Dr. Abigail Eliot No Quote Found

Unfortunately for this weeks assignment I was unable to find a quote by Dr. Abigail Eliot. She was a person who greatly influenced and co-founded the first Nursery School. You can read about this in my post for Week 4 discussion forum. I would just like to say for my blog posting this week that she demonstrates strong passion and I hope to be a leader like her some day.

Week 2 Media Segment Quotes

"As I grew up I wanted to be a teacher, because I had, I think a built in passion that it was important to make a real contribution to the world and to fix all the injustices that existed in the world."

-Louise Dermin-Sparks

Professor Emertitus

Pacific Oaks College, CA

 

"Every Day I go to work I look forward to it, because I know the services I'm providing to children is to their benefit."

-Raymond Hernandez MS ED

Executive Director

School of Early Childhood Education

University of Southern Education

 

I chose these two quotes this week from week two's media segment, because they spoke to me as I heard the speakers say them. Louise's quote explains what my passion is, but Raymond's quote explains why I get up every day to do my job; my motivation.

Lyndon B. Johnson Quote

"There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves."

-Lyndon B. Johnson

     This quote does not directly relate to President's Johnson's impact on Head Start, but it does make a good point for anyone working with children. During my work in the field I constantly find myself going to my colleagues asking them their opinions and questions on something I may be having a struggle with. I find once I branch out and use my colleagues as a resource we are able to solve any problem or struggle we may come across during our work.

Personal Childhood Web

 

 

For this assignment I have posted three pictures. The first, my "immediate family" are the people who I will talk about who really influenced my childhood. I posted two other pictures though. These pictures are of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Each and every one of them helped to shape who I am today whether they were a playmate, a caregiver, or just someone who spent quality time with me from time to time. As I think of my childhood each and everyone of these members in my extended family helped shape who I am today in one way or another, but today I would like to talk specifically about my mother, father, brother, and sister. Each of them were constants in my life. They were there for me through "thick and thin" whether I wanted them there or not. I am fortunate enough to be able to say that they are all still here for me today in very similar ways.

 

I would like to begin by talking about my mother. I could not ask for a better mother. She was a stay at home Mom until I was in fifth grade. When she went back to work she got a job as a school librarian assistant, so she would have the same schedule as my brother, sister, and I. I was very fortunate as a child to have my mother there for me whenever I needed her. She didn't only play the role of my mother, but she was also my advocate, my 4-H leader, and even a friend. The quality time she gave me as a child has benefitted me into my adult life. She is still here for me whenever I need her and is always looking to make sure that all my needs are met, no matter the situation. I love sitting down and having conversations about life with her and just sharing our views, thoughts, and beliefs. I am so thankful to have a mother who would drop anything she was doing in an instant to support me, even now in my adult life.

 

My father has always been a hard worker. During my childhood I can remember him coming home from a long day's work and my siblings and I would run to him and hug him when he got home and no matter how tired he was or how bad of a day it was, he would always take the time to play with us. During my childhood my Dad created his own electrical business. Through the years this business has thrived, but no matter what he has always put his family first. My Dad was always there for me growing up. It never mattered how late at night it was or how early in the morning it may have been he was always there if I needed him. He is still here for me today. I enjoy sitting down and carrying wonderful conversations with him. He is a huge support for me as I am pursuing a career as a leader. I am very thankful to have a father who will always take time out of his day to sit and talk to his daughter.

 

My brother and my sister. My brother is twenty two months older than me and my sister is four years younger than me. They have truly given me the best of both worlds.

 

 My brother has been looking out for me since I was first born. My mother continues to tell the story about how he wouldn't go to bed when I was still up as an infant. He would sit at the top of the stairs because he wanted to know what was going on and why I wasn't going to bed yet. He looked out for me when our parents would leave us with our grandparents or a babysitter making sure all of my needs were being met "just the way mommy did it". As we got older he became my "protector" making sure no one was causing me any trouble. Today even though we may not live together anymore he is still there for me asking me how I am doing, staying up to date on the most recent events in my life, and offering me support, knowledge, and wisdom to the best of his ability.

 

My little sister. I am very fortunate to have her. During my childhood she was my "partner in crime" we did everything together. I have many memories of watching "Mary-Kate and Ashley" movies with her and pretending that we were twins, just like them! As we got older we had time where we were in different phases in our lives and grew apart, but time would move on and we grew closer. I find each year of our lives my sister and I create a stronger and stronger bond. Today I call her my best friend. She is the person I can tell anything to. I know she will always be there for me no matter the circumstances. I can count on her to be my other half. Together we can face anything.

