“A hundred years form now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind car I drove. But, the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
-Anonymous
My Supports
When I think about the factors within my daily environment that are supportive I automatically think about my aunt and boyfriend as well as my cellphone and car. My aunt checks in with me daily to make sure that I am doing alright and to see if I need anything. She tends to worry about me a lot since I live alone in the city. However, the conversations that I have with her on a daily basis is what helps to keep me going. We discuss everything that could possibly be going on in my life and she always helps me come up with a plan and makes sure that I am carrying out the plan. My boyfriend provides me with emotional support all day everyday. I tend to stress and worry about everything but he always manages to help keep me calm and make sure I have a smile on my face. My cellphone practically has my whole life on it (which is kind of sad). I use my cellphone as my alarm clock, to keep up with things I need to do, my budget is tracked in cellphone, my emails and other personal business is all kept up through my cellphone, and I use my phone to prepare things for work and to talk to family and friends. Without my car I don’t know what I would do. I depend on my car to take me everywhere. If I didn’t have these supports in my life I am not sure what I would do. I depend on all of these supports on a daily basis.
I chose to imagine living life restricted to wheelchair. Being that I live alone this would be hard for me. When I was imaging what life would be like so many questions started running through my head. How would I get downstairs? How would I get in and out of the shower? How would I get in and out of my bed? How would I reach stuff in the cabinets? How would I load and start the washing machine and dryer? What would it be like trying to cook at the stove? After trying to imagine living life with that challenge I couldn’t help but be thankful and feel based that I am able to us my legs everyday. Sometimes I think we tend to take for granted things such as being able to use our arms and legs. If did have to live my life restricted to a wheel chair there is no doubt in me that my aunt and boyfriend would not be there to help. I also believe that the rest of my family would be very supportive as well.
My Connection to Play
Quotes Representing Play in My Childhood
Essential Play Items for My Younger Self
When I was younger playing outside was something that I looked forward to everyday. I lived in a neighborhood filled with children my age and we played together everyday going from house to house. During the summer time we would be outside as early as 8 or 9, and stay outside until the sun went down. We would always stop for lunch or a snack at somebodies house, but we would go right back to playing together. My dad would be out working in the yard most of the time so he would listen and watch all of us for the most part. All of the moms would have the front doors open watching us play. As we got all we transitioned to playing more organized games such as baseball or kickball in my front yard because it was the biggest. Our parents never stopped us from playing together, and we were all always welcomed to each others home to play.
In my opinion, play doesn’t exist in the lives of young children anymore. Now children are glued to tablets, Ipads, gaming devices, and cellphones. I rarely see children out playing in the yard or riding bikes and scooters like we did when I was younger. I hope that things could go back to the way they were when I was younger regarding play, but I really don’t see that happening with the world that we live in today. I also believe that it is not entirely the children’s fault that they don’t get outside and play. Neighborhoods are no longer safe as they were and you can’t trust any and everybody around your child. I always said that when I start my own family that I want to live in a nice quiet neighborhood with a fenced in backyard filled with all the things that I enjoyed playing with as a child so that my children can enjoy being a child just as I did.
Play during my childhood gave me the opportunity to explore and have fun. I learned how to make friends and maintain those relationships. When my friends and I would get into a disagreement we easily made up and continued to play together. The friendships that I developed during play with my neighborhood friends carried on all throughout school and some of those friendships still exist now. The social and emotional skills that I gained through play are still relevant in my life today. I have no problem meeting new people and creating relationships, and I am very empathetic towards others. If I did not have my childhood friends to play with I believe that my social skills would not be as strong as they are now.
Relationship Reflection
There are many people who have came in and out of my life, and each of them has played an integral part of making the person that I am today. The relationships that I have established with certain people have made a lasting impact and they continue to add value to my life on a daily basis. Out of all the relationships that I have with people in my life there are a few that are the most important to me.
The relationship that I have with my parents is the most important. The relationship that I have with my parents has not always been the best, but we have gotten to the point where our relationship is the strongest it has ever been. Our relationship strengthen the most once I left my
parents’ house for college after graduating high school in 2012. I moved four hours away from my parents and I was out in the real world by myself. I experienced so much and went through a lot of ups/downs but through it all my parents were there supporting me, encouraging me, and loving me throughout it all.
