my teaching philosophy

Creative Activity Designer 1

Creative Activity Designer

CynthiaReed3

Kaplan University

CE101: Introduction to Early Childhood Education

Prof: Lynn Morrison

Early Childhood Development Philosophy 2

Early Childhood Development Philosophy

I am a dedicated, hardworking single mother, who was an Honor Roll College student at

Yuba College, Marysville, CA! I also taught at Yuba College Preschool as a Teacher's

Assistant. As a student teacher, I volunteered through AmeriCorps at Yuba College Preschool

as a Teacher’s Aide, which is an on the job site teacher training program---teaching internship

for preschool teachers of America. I volunteered there for a total of 12 months before earning a

permanent part time teaching employment position as a Teacher’s Assistant for a total of 2

years. I was employed full time at Buttons and Bows Preschool (partnered with YWCA Head

start) as Lead Head start Teacher for 6 months until I resigned. Then I was employed full time

as Teacher Assistant at Grace Hill Head start for 3 months where my contract ended in Nov. of

2013 right before the holidays. I was employed full time at GSL Preschool Developmental

Center (partnered with Urban League Head start) as Lead Head start teacher for 3 months,

then after my 90 days evaluation, I was demoted to Teacher Assistant, for the remainder of 9

months, because of personal reasons then my hours had been cut to part time Substitute Teacher

Assistant with infant/toddlers . I was also employed as full time Head start Teacher Assistant for

9 months with Local St Louis City and County, MO with YWCA Head start. I was attending

college to pursue my Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Harris-Stowe State

University. I have since realized that working full time as a Teacher assistant for Head start is a

whole lot of dedication of time and effort of work online; so much that online school seems to be

the best way to go, which is the reason for why I am currently attending college at Kaplan

University. I am scheduled to graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Early


Childhood Education in either the beginning or summer/June 2016. I have been teaching Head

start and preschool with Local Head starts, preschools and day cares partnered with Head start

programs for 5 years within the St Louis, MO area. As an early childhood educator, I am always

searching for inspirational, exceptional teaching opportunities; such as working with specially

challenged children. As an early childhood educator, I possess training, knowledge, and

experience to know how to design, plan, implement, and execute creative, fun academic learning

activities in order to teach preschoolers early childhood readiness skills and qualifications in

order to help prepare their young minds for kindergarten. As an early childhood educator, I am

Loving, caring, and encouraging, creative, fun, academic learning activities designer, because

obviously, I love working with children!

Future of Inclusion

As a fellow disabled student, I can empathize with growing up with specially challenged

needs when considering my own hearing loss; therefore I also agree with the belief of the most

significant change that came about was The IDEA becoming a law. Thus meant children with

disabilities, such as myself, could be included in regular classrooms with other children in the

hopes we could have the chance to reach our fullest potentials. As a specially challenged student,

I honestly don’t know where I would be today without inclusion process as one of the most

significant movements of The IDEA laws being passed. As a fellow special needs student, due to

my hearing impairment, I required special inclusion services of speech therapy, sign language,

lower reading and speech therapy services preschool thru 3rd grade; services were no longer

needed after 3rd grade either. As a specially challenged student, I was able to deal with the

obstacles of my learning disabilities due to my hearing impairment and overcome them as well


as to go on to graduate high school and college with honors! As a student I can empathize with

growing up with specially challenged needs when considering my own hearing deficit; therefore

I believe the most significant change that came about was The IDEA becoming law in 1975.

This law helped make it possible for children with disabilities such as myself to have equal

access to an education. The IDEA has been revised in the most recent years so that an education

can be given in a less restrictive classroom environment as possible for children who have

specially challenges. Thus meant children with disabilities, such as myself, could be included in

a regular classroom with other children in the hopes they could have the chance to reach their

fullest potential (Follari, 2014) The way that I have been able to apply the standard of

strengthening their communication skills to early childhood curriculum is mainly through

personal experience of my own as a child and as a teacher. My favorite teachers were my early

childhood educators, because when I was three years old, my preschool teachers and my mother

had found out I was partially deaf in my right ear. From that point on my central focus of

learning was based off everything having to do with enhancing my learning by focusing on

strengthening my communication skills by speech therapy and learning sign language skills. I

learned my ABC’s, how to speak and read well, and how to count through both speech therapy

and learning sign language skills. This was the most crucial for myself for my teachers to catch

my learning disabilities when I was very young so that they could enhance my learning by

focusing on strengthening my communication skills so that they didn't have to leave me behind

as I got into higher grades. As an early childhood educator, I have since been able to use sign

language skills to help enhance my challenging student’s communication skills by once working

with an autistic and a deaf child. My reasons for seeking a degree in Early Childhood Education


is to eventually have the ability to enhance and help other specially challenged children like

myself as a child and some of the others I taught and helped as a teacher. My main goal is to end

up teaching at a school for specially challenged children in order to teach, enhance, and help

their learning styles and abilities in spite of their disabilities. As an early childhood educator, I

would like to encourage and influence children to full fill their dreams to the fullest no matter

what challenges and obstacles life may throw in their way. I would like to encourage and

influence young children to exceed beyond their own minds capabilities.

