When I Think of Child Development…

As our last week of class comes to an end, a few of my favorite quotes come to mind when thinking of child development and its importance. As a closing note, I would like to express my deepest thanks to all of my colleagues that have gone on this journey with me. I am so thankful to experience this educational journey with you all and hope that we can continue to do this together throughout this entire program. For those of you who have been with me from the beginning, can you believe that we have completed our second course? It won’t be long now until we have our degrees under our belts. For those of you who I have just met through this class, it was truly a pleasure. Everyone’s comments and feedback has been well received and appreciated. Good luck to all of you!

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." ~ Emma Goldman, author

“You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing.  What!  Is it nothing to be happy?  Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long?  Never in his life will he be so busy again.”  ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

“If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.”  ~Pearl S. Buck

Testing for Intelligence

I’m not 100% sure on how I feel about standardized testing for young children. From a personal perspective, I tested very well on standardized tests when I was a child. That lasted up until about when I was in high school. Around that time, I became very anxious about test taking and always seemed to do poorly regardless of my study habits. Unfortunately, this also followed me throughout college; however, I was able to make up for my poor testing abilities in other areas. I don’t think that most standardized tests fully cover where a child stands developmentally. If a child is just tested on science and math, and isn’t flourished in either of those subjects, that particular child may not produce high test scores. Does this mean the child is experiencing cognitive delays? I don’t believe so. I would be nice to see our school take an approach from and individuality standpoint. Perhaps not in the same way as Montessori schools, but just enough to where we can grasp where a child really stands cognitively. I think there are several subjects that could be addressed other than the basic things we already look at. Reading and writing are important but I think finding a way to measure a child’s understanding of words would be good. Also maybe using art to measure their thought process, or even music. There are so many characteristics that make up the mind of a child, it is important that we look at everything, not just certain things. In Germany, students are required to test on many different things beginning at a young age. This includes a second language, Latin, art, music as well as reading, writing, math and science. It seems like a lot, but my German peers when I was a child always seemed to be a little ahead of the game.

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

This week we were asked to pick one stressor that affects and impacts child development. Since I work with children whose parents are in the military, I witness children dealing with war and deployments on a regular basis. Having grown up on a military base myself, I have dealt with same situations as a child. In today's society it is being raised in a single parent household is becomming more common. As if that isn't stressful enough for a child, adding the worry and stress of war can be very deetramental to a child and their development. Most of the children that I work with have experienced a parent delploying at least once, some on several occaisions. I can see an instant change in child's personality when their parent gets sent off to a warzone. It is saddening and disheartening to watch however we try to offer the best support that we can. We have many programs that offer different activities that the children can engage in while their parent is away. We even have our computer lab equipped with Skype so the children can get on and see and speak with their parent.

Child Development and Public Health

Public Health continues to be an important subject around the world. When speaking to my friends and parents, they always have strong opinions regarding public health and their children. I have several friends who are against immunizing their children and I have several friends who don't believe in breastfeeding. These are all things that I find very interesting, at least finding out what causes people to choose one side or the other. Since I do not have children of my own, it is difficult to relate to some of the topics within the public health sector. However, I do have opinions and thoughts as to how I would raise my own children and what things I would focus on as being important. Nutrition is something that jumps out at my because I believe it is something that our society struggles with not just with our children, but even with our adults. When I think of nutrition, I don't automatically think of starving children in Africa, I think about America and what our society makes of nutrition. As a child, my parents were always very particular about what my sisters and I ate. Well-rounded meals were always encouraged and we always focused on consuming lean meats and vegetables. These habits have stuck with me through adulthood and I still find myself being very cautious about what I eat, especially since I gain weight extremely fast. It saddens me because at my work, the youth come in with all sorts of sodas and candy bars and they are not limited on their consumption or how frequently it is provided for them. I always try and find out why their parents are so easy to give them junk food but I really think they eat it just because they can. I did an experiment last week and offered free fruit one day and the children who would normally spend 5 or so dollars on candy and sodas at the snack bar opted for the free fruit. While we run a for profit snack bar (full of junk), I would much rather have fruit for the kids rather than giving them the option to buy junk. It was my recommendation to my boss that we get rid of our snack bar and just offer fruit to the kids on a daily basis. As technology improves, people are becoming more likely to eat based on convenience rather than health. There are often days when I work 12 hours or so and then go to the gym after work only to come home to find that I am not motivated to cook. I try and pre plan my meals so I don't make a habit of this because it would be very easy to fall into a bad pattern of take out and microwavable meals. Our children are just picking up our bad habits from watching the convenience of junk food take over our lives.

