My Connections to Play...

 

I chose the above two quotes to represent my childhood as it relates to play. If we're being honest, there is much of my childhood that I do not remember. So I'm not certain that they quotes truly reflect anything from my childhood, but knowing my family and my passion now, I feel like like these relate very well. And are very accurate to my ideas and focus now as an educator and a parent as it related to the importance of play for children. 

When I was younger I remember my love for dance, babies, and our pool. When I was younger, I loved to play with baby dolls and spend my time taking care of them. As I got older, I'd spend hours dressing up in old dance costumes and putting on "shows" for family and friends. Lastly, my family spent most of the summer in our backyard in our pool having family and friends over for BBQs. Most of my memories of my childhood play come from this. 

When I was younger my older sister definitely supported play with me. She is seven years older, and always ran around after me like a little mom trying to take care of me and make sure I was happy. She would play with me, pretend to "teach" me as we played teacher, and always took me on adventures (usually in our backyard!). She was a born teacher, so she really encouraged me to learn and explore and also showed me how to in many ways. Reflecting back on my childhood vs. childhood now there are some things that I think are really different. Technology wasn't what it is today, and even the tv and movies we're readily available to me at any time. We had to be creative, use our imagination, and get hands on with playing. Even living in Michigan where it's cold (way too often) from what I remember, the majority of my childhood memories were being outside playing. Today, kids sit and play video games, or watch movies/youtube, computers/tablets, etc. They aren't getting up and doing, exploring, or being outside and that is honestly really sad to think about. There are some things that similar, kids love to play with cars, trucks, kitchen, babies, etc... at least my kids do. But I have to be super intentional in getting them to engage in those activities and not the just tech stuff that sucks them in like zombies. When I think about the children in my programs but more specifically my own children, I want my passion and excitement for the great outdoors to be passed onto them. There is no greater feeling that getting your hands or feet in the grass or sand, and exploring nature, and feeling the sun and wind on your face. 

Relationship Reflection...

Healthy and loving relationships are essential for everyone. Loving relationships with others are what help you grow, what challenge you daily, what offers you support when you need it, and what offers love and affection and emotional health. I am blessed to have many loving and supportive people in my life who support me and offer me so much encouragement and love. I am going to share with you (in no specific order) the people in my life that make my life rich, full of love, and support- well most the time anyways!

My Sister- She is my rock and my best friend. She is 7 years older than I am, so growing up she always had my back and took care of me like a little mother. As we've grown up, she's become my best friend and greatest supporter. There isn't anything I can't tell her, that she won't help me through. 

My Parents- They are the most selfless people I have ever met. They will give you the shirts of their back, if they see the need. They have always been there for me, to help and support me, sometimes even when I'm too stubborn to ask for it. As a parent myself, I hope that someday my children look at me with the same admiration as I have for them. They have always taught us that family (and friends) mean everything and should be treasured above all else. 

My Husband- He is my soulmate. He is so hardworking and is always working on small projects to improve our house and lives. He has taught me that marriage is hard, but so worth it. I've also learned the importance of honest and real communication and how it's the foundation of a healthy relationship. 

My Sweet Babies- These two are my everything. They are the reason I get out of bed many mornings, they are the reason i've been working to get healthy and active, they are the sunshine of my days. Motherhood is the best part of my life, even on the days when it is tough and tiring, it is SO worth it, and my biggest blessing. 

Extended family and Friends- My extended family is very close. I have many cousins, aunts, uncles, etc who are an active part of my life to offer me love, support, and help whenever needed. I also have a great group of friends. They enrich my life. They encourage me when I need it and offer laughs whenever possible. Being a mom of young children can be very busy at times and "me time" can be hard to get often, so my core group of friends who also have young children are a god send. They get it. We can vent, cry, laugh, and know that we're in a safe supportive space with no judgement only care and support, and that means more than words can express. 

Relationships as it relates to early childhood education... I think it's crucial that we understand the importance and value that healthy, loving, secure, and supportive relationships bring into people lives. These relationships will affect the development of a child, both positively but also negatively. We have to know that, and help parents to foster healthy relationships. Also, we need to work to establish these relationships with both the children that we teach, but also the parents as well. This has to be our mission, our focus, and our intention in all that we do! 

