Peer Response 2

1. In your response, try to make the important connection you will soon need to make with your coworkers and the families in your facility. Comment on their ideal facility and share what you like about their choices and what you would add to their choices.

1. Your response should be an original thought.

1. Responses to peers may not be in the form of “I agree… good post”.  One or two sentence replies are not adequate.  Responses must go further in depth and must be supported with specific, personal experience, relevant textual connections, and/or alternate perspectives and questions.   100 word-replies would be an appropriate recommended guideline.  

PEER POST:

Hello Class,

My name is Chandra Sankey-Johnson I am 47 years old living in Wiergate, Texas. I have four grown kids and one 16-year-old still at home. I am a grandmother to six littles cuties. I am getting my Early Childhood Development Associates Degree. I am a head start teacher right now and loving it.

I plan to keep teaching three-to-five-year old's- preschool age. The class holds 17 kids. Three things the facility has outside is a playground, some picnic tables, and outdoor toys. Three things it has on the inside are classrooms, a cafeteria, and a kitchen. Two extra things that I would like to see if money was not an issue is a huge covering or tent so that the kids could stand under and won’t get wet when it’s raining and a gym where they can play in when it’s cold, raining, or hot outside.

I wish that the director would treat everyone equal and not have her favorites like mine does and give respect and show appreciation to the workers.

I hope that my children will walk away knowing that I love and care about them and hope that they learn something from me while being in my class.

One thing that I am afraid of is someone getting hurt in my care by falling or hit by another child that requires medical attention.

My least favorite thing to do when I oversee a group is changing pull ups on three- and four-year old's. I just believe by the time you reach head start you should be potty trained.

MY POST:

Hello, my name is Ronda, and I am from Michigan, I am here to receive my associate degree for Early Childhood Education (AA). I have a son who is 19 and I have devoted my time as a single mom to my son, I owned and operated my own home daycare for 16 years. I did not want my son to be raised by babysitters or must rely on my own parents to raise my son, so when he was just a year old, I quit my job at Meijer and started my daycare.  After a noticeably short while I realized I had made the best decision of my life! My dream as a child was to become a teacher when I grew up, and I found myself in this position where I could teach young minds, which made me want it so much more. I took a couple trainings and a class here and there; due to time it was difficult for me to complete a lot all at once. My son became more involved in sports as he got older and that to took up a lot of extra time, but I was his biggest fan! He play's football, basketball, and baseball, and I have enjoyed every minute of watching him, he is my whole world. After 16 years of doing my daycare, times took a turn and children were hard to come by due to people having relatives or siblings watching their youngers, it was hard on me to even think about having to let it go. I kept my doors open and only had children for before and after school, I took a job a Head Start part time during the day. I worked at Head Start for almost 2 years’ part time before I was offered a full-time position, now I had to think...I could keep doing what I was doing working the two jobs barely making it or close my daycare down and take the job. I talked it over with my son for a few days and come to sad answer of closing my daycare. It was an extremely hard decision, but it was for the best. I am now an Early Head Start Teacher, and I am loving it, still as a single mom I must pay the bills, so I had to take on a second job as a janitor at a dentist office, I am still incredibly involved with my son's life. 

Early child development sets the foundation of a person’s growth; therefore, it is crucial to ensure that well-trained personnel is available for the center. My ideal childhood center consists of classrooms, an outdoor space, a multipurpose space, and an administrative office. I want to work with kids aged three to five; at this age, most of the kids have learned how to talk, and it becomes easy to manage. It then becomes easier to enhance the verbal ability of the kids and ensure they do not encounter reading problems in the future. The classroom space should be around 850 square feet and above, with various activity areas that will be separated from physical objects like cabinets.

Give a description of three things your early childhood facility would have (inside and outside)

            Play zone such as pretend home appliances, kitchen area, and furniture. Young children enjoy such games, especially girls.

Arts and crafts zone where children can experiment with paint or water and a quiet spot for the children who may require personal space. The reserved area should have comfortable chairs and stuffed toys for the kids.

 A health center with the medical equipment necessary to treat children of any illness that befalls them. Medications will also be locked in cabinets unreachable to the kids to avoid any incidences of misuse of drugs.

What are two “extras” you would have in your center if money wasn’t an issue?

A research center-Education is continually growing; with the right research and technology, it will be possible to innovate new ways to improve and increase education.

Training center for kids-kids grow with various interests like sports, a sports center for kids to train in any sports like skating would be ideal.

What are two qualities you hope your future director or principal would possess?

            Being an educator first, then an administrator- a good principal will have to prioritize the needs of the students and second with the school’s administrative duties.

Have management risk skills- a good principle will weigh the costs and benefits of operations and learn when and where to allocate the funds needed.

What is one thing you hope your children walk away from your facility knowing about you?

I want the kids to walk away from school knowing how much I love and adore children and my interest in their growth. I want them to walk away with the right knowledge to help them grow as individuals.

It will be hard to deal with educators who lack the self-drive to execute their duties.