The development from early childhood thru middle childhood is amazing from growth development to brain development there are many changes! In infancy development progresses at such a quick speed it is really hard to keep up with! However, during early childhood although growth is substantial it proceeds at a slower rate than in infancy.
Something that stuck out to me the most in chapter six was symbolic play and it's description on page 134. I believe this to be because right now I am working in two different classrooms-one of two year olds and one of 3 year olds. Sometimes I just listen to them during free play because some of the things they come up with is amazing! Our lessons right now are about imagination so we've been giving them props and letting them kind of find their way through their free play time. The people they pretend to be are sometimes princesses and such but more often than not they are actually just people in their lives! Today one of the children was a dentist and the other one was her dog and after reading about symbolic play I have learned that they are acting out as these other people because they need an outlet for them to "assimilate reality" for what they believe to be real. That was just a really great realization for me as a teacher in early childhood education.
I have realized over the last about year that some parents find "Early Childhood Education" to be not as important as education when children get older. Working in an Early Childhood Care Center has made me see this even more because of how we are treated by the parents. Most parents do not realize what we do everyday and sometimes believe we are "just a daycare" or a "glorified babysitter" which is so insulting because we try so hard to teach children and instill a strong foundation for these little ones to evolve from. All of us in ECE pray that each child becomes something great and I really feel that if some of the parents had enough time to just research or read a book and see how beneficial ECE is for their children they would see how much we put into these children! Early childhood education and Head Start are so beneficial to these children. "Research shows that Head Start graduates make further academic progress toward national benchmarks in kindergarten". (page 140)
In chapter 7 Middle Childhood it is obvious there is significant development. However, physical development again is slower than that of early childhood. In middle childhood a child only grows about 2 inches and gains 5-7 pounds. Brain development is important in all stages of childhood, but in middle childhood by about age 8-9 the brain has reached almost its full size! That's incredible when you think about the ages of children with almost a full sized brain! What really drew my attention in Chapter 7 was that "10% of School-Aged children in the US have been identified as having a learning disability". (page 159) That's a big chunk of kids!
I also really like Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. I feel like this should be related to all the children who are being diagnosed or sidelined for a learning disorder- I truly believe that all children learn differently and thinking about it in general the traditional concept of intelligence- either you've got it or you don't- doesn't leave room for children who have different learning styles. I think that if we are going to go so far as to say this many children have something "disabled" about them then maybe it's time to look into how we judge them. There are many children I have met that have a "learning disability" but they are able to be taught in a way that helps them(and just may be a little different) and they have become more successful in school. I could be absolutely wrong about this but it is painful to think there are that many children with learning disabilities.
Totally agree, symbolic play is very important in early childhood development. It is through play that children show their understanding of the different roles. I agree parents do not take ECE as a part of education, and feel that it is vital to their young child's education. The early years are more important because preschool brains are like sponges and they absorb a lot information. Trust me it's not just in the ECE program. It also happens in regular school settings. You are right when it comes to watching their little bodies play and inact certain roles that they see around them especially playing the role as a teacher. Nice read enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI love watching kids pretend play. Not only is it adorable, it is good for them. Working with with young children you can see the importance of early education. I also agree that all children learn differently. Patience is very important when it comes to teaching children as you know. Some kids are more like how I am , visual learners. Even at a college level we all have our own ways of studying and learning. Sadly, there are many kids with learning disabilities. With the proper treatment they do have great potential.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying that just because a child has a learning disability does not mean that the child cannot be taught. A teacher needs to consider teacher all the students in a way that is most effective for the individual. This can be a difficult task but Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences can be used to help the teacher remember this. It is also important to remember that just because a student has a learning disability can be look at in a positive way, it is great that society are recognizing the differences and not trying to make kids fit into boxes, a nicer way to think about it is a learning difference.
ReplyDeleteYoung children are so interesting to be around and here their conversations are great. My young niece acts the same was as those kids in your class pretending to be different people with such great imaginations. Also, I love you pointing out the numbers of children with learning disabilities. It is crazy to see how large the amount of numbers are of school aged kids that are in that bracket.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to find a bigger advocate for early education then myself. I overwhelmingly believe it is the most crucial part of education. There is an ethnologist name Lorenz that found critical periods in developments are all about timing. In other words timing is important and from a developmental perspective it is hard to argue in education more time is as critical as early education. All teachers have challenging jobs but building the foundations of learning and socialization is a crucial part of a child's development that early education plays a gigantic role in.
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ReplyDeleteFirst I want to start by saying that you work with a really good age group. I use to work with this age group a few years ago and I enjoyed watching the children learn and play. One of my favorite things to do was to watch them use their imagination in each area of the classroom. . I also agree, some parents find Early Childhood Education not as important as the educational classes as children get older.
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