Children need positive role models in their lives to succeed. Schools want children to be healthy. Attachment is also important to a child’s development. Play helps children make sense of their experiences and helps them to cope better with their emotions. Throughout history, many different theories were developed. The first priority of an early childhood program is to support young children’s development and attachments.
The most powerful influences on development are culture, temperament, and biological and environmental factors Predictability in the schedule and in the way adults care for the child helps to provide children with a secure base. I believe Head Start and Early Head Start is important for children. It prepares them for Kindergarden. Family involvement in education is important for children. Educators work directly with the children so they know what’s best for them. Early childhood educators should be aware of policies affecting children because children cannot vote or speak for themselves.
All children have the capacity to excel academically. Children need physical and emotional support. They also need the right opportunities and environment to grow into responsible adults. “ Education provides children with the tools to live fulfilling lives and equips children to care for themselves and others” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 4). Due to the young age and emotional and physical needs of children, early childhood education provides a high standard of care and nurturance. Early childhood educators play an important role in children’s lives.
As stated in chapter 2, caregiving that is responsible, reliable, and predictable secures an environment so that the child feels safe (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 39). Children need positive role models in their lives to succeed. I can provide love, support, attentiveness, responsibility and competence as an early childhood educator. I have a five year old niece that I’ve cared for since birth. I love to be around her. She is one of the reasons I want to work with children. I learn from her how to be patient and handle situations that come up.
Patience is very important when dealing with children. If you don’t have patience with children, your anger might take control. “ Sometimes there are no “ just-right” solutions that please everyone” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 13). What this quote means to me, since there are no just-right solutions, you need patience to get through the tough situations that occur in the classroom. While at my site visit at BMCC childcare center, I noticed one of the children disrupting the classroom. He was crying, screaming, and not cooperating with the teacher.
The teacher was patient and calm while talking and trying to calm the child down. It took a little bit of time and one on one attention but the teacher was able to calm him down. Each child deserves to be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. I believe that is why educating the whole child approach to learning and teaching will develop and prepare children for challenges. “ Like all development, self-regulation is a “ whole-child” capability” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 77). Self-regulation refers to complicated processes that allow children to appropriately respond to their environment.
Children must translate what they experience into information they can use to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Schools want children to be healthy. That is why schools provide free breakfast available to all students. They also provide free lunch to low income families. Growing up my family was considered low income so my school provided free lunch for my siblings and I. Attachment is also important to a child’s development. Casper and Theilheimer (2010) explain children become more independent and social-emotional competent later on due to secure, ongoing attachment relationships.
As stated in chapter 3, helping children become aware of their emotions, identify them, and learn how to express them prosocially is an important role of an early childhood educator (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 85). During my experience at BMCC Childcare center, since it was the end of the day, parents were picking up their children. I observed children running up to their parents, wanting to be held in their parent’s arms. When my niece was two years old, when my sister would leave my niece would cry for her.
Play is as important to humans as sleep and dreams as stated in the video the class watched in class with Stuart Brown. He believes in neoteny, which is retention of immature qualities into adulthood. There are six categories of play that children exhibit. There’s onlooker play, cooperative play, solitary play, parallel play, associative play, and unoccupied play. There are also different domains of play which is functional play, constructional play, dramatic play, and games and rule based play. During class we viewed five videos of play.
While watching the videos, my classmates and I had to figure out what category and type of play that he videos of play fall into. One of the videos was of a baby that was just watching a little girl jump around and playing around. This is considered onlooker play because the baby was not playing around with her, he was just watching her. The baby was also engaged in functional play because the little girl was stimulating him by making sounds and noises that was making the baby excited. Play helps children make sense of their experiences and helps them to cope better with their emotions.
There are many ways children can play. They use symbols and metaphors. They use symbols when they play by having “ something that represents a meaningful action or idea” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 103). They can use metaphors as a way to express their feelings and emotions. From my experience and observations, children learn from this type of play by sorting out their feelings about a situation and resolve their emotions the best way they know how and teachers help them by providing play. When I was younger I loved to play with barbie dolls.