My sister and I have a very unique relationship. Not only is she my younger sister she is also my best friend, counselor, personal financial adviser, tutor, and so much more. My sister is four years younger than me, but I learn so much fr
om here. I have enjoyed watching my sister grow into the beautiful young lady that she is today, and I am just glad that she was able to learn from my experiences and not follow some of the same things that I did growing up.
In 2013, my sophomore year of college I met this guy that was different from any other guy that I had ever known or met before. I remember when I first saw him I thought “hmm, he is weird and different”, but it was something about him that I liked. In our public speaking class we were placed in the same group to complete a project, and I never would’ve thought that from that group project that we would have developed the relationship that we have today. This guy has been one of the best things that could’ve ever happened in my life. He has been very supportive and encouraging with everything that I have faced throughout college and life after college. He started out as just a friend, then he became my best friend, and now he is my person. We sp
ent almost four years separated from each other due to college, but we remained in contact with one another. In April of this year we finally were able to meet back up with one another since the summer of 2013. Little did I know that when I moved to Macon he was only 45 minutes away from me. He has added such happiness to my life in so many ways, and he has allowed me to experience things that I had never got to experience before. Since we physically reconnected with each our relationship has strengthen and our love for one another has grown significantly. I never want to be separated from my lovebug ever again. I will forever be thankful for our public speaking teacher placing us in the same group together. We have created so many happy memories, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
These are two people I can truly call my best friends We have not known each other that long, but the time that we have known each other and built the relationship that we have today you would think that we have bee
n friends since birth. I met both of these girls last year when I moved to Macon after graduating from Georgia Southern. When I moved to Macon I didn’t know anyone, and all my friends were hours away from me. I met both of these girls on the job, and they have turned into something like my sisters. We have shared many laughs, and shed many tears together. We have helped each other grow in various areas in our lives, and we have helped each other overcome and be able to talk about different things that we have experienced in life. If I had not met these girls I know that I would have been moved back home to be around people that I know. Since I have met these girls my move to Macon has been so much better than when I first got here.
Childhood Stress
Growing up I experienced the stress of my parents constantly arguing with one another. I can remember being in my room playing and all of a sudden I would hear yelling and screaming coming from my parents. There were times that we would be in the car and my parents would start arguing and I would put my headphones on and try to ignore it but it never worked. Some nights my daddy would never come home, and sometimes my mom would pack up our stuff and we would go stay with my grandma for a few days or go stay with my godmother for a few days. Sometimes my daddy would get so mad and he wouldn’t talk to my mom or me and my sister. There were times that my mom may not have had money to get my sister and I anything to eat, but my dad would come in and eat in front of us or he would go to his parents house and eat but he wouldn’t get us anything to eat because him and my mom would be mad at each other so he shut all of us out. I remember one time my parents got into a really bad argument and my dad refused to pay the bills one month and when we came home from school the lights were out, the food had went bad, and the water was turned off. My mom spent many nights crying and then she started getting really sick from stressing so much. While all of this was going on I tried my best to act like it was all a bad dream but as I got older that didn’t work anymore. I became very angry with my dad because I couldn’t understand why a man would treat his wife and kids like that. It got to a point that every time my parents would fight and argue I would jump in and try to help defend my mom.
This was very stressful for me and it affected me emotionally and mentally and I started getting in trouble at school. Once I got older and I was in middle and high school it became worse and I developed the worse attitude ever. I didn’t care about anything or anyone I had reached a very low point and I was slowly heading down the wrong road. Thankfully there was a woman that noticed the change in me and she stepped in and took me under her wings through a mentor program called Always Sisters. At first I did not want to have anything to do with this group because I felt like no one understood how I was feeling, but regardless she came to pick me up every Saturday morning at 10a.m. for mentoring sessions with a group of girls my age who were going through similar if not worse situations. It was a very long process but by the Grace of God I started having a change of heart and slowly started turning my life back around. Always Sisters became a big part of my life and it helped me to forgive both of my parents for all the stress that I experienced watching the two of them fight and argue.
