My connections to play

“Children's games are hardly games. Children are never more serious than when they play.”  MONTAIGNE, Essays

“There are children playing in the street who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they have modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago.”   J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER, quoted in Pearls of Wisdom

                                                                            

My mother encouraged my play time by making sure that my brothers would stay out of my room.  Often times it was difficult to have my own space to play because I come from a large family.  I would love to play with my doll and pretend that I was mommy.  I would change my doll, sing to her and then I would put her to bed.  While she was asleep, I would clean up and cook just like my mom.  My mom would let my brothers play in the back where she could watch them from the window.  She always tried to give us time to play and be creative.  She always tried to give me alone time because I always liked to play alone.  My favorite things to play with when I was young were my baby doll, and my bubbles.  I liked playing with my bubbles because I always imagined that I had clouds that I could float on in my room.

Parents now a day have so many things to do that they are constantly running from one task to another.  Times today are not like they were when I was a kid.  We didn’t have all of the electronic games that kids have today.  Parents get kids every electronic game that they want so that it will keep them busy so that they can accomplish the things that they need to do without a lot of interruptions.  Children spend so many hours watching television and playing electronic games because times have changed and it is not always safe to let your kids play outside.  Children don’t do a lot of discovering like I use to do because parents can’t let them go outside alone for safety reasons.  Taking them to the zoos is hard because they use their weekends to catch up on house work and anything else that they could not accomplish during theweek .                                                                                      

I have an eleven year old daughter and I try very hard to make the time to spend the time letting her discover things and being a support to her and not a teacher.  I try to make sure I take her to places where she can learn new things. I even bought her a kid’s camera that she can take pictures of interesting things that she can write about in her journal.  It is not always easy to make the time, but I want her to develop her imagination and creativity.  I don’t want her to always depend on me to give her the answers; I just want her to know that I can help guide her if she needs a little help.  I know that it is hard to find time to give your children for them to discover and develop their creativity, but I think that it is important to give them that time so that they can become well rounded citizens but that is only my opinion.  What do you think?  

References:

Notable Quotes. Retrieved from www.askjeeves.com

Building Relationships

             The first relationship that I have that is important to me is the relationship that I have with my mother.  Ever since I can remember my mother has not only been my mother, but she has been my best friend.  My mom was the person that I went to whenever I had any problems or just needed someone to talk to.  My mom was the person who sat with me and tried to help me with my homework which most of the time she couldn’t do because she did not know how to speak or read English, but just the fact that she sat with me made a great impact on my life.  My mother was the one who took care of me when I was sick, and made sure that I had everything that I needed.  My mom was my dancing partner.  I remember dancing with my mom in the kitchen when she cooked because my mom loved to dance.  My mom was the greatest person in my life, and when she got sick, I brought her to live with me.  I took care of my mom for eight years, but I had to put her in a nursing home because her illness was progressing at a fast pace and I couldn’t take care of her anymore.  It broke my heart to have to put her in a nursing home, but I knew that I could no longer take care of her by myself.  I go and see her often and she still remembers me.  She always asks me when I am going to take her home, I smile and tell her that I love her and she is okay with that.  She is well taken care of at the home, so I know that I did the right thing.  I miss having her at home, but I just remember all of the things she taught me and how she use to dance with me and it brings a smile to my face.



             The second relationship that is important to me is the relationship that I have with my sister Martha.  Martha and I have always been close.  We use to talk about everything from boys to what the latest fashion was.  We were really close until we both went to high school, because even though we were only a year apart in age, our taste in friends was very different.  My sister was always out going and wanted to party all of the time.  On the other hand, I was more of the quiet and studious type.  I never liked being in big crowds and she loved it.  I never wanted people to notice me, but she wanted lots of attention.  When my sister got married and moved away, we connected again because she needed me and I was there for her.  I use to go and visit her every summer and spend time with her helping her with what ever she needed help with.  One summer she had me paint three rooms in her house.  We use to laugh cause I told her that I was coming for visits, not to work like a Hebrew slave.  It was okay though because she always rewarded me by taking me to a nice place to eat where we could talk about everything and it reminded me about our childhood.  A year ago, I finally got married myself, and my sister was very upset with me.  I couldn’t figure out why she would be so upset except for the fact that she did not approve of who I married.  It has taken a long time, but she is finally coming around and we are starting to talk a bit more every week.  It feels strange to me because my sister and I talked on a daily basis about everything.  I guess she was hurt because I never told her about the person I was dating and then eventually married.  I guess it bother her that I didn’t include her or anyone else when I got married, but I didn’t want a big wedding, I just want something simple and without a lot of fuss.  My sister has forgiven me, and we are slowly building that strong relationship that we have always had and that is very important to me.

