When I was taking my first practicum class at Head Start there was a child who's family didn't celebrate any holiday's including his birthday. I feel it's important to follow their beliefs and find other ways or activities for the child or children to do around the holiday season. After I read 'Staying Past Wednesday' on p. 155-157 the author talked about a kindergartner named Jessica and how she and her brother died. How do you teach children about death or loss? I feel that this is an emotional subject to talk to children about. However, it's important that they gain an understanding of what death means. I recently, experienced a three year old girl at our school program, her mother died in a car accident when she was only two years old. She was also in the car with her mother when this happened and she is now being raised by her grandparents. Every so often when she falls or gets hurt she will cry for her mother and would sometimes say "mommy not here." What should you do to help children cope with death? If children are feeling sad we try to comfort, talk, and help them get through the hard times.

In chapter 5 New Possiblilities for ECE the author talked about her experiences on teaching child health, safety, and nutrition to college students. The women in her class worked in small groups to discuss the importance of safety such as, always have someone supervising the children. For the topic health they discussed the dangers of what would happen if you shake a baby such as, brain damage and blindness. The women also shared their life experience with the class.

Is change a good thing for educators and learners?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 147-150 the author talked about inclusion in a Head Start classroom. What does inclusion mean to you? To me it means accepting children with special needs or disabilities of ages 3-5 to become apart of a preschool classroom. When I read about Nyla's experience in the classroom I thought it was a great experience for the other children to include her in the classroom and learn about her disabilities being in a wheelchair. Nyla's mother was almost going to take her out of school because she was worried that she didn't fit in with the group or have any friends. However, her mother heard that she made friends and she changed her mind and kept her in school. After I read 'Talking the Talk' on p. 175-176 the author talked about teachers who spoke Spanish and she also wanted to expand and change the languages at school to include other languages spoken such as, Mixteco, Triqui, Zapotec, and Canjobal etc.

I personally have not experinced an inclusive classroom. However, I recently experienced a four year old child at our preschool program that had signs or symptoms of autism. He would shout and scream if other children got in his way, he would have trouble sitting and listening, and his eyes would constanly be twitching. He was a smart boy who could notice large numbers, put words together and read the word. He was a child who enjoyed playing on his own most of the time and being around adults. We were working with his parents and they got him help from specalist. The specialist would come in the school and observe his behavior. They gave us some tips that would help him calm down such as, rubbing his back at least three times. He stayed at the preschool for about three months and his parents decided to put him in a special needs program.

In chapter 4 New Possibilities for ECE the author interviewed some women who have gone through some hard times in life. They talked about their experiences on how they came from abusive homes, lived in poverty, dealing with death, by a loved one, using drugs etc. After going through an emotional life the women wanted to change their old ways of living and got their lives back on track by going to school and becoming educators and career women.

How can educator's expand children's learning?

As I read, 'I Just Want to Read Frog and Toad' from Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 99-102. I thought about children in elementary schools from grades K-5. Do children get to experience reading at their own level or do they follow the class level on reading? When I was in elementary school along with a few other children we were placed in a program called project where some educators will take us away from our class for a few minutes or half hour and help us improve our reading and literacy skills. When ever I was taken away from the other classmates I would always wonder why. The author talked about a five year old boy named Eamonn who wanted to read story books in his class which, were appropriate for his age and not baby books. However, his mother wanted him to read real books and not photo copied books which, the teacher has assigned him to read. As he read a story called "White Knight" he wasn't very proud on how he read the story and he wanted to develop his own story on the "White Knight". I believe that it's important for children to have fun and learn new skills that are developing their mind and knowledge. While I read, 'Strawberry Fields Forever?' On p. 171-173 the author talks about her past on teaching children of migrant farmworkers. Back then, families worked in strawberry fields while children were going to school. She talked about preparing children to speak and develop their vocabulary in Spanish before they go on to kindergarten. According to the author, she was more concerned with what was developmentally appropriate for children such as, the world around them and incorporating their interests into curriculum (Rethinking Early Childhood Education p. 172). I agree with what she said because it's important for children to learn about different topics that are interesting to them and where they come from.

In Chapter 3 New Possiblities for Early Childhood Education the author talked about five different women's life experiences and stories. I thought that Sharnette's story was emotional to read about because she was growing up in a home being raised by her mother. However, she mentioned being in foster care because her mother was on drugs. She also grew up being in poverty and in an abusive home. What can we do to provide and help children growing up in abusive homes, being in poverty, and struggling to survive?

Is there something we can do to help families in poverty and change the way we use technology in the classroom?

