My Supports

Having a support system in place is one of the best move a person can make. I have to admit that my support system has gained in strength. My support system consists mostly of my family , but I have two friends that support me unconditionally.

My Husband is the first in line of supporters. He is supports me in ways that mean so much to me.
1. He helps with the children, he cooks, and he cleans.
2. He gives me moral support.
3. He gives me that time alone so that I can do my assignments.
4. He encourages me when I feel overwhelmed.
These things that my husband does allows me to be able to be a mom, work full time,a and be a wife. Without him helping me about around the house and with the kids I would not be able to manage it.

My parents are also supportive. They have always been big on education and, and have always pushed me to get an education beyond high school. When I decided to get my Master in ECS they were so excited for me. Recently I had a conversation with my mom telling her that I had so much on my plate that I was going to have to let something go. I told her that I was thinking about ending my pursuit of a Master. Both she and my dad told me that there were other things that I could eliminate, but my quest to get my Masters Degree should not be one of them. So they talked with me and helped lift my spirits and I have decided to continue.

Another supporter that I have is my sister Faye. she is there for me whenever I need her. No matter what it is that I need she will always help out. Just on this week she helped me. Mys on was sick and needed to go to the Dr., so I called her up and asked if she would take him to the Dr. so that I did not have to miss work and she did. Sometimes I am low on money and she will come to my rescue.She is always there for me and I know that she does all of these things for me because she loves me.

I also have two friends that do all  they can in ways of support. They lend a listening ear when I need someone to talk to. They give me good advice that is priceless. They are always encouraging me to do my best at everything that I set forth to do. They will come when I call them and they are always ready to led a helping hand when and if I should ever need one.

I have to say that the support that I have is irreplaceable and it isn't something that everyone are fortunate to have. I consider myself blessed to have such loving and caring supporters. I can truly say that I would be lost without my husband, family and friends. I have seen other's go through so many things and they do not have one person that they can turn to in a time of difficulty and get help. I have seen family turn their back on other family members and I have seen friends that break all connections an ties to the very person that they once called a friend. I am blessed that I have the support that I have because all of the relationships that I have with those that support me have been tried through the fire and have come out a pure gold.

My Connections to Play

In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior. In play it is as though he were a head taller than himself.

Lev Vygotsky

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.

Michael Jordan

It is a happy talent to know how to play.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I can remember when I was a child how we used to play. We would come home from school have a snack, do our homework, and go outside to play. We would stay outside until it was dark. We spent hours at a time playing in the streets. All of the neighborhood children would gather together to play kickball or baseball. We would ride our bikes around the block, or skate up an down the street. We would sometimes play hide-n-seek and all of those made up games. We would find some place in the backyard to build us a secret club house, and only certain people could enter. Man those were the good times. Today play has changed the children do not know most of the games that we played when we were kids. They have evolved from a time when play was made up, to a time of technological play. The children now sit in front of the tv playing video games, and those handheld games. The do not play the little clapping hand games that we as girls grew up on. They now have to have the latest gadgets to enjoy play.

These are some of the toys that I loved to play with as a child.

There was nothing compared to playing with a tea set with your friends, or baking a cake in an easy bake. When I was a little older I played with the Rubik's cube, I could never solve it though. I would come close, but I could never get all of the sides the same color.

My most favorite toy as a little girl was a baby doll. I loved to dress her up, and comb her hair.

RELATIONSHIP REFLECTION

Relationships are the foundations of life. Everyone has a relationship with some person and that relationship can be positive or negative. I think that relationships are the building block for a person's life and how you foster those relationships will determine what type of life you will live. The far most, most important relationship that I have is my relationship with God. I put God before all the relationships that I have, yes all. I know that God is my all and all and without him I can do nothing. My God tells me that he is a jealous God and that he will have nothing come before him. The Second most important relationship is that of my husband  and children.