 

The next relationship that is important to me is the relationship that I have with my daughter.  This relationship is important to me because I never thought that I would have a beautiful daughter in my life.  My daughter my daughter is eleven, but you would never know that because of the way she looks and the way she talks.  My daughter is very intelligent, and funny, and everything she does she does it in some dramatic form or another because she wants to be an actor or a singer like her mom.  I love spending time with my daughter because she is really easy to talk to, and she always has an opinion about everything.  My daughter always tells me that she is going to teach me how to dance because she says that I don’t know how to dance.  I really do know how to dance, but like kids dance today.  I always tell her I would have to be Gumby to be able to dance like that, and her answer to that is always who?  When I take my daughter shopping we always have issues because she wants to dress older then she is and I tell her no.  I always have to keep reminding her that she is only eleven and that eleven year olds don’t dress that way and she fusses, but we never go to bed mad at each other.  I pray with my daughter whenever she has a problem that we can’t seem to agree upon.  I make sure that when she is working on her homework or something that is important to her that I am right by her side just like my mom use to do with me.  I feel blessed to have my baby girl in my life.  I don’t know what I ever did without her.

 The last person that I have a close relationship with is my wife.  We talk about everything under the sun.  We work together on making sure that our daughter has everything that she needs to be successful in everything that she does.  She is my greatest inspiration, and always encourages me whenever I feel like I get to a point that I can’t make it.  She is my biggest cheerleader, and my toughest critic.  I think she does that to motivate me to continue to do better in whatever I do.  She takes wonderful care of me, and makes sure that I have whatever I need.  My wife is a great cook, but doesn’t like anyone in the kitchen when she is cooking.  Sometimes we just sit in the car for hours just talking about what is happening in our lives and in the world.  We always talk about how to do things better then we have done them before.  We talk about our families and the roles they play in our lives.  We spend as much time together as we possibly can.  She is an amazing person to me because she does so many things well.  She is a singer, and an actor.  She can do make up, and produce music.  She can sew anything and she can write songs and poetry.  She has so many talents that I still haven’t seen or heard of all of them.  My wife is compassionate and understanding, and she has a huge heart for family.  The thing I admire most about her is that she wants to open up a wellness center so that she can help others.  To me that is the most impressive thing about her because she is always thinking about others.  Another thing that impresses me about her is that she is learning new things everyday that she wants to share with whom ever wants to listen.  I feel so honored and blessed to have her in my life.



All of these people I have mentioned have made a strong impact in my life, and I don’t know where I would be if they were not in my life.

Children's Quote

The former U.S. first Lady said, "You have to love your children unselfishly.  That is hard.  But it is the only way."



When I first read this quote, I began to think about the many ways that you can interpret that quote.  Foe me I believe that she meant that no matter what the situation or circumstances that we are dealing with we have to be sure to love our children unselfishly.  It may be hard because everything is not always easy, and children can try your patience, but God gave us this beautiful babies to love, nourish, and bring up the right way.  We have to teach them how to love and be patient with others.  We have to teach them that just because people may look or act different then us doesn't mean that we can hurt or disrespect them.  We have to teach them how to love unselfishly if we want a better future for them and for all of us. 
This class has been interesting to say the least, but I appreciate everything that you my colleagues have shared with me.  Thanks for the great blogs. 

Testing For Intelligence

     As a public school teacher, I test my students a lot because I want to know if they understood the concepts I taught them.  I chose different types of ways to assess them.  One week I may give them a pencil paper test, the next week I may have them present what they have learned.  I may even have the students write as essay or even create a drawing to see if they understood the concepts that were taught.
     In the school system that I work for everything is geared towards preparing the students to take the yearly test.  I don't agree with this because some children are not good test takers.  Some children panic or freeze up when it comes time for taking a test.  I believe that testing students is only part of what we should look at.  I believe that we should look at the students as a whole.  Some students are great writers, some are more creative and can draw or perform what they have learned.  Children have a variety of ways to express themselves, so why should we limit them to just a yearly test.  I think that needs to change and we should look at all of the abilities of every child.
     The country that I chose to look at to see what kinds of assessments they give their students is Mali.  The interesting part of my search was that attendance was low even though the schools were public.  The reason for the poor attendance is that families have to pay for uniforms and supplies for the child and most families if they can get the children to the school, they can't afford the cost of the everything they need.  The only testing that the school systems in Mali provide their students is the test they must take to go from primary to secondary schools.  Another interesting fact was that although the girls test well to get into the secondary schools, the places are reserved for the boys, so most girls never get to attend the secondary school.