As I read Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 75-83. It made me think is it necessary to have computers in the classroom for preschool children. In my opinion, I don't really think children at this young age need to go on the computer or learn how to use it. I feel that it's more for children of ages 6 or 7 and up to learn about computers. According to the text on p. 75 "The time spent with computers in the early years not only subtracts from important developmental task but may also entrench bad learning habits, leading to poor motivation and even symptoms of learning disabilities." In our preschool program we don't have computers for the children to use however, they can learn by doing hands on activities and develop other skills such as, problem solving, building their social and emotional skills, developing their gross motor and fine motor body movements, cooperate and play well with other children, and dramatic play or being creative, etc. The text also explains that with young children it is even more important than with older ones to determine what we want them to learn before choosing the technology to do the job (Rethinking Early Childhood Education p. 81). However, in some ways technology can be both beneficial to children and adults. So I ask this question, Do you think computers are appropriate or inappropriate for young children? What can they learn from a computer at ages 3-5?

In Chapter, 2 of New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education the author talked about three different women Bertha, Diane, and Olivia on their experience as mothers in poverty who were also being treated unfairly because of their cultural backgrounds. I though that Diane's story was emotional to read about because she is a single mother who was on welfare and working hard to support herself and her children. Then she became ill with diabetes and high blood pressure. She had to put her college career and job on hold and waited until she became well again to continue college. After reading about Diane's story I thought about families at our preschool and how hard it must be for them to work and provide an eduation for their children. What can we do to help families get through their time in poverty?

What types of activities or lessons can we do to assess children?

As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 113-120 the text described steps of an assessment system called "Learning Stories". The first step is assessment protocols, which ask teachers to record a child's work through observation and in narrative form. Another step of assessment asked teachers to plan from an analysis: What might they offer to encourage a child's interest, ability, or disposition? ( Rethinking, p. 120). After I read this, I thought about how we assess children in ECE. In our preschool program we assess children in the beginning of the school year of September to see what they know and what we need to help them with. For example, colors and shapes for 2 and a half-3 year olds and colors, shapes, alphabet, and numbers for 4-5 year olds. Throughout the year, we do different learning activities, and games to strengthen children's minds and bodies. I also try to teach them positional and opposite words/movements. To help children become more independent we role play and show them how to do things on their own such as, pouring milk into their cups, scooping food into their own plate, washing hands, putting their toys away after playing with them etc.

According to, Susan Bernheimer in chapter 1 of New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education mentioned her experience on teaching a class to women on welfare. She started searching for ways to start her class and break through the silence of the women who had concerns and insights to express. through my experience when I first started to teach children, I was very nervous and worried because I was thinking to myself how could I teach them so that they will understand, What do they need to know before they go on to Kindergarten? However, when I assessed them I was suprised to see how much some of them knew. As I thought about my own experience it made me think and realize that everyone has to experience and learn new teaching techniques, which will work out for them and their students. Overall, in the near future I hope children will reflect on their school experience and set new goals for future education.

Blog #1: How can experience as a young child change the way we teach young children?

While I was reading chapter 7 New Possiblities for Early Childhood Education by Susan Bernheimer I found out that the author of the book talked about her past experience as a fifth grader and that teachers play a powerful role to teach their students. As she talked about making her ashtray it made me think about my past experience when I was a fourth grader. For example, I had to tear pieces of paper in the shape of the Hawaiian Islands and I picked up the wrong colored paper to tear. The teacher told me "How come your not following directions?" after that happened I felt embarrassed in front of my classmates. Now that I'm a preschool teacher it made me think about other children and how they must feel when they get embarrassed or upset in front of their classmates. In this chapter, I thought the author was well discriptive about her personal experieces as an educator when she was teaching the english language to college students and how she got her students involved with discussions and topics. This made me think about what I'm trying to teach children, When I teach children I try to come up with different activities that will help them learn and have fun, which is also developmentally age approriate.

My Steps in Life...

Hi everyone! My name is Dawn, when I was a high school student I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do or become, I was mostly the shy and quiet one compared to my twin sister whom is the more talkative one. During the summer when I didn't have school my mom thought it would be a good idea if I volunteered at Wailuku Hongwanji Preschool, which was the same preschool I went to when I was four years old. So I decided to take my mom's advice and help out during the summer. After I volunteered at the preschool I relized that working with young children was the field I wanted to pursue. In 2005 I graduated from Baldwin High School and the same year I went to Maui Community Collage. This was also the same year I became a part-time teacher's aide at WHP. I remember when I took my first practicum class at MCC because it made me realize there was a lot more to this job than I thought. During the beginning of the course it was quite a challenge of getting used to the standards, learning about approriate and inappropriate practices, and strategies while working with young children. It took me about four years to get my AS degree in ECE and this is my second semester and second online class with UHWO. I have been working at the same preschool for about four years and this would be my first year as a teacher. Overall, I hope to learn more and gain more experience and information in ECED.