As many early childhood professors teach us, the 1st five to six years are the most

important years in a child’s life. We as parents and early childhood educators lay the frame work

out for our children. We teach them how to say their ABC's, speak in English, sometimes

Spanish, and also Sign Language, how to walk, colors, shapes, plus much more! We are helping

their brains to grow and develop in many different ways! As a child who was reared in an

environment where my developmental needs were not being met, the risk of me experiencing

learning delays was increased. The next few years that followed were the most critical years for

my early childhood educators to make sure that my needs as a child were to have my essentials

meant. The essentials that would be meant are my cognitive, social and emotional

communication skills that form my well-being as a young child and later would lay the ground

work in order to further develop my communication skills into adult hood as a professional early

childhood educator. I have been employed as a Teacher Assistant for local St Louis City and

County, MO with YWCA Head start for about 6 months. Head start plays a huge roll in teaching

children in the early years. They have very strong ideas in teaching our children from writing

their names to enhancing their artistic abilities to teaching them how to dress our children as


young gentleman and ladies to enhancing their learning capabilities through taking them on

many field trips to many different places such as The Botanical Gardens, Art, pottery, and

history museums, The City Museum, The Magic House, The Science Center, The St Louis Zoo,

etc.

Three state agencies and organizations available for children with special needs

The three state agencies and organizations available for children with special needs are:

YWCA Head start, Urban League Head start, and Grace Hill Head start, as well as there are also

some schools made especially and specifically for special needs and specially challenged

children; which are: The “City of the Child Garden” and St Louis, Missouri’s school for the

Blind and Deaf. As an early childhood educator, while working in child care and education

profession I have come across so many different organizations that are helpful and resourceful

for educators and families; but the one that stands out the most for me is the YWCA Head start

program. According to the YWCA of the St Louis metro area “Head Start is a locally-operated,

federally-funded program that provides high-quality child care for income-eligible families.”

Their mission is to provide children with the early exceptional footsteps for a lifetime of

successful opportunities! Their vision is that the YWCA Head Start Program will be seen as an

extraordinary Early Childhood Education Program. As a nation on a national level, their mission

is to contribute school readiness by brightening the social and cognitive development of children

by contributing educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to children and families

whom are enrolled. Their program also employs parents in their children's learning and helps

them gradually improve toward their educational, literacy and employment achievements. Their

funding is provided by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services/Office of Head


Start. Their Head Start Centers are managed by on-site management. With this approach, their

decision making is moved from the central office to the local center. Their centers employees are

well-trained professional staff, which place an extreme amount of accent on parental

involvement, use researched-based curriculum and assist children with disabilities. Their center

and case managers administer resources locally and are held responsible for the success of their

centers. Their managers, staff and parents participate in building the environment and quality of

care at the center level. According to the YWCA of the St Louis metro area “They are

committed to these values in everything they do: Integrity, High Quality, Inclusiveness,

Professionalism, and Family Focused!” Their centers are licensed by the Missouri Department of

Health-Bureau of Child Care Safety and Licensure. The State supervises centers annually for

abiding by instituted state safety and health regulations. The licensing rules are available upon

request for review at each center. In addition, their centers are accredited by either NAEYC or

Missouri Accreditation of Programs for Children and Youth.

Child Care state Licensing Law of Missouri’s most important strength in the child care

world of professionals is: that there are routinely monitoring that are unannounced. Health and

Safety in Missouri is held of the up most importance in a childcare setting where as they don’t

take inspections lightly. As early childhood educators, most importantly, they really care about

the safety of their children in child care facilitates. Their risky weakness is that licensed child

care facilities routinely violate child to teacher ratios on a regular basis as I have learned this

from personal experience. Their child to teacher ratios are as follows: one teacher to 10 children

indoors and one teacher to 15 children outdoors. As early childhood educators, they allow the

workers 12 hours of annual training; which includes CPR and First Aid training. This is often


done on their own time, such as Saturdays or evenings after work that it is a requirement that the

child care facility pay for those hours also, whereas unfortunately, not always enforced as I have

experienced this myself as a child care provider. Head start teachers usually attend this training

for two weeks to a month of routine training before the regular school year begins. As an early

childhood educator, these trainings can become very repetitive and redundant. As early

childhood educators, one recommendation that is required is that every child care center or

people caring for other children in their home setting are required to have a license.