My husband and I are first of all friends, I believe in order to have the relationship that I desire with my husband we have to be friends as well as husband and wife. We have an open communication which is important to me. We are able to talk and communicate, even when we disagree we are able to talk and work it out. The relationship that I now have with my husband is all that I have ever wanted out of a relationship. We have grown closer in the past 4 years than ever before out of a 17 year relationship.

The relationship that I have with my family is also important to me. I am a baby of 5 kids and I love my family. I am very close to my family and we were raised to put family first and that is what I have done.

My most ppositive relationships is with my close circle. My Husband, Travis Carridine, My Mom and Dad , Mary and Melvin Holloman, Mys Sister, Bernice Martin, and Faye Mack, and my two best friends, Shikira Johnson and Vanessa Bateman. I love each and everyone of them dearly and I depend on those relationships to get me through life. One thing I do know is that in order for these relationships to last there has to be a give take relationship because if there is always a take relationship then, that will wear the relationship out, vice versa for a relationship where one half is always the one giving.

The relationships that I have in my life gives me the passion and the drive for myself as a professional. I always strive to have positive relationships with my students and their families. It is important for me as teacher to love and treat my students just as I would my own children.

Speaking On Children

Self-esteem is the real magic wand that can form a child’s future. A child’s self-esteem affects every area of her existence, from friends she chooses, to how well she does academically in school, to what kind of job she gets, to even the person she chooses to marry.

STEPHANIE MARTSON, The Magic of Encouragement

The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It ... is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance, and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and to become all that he can be.

MARIANNE E. NEIFERT, Dr. Mom's Parenting Guide

A Word of Thanks

I would like to thank all of my colleagues who gave me meaningful conversation and comments. Thanks for sharing your life's story with me a stranger to you in the beginning, but hopfully someone who you have grown to know and respect toward the end. Thanks to Dr. Myers for all of the help and support that she has given me throughout this course. I have enjoyed this classs and I have enjoyed working with all of you. May God bless you and keep you. Sincerely, Melanie

TESTING 1,2,3 TESTING 1, 2, 3...

During the spring the time will come for the schools to begin their yearly teating of the children. Here in Ashburn, the elementary school test all grades, although the test results doesn't count for all grades. From kindergarten through second grade  and fourth grade the tests are just a measure to see what the children know, but for third graders and fifth graders they have to pass the CRCT test(Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests ) before they can pass to the next grade. You wouldn't believe the stress and pressure that they put on thoses children (even the one's whos test score doesn't count) to pass that test. My philosophy is to test or study or even evaluate the whole child. Some children will pass a class with flying colors, but when it comes to taking a test they freak out and blow the test because of stess and anxiety I do not think that so much pressure should be placed on these youncg children these days about passing a test. I remember taking only one test that determined a pass or fail and that was my high school graduation test that had to be passed in order to graduate. Passed it with flying colors, there was not pressure on me at all to pass that test because we all knew that if we wanted to graduate then we had to pass that test, so that is what I did. My son was held back in third grade because he did not pass the reading part of the CRCT for the 2009-2010 school year. For the 2010-2011 school year he had to retake the CRCT and pass in order to go to the fourth grade and this time he exceeded in math  and was a few points away from exceeding in the rest of the subjects. The pressure of passing test has become overwhelmiong for some of the children who are required to take and pass those test. No test is good enough to serve as the sole or primary basis for important educational decisions. Readiness tests, used to determine if a child is ready for school, are very inaccurate and encourage the use of overly academic, developmentally inappropriate
primary schooling (that is, schooling not appropriate to the child’s emotional, social or intellectual development and to the variation in children’s development).