While playing, I would use symbols and metaphors in the stories I made up to go along with the characters as a way to cope with my life. Throughout time there have many historical figures that has shaped education into what it is today. One of them was John Locke. I believe as John Locke stated in chapter 5, children are like blank sheets of paper and society creates he image that appears on the paper (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010). He also believed that “ all that we become is the result of our experience with our environment” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 38). Children learn from what is around them. When my niece was younger, people always told her mother she act older than what she really is. She was more developed than kids her age. The way she talked, the things she said, the way she acted, it was as if she was a nine year old in a four year old body. That’s because she lived in a house with adults with no other children than her. We talked to her as if she was older. Up until this time, society believed that children were born evil and it was their task to redeem them (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 136).
Locke formed the basis for the movement known as the enlightenment. Locke also emphasized that play is important in education and growth. Girls and boys education should be similar, but physical education for girls should be less rigorous (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 136). As an educator, we sometimes have to take a step back and observe the children we teach to get a better understanding of a conflict or problem. Theory is different thoughts and assumptions that help educators organize, analyze, predict, and make sense of specific events, processes or behaviors. To understand a sequence of social interaction between two children, a theory that helps you focus on the flow of exchanges between the children may be more useful” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 163). Theories emerge out of personal experiences, values, and motivations of the theorist. Throughout history, many different theories were developed. As stated in chapter 6, social learning theory was first developed by Albert Bandura. He suggested that children learn through imitation. I remember when m brother was about 3 years old, he loved watching karate movies.
When my brother and I would play fight, he would mimic what the men in the karate movies would do. He would even mimic the sounds they made while fighting. Children’s development does not progress in a straight path. What looks like a delay may just be a rough patch. Teachers have difficulties recognizing when a child’s development needs special needs. Development may proceed without any glitches in the first year. Family, culture, teachers and caregivers influence how a baby’s personality will develop. The first priority of an early childhood program is to support young children’s development and attachments.
Because their world is a sensorimotor one, young children’s learning may not always make sense to our adult categorical world, where everything has a name and fits in a conceptual system” (Casper & Theilheimer, 2010, p. 322). As stated in chapter 11 in Casper and Theilheimer (2010), deep personal, responsive, affectionate, connections to both parents and caregivers are the “ primary source of a child’s security, self-esteem, self control and social skills” (Elliot 1999, 305. ) Children need caregivers to provide a secure base. A safe starting point from which they can explore the world.
Predictability in the schedule and in the way adults care for the child helps too. Consistent routines and rituals go a long way toward giving children some control over their potentially difficult adjustment to daily care. Younger children need more play objects that resemble the real thing. By two, children are more flexible in their thinking and can use a block to represent a phone. I was around my little brother and niece while they were babies. When I compare them now, their development patterns were different. My brother started crawling at 9 months and started walking at 13 months.
My niece started crawling a few weeks before she started walking when she was 13 months. There are many different influences on development. Casper and Theilheimer (2010) discuss the most powerful influences on development are culture, temperament, and biological and environmental factors (p. 226). While observing children, educators have to understand and apply the basic principles of development and cultural influences. The most important one to me, all children have strengths. As a teacher, we have to recognize each child’s strengths and weaknesses so we can focus and encourage their strengths and work on their weaknesses. When teachers become familiar with children’s particular developmental patterns, they can work more effective with them in their zone of proximal development” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 226). By identifying a child’s strengths, educators gain a deeper understanding of the child’s strengths and educators gain a deeper understanding of the child. My five old niece likes to read. Whenever I come to her house she asks me to read her a book. Reading is one of her strengths so I will encourage it b buying her books for Christmas. Interacting with children, it keeps teachers busy.
While caring for children it is important to pay systematic, focused attention to children. To observed and record the children helps teachers understand specifics questions about various aspects of children’s knowledge, skills, behavior, or personality. While observing it is important to describe, don’t decide. Describing helps to get a clear picture of the situation by watching, listening and then analyzing as Professor Fitzgerald described in her PowerPoint presentation. While describing, the teacher have to be more objective and describe only what happened.