Similarities and differences between IEP and IFSP: Early Intervention

As early childhood educators and their families, The Early Intervention Support.com was

created to help serve as an informative resource for children’s parents whom are wanting to learn

about their child's development. No matter how challenging it may be for a family whom has a

child with most challenging behaviors, and or disabilities or developmental issues; their

childhood is definitely too short; where as it should be cherished, relished, and valued. They are

here to help early childhood educators and their families help their children. As an early

childhood program, First steps are child care facilities set up to serve and help preschoolers and

their families with special needs. Their early childhood professionals serve preschoolers and

their families with special needs in the following three ways: helping them understand their

child's special needs, by obtaining the help they desire to deal with situations that could interfere

with their child's growth and development, and by providing the best conditions for their child's

growth and development. Missouri has some of the finest developmental schools that were

founded to help to serve children and families with the deafness and blindness. There are schools


that help to serve children and families with severe disabilities, which are The Missouri Schools

for the Severely Disabled.

Multiculturalism in the Early Childhood Classroom

As early childhood educators, social and behavioral actions that are appropriate would be

presenting multiculturalism awareness of other cultures and religions. As early childhood

educators, our main goal is to present and provide an environment that is accepting and relates to

all cultures and religions and doesn’t discriminate against any one of them as well as to be as

knowledgeable about other cultures and religions. As early childhood educators, I believe it

should be if it isn’t already a requirement to take college credit courses on multiculturalism

awareness and how to incorporate it into an early childhood classroom. As a college student, I

took a course similar to this already in Northern California. That was an area where I can say as

a teacher, I learned the most about many other cultures and religions and how to be more

multicultural aware in order to know how to incorporate it into an early childhood classroom as

well. As a teacher and a parent, we can gain insight from our multicultural experiences on how

to deal or handle difficulties, communication and or conflict issues that may arise with fellow

co-workers or co-teachers, children and families professionally in our early childhood

classrooms.

In early childhood education, diversity consists of, but is not limited to differences of

race or ethnicity. Thus includes the cultural experiences amongst our children and families,

whom bring them to school. Thus also includes their language, beliefs, values, norms, family

configuration, socioeconomic status, gender, special needs, home and community backgrounds

which enhance their learning styles and abilities. Even though, the population of children in our


schools is becoming more and more diverse; yet the demographics of teachers continues to be

less diverse, maintaining the dynamics of White, middle class, and female. There is a growing

amount of sociocultural beliefs, expectations, and experiences amongst the diversity of children

in our early childhood educational classrooms. Thus creates an immediate need for early

childhood educators to reflect on multicultural education and to examine their own prejudicial

beliefs, because preschool teachers teach children based upon their beliefs.

As early childhood educators, we are members amongst diverse cultural groups.

No matter what the teachers’ social, cultural, and historical groups are; they expand upon their

own beliefs and values about the realistic world to their children. As preschool teachers, our

curriculum includes multicultural education; which expresses the importance of perceiving

sociocultural situations in order to bridge the narrow concept of “minorities” (Garcia & Pugh,

1992). Multiculturalism amongst preschoolers still exist even if there isn't any children from

different ethnic or racial backgrounds in a classroom. According to Irvine (2003) and Pugh,

Garcia, and Margalef-Boada (1991), multiculturalism refers to a more complex and expanded

view that emphasizes individual decisions about all issues of human welfare. Multiculturalism is

“a layered concept that includes not only the experiences of particular individuals and groups but

also their shared interests and relationships, which in turn are embedded in the

interconnectedness of all peoples of the world. In its full complexity, then, multiculturalism

implies the cultivation of a global view of human affairs.” (Pugh, Garcia, & Margalef-Boada,

1991, p. 3). Therefore, it is essential for early childhood educators to recognize their own

sociocultural background as they work with children from diverse cultures.


As teachers when considering our curriculum, we need to be more open minded

to adjusting our unique experiences, values, and beliefs regarding equalize and freedom, and

welfare in education. When considering multiculturalism, we teachers also have to keep in mind

that all learners have to be provided with equal opportunities for learning regardless of their

cultural backgrounds and differences of expression of their thoughts and beliefs. When

considering multiculturalism, this is the most essential for us teachers to help diverse children

learn more securely than; as well as to meet their needs more equally in the preschool setting.

This can best be done by providing a safe, challenging, and nurturing environment. As early

childhood educators, we teachers have to reflect on what beliefs and values we have, what

personal experiences we have figured into our views about ourselves, others, and the real world,

what kind of attitudes, and to examine our own prejudicial beliefs we may hold about diversity

and culture as well as the nature of our relationships with others.

