Reflecting on Learning

 

As an early childhood professional, my most passionate hope is to touch the hearts and minds of the children and families whom I work with through education.  By creating this bond, I want the children to be able to freely interact and communicate in a classroom environment that is conducive to learning.  In the classroom, the materials, resources, and manipulatives should reflect the culture, age appropriateness, various abilities, and interest of the children that will be in the room.  The children will explore, express themselves, learn about the world, learn about family, and learn about interacting, socializing and work with others.

The classroom goal is to help prepare the child to further his or her education and to interact in the world around them.  The classroom is a mini world that should give a great first impression which enables the child to want to be an active participant in the activities and events that go on at school and the classroom.  The desire for the child to actively participate will persuade the parents and family to want to be a part of everything the child is a part of.

To my colleagues,

This has been an interesting experience.  I really enjoyed sharing as well as reading what you all had to share.  Thanks for the insight and different perspectives. Best wishes for this school year.

 

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

Algeria is a place in which there is a continuous need to speak out concerning children rights to be healthy.  In the rural and southern parts of Algeria, nutrition is a concern because of low birth weight rates.  UNICEF has played a vital part in contributing to helping families in Algeria with heath, nutrition, and education.  The children have the opportunity to attend school.  The problem in Algeria, is the low retention and drop out rate.  There is a need for teacher training and technological equipment.  Children have to be protected from violence and abuse.  I chose Algeria to learn more about what goes on there.  As I read, I realized that some of these things that are happening in Algeria is happening all over the world.  Cooper, Masi, and Vick (200) share that “Negative early experiences can impair children’s mental health and effect their cognitive, behavioral, social-emotional development” par.1).  Children are exposed to diseases, violence and other issues that can cause behavioral issues as well as developmental issues especially emotional development. 

References

Cooper, J. L., Masi, R., & Vick, J. (2009).  Social-emotional Development in Early Childhood

What Every Policymaker Should Know. National Center for Children in Poverty.

Retrieved from: http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_882.html.

Sexualization

 

    The reading "So Sexy, So Soon"  expresses the view that sexualization is everywhere.  Children are 

exposed at an early age to sexualization.  Commercials, television shows, and kids shows show men, 

women, and children in underwear, swimwear, and other types of revealing attire. Levin and Kilbourne

 (2009) share that “The gender difference in toys is characterized by often harmful gender roles" (p.1).

Children come to school with ideas of sexualization.  Teachers can observe this behavior when the 

children are working in the centers.  For example, the idea of girls only play with dishes in the dramatic

 play area or boys only playing with the toy trucks in the block area. Sexualization plays a role in how

 children as well as adults dress.  Children formulate his or her idea of how different behaviors are, 

what he or she say or how he or she respond in conversation.  Sexualization also can contribute to how 

children treat each other.

 

Reference

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 Ballentine 

Books.  Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduvtion.pdf.

 

Classroom "-isms"

Classism, racism, gender stereotyping and sexism, and other"-isms" can affect people.  People respond to these “-isms” how he or she think is the best way possible for his or her situation.  Sometimes it happens so naturally that it seems normal.  In the classroom, helping children deal with “-isms” can improve interaction between the children as well as teacher-student interaction. Children learn to communicate, work together on activities and play together regardless of differences.  An example of a classroom “-ism” is when one of the girls decided to not play with another girl.  The reason was because the first girl wanted the second girl to only do what she said.  The second girl wanted to play with the dramatic play dishes differently from the first girl.  As a result, the first girl tried to take the dishes and the girls were pulling the dish back and forth until the second girl fell to the floor.  When children have experiences like this they may decide to not talk to other children, play alone, and fell afraid to be in the classroom.  Things like this are opportunities to incorporate classroom conflict techniques as well as other strategies that will help children learn to interact regardless of differences.

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WLECOME TO Geneen's Blog!!!

Observing Communication

One day while grocery shopping, I observed a mother with her two children.  The children were twins, a girl and a boy.  The boy ran up to the bananas and wanted to count them.  The mother laughed and responded, “Count all of them.”  The boy nodded as he began to count.  The mother began to count too as well as the little girl.  The girl and boy stopped and said, “There are so many I love bananas.”  The mother told the children that they were going to talk about the banana.  She told the children where the bananas can from, how to grow bananas, and named animals that like eating bananas.  In this instance, there is what Stephenson (2009) calls “indirect learning (what some call the “hidden curriculum”). This kind of learning includes what children learn from one another, and the implicit messages conveyed by the teachers and by the environment’s structure and resources” (p. 90). The mother and children continued to shop for other fresh fruit and vegetables.  As the mother chose the fruit and vegetables she wanted to buy, the children identified the shapes and colors that they recognized.  The children are learning and the mother assist the children in learning in an environment that the children can relate to.

Reference

Stephenson, A. (2009). Stepping Back to Listen to Jeff: Conversations with a 2-Year-Old. YC:

             Young Children, 64(2), 90–95.

Affirming Environments

Creating Affirming Environments

Creating an environment that reflects the diversity of children and their families supports the teacher’s aim of making the classroom conducive to learning.  In the classroom, children must be comfortable enough to freely express him or herself through learning.  Parents must be comfortable enough to know that his or her child will be safe and will learn.  Lynch (2016) explains that “Staging the physical space, getting the students to cooperate, creating a communal environment, and maintaining a positive classroom climate and culture increases the opportunity for children to learn” (par. 1). Learning involves giving children the ability to explore, grow and develop.  Copple and Bredekamp (2009) share children develop when they have secure consistent relationships with responsive adults; mentally active in seeking to understand the world around them; and  are challenged to achieve at a level just beyond their current mastery. Children learning takes place in the environment during the lessons and activities which influences the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive domains.

The physical space must be clutter free with all manipulatives, materials and other resources accessible to the child.  The manipulatives, materials, and other resources should be age appropriate, tailored to meet the child’s individual needs, and interesting. The classroom would include a library, cozy corner, science, math and literacy, music, dramatic play, blocks, and physical development area.  In each of the areas there will be a variety of manipulatives on the shelves at the children’s eye level.  The manipulatives will be top free so the children can play with what he or she chooses to play with while in the learning center.  The cozy corner will include a rocking chair as well as a nook with shelves for books.  Castillo (2011) shares that teachers should “Support the children’s lives, their family’s lives, and listen to them (p.7).  Using the environment to help support the children causes the child to desire to interact in the environment as well as with the teacher.

 

References

           

            Copple, C. & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early

                        Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8. 3^rd ed.,

Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome

to an anti-bias learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author.