As I sit here preparing this final blog entry for EDUC 6160-7 (AKA) Child Growth and Development, I also think that my family is upstairs waiting for me to begin the holiday celebrations with them and here I sit....Our 18 hour quick trip to pick up my son from college turned into a white knuckled 36 hour snow-packed, icy road and high wind roller coaster ride. We made it home safely and for that I am thankful. Too I am thankful that this semester is coming to an end and I can get a little down time with my children. Because after all that's why I am here...children are my life!
When I think of child development I think of more than the physical child; I think body, brain and being. A child is not whole until we put all the pieces together--physical, cognitive and social emotional--giving them exactly what they need to be successful.
It is my job as a Teacher, Director, Early Childhood Adult Educator, Advocate, Aunt, and Mom to create a world where our gift to children is the gift of completeness.
Because it is Christmas time let me give you a little analogy:
It is a rather small and unappealing tree or maybe a child, it's got a few gaps and is a little rough around the edges...what happens next?
Charlie Brown gave it a warm place to grow, be safe, feel love added a little bit of information to fill in those gaps. He gave it the power to shine...
Until we meet again let me throw one more thing out there:
"Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children" (Chief Sitting Bull, Lakota Sioux)
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"The greatest gifts we can hope to give our children: one is roots, the other wings." (Hodding Carter)
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a wonderfulled holiday season complete with love and laughter.
I agree that children are much like the tree in the Charlie Brown movie. They too need to be loved, feel safe, and need space to grow. You are so right when you say that child develoment consists of the whole child, which includes physical, cognitive, and social-emotional. The whole child has to be developed in order to be successful in life. Great post!
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