While at JoAnn's Craft store on Wednesday waiting for my jewelry class to start I had heard a conversation between a mother and a young daughter. Seeing the mother and daughter it made me think how my mother and I used to do things together until my younger sister had kids and now my mother does more for my younger sister than me. This week I had observed a mother and daugter figuring out what they wanted to make for Valentines Day. The little girl is three years old and this year instead of buying cards for her classmates she wanted to make Valentine's Cards for the class and also one for her father. I thought it was great that this little girl looks up to her father and that her father is a big part of his life.

   The things I have noticed was that the mother was just standing there while the daughter decided on what she wanted to make. The mother felt that since this was her daughter's project the daughter should be able to pick out what she wanted to make. The daughter would ask questions such as how many pieces of paper are in the book because she needed to make 12 cards total. After the mother told her that yes the book has 50 sheets of paper, the daughter said okay mom, I'm ready.  I had noticed that the mother does a lot of projects with her daughter and that while she was shopping with her daughter, the mother did not talk on her cell phone. I think it is great that the mother had put her daughter first and that the mother values her time with her daughter.
   The connection I made between what I observed and the effective communication strategies that were presented in this weeks learning resources is the mother gave her full attention to her daughter and the daughter had valued her mother's opinion. The daughter looks up to her mother and loves spending time with her mother. I think it is important for parents to spend time with their children and to set time aside to do things with their children instead of having the television watch the children. I feel that children who do things their parents treasure these moments and it teaches them the importance of family.
  I think that the communication interactions I had observed may affect the child's feelings and how it influences the child's self worth is that it makes the child feel important. The mother spends time with her child and will not answer her cell phone. This shows that the mother cares about her daughter and wants to build a relationship with her daughter. It is important to build a relationship at a young age and to build a trust because if a child feels safe talking to a parent when they are young they will more than likely come to their parents when they get older nad have more presonal issues to share such as gay/lesbian relationships and bullying.
  This week's observation has taught me about the importance of spending time with children and allowing them to make decisions. I feel if children can make decisions at a young age they will be able to make more difficult decisions when they get older. I have also learned that children need to have people to look up to for guidance which teaches me how important teachers are to young children since teachers are the second people children spend a lot of time with. As a person who wants children I had learned that parents need to spend quality time with their children and do projects that will allow children to be creative and allow them to do things their own way.

Family Day Care

   If I was to own my own family child care home I would want to have a safe learning environment where everybody has the right to receive the best education possible without having parents worry about how they are going to pay for their child's education. It is hard to put a monetary value on education. As our text states, "the toys, materials, and equipment you put out for children; the posters, pictures, and art objects you hang on the wall; and the types of furniture and how you arrange them all influence what children learn" (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 43). I feel  that it is important to have everyone sit in a circle next to each other because a circle represents an ongoing cycle which is what learning is. I feel that if everyone sits in a circle then everyone has an equal chance of being seen and heard. I would also have pictures of the things that are going on in the classroom and have these posters in front of the classroom as parents enter to drop off and pick up their kids from school. I feel that it is important for parents to see what their child is learning in school and that there is an equal number of students from diverse backgrounds. I feel that school is a place for learning, but there also needs to be some play time in order for students to have a balanced schedule. I feel that there needs to be separate areas in the classroom for different activities. For example, I would have a separate area for reading. In this area one must be quiet when others around them are trying to read. I would also have an area for arts and crafts so children can express themselves. I feel that arts are important and that all children should be able to express themselves. I would also have a separate area for toys and would have a diversity of toys such as African-American dolls, Chinese dolls and dolls that have physical disabilities.
  I feel that children do well in school when there is parent involvement. I feel that parents need to be a part of their child's education in order for a child to succeed in school. I would have family nights where parents come to school and help out with activities. I would also have holiday celebrations where children will learn about other cultures. I remember when I was in the second grade we had a Christmas party where everybody had to bring in an ethnic dish from their homeland. It is a great learning experience leanring about other cultures and how different countries celebrated Christmas.  I feel that diversity is very important in education.

Source:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).