Course 1 Complete! 9 more to go?

SO excited that I have completed my first course! Anxious to continue this journey of professional growth and development and can't wait to come out on the other side with a Master's in EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION!

NAEYC and DEC Ideals

The following ideals under the code of ethics for the National Association of Education for Young Children and the Division for Early Childhood are important to me in many ways. In my opinion, one of the most important responsibilities as an early childhood professional is to continue to stay informed on the changes, research and new ideas in the field in order to improve and be a well rounded educator. Another responsibility as an early childhood professional is to advocate for the field and the early childhood development, for the children. It is important for others to understand and know the significance of early childhood education for all young children and the policies that are in place. The more knowledgeable others are, the better off we are in terms of succeeding and making growth for early childhood education and development as a whole. Finally, it is our responsibility to make trustworthy and meaningful relationships with the children, families and communities with which we work.

NAEYC -
Ethical Responsibilities to Children - I-1.1 - To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

Ethical Responsibilities to Families - I-2.2 To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

Ethical Responsibilities to Community and Society - I-4.6 To promote knowledge and understanding of young children and their needs. To work toward greater societal acknowledgement of children's rights and great social acceptance of responsibility for the well-being of all children.

DEC -
Professional and Interpersonal Behavior - We shall strive for the highest level of personal and professional competence by seeking and using new evidence based information to improve our practices while also responding openly to the suggestions of others.

Enhancement of Children's and Families' Quality of Lives - We shall advocate for equal access to high quality services and supports for all children and families to enhance their quality of lives.

Responsive Family Centered Practices - We shall demonstrate our respect and appreciation for all families' beliefs, values, customs, languages, and culture relative to their nurturance and support of their children toward achieving meaningful and relevant priorities and outcomes families' desire for themselves and their children.

Quotes

After reading an article on Lilian Katz, I found at the end "Last Class Notes", which had some inspiring advice for those working in the early childhood field. She states, "The goal of education is not enjoyment; that is the goal of entertainment. The goal of education is to engage the mind of learners so that their understandings of significant phenomena and events become deeper, clearer, and more accurate." I love this because it is so important to remember that while I am passionate about my profession, and enjoy every single moment, the goal is to keep students engaged so that they enjoy education and learning. In turn, hopefully it will spark a love of learning about something for each of them.

Another piece of advice she gave was this: "each of us must come to care about everyone else's children. We must come to see that the well-being of our own individual children is intimately linked to the well-being of all other people's children." She goes on to explain that in all, we are helping to shape and mold our future, whether these children are our own, or our students and that it is just as important to care about them in the same way that we care about our own. One day they could be our surgeon, saving our lives, or unfortunately harming others. "to strive for the well-being of all other people's children is also right." I think it is important to remember that we should care for other children just as we would our own, because one day they will be adults, making positive and/or negative impacts on our world.

There is a quote from Louise Derman-Sparks in the Passion for Early Childhood media presentation that has stuck with me since I saw it. She says, "The passion to make sure that all children were taught in environments and in ways that truly nurtured their ability to grow and to develop to their fullest ability."  I feel that it sticks with me because I believe in my heart the same thing. It is so important for students to be taught and cared for in the most nurturing ways so that they can grow to their full potential. 

Reference:
 Rothenberg, D. (2002). Issues in early childhood education.curriculum, teacher education and dissemination of information, 7-11.

A little about Me :)

This is me when I was probably 3 or 4 years old. Look at that curly hair and duck face!

 This picture is from elementary school when I was in the Talent Show with a few of my friends. We named ourselves "The Sundaes" and made shirts and hats. We danced and did gymnastics in the show... I remember being so excited to do handstands and splits - I couldn't dance! (I still can't) ;)

The picture below is actually recent. I've been known all my life as an animal lover. I have stopped traffic to get baby bunnies out of the road, saved numerous kittens, including the one on my lap... and taken care of countless baby, injured, lost animals. My dog's name is Kobe. My husband and I adopted him a few months before we got married. He was only about 3 to 4 months old. He's now 2 yrs old! My cat's name is Miggy. We found her under my husband's parent's porch when she was just a kitten. We fed her ham lunch meat and the little pepperonis from the Lunchables snack pack and to this day she loves both of those foods! They are my "kids" and my "babies". They may have paws, but to me they're still like having children! 

This is a picture of  my husband and I on my 25th birthday. We have been married for almost 2 years. He is my best friend. We always remind ourselves that we're a team and we're in this together. The first two years of our marriage have been great! Of course we've had our ups and downs but we always work through it, with the help of God, family and each other. He is very supportive of my career and even packs my lunch for me each night. He understands how stressful things can be and always tries to help me however he can. He's even cut, bagged, and done some of the "volunteer" work that needs to be done. I am one lucky girl! =)

Hopefully when I finish all of my lesson plans and "to do" list I can post more about me! If there's anything you're curious about, please feel free to ask!
~ Caitlin

Useful Find!

