My Connections to Play

 

 

 

     Being five (5) years old has been the best year of my life. I get to play, have fun with my friends, and my mommy takes me to my favorite place ever called Virginia Beach Ocean Front. Every Saturday, my mom takes me and my best friend Candyce to Virginia Beach Ocean Front to make sand castle and to play in the water. I am so excited because guess what today is? Today is Saturday, Beach Day! 

     Today, I am going to spend my time in the white sand making sand castle with my mommy and Candyce. I packed up my towel, my mommy packed up lunches for us, sun screen lotions, and she brought us both sun glasses. Now all I have to do is slip on my pink and blue flip flops and head to my mommy’s car so we can head down to the beach. When we arrive at the beach, I am going to make some gigantic sandcastles that’s going to be this much bigger than Candyce. Candyce sand castles are going to be tiny compare to my big humungous sand castles. While at the beach, I hope my mommy takes us to the board walk so we can get some Dairy Queen ice cream on a tan cone. Yummy in my tummy.

        I am so excited that we finally made it to the beach. I am ready to build my sand castle but first, I need my materials to get started. I learned the words materials in school from my teacher. First I will need three (3) buckets, two (2) shovels (one tiny and big), and lots and lots and lots of sand. Now that I have my materials, I can get started on making my gigantic sand castle.

         Today was an awesome day. I made five huge sand castles, my mom took us to get ice cream, and I got a lot of resources from my mom. A lot of people do not know  but my mom is also my teacher. She gives me a lot of advice, resources such as books, pictures, websites that I can learn on she takes me on field trips. I had an awesome day at the beach and I cannot wait until next Saturday to go again.  

 

     Back in my younger days, play was encouraged more as a privilege then it is today. Today in schools, play is more mandatory by the state and children are required to get at least 30 minutes to an hour of play each day. Compared to play today versus 20 plus years ago, most parents have to make their children go out to play due to the latest gadgets such as iPhones, iPad, iPods, computers and various video games. According to Wardle, "School administrators, many parents, and most politicians believe play is a waste of time, off task behavior, needless coddling of young children, messy and noisy, unstructured and uneducational – an unaffordable luxury in an ever-more competitive world." (Wardle, 2010) As a teacher and a mother, I have learned that play is very important to children and their development. Many children who engage in play learn social skills, cognitive development, and various language. Bergen, Author of the article, " The Role of Pretend Play in Children's Cognitive Development" expressions at the preschool level, "make-believe play serves as a vital context for the development of self-regulation" (p. 637).  I believe play Is important and it will be apart of my curriculum each day.

 

                                                                       References

 Bergen, D. (2002). The role of pretend play in children's cognitive development. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 4(1). Retrieved fromhttp://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/bergen.html

 

Wardle, F. (n.d.). Play as curriculum. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=127

Relationship Reflections.

     Growing up in a big family has been truly a blessing. It has taught me to value the support I was blessed with, the helping hands that assisted me, as well as the guidance that led me to the right path in my life. Relationships and partnerships are excellent when it involves the education of young children and also important because it helps the child as well as the parents grow physically, mentally and emotionally. I cherish the moments when parents approach me and say, "Is it a way that you and I can work together to help my child get to the level that he/she needs to be?" I admire the fact that they value me enough to want my help in helping their child(ren) succeed and make it to the next level in their little lives.

  
         
        Today, I am blessed to have many people in my life who are great role models not only for me, but for my son as well. Because of their love and support for me, it has helped me achieve goals that I never thought I would achieve in my life time. My mother and I have had our ups and downs, but since the birth of my son, she has been the best supporter I have had, My son grandmother, who is my mother-in-law is an excellent help when it comes to my education as well as an support system for my son, My cousin Michelle, is my child care provider and is an excellent asset to my son life due to the fact that she is preparing him for pre-school, potty training, and tutoring him in his language skills, my great grand mother is my rock who provided me with a roof over my head rent free to assist me with my son as well as education, my aunt Charisse is the best person in my life because she raised me and was very strict when it came to my school work. With her stern ways, it helped me gain high expectation for myself, my education, and my academics; my fiancé  has been my back bone since 2007. Without his help, I would have been lost and confused after the birth of our son. As you see all , all of these individuals help shaped who I am today because are the relationship and  partnership that we had with one another. These individuals are everything to me and I thank God for them everyday. In these people, I see genuine, love, dedication, and commitment. These three characteristic is what help shape a partnership. A partner wants someone who is dedicated to them, committed to them, and also love them enough to stay on them. These people in my life play all of these parts and more. That's why I am proud to have a relationship as well as partnership with each and everyone of them.

        Working with children and parents who are not use to partnerships  can cause a lot of challenges. As a former toddler teacher, it was hard to get parents involved, due to work schedules, parents not associating with another parent, and even conflict with staff members in the building. Overtime, I learned that I have to talk to parents one-on-one to figure out the problems, solutions and what we can do to prevent incident in that nature. Some parents would warm up after while and would come in to speak with me regarding their child or even send an email. Because of the challenges and stumbling blocks I've had in the past, it has helped me gain the ability to be more active and involved in the children's and parents lives. I've gain more knowledge, resources, and confidence when it comes to parent-teacher interactions. As a professional, I am more aware and capable to work with tough parents who do not believe in interacting with the teacher(s). I've learned that when you meet parents outside of school, you are more able to build a relationship with them because of the type of person you are and the caring person you may be. So with some challenges, there will always be a winning circle. You just have to pick your battles and fight until you win the challenge.

Welcome to My Blog

Good Afternoon Everyone,

    My name is Ashley Hankerson. I am 25 years old and a mother of one. I love to shop, read novels, travel, and create art projects. I am a recent graduate of Norfolk State University and I am now currently attending Walden University to receive my Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Administration and Management. I welcome you all to my blog and I hope you all have a fantastic day.