Early Childhood Development - Week 1

How exciting! It is time for a new class, and I’m very thrilled about this particular class. Early Childhood Development is something that I am eager to learn more about because I am less familiar with it and I find it so interesting. For our first week’s blog assignment, we were asked to write about a personal birthing experience. Since I do not have children of my own, I’m going to have to take a different approach than most of my colleagues. The only birthing event that I was privileged to take part in was the birth of my second niece Caroline. It was very exciting and nerve wrecking. My sister had been in labor for several hours before going to the hospital and by the time we got there, Caroline was on her way out. From the time we got to the hospital to the delivery time, it took a total of 8 minutes. This was somewhat of a relief because I had always heard stories about women in labor for 22 hours and I all I could think about was holding my baby niece. Because my sister was so far along when we got to the hospital, the nurses were unable to give her and medicine to help with the pain. Watching my sister go through that was difficult. I couldn’t even imagine what that would feel like other than extremely painful and uncomfortable. Lucky for her, it didn’t take very long. Before this experience, I had always heard people talk about giving birth and the birthing process as something really beautiful. I started to feel bad and wonder if something was wrong with me because I didn’t find it to be any of those things. It looked painful and uncomfortable and almost unnatural. My niece, on the other hand, she was absolutely perfect once she arrived. It definitely opened my eyes and allowed me to see, first hand, the gift of life. The birthing process is so crucial on child development because this is when a child in brought into the world for the first time. From birth, this is when we shape the lives of the little ones in our lives.

Finding information about other countries and their birthing customs was very interesting. I chose to research Europe and more specifically Germany. I spent a great deal of my life living in Germany. 16 years to be exact. As a child, I always noticed their birthing practices to be somewhat different than American practices based or stories from my childhood friends. One custom that is very popular in Germany and most parts of Europe is the use of a mid-wife during pregnancy and the birth process. It is actually common to make a bigger deal about your mid-wife than your doctor. In Germany, you don’t even need to have a doctor present during the birthing process; you can choose to have one in addition to the mid-wife. I suppose I acted as my sister’s mid-wife in a sense when she was giving birth to my sister. I was there giving her support and talking her through the process, until I looked under the cover and began to feel a bit queasy.

Closing Time

It is hard to believe that 8 weeks have already come and gone. While my educational journey has just begun, I am sure that because of this foundations class, I will complete my Master's program successfully. I truly enjoyed getting to know all of my colleagues and learning about their passions regarding children. Hopefully we will all run into one another once again.

Week 7 Blog Assignment

Post three ideals contained in the NAEYC and DEC codes of ethics that are meaningful to you, and explain their significance to your professional life

NAEYC Ideals:

1.)    To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

This ideal speaks to me because I have to follow it on a daily basis in my professional career. I work at an NAEYC accredited facility so I have to follow both the NAEYC regulations and the Air Force Regulations. I find it extremely important that the staff that I work with and for (including myself) obtain the appropriate and relative knowledge regarding the early childhood field. I am always looking for ways to increase my knowledge and training and I think it makes a huge difference in my professional and personal life.

2.)    To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the

needs of children with and without disabilities.

            This ideal is crucial in my facility and I feel that it should be everywhere. While I don’t get many children with severe disabilities in my program, we have several children with Autism and Asperger’s. Not only are these children in the same safe environments as the other children, but they are treated with respect and equality.

3.)    To create and maintain safe and healthy settings

that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and

physical development and that respect their dignity

and their contributions.

            Have safe environments is very important. It is also important that all aspects are covered. In my program, we have several different environments that meet the needs of the children. We have an art room, a computer lab, a science lab, a game room, a gymnasium, a kitchen, and I lobby and snack area.

DEC Code of Ethics:

1.)    We shall demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in all

our professional activities in order to inspire the trust and confidence of the children and families

and of those with whom we work.

            This ideal speaks for itself. Integrity is a life skill that I am continuously preaching to myself and my staff. The families and children that we work with appreciate this and in turn display it as well.

2.)    We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the

professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that

enhance the quality of their lives.

            Being actively involved in policy making is a new and important part of my job. I am learning a lot and I am finding great pride in knowing that I am helping make a difference.

3.)    We shall build relationships with individual children and families while individualizing the curricula and learning environments to facilitate young children’s development and learning.

Family interaction and relationships are very important to me. I put in a great deal of effort on a day to day basis insuring that I am paying the outmost attention to the children and their families that I come across. It is comforting knowing that the parents are aware of what kind of program we run and that their children are in a safe place where they are learning life skills and building relationships that will impact them for an entire lifetime.

Course Resources

Listed below are several resources that I have used and will continue to use for my Foundations of Early Childhood Studies class. The three resources that I have personally chosen can be found at the bottom of the page.

NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller

FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf

Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
 

Websites:

• World Forum Foundation
  http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
  This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage 
  
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.omep-usnc.org/
  Read about OMEP’s mission. 
  