When I Think About Child Development...

 A few quotes come to mind when I think about Early Childhood Development as a whole.

These two quotes really speak to me about children. The first one, inspires me to be the best educator (and parent) possible to the children in my life. The world is a tough place, especially recently it seems, and our children bring so much hope for our future. We have to instill in them kindness, acceptance, and love. We have to be intentional to share good character traits with them, so that they can develop into kind and loving people who will change the world for the better! The second quote inspires me when I look into the eyes of children in my life. They see the world with so much wonder and hope, something we don't often see with our experience and age. I never want children to lose that wonder, so we need to encourage and cultivate their excitement and wonder as much as possible for as long as possible! Children offer the world so many things, and sadly, so many children are striped of that ability by the adults around them far too soon. I am passionate that we value, love, and respect children and all that they bring to the world so that they know that whatever they want to do in life, and whatever they want to be, is reachable! Every child needs a loving adult to be cheering them on, I want to be that person in as many children's lives as possible. 

Thank you classmates for a great 8 weeks. I appreciate your thoughts, ideas, and support and am encouraged by your excitement and passion for children and this field. Best of luck to you all!

Standardized Testing...

 As early childhood educators we know that standardized testing is not a great snapshot of a child's growth and/or development. However, in our country it is the main way of assessing student growth as well as teacher performance. Testing is not an accurate tool of assessment, it is often times not developmentally appropriate, and teachers are often teaching children how to do well on the test, rather than spending time teaching them what they should actually be learning. When I was a student, standardized testing really stressed me out. I would get overwhelming anxiety and would get sick to my stomach having to take the test. To this day, if someone tells me I have 1 chance to take a test (even worse if there's time restrictions), I get anxious, nauseous, and do awful, even when I know the content being tested. 

I understand the need to be able to see student growth as well as teacher effectiveness. But there has to be better and more individualized ways to do this in a more appropriate way. In an early childhood setting, you use observations, anecdotal notes, developmental continuums, etc., to track student growth. Can't the same apply as student get older? I'm okay with testing, but it cannot be a one size fits all, because students are different and all have totally different learning styles that should be accepted and celebrated. 

I was excited to research what other countries do in this regard. And quite honestly, I was surprised at what I learned. I found an interesting article, "What Standardized Tests Look Like in 10 Places Around the World" that breaks it down by county. Here is what I learned:

• The UK has dozens of Standardized Tests and on average by the time a child turns 16, they will have completed 15-20 tests.
• Finland has 1 standardized tests that students take at the end of their senior year.
• Students in Japan take a few tests, including one required to even enter into high school. Their tests are "high stakes" and high test scores are crucial. 
• In China, they have 1 test that "means everything". It is a test that takes 12 hours overall to complete, and is given over 2 days. This test decides their future including what college they'll get into and even their potential earnings. 
• In South Africa students take 1 test and the end of their high school years to decide what happens next.
• Brazil students take a test to get into college, though this has been a controversial topic in the country for the past few years. 
  
• In Mexico, students take multiple standardized tests, and in recent years they have been taking more and more which has caused teachers and educators to protest against these changes.
• Canada is similar to the US, where this varies greatly by Province, however a crossed the country they use standardized tests.
• India students have to take a test for high school completion, but then have to take an additional test for college entrance.

The above info was found at: https://www.insider.com/standardized-tests-around-the-world-2018-9#test-scores-in-india-have-social-implications-10 

It seems as though overall the US has some of the highest amounts of standardized tests given to students over all. We need to do better. We need to be more creative and open to new ways and ideas on assessing growth. It will take strong leadership, new ideas, an outside of the box way of thinking, but it can be done... it's long overdue and we owe it to our kids.

A Chaotic Few Years...