Japan implemented a new comprehensive guide to elementary education in April 2011, representing an attempt to maintain some of the benefits of the educational reforms of the 1990s and early 2000s while increasing the academic rigor of Japanese compulsory education. Shortly after the implementation of the new curriculum, Japanese students declined in their achievement on international comparative tests, especially the TIMMS and PISA studies. In response, a number of gradual changes were implemented designed to help improve the academic performance of Japanese students while maintaining some of the benefits of the earlier reforms. Key changes included a gradual increase in the required topics to be taught in the standard academic subjects, a gradual increase in the number of hours devoted to these subjects, and the implementation of national standardized testing at the end of the 6th and 9th grades. The tests were implemented with a desire to assess the skills of the students as a whole and target areas where there were needs for improvement in the system. The tests were met with significant concern that they would be used as a means of creating greater comparison and competition between schools as well as increase pressure on students. The tests, which included extensive student and teacher surveys, provide a rich source of data regarding not just the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese students, but also rich data regarding other factors that can effect learning as diverse as the amount of time spent reading independently each day, student breakfast habits, and student use of cell phones to send e-mails each day.

IF YOU ARE HUNGRY, THEN I WILL FEED YOU!!!

I can sit all day and listen to my mother tell us the heart felt story of the things that she has had to suffer as a child. The one story that fits this assignment is the story about her being hungry. My mother's mother died when she was 4 years old ans she and her three siblings were being raised by her father, but it came a time when her father had to go away for a while so that he could work. My mom, her brother(one brother died), and her sister had to go and live with her father's mother. My mom told the horror story about her grandmother. She told us that her grandmother would not feed her, her brother, and her sister. She did not know exactly why, but my mother told us that her grandmother hated them and would not feed them. They went to bed many of nights hungry and had not had anything to eat for days. My mother told us that she would sometimes have to help her grandmother in the kitchen and she would hide food from the kitchen and her brother and her sister would be under the porch and she would throw them the food up under the porch so that they could eat something. My mother is 67 and she continues to struggle with all that happened to her in her childhood. My mom always made sure that her children and grand children always have enough food to eat and she never lets any of the children go to be hungry. If one of them happens to fall asleep and not eat she will wake them up so that they can eat. That story really moves me and every time my mother tells that story I sit and listen in amazement, because I could not imagine how someone would starve their own grandchildren to almost death; which is what happened to my aunt, she had gone many days without eating and she passed out almost to death and when she came too , my great grandmother(worried at the time because my aunt almost died, and she would go to jail) had my mother to soak some bread in water and feed it to her.

My Mom

We sometimes think of hungry children outside the US, but hunger is a big problem today in the US.
In high school, Katherine Foronda trained herself not to feel hungry until after the school day had ended. She wasn't watching her weight or worrying about boys seeing her eat.
She just didn't have any food to eat or any money to buy it.
"I thought, if I wasn't hungry during class I'd be able to actually focus on what we were learning,'' said Foronda, now 19.
Every day, children in every county in the United States wake up hungry. They go to school hungry. They turn out the lights at night hungry.
As many as 17 million children nationwide are struggling with what is known as food insecurity. To put it another way, one in four children in the country is living without consistent access to enough nutritious food to live a healthy life, according to the study, "Map the Meal Child Food Insecurity 2011."


The story of what happened with my mother and her siblings is still occurring today, there are millions of children who just do not get enough to eat.

In The Beginning

I chose the topic of nutrition/malnutrition because I have been fortunate enough to be able to provide myself with the nutrition that I needed during my pregnancies, but unfortunately there are people all over the world that have under weight babies because they are unable to eat properly during pregnancy.


A pregnant woman should get plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. In addition to making healthy food choices, taking a daily prenatal vitamin — ideally starting three months before conception — can help ensure you're getting enough of this essential nutrient

The nutrition of a pregnant woman directly influences the course of the pregnancy and normal fetal development, and also the long-term health of the mother and child. In the first half of pregnancy, nutrition requirements mainly concern quality, while in the second half, quantity is also an issue, to ensure fetal growth. Proper nutritional habits should already be established at the start of this second life - if possible even before conception.

 India has exceptionally high rates of child malnutrition, because tradition in India requires that women eat last and least throughout their lives, even when pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle.