 

 

 

 

Immediate Family

Top Left-Mother, Center-Brother, Top Right-Father

Bottom Left Sister, Bottom right-Me

Dog- Patches 

 

 

 

 

Mother's Side of Family

Father's Side of Family

A Child's Drawing: More than meets the eye

 

This drawing I pulled from my associates degree portfolio. In the eyes of anyone except for the child who drew this, the picture may look like lines, a few different letters and numbers, scribbles, etc. I had the opportunity of being there when this picture was drawn. This picture of the drawing is a copy of a child's original artwork in black and white. I made a note stating that she used the colors pink, brown, and black. When the child was done drawing the picture I made this statement to the child; "Tell me about your picture." The child responded by saying "This is a picture of Mommy a long long time ago in Egypt".

I have many pictures like this that children have given me. I feel it is important in my role to make a simple statement to a child "Tell me about your picture" I do this rather than stating what I might see, because I am not the artist. The child who drew this picture drew it with a purpose and after she told me what she drew I could have carried endless conversations with her. We could have talked about Egypt, Mommy, or how long a long time really is.

So, why did I choose this picture? I chose it because it shows the endless opportunities for a child to learn from their very own artwork. 

The child who made eye contact

      I have so many children who have touched my heart during the six years that I have worked in the early childhood profession. As I sat here and tried to reflect upon one child I felt I couldn't pick just one. Then I asked myself the question who do I think about most? What child influenced me to become the early childhood leader I am today? As I began to reflect upon this question one child continued to pop into my head, but I could not figure out why. After a little time of reflection I found that reason. For the sake of confidentiality I am going to say the child's name is John Doe.

       John Doe was a little boy who joined my class halfway through my first year of teaching. He began with me when he was just over a year old. I continued to work with him until he was three years old. In the beginning he missed a lot of school and I did not get to see him much. During his first few months at school all he did was cry. He had short moments where he would enjoy himself and play but for the most part he would cry unless his mother was there to play with him. As the month's continued John became more comfortable with the idea of going to school and spent more time playing in the classroom. I soon came to realize that this child was not displaying comprehension or vocalizations. I knew something was not right, therefore I had a conversation with his Mom to see if John verbalized or showed comprehension at home. Mom said he did not. The process began for evaluation. We checked his hearing and completed the screening tools to assess developmental and social-emotional development.  By the time John turned two years old he was evaluated by early intervention and that summer he began receiving early intervention speech and special instruction. The child began babbling by the end of the summer. It wasn't much but I knew we were on the right track. As part of the program I worked at I conducted summer home visits with John and his family. The summer home visits were a wonderful opportunity for me to bond with John and his family.
      By the time Fall came around John and I moved into a toddler classroom together. John had a tough time transitioning from summer home visits to the classroom setting and went back to the days of spending most of his time crying, but this time it was different. Along with the crying he became attached to me and when his Mom was gone he looked to me for comfort. John quickly became comfortable with the fact that when his Mom was not around he could look to me for comfort and he began enjoying his time in the classroom.
      There was one day though where John touched my heart. It was the day John first made eye contact with me. Not once during the past year would John look me in the eye. When we made eye contact feelings of joy came into my heart, a smile appeared on my face, and a connection was made between myself and John. I will never forget that moment. It was something so little, but it meant the world to me and I say to this day, at that moment something clicked for John and he began to thrive.
    The story goes on and by the time John turned three years old he was diagnosed with autism and recommended to attend a school who would have lower ratios at the preschool age. I still hear updates from his Mom on how she and her child are doing and I can't help but feel that I not only made a difference for that child, but for that family as well.

My Favorite Children's Book

How do I choose? I have so many favorite books and over the years my favorite book has changed. As of right now I would have to say my favorite children's book is "Goodnight Moon". During my teaching experience I read this book to the children and it offered so many learning experiences. Some of the learning experiences were talking about the pictures, filling in the blank for the rhyme, and just sitting and listening to a nice calm story. When I was in the classroom as a teacher on a daily basis the children would flock to me when I pulled out this book. I used it a lot for a transition to rest time. It made me feel so good to see a child's face light up as I read the book, a child finish the sentence for me, or simply for a child to point out something in a picture that they liked. This book has shown me how much a book can teach a child and the never ending possibilities it has to offer!

Quote from philosopher Erik Erikson

     "Children love and want to be loved and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment to the triumph of hateful failure. Do not mistake a child for his symptom."
-Erik Erikson

I chose this for my quote, because it speaks to me on a daily basis. As we teach the young children we encounter it is very important to emphasize their accomplishments rather than focusing on their failures. We need to be aware that children have feelings that they are learning to express and it is up to us to help them find the appropriate words and gestures to express themselves.

To Begin my online experience.

      This is my very first blog post. I have never used a blog before. As part of my online experience at Walden University I am excited to learn more about how a blog can be a benefit to my professional experiences.