     In order for a teacher to make and accurate assessment of any child, we must look at the child as a whole.  We cannot just look at one yearly test to say that a child has successfully completed a school year.  We must look at the child has done throughout the year to make an accurate assessment. 

References:

(2011). Education in Mali. Retrieved August 3, 2011 from http//www.askjeeves.com 





  

Poverty and Hunger, Stressors that hinder Child Development

     When I thought about stressors that hinder child development, my mind instantly went to my own childhood memories.  My mother was a single mother with ten children to raise.  She tried working, but with baby sitting cost, and taking public transportation to and from work was a big burden for her to bear.  On top of all of that, she had a sick child.  My brother Eddie had a heart condition so she was constantly at Children's Memorial hospital with him while a nieghbor watched the res of us.  My mother had to quit working to be there for my brother, and that is when all of our problems began.  My mother had to apply for public assistance so she could get money to buy food and pay for housing.  One would think that it was a great plan and we could live off the fat of the land, but there is a problem with that.  My mother waited every month for a small check to pay the rent, but would not cover the bills.  She got what is called food stamps to buy food, but because the housing we could afford was in horrible conditions because she couldn't pay more, our home was filled with rats and roaches.  The landlord wouldn't do anyhing to fix anything because all he wanted was the money each month.  the food my mother bought never lasted for the month because either the rats got to it, or the roaches definetly got to it.  I remember waking up one night hearing my mother crying.  I had never heard my mother cry before.  I was fourteen at the time.  I sat with my mother and after a while I asked her why she was crying.  She said she was crying because she didn't know how she was going to fed us that week.  I told her I would get a job to help her.  I don't know how I was able to convince my school counselor, and the director of the boys and girls club in my neighborhood, but the gave me a job and I helped my mother by givig her my paycheck every other week to help with the food and bills.  I never had new clothes when I was young, I always had to wear my brothers hand me downs.  It wasn't easy, and sme of the students that I work with face similar situations on a day to day basis, so I tell them my story and use that to help motivate them to do well in school so that they can become something special in the future. 

This is my precious mother

     I have been thinking about country I should write about, and fo some reason I keep going back to Africa.  I have seen some devastating pictures of the famine and hunger there, and it breaks my heart.  I learned that 30 to 50 % of the children there are malnurished.  I learned that many people have no drinking water, something that most of us take for granted.  I learned that because of the drought that many babies never reach the age of five years old.  I also learned that many children there in Somalia never attend school because there are no schools there for them to attend.  There are relief agents trying to help these people, but there is still much that needs to be done.  These agents send food and water to Somalia, but because the need is so great it seems like nothing is being done.  My heart cries out for these people, and I hope and pray that maybe one day I may be an agent that can help fight the hunger and poverty in Somalia, and give these precious children a chances to live and be someone important.

 

 

             



     







Breast Feeding Your Baby

 

     Breast feeding babies is a very important topic to me.  I have often heard of the pros and cons of breast feeding babies, but since my friend had her baby, I was more curious to know whether she would breast feed or not.  I had a long talk with conversation with her and she decided not to breast feed her baby because it was too difficult for her.  I had another friend who breast feed her baby, and she said it was the best bonding experience she ever had.
     I went online to find the advantages and disadvantages of breast feeding a baby, and the advantages for breast feeding were as follows: Breast feeding protects babies against infections.  Breast feeding babies protects them illnesses.  Breast feeding babies gives them protection from allergies  Also breast feeding babies enhances development and intelligence.  These were just a few advantages that I found for breast feeding.
     I also found some disadvantages for breast feeding babies.  some of the disadvantages were that breast feeding babies create breast problems like cracked nipples, engorged and painful breast.  Breast feeding can be an inconvenience.  Dad's can not breast feed babies, and there may be some issues with sex because mothers may feel tat having sex may interfere with breast feeding. 

