Quotable Quotes

"And there is still also the fairly widespread belief that

whatever is wrong with our country or our society is the fault of

the schools." ---Lilian Katz

"But, I must admit that when I chat with many

of you and your colleagues around the country, they admit that

they have a very hard time placing their students in really good

setting for their practicum experiences." ---Lilian Katz
Challenges and Dilemmas of Educating Teachers of Young Children (2008)

"How do you teach compassion to babies? You don’t.

You show it. Long before the baby understands any

words, she understands touch." --Janet Gonzalez-Mena

"Because I had learned in college that children of that

age are egocentric and can’t put themselves in anyone

else’s shoes, I was quite surprised. I shouldn’t have

been, after seeing the many examples of caregivers

showing compassion for the children. I should have

realized that, of course, children were bound to pick up

on those attentive and caring feelings and the behaviors

that go with them." ---Janet Gonzalez-Mena

Compassionate roots begin with babies(2010)

Personal Childhood Web

My step-dad is the top of my list of people from my childhood.  My parents split up when I was about a year old and he has been around since not long after that.  He has four girls, between 1 and 4 years older than me, but he always treated me the same.  Looking from the outside, no one would ever know I wasn't one of his girls.  I very distinctly remember when I started Kindergarten, it was only half day and I would spend the morning with just him and I and we would have tuna fish sandwiches and watch Scrabble on TV before he walked me to school. I didn't realize at the time how much it meant to me to have the same relationship with him as the other girls.  When I got married, I had him and my "real" dad walk me down the aisle together.
The second person I want to add to my list is my grandmother, on my mom's side.  When I was very young, my mom had to have surgery and I spent a week with her and my grandfather in Ohio.  After that, I spent a week every summer with them.  Coming from a large family, with 5 kids all together, it meant a lot for me to be able to spend that time alone with adults, to be able to talk and be heard.  It was those visits that I really learned  how to communicate with adults, and how much it meant to have someone's undivided attention.
The third person I would add to my list is someone I don't remember, but have heard about a lot, and that is my day care provider.  When I was a toddler, I went to a baby sitter's house and my mom always tells me how much I adored her.  I very faintly remember walking up the stairs to a red barn-like house carrying a bag of dry cheerios.  My mom tells me how that was the only way I ate my cereal, and my baby sitter knew that.  Dot was her name.  I think she contributed to who I am today because it made for a smooth childhood and transition in to school because I had such a good experience in day care and preschool.  It made me a well-adjusted child.
The fourth person I would like to add to my list is my girl scout leader.  Her name was Karen.  I remember having a sleepover at our church for girl scouts and right when my mom dropped me off, I slammed my hand in the door.  It blew up pretty big, but I wanted to stay at the sleepover. Karen put ice on it and checked on me all night long to make sure I was okay.  She was like that every time we had a meeting, she always made me feel like I was the only little girl.  I appreciated that because, again, coming from a family of 5 girls, it wasn't often I got that feeling.
The fifth person I want to add to my list is my "real" dad.  I have to put quotations on that because I never liked the phrase or the "step" phrase for my step-dad...but I can't find any other way to make the distinction between the two.  With my dad, he and my mom split up when I was a baby and I never lived with him after that...my mom always had full custody of me.  My dad moved a lot, and often I only saw hime twice or three times a year and talked to me once a month or so.  But, even now, I never doubted that he loves me and that he cared about me as a child.  I am still daddy's little girl, and will go to him for problems I have and advice.  I seek advice from him and my step dad because they both mean so much to me and I value their opinions.

The roots of my passion for Early Childhood Education

The first thing I want to do is share with you the three real things that fuel my passion for this field, my three children.  If it wasn't for my son, Kyle, I would not have started workin in a preschool.  That first job is what started my career.  The birth of my third child, Anna, is what made me start my Registered Family Day Care, which deepened my passion further. I have been able to watch them grow, and knowing what I have already learned has helped me be the best mom I can be. 

The second thing I want to share with all of you, my readers, is a great quote that cleary defines my professional opinion of Early Childhood, "I hear and forget, I see and remember, I do and understand." ---Chinese Proverb.  I truly believe in hands on learning, and that is also what drives my passion for this field.  I want to instill that in everyone from teachers, to providers, to directors, to parents.  Children don't need worksheets and to practice writing their name four times each.  They need to have freedom to explore and learn for themselves. 

Finally, tonight I want to share with you my favorite children's book, .

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss.  This book is very long, and cannot be read to most preschoolers in one sitting.  However, the take home message is incredible.  Children can go anywhere and do anything they want to if they put their mind to it.  We, as educators, have the opportunity to teach them that, above all else.  More importantly than teaching them their address and phone number, we teach them to have passion for whatever they want to be passionate about.  So, I ask you readers, what are you passionate about?

New to blogging

So, my new adventures at online college has landed me in yet another new process...blogging.  I just commented to my husband, as computer literate as I am I have never blogged before.  So, this should be an interesting adventure in to early childhood, specifically teaching adults in the early childhood field. So, I hope all my readers are as excited as I am to go on this adventure!