My Connections to Play

Two Quotes about Play

“Play is our brain's favorite way of learning”. -Diane Ackerman, Contemporary American author

“Almost all creativity involves purposeful play”. - Abraham Maslow, American Psychologist (1908–1970)

Reference: http://www.thestrong.org/about-play/play-quotes

            My fondest memories come from the times I spent with my twin sister. We would play for hours on end with the exact same toys my parents would buy for the both of us because we couldn’t seem to share. It was in those times that she was my best friend, my student, the butt of my jokes, my patient, and my enemy. We had some fun times.

            The caregivers in my life supported play as a child by encouraging us to play with the neighborhood children and providing us with environments that encouraged play as well. The role of play was significant as it shaped our social skills and made us emotionally stable when it came to being competitive.

Play today is characterized by stationary games such as video games and computers. Children do not get as much physical activity or exercise like I did when I was a child and “made” to play outside. Recess in school is also being taken away from their daily routine and extracurricular activities such as play sports or boy scouts is becoming less and less common.

The role of play throughout adulthood equally important as it is in childhood. Play enhances comprehension, creativity, critical thinking skills, physical activity, problem solving skills, and the ability to emotionally self-regulate which is crucial to maturation and growth.

Relationship Reflection

                Relationships/partnerships are extremely important to me. They provide insights, advice, suggestions, and experiences that make me a better person, also encouraging me to attain more, persevere and to utilize resiliency as my strongest asset. There are several people that I maintain positive relationships/partnerships with. The first of them are my work colleagues. As professionals in the field of early childhood education, it is import to form networking alliances that further support efforts of meeting the needs of children. My mother is included in my web of supporters. Her endless efforts to support me in all of my endeavors, since I was a child, have been pertinent to my personal, professional and educational achievement. The bond that we have is irreplaceable. The best relationships that I have are with each of my students. They make me laugh, keep me going, give me energy and they make my job enjoyable and easy. My future relationships/partnerships include those of my colleagues here at Walden University. They have made my online learning experiences unique and personable as we share our aspirations, teaching strategies and techniques, and opinions as educators in early childhood education. Each of these relationships is essential to me as an individual and an educator. I have always held the dream of being an “Excellent Educator”. To achieve this dream, there are people and experiences that have/will contribute greatly. I have developed and maintained each of these relationships through communication, daily activities and routines, work, and community activities. The challenge of maintaining these relationships that I have learned over time is knowing when to let them go. Often times I have tried to salvage relationships/partnerships with individuals that didn’t share a mutual respect for my ambitions and standpoints. The special characteristics that I see in these relationship/partnerships are loyalty, trustworthiness, and compassion. These are a few of my strongest characteristics, so I tend to bond with individuals that show forth the same. My ability to be an active, reflective contributor impacts my work as an effective educator in the early childhood field in many ways. I want to be efficient as an educator. The wealth of knowledge that I gain from these relationships/partnerships enhance success as an early childhood educator. I want to utilize the experiences and suggestions as ways of fulfilling the needs of children holistically. I want to also be a resource. As I acquire information, I want to be able to assist individuals in need beyond the classroom in the communities and out into society.

Quotes about children

Resource: www.etsy.com

The essence of resiliency

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
                                                                                                  Reinhold Niebuhr


Resource: http://activerain.com/blogsview/501570/resiliency-quotes-phrases-and-sayings

"Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly."
                                                                                                 Robert F. Kennedy

Resource: http://activerain.com/blogsview/501570/resiliency-quotes-phrases-and-sayings

Resilience

"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in."
           Deepak Chopra

Resource: http://activerain.com/blogsview/501570/resiliency-quotes-phrases-and-sayings

Assessing Childen

                If we are to “holistically” assess children, then we must assess the child as a “whole”. This includes all factors and influences that have the potential to progress or disturb the health, development, and well –being of children. I believe that the living environment, level of academics, medical status, and societal models should be measured because they are directly/indirectly interconnected to the child. These are all key components in every child’s life that can carry a major effect on them. A child’s living environment is the first source of development, as parents being their first teachers. Lack in this setting, such as nutrition, disconnected utilities, resources, or protection, can contribute to malnourishment and maltreatment. In my opinion, factors at home directly affect behavior in the learning institution. Academic evaluations are proper when determining whether brain maturation and learning is occurring at normal level. The results from this assessment can either excel the child or proceed with the necessary services required for any discovered challenges. Health assessments insure that children are healthy and growing properly. It can also expose many forms of abuse in situations where children are afraid to disclose this tragedy to anyone. Prominent figures in a child’s life are considered to be the ones that they interact with on a daily basis. This web of supporters must do just that, support them. Individuals such as family members, friends, and coaches should display a positive influence rather than corrupt them with negative ones. If these components are properly assessed, then “holistically” the child is bound for success both now and in the future.

                Children around the world are assessed in different ways. As I was engaged in research pertaining to this topic, I was able to acquire a list of assessment tools utilized by pediatricians in Canada concerning the different ways they assess and evaluate the health, development, and well-being of their school-aged children. Included in this resource file is an array of specialized evaluations that range from socialization to self help, and everything else in between. Please click on the link to access this file, as it is substantially filled with resourceful testing methods and tools for assessing children.

                Additionally, as educators, it in the best interest of our children that we recognize these factors and put forth our best efforts to help families maintain stability for children by utilizing the information from these assessments and becoming a resource in providing the necessary assistance to insure overall success.

Resource: http://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/physical/files/school-based-pt-docs/Ped%20Assessment%20Tools.pdf