     Another question that I had was how do women in other countries breast feed especially in a country like Africa where nutrition is not very good?  What I found out was that in places like Africa most mothers breast feed because it is all that they have and they give their babies every thing that they have.  Even though these women may have poor nutrition it is the best milk or in most cases the only milk that they have to give to their babies  There are some agencies that try to help mothers with good nutrition, but there are not enough places for these mothers to go, or they may be to far to travel to.

     What I have learned is that there are pros and cons for everything in life.  I feel that it is the mother's decision to decide whether breast feeding is good for her and her baby. 

References:

(1998). Advantages of breast feeding. Retrieved July 28th, 2011. From http://www.breastfeeding.com

(2008). Disadvantages of breast feeding. Retrieved July 28th, 2011. From http://www.askjeeves.com

(2011). US breast feeding versus other countries? Retrieved July 28th. From http://www.askjeeves.com

Child birth

     My friend gave birth to a health baby boy who I call peanut.  He was 6 pounds and 4 ounces when he was born.  The reason I call him peanut is because he was a lot smaller then we thought he would be.  His mom my friend was huge, so naturally we all thought that the baby was going to be huge, but he wasn't.  The reason I remember this event was because peanut was born just five weeks ago.  I chose this example because I had gone with my friend to some of her ultra sounds for the baby.  While we where at one of her appointments the doctor told her that he was concerned because her blood pressure was high, and that it could be possible that the baby would be born with downs syndrome.  My friend began crying, but I told her that she need to take care of herself and that we would pray for the baby.
     On the day of her delivery, I went with her to the hospital because she was afraid.  Once she was in the room, she was told to put the gown on, and then they started her I V.  The nurse asked her if she wanted the epidural medication, but she decided against it because she was worried about the baby.  Once her contractions started, she quickly changed her mind and asked the nurse to give her the epidural medication.  A half hour later they gave her the epidural, but we knew something was wrong when the nurse rushed in and turned the medication off.  The nurse quickly put a oxygen mask on my friend and said that they needed to give the baby oxygen through her because the baby's heart rate dropped.  After about another half hour, the put her back on the medication and left the room.  Ten minutes later, a bunch of people came into the room and started taking her off of all of the machines.  The doctor said that they were taking her to surgery because the baby was in trouble.  They took her out of the room and about forty minutes later she gave birth to a healthy baby boy through a C Section.  I didn't get to see the baby being born, but it had a profound impact on me, how quickly they got her out of the room and down to surgery.  I chose this example, because I was with my friend for most of the baby's birth, and I saw how much she went through to give birth to her beautiful baby boy.
     My thoughts about birth are that it is an amazing thing to watch, and even though I have never given birth to a baby, I felt like I was going through everything with my friend up until they took her from the room.  I was a part of peanut being born, and that is something that I will never forget.  I think that having a baby is amazing, but what doctors and nurses do when they have a very stressful  situation is even more amazing.  The had peanut out within seconds after taking my friend into surgery.  I am so thankful that we have good doctors that can help keep a baby and his mother alive when trouble arises.  I think that everything that the doctors and nurses did will make a great impact on peanuts life and his development.  I think that with today's technology doctors are doing great things to help more babies survive and not just survive, but make a great impact on their development.

    This is Peanut.

   The country that I chose to find out about births was Africa.  I was curious because I had a friend who gave birth to her son there while she was visiting relatives.  He was not suppose to come for another month, but he surprised everyone by coming early.  The difference between peanuts birth and CJ's birth was that Peanut was born in the hospital while CJ was born at my friends uncles house.  Most births in Africa are done in a home, because the hospital is too far away from where these expectant mothers are.  These women are seen by women who assist in home deliveries.  Most of these births are done without medication, where as here in the states women have lots of medication to help them through the pain.  My friend T was not at all happy that she didn't get an epidural when she gave birth to her son, but she was thankful that her son was born healthy, and that her uncle could drive her to the hospital after the baby was born to get herself and the baby checked by a doctor.  Most women in Africa rely on groups that come in to their region to assist in situations like births because they are too far away, or they can't afford to go to a hospital. 

     I have thought about how hard it would have been for my friend to have peanut if she lived in Africa.  I wondered if peanut would have been alive today if he was born there because they don't have the technology my friend had at the hospital in the small villages in Africa.  CJ is a healthy ten year old boy today, but I wonder about how healthy some of the children are that were born on the same day CJ was born.  My friend T and CJ