Quotes About India's Mothers

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.
- Jawaharlal Nehru

However much a mother may love her children, it is all but impossible for her to provide high-quality child care if she herself is poor and oppressed, illiterate and uninformed, anaemic and unhealthy, has five or six other children, lives in a slum or shanty, has neither clean water nor safe sanitation, and if she is without the necessary support either from health services, or from her society, or from the father of her children
- Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, "The Asian Enigma"



The women who participate in and lead ecology movements in countries like India are not speaking merely as victims. Their voices are the voices of liberation and transformation. . . The women's and ecology movements are therefore one, and are primarily counter-trends to a patriarchal maldevelopment.
- Vandana Shiva

8lbs3oz and 6lbs6oz

I can remember it like it was yesterday that I gave birth to my first son. He was a big baby, as a matter of fact he was the biggest baby in the nursery. I was awaken by the pains of birth around about 2:34 am. I knew that it was time, so I took a shower grabbed my bag and awoke my husband so that we could go to the hospital. The pains were unbearable so I asked for an epidural, and on August 16, 2011 at 1:34pm my son Travius was born and he weighed 8lbs3oz.

 Eight years later I found myself back at the hospital going into labor. It was different this time the baby was just lying in the birth canal awaiting me to dilate. The pains were hard to bare, I asked for an epidural and by the time the doctor arrived and positioned the epidural into my back the baby was coming, I pushed one time and he was here. Joshua was born at 7:01a.m.

These are two great moments in time that I will never forget, and I wanted to share my birth experiences with you. After you have gone through the pains of labor and hold your child for the first time you forget about the pain that you  just experienced and you begin to focus on that little bundle of joy that you are holding in your arms for the first time. That same love and warmth that I felt that day I took it along with me from the hospital and I use that love, and care to make sure that my babies were given all that they needed to develop into a strong healthy child. I am still providing that nurture to my children and I do not think that that care will ever end for a parent. Child development is key in making sure that children will have a standing chance to grow up to be a vibrant adult.

In China the annual number of births in 2009 was 18294.

China has proclaimed that it will continue its one child policy, which limits couples to having one child, through the 2006-2010 five year planning period.
China's one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit communist China's population growth. Although designated a "temporary measure," it continues a quarter-century after its establishment. The policy limits couples to one child. Fines, pressures to abort a pregnancy, and even forced sterilization accompanied second or subsequent pregnancies. It is not an all-encompassing rule because it has always been restricted to ethnic Han Chinese living in urban areas. Citizens living in rural areas and minorities living in China are not subject to the law. However, the rule has been estimated to have reduced population growth in the country of 1.3 billion by as much as 300 million people over its first twenty years.

Now that millions of sibling-less people in China are now young adults in or nearing their child-bearing years, a special provision allows millions of couples to have two children legally. If a couple is composed of two people without siblings, then they may have two children of their own, thus preventing too dramatic of a population decrease.

I really did not know there was such a law to prevent people from having children. I am glad that I live in the US because I have always wanted to have two children and I have them. I do not want anymore children, but there are other people who would like to have more than just two children. China went to drastic measure to make sure that its population did not grow out of control, but the US being the country of freedom have not implemented such a law.

CODES THAT MAKE ME WHO I AM

These codes that I have chosen are apart of who I am not only as a teacher, but as a person and a Minister.

We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value

and human potential of each child.

We have to remember and realize that all children are unique and that they all come from different background of life. We should treat them all the same, and love and care for them just as we would expect a teacher to love and care for our own children. We also have to remember that there will be challenges and that we still have to maintain our respect for those children that gives us those challenges.

We shall honor and respect our responsibilities to colleagues while upholding the dignity and

autonomy of colleagues and maintaining collegial interprofessional and intraprofessional

relationships

"A divided house can not stand." "How can two walk together except they agree."
These bible quotes demonstrates the importace of mutual respect. We should all respect each others opinions and eventhough there will be disagreements diagree in love.

We shall recognize our responsibility to improve the developmental outcomes of children and to

provide services and supports in a fair and equitable manner to all families and children.

This is my purpose, my destiny, the thing that pushes and drives me. This is the reason why I am enrolled in the Early Childhood Studies program.