In America there are several children who grow up in homes with unhealthy relationships. These children like my self experience issues such as, sleep issues, school problems, elevated stress hormones, and problems in their teen years.
Breastfeeding
I do not have any personal experience with breastfeeding, but it something that has sparked my interest over the last few years. All over social media you see people shaming mothers for breastfeeding their child in public because her breast are exposed, but they are glorifying half naked women for flaunting their body all on social media. To me this is the most backwards concept ever.
When a woman is breastfeeding her baby that child is receiving vital nutrients that will benefit the child in so many ways. Breastfed babies have fewer ear infections, respiratory illnesses, and they are able to fight off bacteria and infections because of the antibodies that are in the breast milk.
In other countries around the world breastfeeding children in public is common and not shamed like it is in the United States. In places like Mongolia, Brazil, Peru, and Italy breastfeeding in public is glorified because they understand the importance and benefits for the child. These countries have moved to advertising and promoting breastfeeding in all places. In Brazil if businesses give a mother trouble about breastfeeding her child in the establishment they will be fined.
As an early childhood professional one of my jobs is to advocate for children and their families. I can start promoting the normalization of breastfeeding and raising awareness about the importance of breastfeeding babies. At my place of employment I can ensure that we promote breastfeeding and that we educate and encourage our families to breastfeed. Mothers should feel comfortable feeding their child anywhere and not have to worry about what the next person may say because she has chosen to feed her hungry child.
Shocking Birth
I have not had the blessing of having my own child yet, however, several of my friends have had their first child, and I was able to experience the birth of my best friend’s first blessing. This was a very unexpected pregnancy and birth for my friend. She had no idea that she was pregnant until one night we were all hanging out and she became very sick.
At first we thought my friend just had picked up a bad virus, so we went back to the dorms so that she could lay down, but her stomach pains became very excruciating and I can remember screaming take me to the ER now. I knew something had to be seriously wrong because she has a fear of doctors and hospitals and always refused to go to one whenever she got sick, but on this night she was demanding to go.
Once we arrived to the hospital we had to wait in the waiting room what seemed like forever until my friend screamed really loud and the nurses came running in. I went into panic mode because I had no idea what was happening. They took my friend back into the ER room to examine her and they allowed me to go. So much was occurring in that small room, and I was trying to call her mom to tell her we were at the hospital and just as her mom said hello one of the nurses yelled get doctor she is in labor. I don’t know who screamed louder in disbelief my friend or me. We were rushed upstairs to the birthing center and within the next hour my friend gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.
This was a complete shocker for my friend she went through an entire pregnancy not knowing. She never gained any weight, didn’t experience any morning sickness or anything, and she was on birth control. My friend suffered from a severe case of postpartum depression. After about two months of giving birth she was finally able to fully accept that she was a mother and enjoy her baby girl.
Code of Ethics
NAEYC Code of Ethics
I-1.3—To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.
I teach class of 21 preschoolers. Each child is different in their own unique way. My job is to meet each child individually where they are developmentally and help them progress to the next level. What I do with one child may not work with the next child. It is critical that I take the time to get to know each child and recognize their varying abilities so that I can better serve each of them.
I-2.2—To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.
As a teacher it is imperative that I establish a healthy relationship with each family so that the parents will feel at ease when leaving their child in my care for most of the day. It is also important to have the families involved in their child’s education by letting them be an active part of the classroom when available.
I-3A.1—To establish and maintain relationships of respect, trust, confidentiality, collaboration, and cooperation with co-workers.
It is very important to have a good-working relationship with your co-workers. Children notice everything and can pick up on any negative vibes. As teachers we should all strive to display healthy social relationships with one another as a model for the children. Also, if I can not get along with my co-workers then there will always be negative energy in the classroom which will take away from serving the child.
Field of Early Childhood Resources
The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
North American Reggio Emilia Alliance
Helping Your Preschool Child
Parent Power, Build the Bridge to Success
Teaching Our Youngest: Guide for Preschool Teachers, Child Care and Family Providers
“Passion is a ongoing process, it grows.” ~Leticia Lara
In the field of early childhood, “never forget who you are doing it for when you get bogged down in paperwork.” ~Raymond Hernandez
Early Childhood Studies 