"My Supports"

     I compare support to the foundation of a house. It is the solid wide spread base and beginning from where all the support to the building starts. Support builds our character and allows us the knowledge and strength to be successful in our endeavors. Those who have followed any of my writings probably already could guess that I am going to say that my family is the most important to me in all the world! My Mom and my Children have been my biggest inspiration. motivation and support. Other supports for me are my Newfoundlands, Husband, dear friends, other family members, myself and work. Another peer mentioned technology and that is very true for me as well. I live in a tiny frontier town with no stoplights and one small grocery store. I would not have my B.S. nor would I be able to work on my Masters let alone be writing this blog. I suppose I could even go as far as saying that nutrition, exercise and medical advances are also a large support for me.
      Friends and family give me emotional support, work gives me not only financial support but self-worth as well. My Newfies afford me comfort, company and unconditional love. My Children and Grandchildren give me motivation to live and be a great person, I am so proud of who they are as people and I am beyond proud to be a part of their lives.
     As for what life would be without these supports unfortunately I don't have to guess....it is miserable. I recently lost my Mom and the same week was told I had cancer. Going through months of surgery and radiation was terrible without my Mom. I moved into my Son's home back where I am from and where my Mom had lived in order to access the medical treatment that I needed. Which meant that I was away from friends, work, pets and my husband. To be in the town where I grew up and my Mom had been for over fifty years and not have her there with me was the most miserable. The only reason I survived is because of my children who were true Champions that took Great care of me both physically and emotionally and my Grandchildren whom I treasure.

Jenn
   

My Connections To Pl

     If I were to chose just two quotes that summarize my childhood they would be:
"Keep Company With Those Who Make You Better" (Unknown) & my new
favorite: "The ability to play is one of the principal criteria of mental health"
(Almon, 2002). I can clearly look back on my younger years with a smile and
clearly be able to associate the importance play with a healthy self-esteem and
thirst to explore and learn as much as I can.
     When I was four and five years old I was the happiest I would ever be as a
child.r children every second. The neighborhood children would go to Bidwell
Park which was one block from my home and butted up against the Elementary
School. This park meandered through the whole town and the part that we lived closest to was the deer pen. We would take the stale bread and hand feed the deer, then have a picnic that was packed by our folks and sit in the clearing and watch the deer and squirrels play. This park was like living 5 minutes from Sherwood Forest! I spent practically all my free time in this park. Capton Bidwell had brought trees from all over his travels and planted in the park. There was also a stream running right through the middle of the park with camp areas and swimming holes. The older children where responsible for us little ones and as we grew older we became responsible for those younger than use.
     I miss those times but know that I am extremely lucky to have had the experience! In order for my children to have similar experiences I made time to go to places where they could run, explore and feel free, even though I was present. I feel we can do similar things by being purposeful in how we set up our class environments and in the resources and materials that we use. I am a firm believer in play, down time, art, and rejuvenating oneself. I feel this is partially due to all the freedom and great experiences that I had as a young child but also greatly due to a Mom who was kind and supportive. She was always supportive and encouraged us to use our imagination. I am very aware of the need to express myself and to "play". I can tell when I have neglected myself and the tense feelings become too much. That's when I take time for me and I can feel myself become productive and full of ideas again. Every child deserves to have their Sherwood Forest.
    I have included a couple of materials that I use in class to help encourage the children's imaginations.

Jennifer Pore`

Almon., K. (2002). The Vital Role of play in early childhood education.
     Gateways, 43, Retrieved from
     http://waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BAPlayAlmon.pdf
www.http://hazelnut.com
www.http://magiccabin.com
www.http://melissaanddoug.com

Relationship Reflection

     To start with I apologize for the late posting. My relationship with my blog is not a very good one at the moment. I took two hours to write all about my relationships, pushed publish and poof it was gone! So I will try again. It is possible that it is on my blog somewhere since I attempted to start a new page, I just can't find it! Moving on.

     My children and grandchildren are the air I breath and the food to my soul. I cherish the ground that they walk on. I have recently lost my mother and it has been devastating. my children and grands have been my only solace. I love that they are a part of me and my history and I love seeing them become fabulous adults. My mom was the single most positive influence in my life and I miss her terribly. I was lucky to have had experiences that made me realize how important children are and I have had a few experiences that made me realize just how fragile life is. I learned at an early age that I would appreciate life every day. I have always had the passion and drive to protect and advocate for children and have made it my life's work.
     Relationships are being part of a whole. Humans are social by nature and need the interaction and validation of others. Family, friends, co-workers, pets, they can at any given time bring a different componate to the relationship, validation, love, interest, self-worth, knowledge, companionship and many, many other emotions. I consider myself lucky in that I have many wonderful relationships, my children, grandchildren, husband, sister, brother, dad, pets, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and co-workers (all of my grandparents have passed). Relationships help to validate, support, strengthen, grow, and teach us about life.
     I feel that to build and support a good relationship there needs to be gentle honesty, genuine caring, the ability to truly listen, have the desire to grow and support each others goals and needs, and the ability to let others know how much you love and care for them. Relationships need to be nurtured and cultivated like they mean something to you and you want them to live. I enjoy and need my alone time to just be, to create, and to reflect. My relationships fill me with love, self worth, contentment, joy, laughter and tears, I know I am alive and that I matter.