 Growing up, I had a great childhood. I had two parents who were "happily" married, a brother and a sister who loved me, a close extended family, and lots of friends. My early childhood was happy, consistent, and full of love. All of this was true, until my 3rd grade year. It was a year of total chaos in my family, but mostly in my life. Apparently, my parents weren't happily married, and had been struggling in their marriage for years. At 8 years old my dad took me, my sister (who was 15 at the time) and my brother (who was 23) up north one weekend to our family cottage to tell us that he and my mom were getting divorced. In all honesty, I don't remember this event, how it went down, or quite honestly very much from my life before this year. What I do remember is my world crumbling before me and a total feeling of chaos. My mom had no idea he was going to tell us like that. He thought he was doing the right thing... which only furthered their upset with each other. From the moment he told me this, I thought that at some point one of them was going to leave my life forever. I was taken over with anxiety. Only I had no idea why I felt so out of control, so scared, and so emotionally wrecked. I became completely hysterical anytime I wasn't with one of my parents. I couldn't stay at school, I couldn't go to dance, I would cry and have panic attacks to the point that I would make myself physically ill and would throw up. Thankfully, my parents saw that this was a reaction to their decision, and they stayed together (and are together today, after 50 years) because they knew that I needed them both. After lots of counseling, and family time, and a very patient teacher and principal, I got it together, about 4 months after this all started. This was a year of chaos, a year that I don't remember, and thankfully a year that healed my family for the better. 

I was lucky, and I know that. My parents put my emotional and physical health, above their own happiness. Not every child is lucky enough to have the same outcome. My social-emotional wellbeing was so out of whack that it was starting to affect my physical development. Sometimes its that parents don't care enough to fix the stressors in kids lives, sometimes it's that that can't, and other times it's that they don't even know that there's a problem. I am so thankful that my parents didn't see my crying and frantic behavior as me being "bad" but knowing (due to a family history of mental health issues) that it was anxiety and that I wasn't in control of my emotions. 

Childhood Stressors in  Burkina Faso, West Africa

I chose to look into childhood stressors in Burkina Faso, because I have some family friends who have spent time there doing missions work there, and I know that they've shared with me multiple times, how their heart aches for the children there. Some of the biggest stressors children there experience are violence, hunger, and exploitation. 

When researching this topic further, I stumbled upon an article from The University of Chicago about Mental Health in Developing Countries, speaking specifically on Burkina Faso. Some of the facts shared in the article that hit me the hardest were:

• "Children in Burkina Faso, one of the 48 Least Developed Countries, are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Burkina Faso has one of the highest rates of child labor in the world and a 2012 survey found that 1.25 million or 37.8 percent of children ages 5-14 in Burkina Faso were working." (Ismayilova, 2017)
• "Studies also showed that almost half of the child participants (44 percent) in Burkina Faso experienced physical violence and 58 percent reported emotional violence at home, including when parents were shaming children by making them stand on their knees or depriving them of food as punishment". (Ismayilova, 2017)

The article also shares that there have been many efforts made to help educate parents on the importance of healthy home lives for their children, as well as helping people in the lowest levels of poverty. One specifically mentioned in this article was Trickle Up, which was started in 1986. According to this article, "Trickle Up works with people earning less than $1.90 a day, the World Bank's definition of extreme poverty. It has pioneered a program to "graduate" people out of extreme poverty and after two years become economically self-sufficient. The approach is often referred to as “economic strengthening," which provides access to risk free capital, access to savings and credit, and skills training to confront extreme poverty. It uses savings groups for women as the key strategy" (Ismayilova, 2017).

More information on this research and Trickle Up, can be found at:  https://ssa.uchicago.edu/ssa_magazine/studying-mental-health-developing-country

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome commonly referred to as SIDS is every parent and caregivers fear when they have young children. It is scary because we don't quite know what exactly causes it, or why it happens, however we DO know a few things that we can do to help reduce chances of it happening to your baby. SIDS generally happens to babies when they are sleeping and generally only during the first year of life. Statistics show that 90% of SIDS cases happen by 6 months, but can happen up until 12 months old according to the  www.sleepfoundation.org. 

This topic is of importance to me, because as a parent of two young kiddos (now 3 and 18 months) I have spent many nights worried that something would happen to my sleeping babies and had to educate myself on ways to reduce any potential risks as much as possible. According to the mayoclinic.org parents can do the following to reduce SIDS risks:

• Put babies on their back to sleep
• Keep the crib as bare as possible (no blankets, stuffed animals, crib bumpers, etc.)
• Don't overheat the baby
• Have baby sleep in your room but NOT in your bed
• Breastfeed baby if possible
• Offer a pacifier (the sucking motion keeps them breathing properly)
• Immunize your baby as recommended

Since they don't know WHAT exactly causes it, they've put together the above list to help keep the baby as safe and healthy as possible in hopes that that will reduce the risks. I can tell you as a parent, I followed every single recommendation possible to ensure my baby stayed healthy. 

