Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Part 1: Establishing Professional Contacts
The first part of this week's assignment was to contact two early childhood professionals outside the United States.  In order to do this, I first went to the Global Alliance section of the NAEYC website.  Unfortunately after several undeliverable e-mail messages were returned to me, I decided to reach out to my personal contacts.  I posted a message on facebook asking for help.  I was able to get two names and e-mail addresses.  As of now, I have made contact but am waiting for a response.  I feel sure that I will hear back from them soon. 

Part 2: Expanding Resources
The next part of this week's assignment was to enhance my knowledge of early childhood by choosing a early childhood organization in which to study, as well as their resources.  For this assignment, I looked over a few websites and decided to learn more about the organization Zero to Three.  I am currently employed with a daycare center that serves children 6 weeks to 5 years of age.  I also foster children who are under 5 years of age so I decided to chose this organization because I felt like I could learn a lot professionally but I could also apply this knowledge to my personal life. 

This week's assignment made me realize the importance of my circle of friends.  Not only were they helpful in putting me in contact with people outside of the United States, but they have been a huge support throughout my educational journey.  I strongly encourage my fellow classmates to reach out to their circle of friends because they can be helpful in establishing contacts of other professionals. 

My Supports

I receive support from a variety of sources, almost daily.  My children are supportive by helping me around the house as well as doing things for themselves.  My family and friends are always there for me whether it is as a soundboard for me to express my thoughts or feelings, or to offer physical assistance when I need an extra hand or to babysit my children when I need a little time away.  My co-workers offer support by encouraging me and helping me when I need help in my classroom.  My Pastors and church family offer support spiritually as I grow closer to Christ.

There are other things in my life that offer support that may sound silly but are a major part of my life.  One of which is my car.  If I didn’t have it, I would have some major adjustments to make in my life.  Another would be that of running water.  I depend on this daily for a number of reasons.  Without clean running water, I would have to make more adjustments in my life, all of which would add more stress.   

I am fortunate to have a wonderful support system.  From my friends, family, co-workers, Pastors, and my church family, I am blessed beyond words.  I have not always had a strong support system but there have always been one or two people that I know I can turn to if I needed help.  Understanding who you can count on to be your support system is important, especially if a crisis or challenge emerges. 

One challenge that comes to mind is if something were to happen to one of my children.  Accidents and sicknesses happen but they can be challenging, especially for a single mother with other children to take care of.  I know that my parents and friends would be there to help me with anything, especially my children.  My Pastors would offer spiritual support as well as physical support if there was something that could be done.  My co-workers would step up for me and make sure my classroom was covered.  My church family would be there for me in any way they could.  Because I have such a strong support system, I know that all I would have to do is ask if there was anything I needed.  There are some people I wouldn’t even have to ask at all.  They would just step in and help in any way they could.

The biggest benefit of having such a strong support system is that I know I am not alone.  I know that there are people in my life who want to share my happy times, to rejoice my accomplishments.  I also know that I don’t have to face life’s challenges alone.  I always have a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, and a friend at a moment’s notice.  If I woke up one day and my supports were gone, I would be extremely heartbroken.  I know that I would still go on with life, but the joy of life’s simple moments would be gone.  I would feel empty and alone.

My Connections to Play

 Growing up, play was a major part of my life.  I must have heard “go play” a million times from my parents.  They supported my play by allowing me to have ample time to explore the world around me.  There weren’t rules for everything.  My parent’s only rules were to ask permission to leave the yard and to tell them where I was going, be home by dark, and not to burn the house down.  Other than that, I had the freedom to play as my heart desired.  My family didn’t have much money so I didn’t have a whole lot of toys.  My parents understood that children do not need a lot of “stuff” in order to play.  If I wanted to use something from around the house, I could.  If I wanted to get dirty, I could.  I had the freedom to just do, as long as I wasn’t going to get hurt. 

For me, play was my outlet.  I could be anyone and do anything.  I was free in my own little world.  Play opened up my creativity and became my stress relief and my companion.  Everything felt right in the world when I was playing.

Play today seems to have taken on a much different tone.  Where my play was more carefree, today play seems a lot more serious.  Sometimes play even looks like work to some children.  There also seems to be a rule for everything.  Do this, don’t do this, use this like this, etc.  Children aren’t allowed to just explore freely anymore. 

Society has changed a great deal from what it was when I was little.  I remember being able to go outside and roam the neighborhood without ever worrying about something bad happening.  Now children are exposed to “bad things” even in their own front yard!  The freedom to go and explore has been taken away.

When I think about my vision of play for my children, I want them to be able to enjoy their youth.  I don’t want their actions to be filled with a bunch of rules and regulations.  I want play to be fun for them.  I want them to enjoy playing with their friends and manipulating the world around them.  I want play for my children to be as important as it was for me.  I want them to feel free to explore their world and learn in the process.

Looking back on my life from my childhood until now in terms of play and its role, I realize that play continues to be my outlet for creativity as well as stress relief.  I am not afraid to admit that I still enjoy doing art, playing with play dough, dressing up, and building things.  I hope that play continues to be an important part of my life through my adulthood because I feel like it keeps me young at heart.  Play isn’t just important for children but adults as well!

