WEEK 2 BLOG

Besides the one change of clothes that I can take with me the three items that I would take with me would be, my Bible, a picture of my mother and I, and my old baby blanket that I still sleep with. I would take my Bible because of my upbringing in the church and as a Baptist. The Bible has great stories, the rules of life, and excellent advice. During this time of devastation the Bible will bring me comfort. It can also be read to others during this tragedy to bring them comfort as well.
The picture of my mother and I will be for identification as well as memories. My old baby blanket would be my sleeping aid because I may be in an unfamiliar place and this would also bring me comfort.
I would explain to people what these items mean to me and my family; and I would also explain to them how important it is to have things that you can have as keepsakes that remind you of your family culture.
Upon arrival if I am told that I can only bring one item with me I would be crushed and it would definitely be a hard decision to make. I would most likely bring my bible because of my faith in God that he would bring me through this tragedy.
Reading other blogs I have discovered that their are many people who would carry the word of God with them in this type of situation. It surprises me because in today's society I think that some people are so caught up on material things and not what really matters.








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WEEK 2: RELATIONSHIP REFLECTION

Relationships and Partnerships are important to me because you always need someone to encourage you to do better. I also believe that relationships and partnerships create a sort of stability between two or more people especially when it is positive.

My relationships
My Mother
Growing up I never went without much. She always made sure I had what I needed plus more. This woman taught me how to be a lady, how to respect and love myself because if I didn't no one else would. In 1995 my mother was diagnosed with a eye disease called Retnitispigmetosis (I think I spelled that right) its a disease that destroys the Retna and causes eye sight loss. My mother is 70% blind in both eyes. Some people would have complained and laid around and felt sorry for themselves, but my mother does not complain. She had to learn how to do things differently, such as cooking, writing, reading, and other things. Luckily there are devices made to help her with these things. She can't operate a vehicle and she can't see from long distances but everything else she does fine. She even works at a place in RTP (a small city in NC) that employs people who are visually impared. My point is, one of her major senses is practically gone but it doesn't stop her from doing the things she wants to do. She shows me that no matter what is put in front of me to conquer it, to make the best of it whether its good or bad. My relationship with my mother is one that I think everyone should have. We disagree on things, but, we are always their fo reach other no matter the issue. This relationship was built at birth.
Mr. Charles E. Watters

Mr. Watters was my high school debate teacher. If I had to mold my husband this is the man I would want him to be like. Mr. Watters is well educated and a gentleman. He taught me the importance of pronunciation, eye contact and poise when speaking in front of an audience. He would like to hear our problems and concerns about life and he would listen and give us advice. One of his quotes that I try to go by "Proper Prior Preperation Prevents Poor Performance" but its hard to go by that all the time being that I am a BIG procrastinator!!!  Seeing him a few months ago and hearing him say how proud of me he was because of how far I had came from an 18 year old girl aspiring to be an entertainment lawyer and now I am an early childhood teacher warmed my heart. This is a relationship that I built in high school and it continues to thrive.

My experiences building relationships like these will definitely help me build relationships with my children and their parents. I believe once these relationships are made then their can be partnerships that can create positive outcomes.

MY SUPPORTS

This will be short and sweet. Their is only one reason I have continued my education as far as I have and that is because of mother. She supports me through my positives and negatives. She is there for encouragment and corrections and sometimes I need more corrections than anything. I want to not only make a better life for me but for her as well. I don't want her to have to ask anyone for anything but me and I want to be able to do that without hesitation. God is also a major support in my life because his love is unconditional, I know that even when I really, really mess up that he will still always be their. I believe that if I was to ever lose my mother I don't think I would continue my education unless I were to have children. In order for me to be half way complete God is always present in my life regardless of anything that I go through. With God anything and I mean ANYTHING is possible. No matter how hard school or life gets I know that God has my back regardless.

PLAY CONNECTIONS

In our play we reveal what kind of people we are.

Ovid
Roman poet
43 BC–17 or 18 AD

My childhood may be over, but that doesn't mean playtime is. 

Ron Olson

When I was younger it was never a question of having toys to play with or playing outside; my parents and my teachers were open to play. I believe play is the reason I am the person I am to day. During family functions when I was growing up all of the children were made to go outside and play. When me and all of my cousins would go outside we would play hide and seek, red light green light, freeze tag and whatever else we could come up with to entertain us. Play time was all about being creative with your available resources as well. If we didn't have any toys that we "wanted" to play with we would use pots and pans our mema didn't use anymore or find old sticks and and buckets to play with.
Today play is so structured and everyone has to follow rules. The only rules we had back in the day were "no blood shall be drawn, no bones broken, and no tears shed" now go play!!!!!!!!!! I think we should let our children control what they play and how they play. It allows them to become independent and they are able to make their own decisions.

WEEK 8 BLOG

I never knew that there was so much to research. I use to think that all you had to do was read a few journals here and there, site the sources, and move on, but, its more to research than just  that. You have to make sure that your research is valid and that it is fair and not biased towards the participants that you have chose to be apart of your chosen study. I now know that I have to make sure that my research is reliable and that my sources are valid. There was a time that I had the mindset of "well as long as it sounds right" but I have learned that research is deeper than that and you are proving that your information is truthful and that if someone tries to dispute it, that all the information is correct and in order. I learned that there are different types of designs when doing research. I grew fond of the qualitative design because of how case studies can be incorporated. I feel that case studies are more personal and it allows you to hear different opinions. 
I have a new respect for early childhood professionals because its deeper than just putting information on paper. They conduct research about the early childhood field to benefit people like myself and my peers and I appreciate that.

WEEK 5 BLOG

I chose to explore Early Childhood Austrailia which is the same as NAEYC here in the United States. Some current research topics that I found on this site were about how childcare funding must focus on children who are most in need and how the government must try to end child retention. Reading about how childcare funding should focus on children who are in most need Austrailia believes changes to the funding of childcare should focus on benefiting low and middle income families and on improving the wages and conditions of the people who work in these services according to Early Childhood Australia, the peak body representing children.

ECA has developed certain recommendations in relation to refugee children who are in retention and children of asylum seekers:

• Families with children and unaccompanied minors should be placed in the community while their claims are assessed.
• In the event that an application for refugee status is unsuccessful and families and unaccompanied minors cannot return to their home country, families and unaccompanied minors should continue to live in the community until such time as they can return home.
• Families should have access to the support they need to care for their children and participate in the community.

WEEK 3 BLOG

I have been research family incomes recently to determine who can really afford childcare and who can not. Family income appears to be more strongly

related to children’s ability and achievement than to their emotional outcomes. Children who live in extreme poverty or who live below the poverty line for multiple years appear, all other things being equal, to suffer the worst outcomes. The timing of poverty also seems to be important for certain child outcomes. Children who experience poverty during their preschool and early school years have lower rates of school completion than children and adolescents who experience poverty only in later years. Although more research is needed on the significance of the timing of poverty on

child outcomes, findings to date suggest that interventions during early childhood may be most important in reducing poverty’s impact on children.