hi

Here are the two international people that are in the early childhood field.

1.       Ajoke International School                          2.            Haiti                                                      

              Mrs.Bimbo Are                                                                 Step by Step Program/ Tipa Tipa

               New Jericho G.R.A.                                                         Dominique Hudicourt

              P.O.Box 679, Dugbe, Ibadan                                       Email: tipatipa@hainet.net

               Nigeria

               Tel: 080-23236933

              Email: arebimbo@yahoo.com

Expanding Resources

The website that I choose is National Institute for Early Education Research.  A link to the site is www.nieer.org.  

I haven't received any feed back from the two international contacts.  If I don't hear from them by the middle of next week then I'll choose the alternate assignment for Part 1. I examined a few websites that was provided and choose the organization that I felt would most benefit me in the early childhood field.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Here are the two international people that are in the early childhood field.

1.       Ajoke International School                          2.            Haiti                                                      

                Mrs.Bimbo Are                                                                 Step by Step Program/ Tipa Tipa

                New Jericho G.R.A.                                                         Dominique Hudicourt

                 P.O.Box 679, Dugbe, Ibadan                                       Email: tipatipa@hainet.net

                Nigeria

                 Tel: 080-23236933

                   Email: arebimbo@yahoo.com

 

Expanding Resources

The website that I decided to explore is the National Institute for Early Education Research.  A link to their website is www.nieer.org. This site provides research based evidence on early childhood education topics.

 

I haven't received any feed back from the two international contacts.  If I don't hear from them by the middle of next week then I'll choose the alternate assignment for Part 1. I examined a few websites that was provided and choose the organization that I felt would most benefit me in the early childhood field.

 

My Supports

My Supports

 

            One factor that is very supportive to me in my life is my mother. My mom is the person that I turn to when facing dilemmas with my children, husband or just life in general.  As a child, she taught me variable lessons that prepared me for what the world has to offer.  She showed me how to be a patient, loving, and a caring child as well as the ma right and wrong.  Later in my teenage years, when peer pressure was becoming major challenging, her support became more emotional.   Even today, as an adult, I find myself reflecting on the values she instilled in me while I was growing up.

 

            Another factor in my life that is very supportive to me is my loving and caring husband.   Besides my mother, he’s the key person in my life that would stand by me thru thick and thin, or the good time and the bad times.  There were moments that I felt frustrated about my job, people letting me down, and even putting my Masters on hold, once again, and he’s the one who help me get over my little hurdle and get me back on track.

 

             My last factor that is very supportive to me in my daily environment is the internet.  The internet is a faster way of accessing information without leaving my house or the classroom.  The internet provides a wealth of information on lesson plans, teaching strategies for different styles of learning, tips for teachers on classroom management, as well as decoration/theme ideas and most importantly, a tool for children to learn from. 

 

             I believe that my life would be pretty much upside down without my daily supporters: my mother, my husband and the internet, in my world.  The benefit of having them in my life is to remind me to never give up on what I started.  Not having my mother around to remind me of the values she planted within me, my encouraging husband cheering me on or the internet to guide me to creativity and new ideas for my classroom environment, my life would be very stressful and hectic.

 

The challenge that I imagine for myself is the idea of me being a single mother of two young children who’s been unemployed for the past three month and my saving is gone. Factors in my daily environment that would support me and my family would be state and government agencies as well as my family. The way that the factors would provide support to me is by giving assistance in my time of need and guidance to help put me back on track. The potential benefits that I would receive are food stamps-to help with purchasing food to eat, Medicaid- provides medical services to families who earn little money, and welfare- offers cash assistance for low income families with children.  Also unemployment and workshops on resume writing and interview techniques.  If the above support factors didn’t exist in my life then my family and I would be displaced and unsafe.  I believe the impact of not having these factors in my life would dramatically change for the worse.

 

 

My connection to play

My Connections to Play

“For a small child there is no division between playing and learning; between the things he or she does ‘just for fun’ and things that are ‘educational.’ The child learns while living and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play.” ~

           Penelope Leach (psychologist, author)

Play for young children is not recreation activity,…It is not leisure-time activity nor escape activity.  Play is thinking time for young children.  It is language time. Problem-solving time.  It is memory time, planning time, investigating time.  It is organization-of ideas time, when the young child uses his mind and body and his social skills and all his powers in response to the stimuli he has met.”

          James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist, author

When children engage in blocks play, they are developing their motor skills along with their hand-eye coordination, creative thinking, social and language skills.

 

 

 

Play dough is a great way for children to strengthen their fine motor skills.  As they play, they are developing their hand muscles making pencil and scissor control stronger. Also it’s an excellent tool for children to express their imagination and creativity quality.

 

 

Puzzles allows children to use their hand muscles, hand eye coordination, motor skills, as well as building up their confidence.   

 

My mother was the first person to ever encourage play as a daily routine when I was young.  In my infant/toddler, we played games like peek-a-boo and this little piggy. When I reached the preschool years my play became more detailed related.  Pretend play was a major role for me. I loved to dress-up in my mother’s clothes and try to walk around in her shoes.  My preschool teacher was another person that supported my play development.  She always had exciting props setup in the Dramatic Play area.  On a weekly basis the area would be transformed into a many fun themes. One time it’s was Doctor’s office with Lab coats and doctors kits for us to explore. Another time it was a restaurant with menus, table clothes, chef outfit, and also money to pay for the food.

 

I feel that play is different from the play in which I engaged as a child.  Now a day, technology plays a very important role in play.  Running, jumping and throwing are being replaced by game dives. Technology on the other hand can actual is beneficial. Children with learning difficulties find IPod and IPad to be very helpful with their learning. 

My thoughts regarding the role of play throughout my life is that it allowed me to express myself, socailize, and beimg confident in me.

 

 

 

 

 

Relationship Reflection

Forming relationships with people is very important to me because it is a way of connecting to individuals on a positive and meaning level.  When connecting with people you tend to be happier, friendlier and welcoming to others, compared to people being by themselves.  Relationship also has validation of your self-worth and security. 

The people that I have manufactured positive, long lasting relationships with are my mother, children, my best friend and my cat, Dior.  One of the ways in which I maintain a relationship with my mom is because we share a common dominator, our children.  As a mom, I can see the struggle she went thru raising me and my siblings the respectable and correct way. There have been times that I ask her for advice when facing dilemmas in raising my own children.  I can’t believe that I’m saying this but I’ve known my best friend for over 25 years.  She is like another sister to me.  Growing up we shared everything from clothes as youths to advice as an adult.  Another way we have a positive relationship is because of the respect and trust we developed over the years. 

 Some challenges that I have experience over time in regards to forming a positive relationship is the time it takes to build the trust and loyalty.   Relationships are not built overnight.  It may take years to really feel secure with sharing your personal information with others.  My experiences with relationship have greatly benefited me in my employment as an early childhood professional.  It has taught me that being patient can have many rewards.  And as educator, collaborating is one of our main tools in becoming better teacher.