 

"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." 

~Robert Fulghum

"Some things can only be understood when you're in a tree house.  With a pile of warm chocolate chip cookies.  And a book." 

~Dr. SunWolf

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
~Plato

Relationship Reflection

Relationships and partnerships are important to me because through these relationships, I know that I am not going through life alone.  I have a support system that is there for me, no matter what.  I also know that I have someone to share life’s important moments with.  I have people who want to be with me to celebrate my accomplishments, encourage me through my trials, cry with me during my struggles, and simply offer a shoulder when one is needed.  I have people I can turn to at any moment for any reason.  Through my relationships and partnerships, I have a firm foundation to make it through the storm of life!

I have a few people that I am very close to.  The first relationship and the one that is probably the most important, is my personal relationship with my Creator, my Lord and my Savior- my God.  I believe that this relationship is probably the most personal of all the relationships I currently have and have had in the past.  I think that any personal relationship involves completely opening up and putting everything on the table.  When establishing this relationship, I went to God for everything, which is why I feel like our relationship has continued to grow for many years.  I took Him my pain, my struggles, my wants, and my desires but I did not stop there.  I shared my joys, my victories, and my praise with Him as well.  God became my rock in both good and bad times.  The more we share, the greater our relationship becomes.

The next relationship that I feel is important is the relationship I have with my parents.  Everything has not always been perfect; in fact I was kicked out of the house and disowned when I was 18.  I didn’t speak to my parents for about 2 years.  During this time, I missed them more that I ever could have imagined.  Eventually, my parents opened their arms to me and have been hugging me ever since.  I think the biggest reason our relationship is as good as it is now is because we didn’t play the blame game.  When they were ready to have me back, I ran to them and did not look back.  I did not bring up the past and none of us blamed one another.  We agreed to let the past go and to only make the best of our time together.  My parents are my best friends and I am honored to call them mom and dad!

My Nana has always been a huge part of my life.  I spent every summer with her and my Paw-paw from the time I was 5 or 6 until I turned 16.  My Nana taught me what I believe are three most important things in life: how to pray, how to cook, and how to treat others.  The reason my relationship with my Nana became as strong as it did was she there for me when my parents were not.  She supported me and never judged me.  This does not mean that she did not call me out when I did things that she didn’t agree with, but she did it lovingly.  She was able to lead me and guide me without ever making me feel belittled or unworthy.  At the same time, I showed her the respect and unconditional love that she deserved.  Her health began to deteriorate quickly after my Paw-paw passed away in 2005.  She eventually joined him last year.  Losing her was like losing a part of me but I am confident that I will see her again.  Until then, I will always remember her because I strongly believe that I am who I am because of her.

My relationship with my best friend, Britt, is also an important part of my life.  Britt understands me on a level that even shocks me sometimes.  She has a way of seeing right through me, as I do her.  We have this bond that had to have come from God.  We met several years ago when she became my assistant when I was teaching.  We had a rough group of children and needed to be each other’s support.  This is what began our friendship.  We didn’t work together long, as she realized that teaching just was not her calling.  We had already formed a friendship so we continued talking and spending time together and now we are like sisters.  Her husband went on his first deployment last year and she says that I was the only thing that helped her stay grounded while he was gone.  They were stationed about 6 hours away but our relationship has proved that distance is not a factor.  We have continued to stay close and I am sure now that her husband is leaving for his second deployment, we will become closer still.  I think one of the main reasons we are as close as we are is because we have kindred spirits.  We share the same interests and are able to connect in such a way that words can not describe.  We are also able to be ourselves together.  Last year when her husband was away, I spent many nights with her just keeping her company.  We did not need to talk, just being there was all she needed.  One of the most awesome things we did together was pray.  We had been to church together but this was different.  This was intimate.  For this reason, I believe that our bond/ relationship has blossomed and will remain an important part of my life!

As with anything in life, relationships face challenges.  Things like misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication happen but when we take these challenges and face them head on, we can use them to make our relationships stronger rather than tear them apart.  There are also challenges in forming relationships.  Examples of these may include judging someone by the way they look or not making time to actually get to know someone.  These are challenges that we have to be willing to work through.  If we cannot work to create a relationship, there won’t be a relationship worth forming. 

I believe that my ability to create and maintain relationships makes me a better person.  I think the skills that are necessary to do this are not only evident in creating personal relationships but also creating relationships with my students and their families as well as my coworkers, my peers, and the community.  As I create, maintain, and explore my relationships, I am able to embrace my support system and become a better person and ultimately a better teacher.  As I work on my communication skills with my friends, in an environment in which I am comfortable, I am able to use these skills in other areas of my life, importantly in the classroom.  I am able to model effective communications skills between myself and my students, and I am able to help them work through problems they may be having with each other.  I am also gaining confidence so I can speak to others and engage in conversations without feeling nervous or uneasy.  Through my personal relationships, I have also learned the importance of give and take.  I can display this in my classroom in my role as an educator not only with my students, but their families as well.  Finally, I can use my communication skills and the idea of give and take when it comes to being an advocate for children in my community.  I can speak out against things I feel are important and I can speak up for things I feel need attention.  Relationships are a vital part of being an active member of society!