To decide means when the observer reflect on their own perspectives and judgments (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 258). “ When teachers reflect on their observations, they can overcome prejudices and think beyond preconceived ideas to benefit their interactions with children” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 258). In my in-class writing, I described a situation; while on the train, a toddler was playing with her mother’s keys. The mother noticed the toddler playing with her keys and she took them away from her. The toddler started to cry. The mother told the toddler “ no you cannot play with the keys. She gave her the toy instead. The toddler threw the toy on the floor and started reaching for her mother. Her mother picked her up out of her stroller and started to comfort her. The toddler stopped cry but was still reaching for the keys. Assessment shapes early childhood curriculum. Based on observation, a teacher can make decisions and act on them. Teacher’s asses what children know, can do, and how planned or spontaneous activities affect the children and their learning. Assessments are gathered information about children to identify their needs and strengths, to improve teaching strategies and a child’s learning.
In Casper and Theilheimer (2010), Lorrie Shepard (2005, 66) says that assessment is a dynamic process in which supportive adults or classmates help learners move from what they already know to what they are able to do next, using their zone of proximal development” (p. 294). If the teacher observes a child, they can make better judgments and decisions and coax a child into doing something they know the child can perform well on. “ In curricular decision making, early childhood educators use what they learn from the assessment process to decide what and how to teach individual children and groups of children” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 93).
My tenth grade in English class, the teacher gave out an assessment test in the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. On my assessment test, my results said that I was reading at a college level. Hearing that made me want to do better in school and study more because I felt I could make better grades. Family involvement in education was evident throughout history. There were advantages and disadvantages of partnership with families. The advantages of partnerships, “ families can contribute their own knowledge of their children to help teachers form a more complete picture of the child” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 41).
When teachers include children’s home interests and experiences, classroom life become more meaningful. When families participate in the classroom, they play an important role in making sure the classroom has culturally diverse experiences (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 419). The disadvantages partnership, teachers may feel uncomfortable when families observe them. They may feel defensive when teachers sense criticism. Teachers may also feel unprepared to work with families. My parents have always been involved with my early child schooling. My mom and ad would go to parent teacher conferences. My mom attended PTA meetings. She would also attend field trips with me. When my niece was in Pre-K I would sometimes go with my sister to her school meetings. At the meetings, teachers and parents would brainstorm together to make the children’s school a better place. There are many different early childhood education programs. I believe Head Start and Earl Head Start is important for children. It prepares them for Kindergarden. Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs made for low-income families.
Head Start was made to offer children nursery school experience to reduce their risk of poverty in adulthood. Early Head Start is designed to support families. It was also designed so that infants and toddlers have access to comprehensive services so they have healthy developmental outcomes. “ Now, Head Start is the longest running federally mandated program for young children in the United States” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 197). My niece went to a Head Start program, Harlem Children’s Zone. When she started I noticed changes in her speech and her pronunciation improved. She met friends and developed relationships with them.
As stated in Casper and Theilheimer (2010), chapter 7, Real Voices, Head Start had been the support system for Melisa McNery. Her son attended Head Start while McNery was deployed to Iraq. While in Iraq, her sons Head Start program mailed her parent packages that contained her son’s pictures and drawings, and his attempt at writing. They also sent pictures of her son and his classmates. She stated, Head Start offered numerous support programs and opportunities for parents and her to partner with them for happy, healthy children. There are many things that influence a classroom, policies are one of them.
Early childhood educators should be aware of policies affecting children because children cannot vote or speak for themselves. Educators work directly with the children so they know what’s best for them. “ Everything about your life in the classroom is affected by policy” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. 455). What this means to me is educators should be aware of polices because the salary, which children can afford to attend, the curriculum, and even the building they work in is affected by policies. One policy that interests me the most is Education Commission of the State’s Education Policy Issue Site 2009.
It interests me the most because the superintendent and the district would be penalized if their school did not show progress on standardized tests. I believe some students are great students but not great test takers. Also if the student just moved to the United States and didn’t have enough time to learn enough material, they could fail. A standardized test is not the best way to tell if a student is making progress in my opinion. “ Educating is the interacting of teaching, learning, content, and the environment that leads learners to make meaning from or interpret what they are learning” (Casper and Theilheimer, 2010, p. ). While educating children can be challenging, they really are a joy to be around.
They are all unique individuals with their own personalities. Play helps children make sense of their experiences and helps them to cope better with their emotions. It is important that parents are involved with their child schooling. While educators observe children to get a better understanding of a problem or situation, it is important to describe, don’t decide. Every child should be given the opportunity to experience early childhood education. Every child deserves guidance, care, and love.