Did you know that, The US is has one of the highest mortality rates for SIDS being .5 in 1000 live births? Where as Japan has one of the lowest mortality rates coming in at .2 in 1000 live births... but why?  In 2010, the CDC reported that Japan had one of the lowest infant mortality rates, according to CBS News, with many factors contributing to this. According to Evolutionary Parenting, Japan has significant lower rates of maternal smoking and alcohol consumption — and research has shown that maternal smoking has a direct relation to SIDS. Factors like these could have a direct influence on the lowered SIDS rate for Asian children.

Birth Story

At 37 weeks on October 13th 2017, I went to me weekly OB appointment to find out that my blood pressure was elevated and my daughter was in fetal distress, they sent me straight to the hospital triage where they quickly admitted me onto the labor and delivery floor. They monitored me and my baby for a while, but soon decided I needed to be induced for the safety of myself and my little one. The next morning they started my induction. It took a full WEEK for the induction to work. It took many different techniques, Pitocin, and specialists coming in to find out how to safely deliver my daughter. The following Friday morning (Oct 20th) my water finally broke. Labor finally had progressed and pushing began. I pushed for 4 hours, and no progress was made. They then realized that she wasn't quite in the right position and her shoulder was stuck on my pelvic bone. So they tried to manually move her. That did not work either. They had me change my position and "wait" to see if gravity would shift her into the correct position for delivery... and thank god it did. I began pushing again. I pushed another 2 hours, but she just couldn't progress through. It was then that they told me we'd try one last option and if that didn't work, we'd do an emergency c-section. Out came the vacuum, and it is as awful as it sounds. They're allowed to legally use the vacuum for 3 pushes, after that they have to try something else, and my something else was a c-section. Pushes 1 and 2 with the vacuum showed progression, but not enough for her to come. That 3rd push I didn't stop pushing until I heard her cry. And finally she was out, and beautiful, and perfect... or so we thought in those moments. The final steps of delivery (including them sowing me back up ugh) thankfully are a blur. Because once my sweet Eliza was out, all of my focus was on her. 

She wasn't in my hospital room long, when they had to come in and take her to the NICU. She was extremely jaundice, and we would soon find out that she had a large hematoma on her head (from the vacuum) that was making the jaundice worse, and would cause days of worry that it would cause long term brain defects.... THANK GOD this was not the case. She spent 4 days in the NICU getting wonderful care, but broke my heart that I couldn't hold her. 48 hours after delivery, I was released from the hospital but was able to stay because she was in the NICU and they had room. Thankfully so, because about 12 hours after being released, my blood pressure skyrocketed, my vision went completely blurry, and I had to be re-admitted (into a different part of the hospital) for pre-eclampsia. I was admitted another 3 days to get that under control. But thankfully by Wednesday of the following week, we were both released and doing well. 

My OB and I joked that I had really kept her on her toes through my delivery because we had so many hiccups to the process. I knew it then, and I know it now that it is because we were in one of the best hospitals in the area, that we both made it, and that we're both okay today. A home birth would've ended very differently. A birth in an underdeveloped country, would've ended different... and for that I am blessed. And i'm sure that it's no surprise that when I was pregnant with my second child 2 years later, my OB and I quickly agreed that a c-section would be the right choice.. and boy was it a smoother delivery! 

Birthing Process in Mexico

I was interested to read and learn that the birthing process in Mexico is almost identical to what we experience here in the US! In my mind, I assumed it would be noticeably different, but from what I found on https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/mexico/healthcare/pregnancy-birth/the-birth they have the same delivery options (home birth, water birth, public or private hospital). From what I read they have the same options on pain relief, labor techniques, recommended vaccines for baby, testing, etc. They do the birth certificate registration at the hospital, but there was a slight difference here... they only register the baby to the mother, not both parents. I found that to be interesting. I wasn't able to find out why this is, but it is a difference from in the US.