Will we have enough room?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom will we have enough room?... That is how I see the classrooms in the center I am observing. The center has a huge growth  in children, but as the rooms grow so does the growing pains. A lot of the new children have learning issues, and have arrived to late to have "screenings" done at the school. In fact the director states "It is summer, we really do not focus on learning but having fun". So what happens  when the child does start the curriculum and there is an issue?

I see these children struggling with every day procedures or activities, how do or does a teacher suggest that perhaps more needs to be done if the school is in "summer mode"?  We also see flustered and anxious teachers because they are unable to work with the students who are showing difficulties with the tasks put in front of them. One of the days I was there the four year old teacher had two children having complete melt-downs, and one with ADHD following the directions of the two having the melt down. There has to be a way to make things work more smoothly, because the more the children got out of hand, the more flustered the teacher got, it went to the point that she had to call the director up to take one to her office. The child was sent home. 

But it is those incidents that are caused by children feeling like they need attention because they are struggling with something, these same children missed the cutoff for early assessment and now they are just barely making it by in the classroom. So once again I wonder when the children enter kindergarten will there be enough room for those children who are exhibiting early signs of behavioral problems.

An Appreciative Thought and Thank You

Well this is our last blog, and it has been fun. I have learned a lot about early intervention and the importance of having it in place whether it be Zero to 3, or Birth to 5. Unfortunately we do not utilize the early services as much as we need to, and a lot of child are suffering and it will affect how the child learns in the long run. I enjoyed my time in the classrooms, and love knowing that there are services that a teacher can give as a resource to those parents who have no idea where to turn.

I have to say this has been a very enlightening semester.  I learned a lot through reading your blogs and comments, and want to thank you for all your contributions to this semester. I appreciate the guidance and input I received not only from our professor but each one of you.  Both the blog comments and discussion board made me rethink some things and understand where others come from on others. 

I have to give a quick note that I wanted you all to know your feedback was very important to my understanding on how we view issues in early childhood education. 

 Learning about so many topics in this class, made me so aware of how big early education is, and how far reaching some of our issues that we are advocating for is. I am so happy to state that everything in this class has been positive and educational. Not only did I learn a lot, and it has been pleasure collaboration between us all. The content in all the blogs was excellent.

I will admit this has been challenging at times but because of this experience I have learned a lot about others teaching styles and where I want to go from here. I feel that I have got to know some of the people in this course, and we have been able to share ideas with each other, an experience I would have never been able to see doing in any other class. I have been encouraged and know it is because of all your blogs that you were able to share with us. I think we have found a community of resources, and know that you will be out there to offer support, and I hope I can be a support to you as well.