 

Course Resources

LEARNING RESOURCES

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/63694/CRS-CW-5364585/educ6005_readings/naeyc_dap_position_statement.pdf
• 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://www.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

Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• 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://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
    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.

 Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
• Children’s Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
• Voices for America’s Children
  http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education





Out of Our Mouth Proceeds Wisdom

Words of Wisdom from Dr. Lilian Katz

"We are doing earlier and earlier to children what we shouldn't do later."


Dr. Edward Zigler

"From the son of two immigrants growing up in poverty, I'm a Sterling Professor at Yale University and fairly well known."

"The story of Head Start is one of impact," he said. "Twenty-five million poor children and their families have now been through this program. I am the only member of the planning committee that stayed with Head Start through its entire 45-year life. But perhaps the bigger impact over the long haul was the change in our thinking about preschool education."

Personal Childhood Web

If there was one thing that I can say that I really had as a child was the love and support of my family.

My mom Mary Holloman is the best mom a girl could ask for. I remember those hot summer days when she would make me and my niece and my nephews homemade ice cream. She was always cooking up something in the kitchen and I would pull up a chair and watch her as she would cook and she would talk to me and tell me how to mix up the ingredients and how to make a certain meal. My mom read books to me and helped me with my homework when I was a young child.

My Dad, Melvin Holloman is a farmer and he has been farming every since he was a child. There was one thing that he said he regretted and that was the fact that he had to drop out of school in the twelfth grade to support him self. Both of his parents died when he was a young boy and he had to do what he had to do to support himself. My dad was really tough on me when it came to school and even college. He was tough because he wanted me to get an education and to make something of my self. He wanted to me to be successful and he worked hard to provide for our family and to make sure that all was well. The relationship that I have with my Dad today is unmeasurable. I can go to him and talk to him about anything and he will listen and give me advice. He supports me fully and I know that I have made him proud.

My Sister, Bernice Johnson Martin has always loved and cared for me. I remember those time when she babysat me. She would put me in my red radio flyer wagon and pull me to the store. She would aways buy me something out of the store. Every since I have been old enough to know what a roll model is, Bernice has been one of my role models. She is a very intelligent lady and she wanted to make sure that I followed behind her. I remember her encouraging words telling me that I really needed to study hard and to make good grades. Even now she still encourages me to do the best that I can possibly do at anything that I set fourth my hands to do. She is there when I need her and if there is anything that I need she will give it to me if possible.

I can really say that I love that cousin of mine. Step and we call her is the best girl cousin that I had. I remember all of those days when we would  play out in the yard for hours and hours at a time. She would come to my house and I would go to her house. We played together and had the best fun two cousins could have. As we grew up so did the love that we had for each other. She really is the best cousin a girl could ask for and I love her for being my friend and loving me regardless.

                                                                             

It is great to have a loving family, but it is even greater to have loving teachers. I remember my favorite teacher. Her name was Ms. Biggers and she was the best teacher that I ever had. She taught me in second grade, and I can still remember some of the  work that we had to complete in her classroom. I remember cutting out pictures and doing work out of the work books that I had. She gave is spelling tests on Fridays. She really was a loving and caring teacher and she was always nice to me. I can not ever remember her being mean or getting upset.

I would just like to say thanks to everyone who loved and cared for me. I still remember all that you guys have done for me. I am so grateful that I have your support while I am pursuing this masters. Thanks,

Love Mel.

Remember These Words

Quotes For The Soul

"Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate."

Unknown Author

" Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven."

Henry Ward Beecher

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6



God Knew All Along

JEREMIAH 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

I had no idea 6 years ago when I graduated from college with a degree in Political Science that I would eventually become a teacher. I never in my wildest dream wanted to teach, but I took the job out of need. I was given a message from God by my Overseer that I was going to teach, and I fought it for about two years after receiving the message. When I finally made up my mind to do what God had instructed me to do, I landed the job of assistant pre-k teacher. Guess what I fell in love with teaching and with my kids. That is the unconditional love that teaching has giving me to all that I possibly can to help my students. See God knew, but I didn't. That is The Heart Of A Child.