Poverty

I believe that perception is vital to reducing poverty in the sense that people who have not been exposed to poverty, often think that living in poverty is a choice. Rank (2004) believes that the poor are viewed as being different from mainstream society. There are situations that exasperate poverty such as divorce, single and teen mothers, and death of a family member. However, this does not mean that they choose to live a life at or below the poverty line. The other myth is that poor people are lazy and if they just went to work they would have a better life. The mindset of individuals that are living in poverty is often one of hopelessness, despair, and the feeling that they will never get out of the situation. Poverty can be changed in the future but first we have to change how poverty is viewed in this country. With all of the efforts being placed on poverty in other counties there is not nearly enough attention being paid to poverty issues that are increasing within the United States. When we evaluate poverty and how it will look in the future, we will have to recognize that, there will be families in the future that have never been touched by poverty. These families will be impoverished or very close to the poverty level.

Research has concluded that early childhood program can reduce poverty by increasing children’s social, emotional, language, literacy, and cognitive abilities. These skills that are introduced to children at an early age will lay the groundwork for their educational success. Poverty is a problem that can be addressed in the future with a solid educational system.

A few effective ways to reduce poverty through the education system would be to:

Provide free or reduced early childhood centers for all children.
Ensure that all early childhood programs are providing developmentally appropriate programs for the children.
Create an educational system that is able to focus mainly on educating the students and not disciplining.
Have an education system that places value on educating student and not just passing standardized test.
Look at community colleges as a true two-year college and not a way to bridge the gap between high school and the universities.

Reference

Rank, M. R., (2004). One Nation, Underprivileged; Why American poverty affects us all. NY: Oxford University Press.

Outdoor Play Activities

Here are a few ideas of things to do outside on the

Bean Bag Toss

Socks
Dry beans
10 Empty Shoe boxes

Have the children fill the socks with the dry beans. Secure a knot in the top of the sock and roll the top down around the knot in the sock. Have the children cover the shoe box with any color paper and decorate. Place the boxes around the outside area and create a relay with the bean bag toss as the children fill the shoe box they move to the next box until they have completed the course.

Hiding Game

Hide multiple items outside and give the children a card with the items on it and have the children match the items to the card as they locate the items. You can change the items weekly.

Simon Says

Play Simon Says using various sounds and movements of animals. Moo like a cow, jump like a kangaroo, walk like an elephant, crawl like spider. Be creative.

Why is it important for children to have planned activities when playing outside? One reason it to reduce accidents and for children to have the opportunity to participate in other activities outside.

Gardening

Plant a flower, herb, or vegetable garden on the playground have the children maintain the garden. They can eat the vegetables and herbs in cooking projects. The flowers can be used for art projects and room decorations. The children will learn how to tend and cultivate gardens. These are skills that can be used at home with their parents.

Use planter boxes if you do not have a large area for the garden. If you use planter boxes each classroom could plant a different plant to add variety.

Have the children learn about the plants and identify the various varieties

Sidewalk Chalk activities

Have the children draw their own hopscotch

Trace the children on the sidewalk and let the children color in their silhouette

Draw with the chalk on the building and if it does not rain have the children use sponges and large paint brushes to remove the chalk from the building the next day. If you are worried that the children will not want to remove their art work have another classroom remove the chalk when they are outside.

Art activities

Have an outside easel for drawing

Take an easel outside for the children

Attach paper to the wall or door for drawing and painting

Other activities

Built bird houses, bird feeders, and musical activities

Outdoor Play

Should children go outside everyday to play? Yes, except during inclement weather conditions.

Outside activities should be a true extension of the indoor classroom. The playground is not a place for chairs for the teachers. It is also not the time for children go on the swings and climber to entertain themselves.

I have observed teachers in the classroom interacting in a developmentally appropriate fashion. They speak with the children in an appropriate manner, redirect them when necessary, they listen to their individual needs and desires, and respond accordingly. When the teachers are outside on the playground with the children they should be interacting with the children in the same developmentally appropriate fashion as they would inside the classroom.

There should be activities for the children to engage in to allow for exploration and gross motor development to name a few. Outdoor time is in no way a rest period for the staff and a free for all for the children.

Often times teachers on the playground with the children are less than responsive to the children’s needs. They are often standing on the playground talking with other teachers, sitting on the side of the playground observing the children from a far, or looking at their cell phones. This type of interaction is not conducive with the outdoor play area being an extension of the indoor classroom for children.

Numerous accidents have occurred outside on the playground due to a lack of supervision, unsafe, and inappropriate equipment. The outdoor equipment should be checked daily to ensure that everything is safe for the children. This will also reduce the number of accidents that occur due to broken and unsafe equipment.

Children could have an accident with caregivers interacting with them on the playground but these accidents can be explained to the parents. Can the same be said for accidents when the caregivers are talking to each other, distracted by their cell phones, or sitting away from the children? I think not. The last thing a parent want to hear from a teacher is that they have no idea how their child was injured. This is especially true for parents of young children that cannot articulate what happened.

Many administrators believe that their outdoor areas are not complete without a large play structure for the children as well as parents that want to see a large climbing structure on the playground. Whereas, this may be the case, every outside play area should be a true extension of the classroom. The teachers at the center should be able to articulate to the administrators and parents what the overall goal of the outdoor play area is and why it is developmentally appropriate for the children to have an extension of the classroom outside on the playground.

What are the benefits of going outside daily? Children have the opportunity to explore elements that are not available within the classroom.

Cons for Standards

The positive attributes were discussed now I will discuss the issues. I will explain why standards can produce issues for young children.

The following are con’s for standards within early childhood education:

1) When educators utilize the standards as their only teaching tool. They do not incorporate developmentally appropriate practices or address the individual needs of the children.

2) When educators only teach to the standards the children are not receiving the instruction by which the standards were designed.

3) Teachers have been known to feel overwhelmed by standards due to their lack of training.

4) I believe that when educators are not provided proper training on how the standards should be incorporated with developmentally appropriate practices is when problems tend to occur.

5) Standards alone can lead to teachers providing unnecessary testing for young children (Gronlund, 2006).

6) The problem with standards in early childhood education arises when other factors are not considered such as brain development and their individual needs are not addressed.

Reference

Gronlund, G. (2006). Making early learning standards come alive: Connecting your practice and curriculum to state guidelines. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

Pros of Standards

When standards are incorporated into early childhood programs which utilize developmentally appropriate practices; children will be provided a quality program that promotes growth and development.

Activity picture

The pros for standards in early childhood education are:

1) Standards are instituted to provide consistency for young children.

2) Standards provide a foundation for early childhood educators that address the growth potential of young children.

3) Explaining play-based programs to parents can be difficult for educators, with established standards educators can provide materials to parents that can be easily explained and incorporated into the play-based curriculum.

Therefore, when young children are provided with a high quality program they are more successful academically and socially when they enter school.