As an early childhood educator, I would start off with an activity on how to get to know

the children and their families in your classroom. I would spend at least a week or two on

families and plan activities on getting to know your students and their families. Circle time

activities would include singing songs to do with getting to know the names of your children,

their parents and grandparents. We could play a game and go around the circle talking about all

the different family members who live in the home, what family members’ houses we go over

for holiday dinners and events and so forth. We can talk about what family outings or vacations

we may have went on in the summer. We can have children draw pictures of their families and

themselves. We could have the children do take home projects with their parents and

grandparents in order to help include them; such as creating a family tree then bringing it in at


the end of the week along with pictures for show and tell. This will teach you and your children

a lot about their families, themselves, similarities amongst other students’ families, and how

other families socialize amongst other cultures and holidays. As an early childhood educator, I

have created these lesson plans and type of activities before and the outcome seemed to be a

wonderful experience for the children and their families! They all seemed to enjoy and embrace

the whole idea that you as the teacher care enough about the children to want to get to know

them and their families in order to best help them learn!

My Lifelong Professionalism

My lifelong professionalism and how I will maintain my image as an early childhood

educator, professionally I never get a second chance to make a first impression with the children

and families within an early childhood educational program. As a teacher, it is even more

important to make a professional long lasting impression with the children and families within

an early childhood educational program. As a teacher, my professional image and appearance are

of the up most importance within an early childhood educational program. As a teacher, my

professional appearances is represented by how I dress as a professional and keep up the

maintenance of my professional appearance. Other aspects regarding my professionalism and

how I see myself as a teacher, professionally I will maintain common rules of business practices;

such as arriving on time regularly as well as seldom leaving early from work. As an early

childhood educator, when considering the children and families, it is of the up most importance

to keep confidential matters confidential. As a teacher, professionally I will keep myself and

fellow colleagues updated on upcoming changes in policies and business practices within an

early childhood Head start educational program.


Short-term and Long-term Career Goals

As an early childhood educator, my short-term goals and as a teacher, how I will develop

a plan to meet them are as follows: gain training and knowledge of skills and tools that applies to

Head start program, gain training and knowledge on how their Teaching Strategies' online

website program works, and most importantly, through teaching employment opportunities

partnered with them. As an early childhood educator, my long-term goals and as a teacher, how I

will develop a plan to meet them are as follows: earn a Teacher Assistant employment

opportunity position at YWCA Head start, acquire and earn a full time teaching employment

opportunity at GSL Preschool Developmental Center (partnered with Urban League Head start)

as Lead Infant-toddler teacher, earn a raise, gain a promotion of Lead Head start Teacher

employment opportunity position at Head start, and earn a Lead Teacher employment

opportunity position at School district with specially challenged children. What it means to early

childhood professionals by providing quality care for young children is how we possess the

training, knowledge, and experience to know how to design, plan, implement, and execute

creative, fun academic learning activities in order to teach preschoolers early childhood

readiness skills and qualifications in order to help prepare their young minds for kindergarten.

As early childhood professionals we are loving, caring, and encouraging, creative, fun, academic

learning activities designers, because obviously, we love working with children! As early

childhood professionals we abide by, respect and implement the Laws that apply to improve the

quality of care in early childhood settings. As early childhood professionals, we provide Early

Intervention Services to specially challenged children and their families to better help them

manage, maintain, and monitor their ongoing educational progress. As an early childhood


educator, my main long term goal is to earn a teaching employment opportunity position at a

School district that serves specially challenged children.

References:

Follari, L. (2014). Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education

http://www.ywcastlouis.org

Child Care Awareness of America 2014@ NACCRRA, all rights reserved

http://www.naccrra.org/sites/default/files/default_site_pages/2011/mo_wcdb.pdf

http://www.earlyinterventionsupport.com/early-intervention-contacts-state

The following domains are as follows: 1: Social-Emotional Development Domain and 2:

Cognitive Development Domain....

Learning style(s) the activity addresses and how are: Visual and Auditory/Listening Reading

Books to Learn about other family dynamics also will help a great deal as well.

References:

http://www.earlyinterventionsupport.com/early-intervention-contacts-state

http://www.naccrra.org/sites/default/files/default_site_pages/2011/mo_wcdb.pdf

http://www.ywcastlouis.org/


http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm#multiple

%20intelligences%20tests.

Follari, L. (2014). Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education: History,

Theories, and Approaches to Learning, 3rd Edition. [Vital Source Bookshelf version]. Retrieved

from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781269918787/id/ch05box21

http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781269918787/id/ch05box21

my teaching philosophy

Documents