My Connections to Play

Playing in Sand

 My fondest memories of childhood are visits to the ocean, playing in the 

sand and searching for seashells. My daughter loves playing in sand, and 

we love to search for "buried treasure." There is something magical about 

digging in sand and searching for magical seashells and buried treasure.

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Riding my bike was a form of relaxation but also a way in which I started learning independence.

 Playing in the park is the universal memory that I share with my children. There is something so amazing about being a child and playing in the park, my favorite times is watching my children run around the park in excitement, it never gets old and they always have the best time!

 “Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.”
~Kay Redfield Jamison 

“It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.” ~ D.W. Winnicott (British pediatrician)

Relationship Reflections

“Relationships matter critically. Consistent relationships with caring
adults are essential for healthy development” (National Scientific
Council on the Developing Child, 2004, p. 5).

“All learning takes place in the context of relationships and is critically
affected by the quality of those relationships” (Norman-Murch, 1996).

“Human relationships, and the effects of relationships on relationships,
are the building blocks of healthy development” (National Research
Council, 2000, p. 4).

Throughout my life, relationships with my family have been at the cornerstone of my foundation. As a child growing up, my closest relationships were with both my grandmothers. I had two grandmothers, my paternal American grandmother and my maternal Israeli grandmother. Although my grandmother lived in Israel, I learned that relationships can still grow and thrive despite being thousands of miles apart. I remember saying goodbye to her when I would leave Israel, and I remember the agony I felt driving away watching her wave and cry goodbye as I sobbed. While I was growing upI have always searched for that closeness and unfortunately have never found it in my own mother. I also have a strong relationship with my father, he was more nurturing than my mother and really cares for his family. Today, my strongest and closest relationships is with both my children. They are my whole life and no other relationships can compare to the depth of love and dedication I have to them. Every relationship that matters to me today is because that person is somehow connected to my children. My father, who is an author and written many books is the most amazing grandfather. He has even written a book he dedicated for them, "Gathering Sparks." He is so devoted to them and inspires me to try and be the best daughter I can. Besides my children and family, I feel a closeness to my son's teachers and therapists who have worked with him since he was three and diagnosed with autism. Every person who has touched our life, and helped him learn and grown is a part of the fabric of our family. I have a few close friends that I have had for many years, they are very important to me. The main criteria I have for a "true" friend is the ability to be myself and know that I am not being judged. And the last and final important relationships is with my brother and sister. Although they both live far away in California and I hardly ever see them, I know that the three of us are bonded for life. My sister is six years younger but she has blossomed into a wise and spiritual adult. She gave me a very strong insight about my relationship with my mother. She said, "Shira, you have the power within you to change the dynamics of your relationship." I really have been meditating on that, and deep down, I know she may be right.
One of my main goals as a parent is that my children always know that they are truly loved, and supporting and nurturing their self-esteem and a feeling of self-worth and self-love. As an early childhood educator I realize the amazing power that a great teacher has to positively impact the life of a child.

A Note of Thanks

I want to thank all my Walden University colleagues and Prof.Kien for offering such an interesting and challenging course. Thank you for helping me grow and learn in this program, I look forward to more classes with you all! I hope you all have the best holidays with family and an amazing New Year!

"Love your child for what he is, not for the prizes, medals, or marks he gets for you. Love is unconditional, conditional love is business." ~Dr. Vinay Jain

Diagnosing Possible Learning Disabilities

In the United States we often take many things for granted, and having the ability to have our children diagnosed with possible learning disabilities and treated in public schools is one of those things we just take for granted. However, in many countries, there are no laws which require that children be diagnosed with disabilities and be provided special services to help with these disabilities. For example, in Israel,"there is no law obligating the schools to identify students with learning disabilities and to design programs for helping them." (1) In 1964, a non-profit called Nitzan which stands for the Israeli Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities, was founded by parents and volunteers who wanted to help provide an assessment tool which could be used to diagnose those who struggle with learning disabilities. According to Nitzan's website, their goal is to "assess and assist individuals with learning disabilities, adaptive problems and functional difficulties and to enable Israelis with learning disabilities to achieve their full potential." This important non-profit also provides employment assistance to adults with learning disabilities as well as "improving the social status of children and youth with learning disabilities." Although it can be difficult to believe, there is actually quite a stigma that comes along with a child having a learning disability. Programs that create awareness about learning disabilities is very important to helping children and adults achieve their potential in life and not be held back by what others consider a disability.

References:http://eng.nitzan-israel.org.il/

Children of Brazil

Children of Brazil

According to many studies, Brazil leads the world in child poverty rates as well as cases of child slavery and malnutrition. Unfortunately the sad reality is that poor children around the world often find themselves in similar situations, just fighting to stay alive everyday. Although Brazil is an important industrial power with one of the strongest economies in Latin America, poverty is still widespread. According to some estimates, upwards of 50% of the population is living on slightly less than US $2.00 per person per day. Brazil is second only to South Africa in the world ranking of income inequality and poverty rates. Approximately 21% of the total population lives in rural areas, and the country has the largest rural poor population in the western hemisphere. In some ways, rural families are more disadvantaged than poor people who live in urban areas. While education and health facilities are more readily accessible to urban than to rural populations, the water supply and sewage systems are generally inadequate in rural areas. With very limited access to technology,families of Brazilian rural communities struggle to supplement farming incomes through salaried labor. The most vulnerable groups among Brazil's rural poor people are women, young people and ethnic minorities. Often, their husbands are forced to migrate to other parts of the country in search of seasonal work, women are left with responsibility for running the family farm as well as the household. In Brazil, there are many forms of discrimination against women that often aggravate poverty in these households such as domestic abuse. In addition to farming, women’s daily household chores often include the critical need to fetch water in addition to all their other responsibilities. As a result of these difficult conditions, child labor becomes used as a another source of family income, as a result child labor is still commonly used among poor households in Brazil. In the poverty zones, especially the North-East, almost 40 per cent of all children between the ages of 10 and 14 work to supplement family incomes. Poverty is also closely related to difficult climatic conditions. Lack of access to formal education and skills training is another major cause of rural poverty. Rural poor have limited access to basic and social infrastructure, and to appropriate technologies and markets, and as a result they have no opportunity to capitalize on farm production or other income-generating enterprises.