Jennifer Pore`

Warm Thanks & Well Wishes

     To all of my peers and professor in our Fundamentals class at Walden University, I send you a collective thank you in appreciation for all that you have done to support and improve my understanding and knowledge in the field of Early Childhood. The communication and feed back both through our discussion boards and Blogs have been both enlightening and informative.
     As I mentioned in this weeks discussion board (I believe it bears repeating) I am so grateful to live in an age were on-line classes are so accessible. I live in a "frontier" county and the nearest University with a Masters program that serves ECE is eight hours away (one way) which would be a bit of a commute. Even if I lived next door to a University I fear that these last four months would not have happened for me due to personal tragic events.
     Children have always been a huge motivator for me. I would like to end this class with a heart felt thank you to all of you. For you have kept me motivated, interested and feeling involved as part of a whole through a very rough time in my life. Being able to get on-line and have contact with people that have such a connection with Early Childhood has allowed me to have a positive place to go and feel renewed. I wish each and everyone of you good will and look forward to continued communication with those I have contact with in future courses.

Best Wishes and Happy Safe Holidays,

Jennifer Pore`

Code of Ethical Conduct

     I have chosen the following Ideals from the NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct (NAEYC, 2005) to share with those who will read this Blog. The reasons I have chosen these particular Ideals is because they directly address my work environment. I am taking the opportunity to demonstrate that the Early Childhood profession has many areas of interest all just as important as the other because of course they interweave within each other. I currently work with children and families in behavioral and mental health.

I-2.1--To be familiar with the knowledge base related to working effectively with families and to staying informed through continuing education and training.

I-2.4--To listen to families, acknowledge and build upon their strengths and competencies, and learn from families as we support them in their task of nurturing children.

I-2.7--To share information about each child's education and development with families and to help them understand and appreciate the current knowledge base of the early childhood profession.

I-2.8--To help families members enhance their understanding of their children and support the continuing development of their skills as parents.

I-2.9--To participate in building support networks for families by providing them with opportunities to interact with program staff, other families, community resources, and professional staff.

     In order to be a benefit to each child we have to know their history as to not cause additional harm. We also have to work with families as in most cases the children are returned to parent, we have to take this opportunity to educate the parent on where the child is at in their emotional and cognitive development and give them the skills they need to be able to take much better care of the child. It is critical to keep in mind that we are only a stopping point in these children's lives (hopefully) and we do not help the children unless we educate the parents as to how better to care and protect their children. 

     I would like to add an additional couple of ideals taken from the Code of Ethics taken from the DEC (Division for Early Childhood, 2009). These two ideals relate to the responsibilities to protect the children and the importance of knowing the law and how it pertains to the child and we can protect, if not done properly we can create a disaster and even put the child in harms way. Most of the children I work with are involved with many agencies, each having their own protocols to adhere to for the child's best interest.

2. We shall honor and respect the rights, knowledge, and skills of the multidisciplinary colleagues with whom we work recognizing their unique contributions to children, families, and the field of early childhood special education.

4. We shall identify and disclose to the appropriate persons using proper communication channels errors or acts of incompetence that compromise children's and families' safety and well being when individual attempts to address concerns are unsuccessful.

Jennifer Pore`

DEC. (2009). Code of Ethics (page 2) Retrieved from http://www.dec-sped.org

NAEYC, (2005). Code of Ethical Conduct (pages 3 &4) Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org

     

Thought Provoking Quotes

     This week I concentrated on on T.B. Brazeleton MD from the health and well being sector of early childhood and Janet Gonzalez-Mena M.A. from the child care sector of early childhood. The quote that immediately struck me from Gonzalez-Mena was, "The moment I decided to follow instead of lead, I discovered the joys of becoming part of a small child's world." (Gonzalez, NAEYC). i feel that it cuts right to the core that we should be supporting children's curiosities and natural skills not telling them how to feel and act.
     "When we strengthen families, we ultimately, strengthen the community." T.B. Brazeleton MD (Brazelton, 2013). I have read Dr. Brazelton's work for years and am still enthralled with what he has to say and am so respectful of his devotion and work. This quote for me reminds me of how much I have grown in my understanding of early childhood development over the years. I am very proud of who I am constantly growing into. That I have grown from my original passion to protect and nurture into someone who is capable of making changes in people's lives so that they too can join in protecting, nurturing and advocating for the young. I have learned to embrace my passion and have learned how to make good use of my drive and knowledge.

Brazelton Touchpoints Center. (2013). Homepage and Touchpoints video. Retrieved from:

     www.touchpoints.org on November 19, 2013.

 (Gonzalez-Mena, J., NAEYC, 10 x Inspiration Article. (nd).

     NAEYC Teaching Young Children Vol 4 No 5 page 6.

     Retrieved from: www.naeyc.org/tyc/files/tyc/file/V4N5/10X_Inspirations.pdf‎

      on November 20, 2013

Passion for Early Childhood

     One of my dearest friends recently posted this quote, "Every Child is Gifted. They just unwrap their packages at different times." Anonymous. I had saved it because I intend to add it to the quotes wall in my office when I return. I think it is a great reminder that every child has their own gifts and that we need to teach and respond to where each individual child is at not to where we believe they should be.
     I would encourage everyone to read The Four Seasons (Heathers, 1960). This is a Little Golden Book that I read as a child. I read it until I wore out the pages. I loved this book as a child and as an adult in the child development field I realize what a wonderful job the author did of portraying the magic of growing up. A litter of puppies have their first year of adventures through the four seasons and the reader gets to experience all of their changes and discoveries. At first the pups can not all even get up the front steps. In the fall they experience sadness that the flowers have died, but then they learn about how fun the falling leaves are. Winter finds the puppies discovering snow. At the end of the story, the dogs are bounding up the front steps without a care and are so much more knowledgeable.

          This is a photograph of my youngest grandsons art work. Whenever I travel to see my grandchildren I always have paper, pens, pencils, chalk, markers, and crayons available, I love to collect their thoughts and dreams on paper! I love being surrounded by children's art work, it is so inspiring and honest!

Jennifer Pore`

Anonymous Quote

Heathers, A. (1960). The Four Seasons (1st Edition). Western Publishing Co. WI.