• Association for Childhood Education International
  http://acei.org/about/
  Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements. 
•  Boys and Girls Clubs of America http://www.bgca.org
• 4-H http://www.4-h.org
• www.earlychildhoodnews.com

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

“If the first three years of life are deprived in terms of stimulation and interaction with warm, nurturing human beings, it's going to be real tough for the child to acquire the depth and breadth of verbal language needed to build reading abilities.” –Dr. Susan Bredekamp

“Developmentally appropriate practices are ways of teaching that vary for or adapt to the age and experience of the individual learner.” –Dr. Susan Bredekamp

“Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.” –Lyndon B. Johnson

“Poverty must not be a bar to learning and learning must offer an escape from poverty.” –Lyndon B. Johnson

“My passion was to make sure all children were taught in environments and ways that truly develop their abilities.” –Louise Derman-Sparks

“Everything I offer to the children is for their benefit, not mine.” –Raymond Hernandez MS Ed

Personal Childhood Web

This childhood web represents all of the layers in my childhood and the people who made a significant impact in my life. 

My Mother (Tish)

My mother is apart of my web because she loves me unconditionally. There isn't a time in my childhood that I can look back on when she wasn't there for me. She played a vital role in shaping the person that I have become and I am a better person for having her in my life. I was her third and last daughter and she proves day in and day out to be "super woman". Raising three girls is no easy feat and she did so with excellent outcomes. If I ever needed anything, my mother was there. I always had clean clothes, dinner on the table, a lunch packed when I left for school, a fan at every sporting event and school play. She always supported me in every way possible. She always (and still does) made me feel special by reassuring me that I was a strong person and that I could do anything I wanted, even if it did seem unrealistic. She always reminded me that family comes first, no matter what and that family is the most valuable and important thing that anyone could have.

My Father (Rick)

I was never extremely close to my father growing up. I wasn't until I became an adult that I could look back on my childhood and truly appreciate the role that he played in my life and my upbringing. It was also in my adulthood that I realized many of my strongest and most positive characteristics were indeed a result of my father. He instilled in me a strong work ethic, something that I take a great deal of pride in to this day. He taught to me never quit and to always give everything I do 100%. My father made me feel special by treating with respect and acknowledging that I was always doing the right thing.

My Sister (Colleen)

Colleen is my oldest sister. There is a 6 1/2 year age difference between the two of us which can prove to be strenuous on a child. As a child I remember wanting to do everything that my sisters were doing. Despite our sisterly arguments, my sister always did a wonderful job including me and making me feel special. She always wanted what was best for me, even when we disagreed on what was considered to be the "best".

My Sister (Jessica)

Jessica is my middle sister. there is a three year age difference between the two of us, and I must say, I do not envy a middle child. Jessica definitely endured getting picked on by Colleen and I and I'm thankful she doesn't resent us for it. While we weren't as close, I do feel that Jessica and I shared a sense of comrade. I served as her protector in a sense and I still haven't lost that characteristic. I always remember Jessica being so open to sharing her things with me and that always made me feel special.

My best friend (Andrew)

Andrew and I were introduced to each other in 1987. One whole year after I was born and he was three years old. Our parents met at a fitness center and began sharing stories about their families. As it turned out, both of our mother's were from Ireland and our father's shared the same interest in attempting to play racquet ball. After learning that both families also had three children, our father's set up a family get-together. I, of course, do not remember our very first meeting, but I don't have a single childhood memory that doesn't involve Andrew and his family. We were the youngest of three children, so we automatically had that in common. We also shared a love for sports and activeness. We would spend hours going through our basketball card collections and pretending to be WWF wrestlers. We were inseparable throughout our entire childhood and into high school. While we live worlds apart now, we are still very close and are the best of friends.   

The above photo is of me and my sisters. They are still a huge part of my life and I miss them dearly. We don't see each other as often as I'd like, but they continue to make a difference in my life everyday. Family continues to be the most important thing in my life and we all share each others gratitude for one another. We are all so proud of the other and we continue to support each other through the good and the hard times.

Learning from Family

"If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all" ~Perl S. Buck
The above photo is of me and my wonderful nieces, Lexie and Caroline. I was fortunate enough to be involved in their daily lives for 4 years before they moved away. We have lived in separate states for 3 years now and I've never experienced anything more difficult. Not being able to protect them from any hardships that they may endure is frustrating and makes me feel helpless at times. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't recall a memory with them in it. The two of them remind me how it feels to be a kid again and remind me how precious one's childhood really is. They also remind me why I am as passionate about the early childhood field as I am. They keep me driven to want to impact our youth and help form outstanding citizens for our future.

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello,
My name is Amanda Randall and I currently reside in Anchorage, Alaska. I was born in Japan in 1986 and moved to Germany in 1987 where I lived until 2004. I attended Central Washington University from 2004 until 2008 where I received my Bachelor's degree in Recreation Management. I grew up near a military base, both my parents were civilian government workers. I knew at a young age that I would follow in my father's footsteps and begin a career working for the military under their Morale, Welfare and Recreation department. Specifically, working with military youth. I am now an Assistant Director at a Youth Center on Elmendorf AFB where we provide an open-recreation program for youth ages 9-13. I'm very excited to be starting the Master's program in Early Childhood Studies and look forward to sharing this blog with all of my peers.