My Supports

    I am surrounded by plenty of support systems, which include: my family, close friends, and my job. My family supports me by being there emotionally, socially, and many times financially.  I have three boys who are very active and I really have to take a "me" break at times.  My family helps me out with my children. 
     I have a few friends who are like "heaven sent", they are shoulders to cry on or someone to just hang out with.  These friends are really near and dear to my heart.  I am blessed to have them.
     My job is another one of my supports. It is also a very important part of my life, because I have to provide the financial means for my children and our lifestyle.  All of the above mentioned supports are a critical part of my life.

My Connections to Play

“It’s better to play than do nothing.” Confucious

“Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” Miles Davis

I was the only child home when I was growing up, because my siblings were much older than me, so I had to play with other children in the neighborhood. My parent’s didn’t stress outside play too much, because they did not want me outside alone if I did not have any company.

            As I child, it was more outside play than today, because it was before the age of video games. I have a 10 year old that complains about it being too hot to play outside in the summer and too cold to play outside in the winter, because he wants to stay inside to play his video game. I monitor his video gaming, because of his homework and getting outside playing for the interaction with other children. Social skills are very important and should be concentrated on just as much as academic skills.

            As we grown into an adult, we do need to mature but we should also have some downtime and relax. The issues of an adult’s life on a regular are very stressful at times. We have to step away at times, because stress will work on our physical and mental health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relationship Reflection

Relationships and partnerships are important, because they are the foundations to establish other things.  You must have a relationship or partnership to work with or communicate with other people.  People feel more comfortable when they have developed repoire with another individual whenever business is involved. I have several positive relationships and partnerships with many people including: my family, co-workers, classmates, and business people.

 In order for relationships and partnerships to remain and positive, all parties involved must trust each other.  Trust is a very important factor in relationships/partnership.  I have learned that you have to handle each relationship/partnership differently.  You can’t talk and or trust all people with some information.  Friendships are something that have to be invested in to determine the worth of them.

Researching

I have learned that accurate research requires time and a variety of sources to gain some beneficial information.  I have gained my best research from interviews and talking with people in the profession.  The information seems to be more realistic and you can relate to it more.  When I did a schedule of when I would observe the children, talk with the adults, and read my research documents; I was able to get things in an order and organize my project.  I had initially just started researching websites and journals without any order and I became very frustrated.  So I took a more organized approach and received better results.

When I observed and interviewed in the classrooms some of the teachers and students did not accept it well.  I explained to the teachers that I was doing research for an assignment and I would try not to bother them for long. As I was completed the interview, I thanked them for their time and help.  I have become even more interested in the early childhood field, because I have read about a lot of things that I did not know about in the advancement of the Early Childhood field

Early Childhood Australia

 I chose to review the Early Childhood Australia website.  The research topics on this website include:  “Push for reform as parents pay more for early childhood education and care”, “Extension for preschool funding welcomed”, and “Professional development fund a board to early childhood sector”.  In 2013, the Early Childhood Australia (ECA) celebrated 75 years of continued services to Australian children.  It is a non-profit, non-government organization.

            They have three branches that are integral parts of the organization; they help identify issues and priorities for state and national action and influence position statement concerning young children.  The branches are a great source of professional support for Early Childhood Australian members with great networking opportunites.

Option 1----Positive Example of the effects of research

Research can be beneficial to families, because early childhood should be a necessity.  Research can be done with families to compare their incomes, backgrounds, or locations to determine the children’s different learning skills and abilities.

            The research can be done without being to invasive.  The community can send out different surveys or questionnaires to the different families.  The surveys would be completed by families from all backgrounds.  This will give the community leaders/educators a picture of how important an early childhood education is to young children.

            The early childhood program that I work for could ask the families to complete a survey every year about the previous year and the child’s progress.  The surveys are mailed to the state offices and the results are used to help the early childhood area improve in the upcoming years.  The parents usually become frustrated at times, because of the surveys but we remind them that is for the betterment of their child and their education.

Your Personal Research Journey

I had originally chose to do my research on “early childhood being available to all children ages 3-4 years”, but after receiving comments and suggestions from Dr. Todd I decided to research one of my sub topics, “social development in young children”.  I believe that social skills are just as important as academic skills.  The children must learn how to cooperate with each other just as well as they recite their ABC’s. My personal children all have good communication skills, but we are working on the socializing area. They will talk to familiar people all day, but they are not as open to strangers or new people.

            I would appreciate any suggestions that will enhance my research on my topic, “social development in young children”.