Graduation leads me into my dream of opening my own family-based daycare.

Family

based daycare would mean that I can keep working with my own child with her developmental

skills while helping other children and families. I have this dream because I firmly believe in

being family orientated and treating all children and families the way that I would want with my

own daughter. Family orientated aligns with theorist Erik Erickson. Erickson believed the most

cognitive development of a persons social-emotional foundation is developed in their first three

years of life. Erickson presumed that from age three to five years old children develop greater

social-emotional skills through play. I believe in children learning through play. Most children

learn best with hands on activities. Some of my favorite lessons with play include: making

homemade playdough, playing stop and go sledding, airplane center in dramatic play, and

painting with nature.

These strong feelings toward play were reinforced when I implemented a homemade

playdough lesson. Throughout this lesson the children recalled measurements and how to read

directions with mathematical numerals. The stop and go sledding lesson demonstrated the

childrens cognitive abilities to recall what some of the road signs mean. For example the

children used stop, yield, walk, and go. Painting with nature and the dramatic airplane play

connected the childrens social-emotional abilities to plan and implement activities with their

peers. For example, the children planned and negotiated who was going to drive the plane, the

navigators, and the passengers. One of my favorite quotes is Childhood is not a race to see how

quickly a child can read, write, and count. Childhood is a small window of time to learn and

develop at the pace which is right for each individual child (author unknown). To me, this quote

demonstrates that children need play because through play a child can learn at the pace which is

right for each individual child. For example with the lesson plans stated above, the children
played during all of them and little did they know that they were teaching something. Because of

that play however the children did learn but they each learned something different because it was

interoperated in their own way.

In the Early Childhood field an outstanding teacher is well organized and makes

individualized and interesting, lessons for the children. Also, the teacher is appropriately

prepared, has healthy family relationships, and implements a consistent schedule. These are

important qualities due to family relationships being crucial to working with children. Strong

family relationships ensure that the children receive exactly what they require for their growing

development. As a teacher we begin as a stranger, and then move into a friend, lastly to someone

that the child cares about closely. This relates closely to Erick Ericksons Trust vs. Mistrust.

Early experiences have a significant contribution in quality teaching as the children learn and

discover real experiences.

The environment is a vital aspect of learning. An appropriate environment

consists of a clean and organized room that is child interest based. I believe that a

clean/organized room with child-based interest items makes the room appear engaging while not

over stimulating the child. Over-stimulating the child may increase a childs behavioral concerns;

thus creating difficulties with their social emotional, physical and language development. For

example, during practicum the children were weary of certain centers, leaving only a few

interesting ones which created behavioral difficulties. Behavioral complications included social

emotional by purposely excluding a certain friend, and/or visual aggression. Throughout my

learning center experience, I focused on specific centers that the children had decreased interest

in. Hence putting new child interest-based items into those specific centers. I created a broader

room for the children to play reducing the behavioral concerns of the classroom.
 While in Guiding Child Behavior class, I developed a behavioral change project. My

project consisted of working with a little girl on brushing her hair. The little girl would tolerate

anyone brushing her hair. I learned proper behavior change methods. First, I learned to determine

the behavior and use of the ABC method. The ABC method starts by listing the behaviors. When

listing the behaviors, all of the behaviors must be listed for example: kicking, screaming, and

lying on the ground. By listing the behaviors it improves determining what behaviors to examine

and when the behaviors begin. To determine the antecedents; this entails what happens before the

behavior begins producing a positive outcome. During my project I used the ABC method to

determine the childs behaviors were biting, kicking, screaming, whining, running away, hiding,

hitting and crying. An example of this is when the child would see a brush she would run away

and hide, if the parents attempted to brush her hair she would bite, kick and scream. The parents

provided the child with positive consequence by allowing her hair to go un-brushed. The

antecedent was getting ready for school. Throughout my behavior change project I addressed

language development for her to communicate painful brushing. I developed communication

skills by having the child be a part of the hair brushing and having her show me how she wanted

her hair brushed. In the end the project was successful and I will continue to develop behavioral

change techniques for the future.

My goal post graduation is to open my own in home daycare. I believe children learn

through play which encourages social emotional, language, physical and cognitive skills. I will

continue to be inspired by Eriksons social-emotional ideas in my teaching. These early

experiences will include abilities to create family involvement by building close connections

with children and families. Close connections with children and families should build child based

interest. The interests will be used to create a safe and interesting environment for the child as
well as for the curriculum. It is my belief that strong positive relationships will set the foundation

for a positive attitude about learning that will last a lifetime.