Hello All,
For those of you who are teachers and even parents, you know how difficult it is to put blank handwriting lines on a paper when you create it! Tonight I found exactly that! It's a downloadable font that allows you to insert blank penmanship lines! Click on the link http://donnayoung.org/penmanship/penmanship-print.htm and go to the penmanship print zip. You can download and install it. Then, when you are creating your paper you choose it as a font and insert it just as if you were putting a straight or dashed line across the page. Ta Da! Just thought I would share... if you've already figured this out, kudos to you! :) I'm a little behind with creating documents for my students to write on in Microsoft Word, but I'm figuring things out on my own. Any tips would be great! Getting back to work now... have a great night!
~ Caitlin

Sometimes it's not the teacher who touches the child's life... It's the child who touches the teacher's life...

I love quotes. A lot of times they explain exactly how I feel - taking the words right out of my mouth. One of my very favorites is at the bottom of my blog. "In 100 years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." That quote truly inspires me and reminds me that all of those material things don't matter... it's the way I'm living my life, helping children, teaching them, feeding their little minds so that they can grow in this ever changing world... that's why I do what I do. My all time favorite quote is "Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them." - Richard L Evans. This quote touches me deeply for one of two reasons: Number 1 - It reminds me once again that it's not about what you have or buy, but how you treat others and love and care for others, especially children. Number 2 - There's a child that comes to my mind and tugs on my heart strings everytime I read that quote. 

Here's his story:  We will call him "Josh". Josh is a student of mine. (Of course saying that, all students past and present are "mine".) He comes from a lower income family. He lives with Dad and grandparents. For the most part, he has family, however grandparents work a lot and the situation with Dad isn't the best, but seems to slowly be getting better. At the beginning of the school year we were doing "Me Bags". He brought in a picture of his mother and said "This is my mom, she's in heaven." My eyes immediately welled with tears as I looked at his mother - young and beautiful... and looked at him, such a sweet and handsome little face. I tried so hard to breathe, as 21 of his classmates were quietly staring at the two of us in the front of the classroom. It took everything I had not to get up and take a second for myself, but I knew I should try to be strong for him. He seemed very non-nonchalant about it, as though it's just a fact. But he also seemed so happy to show us her picture and talk about her. After that day, this little guy has held a special place in my heart. I found myself worrying about him on the weekends, over holidays and even as I let him move on to the next grade. I couldn't imagine being his age and not having a mother - the love of a mother. Mothers have a special gift that no one can replace. They have a special calming, nurturing touch that can heal boo boos in a flash, wipe away tears, and give you the biggest hug in your darkest moments and let you know that everything will be ok. And he is going to grow up without that? From that day on, I vowed that I would be as compassionate and caring, and love this little boy for a very long time. Throughout the year he had a few break downs, crying for his mom, wanting to see her, missing her -  and every time, he wrapped his little arms around me and I just patted his back and hugged him gently to reassure him that someone cares. Someone loves him. Someone supports him, believes in him, and wants what's best for him. I admire him. Such a tough, loving, sweet little boy - considering where he comes from and what he's been through. He will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will always worry about him and care for him as if he were my own. Sometimes it's not the teacher who touches the child's life... but the child who touches the teachers life.

~ Caitlin

TGIF!

TGIF!
Can I just say, I'm SO glad it's Friday! I have been dragging all week, due to what I now know is allergies and strep throat. So glad my kiddos learned how to share this year! Happy Teacher Appreciation week to me :) LOL! No, but really, we have 17 days of school left and it is going to fly. My students seem really tired, and I can relate. These last few weeks of school are just as stressful as the first 3-4 weeks of school. There's so much to do and little time to do it all. Our MAPS tests are over thankfully, and I'm looking forward to seeing how my students did. I do know that the times they took them were right after lunch (which is a difficult time for my class) because we are ready to take naps! But we shall see...

Anyhoo... I'm feeling pretty tired myself. I took a half day today to go to the doctor to see what she had to say about my lovely runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, coughing, etc. She also did a rapid strep which shockingly came back positive. And I seriously was shocked. After the conversation my doctor and I had, we figured it was most likely allergies; but we did the strep anyways because some kiddos in my class have had it and so did my sister who I've been around recently. I have always been one to have strep... I've probably had it 20 times in my life. I'm usually 90% able to tell you I have it. I usually have the same symptoms and feelings; which I have had some this week. But I was 95% sure it was allergies. I still have my tonsils and that's fine and dandy, except having strep repeatedly is not fun. So no wonder I've been extra tired this week!

Also.... please bare with me as I set up my blog! If anyone has any tips or advice, feel free to comment! I'm still working on learning how to subscribe to others as well...

Thunder boomers are rolling in.. so I'm checking out! Have a great night!

~ Caitlin