STREET CHILDREN OF BRAZIL
Street children are known to receive beatings from the police
or members of the public and also can face imprisonment,
malnutrition, disease and AIDS.
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world with a population
of approximately 190 million people and still growing. The disparity between the rich and the poor in Brazilian society is one of the largest in the world. The richest 1% of Brazil's population control 50% of its income. Whereas the poorest 50% of society live on just 10% of the country's wealth. Street children have become an urban problem which has roots in rural and the displacement of large numbers of people from the land.

References:
http://www.childreninhunger.org.uk
http://gbgm-umc.org/
http://pangaea.org/street_children/latin/prost.htm
http://volunteerbrazil.com/streetkidsproject.html
http://www.children.org/
http://gvnet.com/streetchildren/Brazil.htm

Getting involved, what can you do?

For less than $20 dollars, you can make a huge difference in the lives of the children of Arcozelo. This is also a great project for a Sunday school class or for teens that want to get involved. Please make sure to include a return address so you can have some pictures of the children sent to you, as well as the vegetable gardens.

What you will need:

2 USPS Flat Rate Priority Mail Envelopes

Packets of vegetable seeds, for example: tomato, lettuce, squash, pumkin, cantaloupe, turnips, greenbeans, really anything.

Lipton Iced Tea TO GO packets or Crystal Light, in all flavors, children sell these for a profit to earn some money.

If there is room in the envelope, try to fit some crayons, colored pencils, yo-yos or some small toy such as a toy car or candy. This means so much to the children, who have no toys.

Whatever you can fit in the priority mail envelope, seal tightly. After it is sealed, place it in the second envelope and close. Do not tape the outside of the envelope or they will not mail it from the post office.

Mail it to the following:

Children of Arcozelo- c/o DINA

Estrada da Cachoeir 1700

Pati Do Alferes ARCOZELO

R.J BRAZIL 26950-000

Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself. You can make a difference in the world by giving back, and remember,
everything you give to others comes back to you multiplied. These kids need us, even the smallest bit of help makes a world of difference in the lives of these children.

Pox Parties and Paranoia

I strongly believe in immunizations and I disagree with those who believe it is wrong or dangerous to give their children vaccines, if anything, leaving them unvaccinated seems to be a greater risk. However, for the sake of this article I decided to research the arguments used by those who are anti-vaccines. The first argument they use is that "germ theory is flawed and germs don't make us sick." OK...on to number two, "Immunizations do not guarantee immunity" (and giving your child no vaccine really guarantees no immunity) and drug companies just push vaccines to make money. Next argument, nobody has the right to tell you what to do with your child, you have constitutional rights to refuse medical treatment. (This reminds me of the Christian Scientists in my city who at a football game, when the player has an accident on the field, rather than call an ambulance, the entire team stands in a circle to pray for him.) Another argument, which is quite common is the fear that the MMR vaccine may be linked to causing autism, which has since been disproved. And the last argument, which I find most ridiculous, she states, "Most of these diseases, if contracted today, rarely if ever cause death and are easily dealt with using antibiotics." Apparently getting mumps and measles is no big deal, especially for a newborn. Honestly, this article almost made me crazy! Speaking of crazy, that brings me to the next subject which has been on the evening news for the last week, POX PARTIES! A pox party or flu party is a party meant to gather otherwise healthy children with children who are infected with a childhood disease such as chicken pox, measles or flu in order to infect their child on the premise of building their immune system and avoiding vaccinations. One reason this has become so controversial is that now parents have taken to facebook to find pox parties or sell infected lollipops through the mail (usually $50 bucks a pop) in order to infect their child. Government officials warn, "These parties are not only dangerous, but they are also illegal." (1) What makes these parties most dangerous is that someone is getting an infected lollipop in the mail from a complete stranger, and according to the US attorney in Nashville, "If you think buying a lollipop contaminated with saliva from senders whose children are infected will protect your kids from chiocken pox, think again- because it probably won't. More likely, you will be exposing them to more serious infections such as hepatitis." Besides being dangerous, illegal, reckless and irresponsible, these pox parties place pregnant postal workers at risk of contracting illness from the dangerous contagians being sent through US Mail. Clearly, the situation in spiraling out of control, something needs to be done to educate the public about the dangers of not vaccinating children. Otherwise, besides massive outbreaks, I believe that these pox parties may only be the tip of the iceberg.



http://www.inquisitr.com/157263/chickenpox-lollipops-vaccination-fears-lead-to-pox-parties/

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/11/pox_packages_child_abuse_and_the_violati.php
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/08/pox_party/
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/searching-for-answers/vaccines-autism