Blog 4

Question: Whom you observed and interacted with in your setting during this module.
Answer: I have talked and observed parents as well as several teachers in the way they communicate with each other. I have asked several parents if they think that our school is doing what they can to keep parents involved in their child's education. Many of the responses I have gotten have been positive. A few are not sure if they like the programs they can get involved in or how our school handles parents interacting with the school. Some parents think that more should be at night. We have a few that get upset about special occasions that they can not participate in such as Thanksgiving lunch and Christmas lunch. Our lunchroom manager said because of the availability of space we cannot have children's parents to eat lunch with them on these special occasions. He also stated that they may come any other day of the week and enjoy lunch with there children.

Question: Any special learning experiences you may have had or an experience that provided you with insight about children and families including advocacy efforts.
Answer: I learned that it's good to be able to talk with parents about their feelings and they like expressing their opinions whether positive or negative. It is important to take into account the way that families feel and be able to communicate why certain rules are there when they do not like them.

Question: At least two insights gained from your observations of, and interaction and experiences with, children's families regarding advocacy efforts and needs related to your area of interest within the field of early childhood.
Answer: I think it's important to reach out to families and through this observation and communicating with parents I got a first hand understanding of how communication works within the schools. I saw the parents communicating with the teachers and office administration about things they did or did not like. We need to know in education about ideas that parents have and work toward helping parents and educators work together for positive outcome of the children. When everyone is working together toward goals everyone feels connected and willing to listen to other opinions. The teachers I observed did a great job in working with their parents to help their children in their classroom. This shows the importance of working together toward a common goal which are the children. Our school motto is "Putting Children First" and our one school rule is RESPECT and we truly show this to our parents and our children. We have teachers and administration that go over and above the normal job.

Module 3 Edu 411

In this last couple of weeks I have been communicating with our Parent Coordinator, Mrs. Davis  at our school. Mrs. Davis is pretty neat because she has the opportunity to work full time with our school. She helps in our front office with the parents, answers phone calls, assists administration, does memo's for monthly letters, and coordinates family events for our school. She is always available to ask questions. She talks with the principal/assistant principal about the events that she wants to do to help encourage parent and family nights at the school. The administration after having the talk about the upcoming event then have a meeting with the teachers and staff and ask for help with the events. The events are suppose to be educational but in a fun way. Such as a Celebrity Cook off we recently had at our school. Mrs. Davis asked for help from our superintendent of our school system, a firefighter, and the assistant principals to help in the cook off. The parents and children came to cheer on the cooking panel and vote for the best food after testing the food. We also recently had a book character parade at our school. This book character parade allowed the children to dress up in a outfit to promote their book. The teachers and children walked the hallways and the other children in the other grades cheered on the children walking and then they walked. Every grade level was able to walk if they dressed up and had the book to support the outfit they had on. The teachers and children would walk through the lunchroom to let the parents that wanted to watch see the children. Our school had a great turnout and it promoted the love of reading to the students and families. It also showed children that reading can be fun and everyone had fun dressing up. This was done close to Halloween and many children wore their Halloween costumes that had a book with them such as Superman, Power Rangers, Princess outfits and books such as Little Mermaid. Each month or so our coordinator tries to come up with activities that parents and children alike will enjoy and promote learning. Mrs. Davis also includes the community leaders such as fireman in many activities also. We have a police station and fire station directly across the street from our school and they love to help with programs for the children. Mrs. Davis also types memos monthly giving parents helpful hints on how to help their children with fun learning activities at home.

Module 3 Writing an Outline

In writing a outline it helps formulate and focus your research on specific questions and not get lost in the information. As for me there is a overabundance of information on the computer and I get lost in trying to stay focused. Before I know it I am looking at something that is similar but different. I am still working on the outline but some of the challenges are still staying organized and not getting lost. It's amazing what is available on today's websites and it is overwhelming to a person not used to the internet and resources. I have gained patience and pacing myself with the information has helped me not to become so overwhelmed. It's hard to sort through the information to make sure to do the research but taking it in steps is easier for me. I do have two questions. My question is am I the only one that has the problem of sorting through information and the feeling of being overwhelmed? I want to do the best and get the right information I get lost sometimes. Is this normal? Any help on how someone else feels can certainly help me. Thanks