Sandra Candelas

Professor: Hearns
Child Dev 259

Introduction of Self

My name is Sandra Candelas and I am majoring in the field of Early Childhood

Education. I am in the field because I enjoy working with children. It is fascinating observing
children when curiosity is a medium for discovery and understanding of how things work. They
have (what is called) a beginners mind and seem as if they are very mindful of their
surroundings. When children are as young as three, they dont make interpretations of whether
something is good or bad. Messages of good or bad, right or wrong are received through
experiences. Therefore, the importance of promoting positive experiences is essential in creating
a positive mindset. Moreover, it is intriguing listening to childrens viewpoints in large group
discussions. They are spontaneous and cleaver. One of the most fascinating qualities to watch, is
their ability of freedom. They are not self-conscious as many adults are, they simply enjoy
dancing and being themselves. As a future teacher, my job is to provide students with health,
nutrition, safety as well as a meaningful education in the school setting. Throughout my journey
in becoming a teacher, NAEYC requires for student teachers to meet certain criteria standards.

Some of the requirements include but are not limited to, Standard
1: promoting child development and learning, Standard 2: Building
family and community relationships, Standard: Observing,

documenting, and assessing to support young children and

families, Standard 4: using developmentally effective approaches
to connect with children and families, Standard 5: using content
knowledge to build meaningful curriculum, Standard 6: Becoming
a Professional (Feeney, 2009). The Understanding of child
development and how children learn allows for activity planning
and implementation of meaningful activities for young children.

Completion of curriculum core classes has meet the NAEYC standards. For example,
Child Development 101, focused in the development of not only the child but Human
Development. During class discussions the following was viewed: biological beginnings,
prenatal development, conception, birth process, infancy, early childhood and many of the
theories from Eric Erikson and Jean Piaget. Many of Jean Piagets theories of cognitive
development and Eric Erikson stages of development were thought-provoking since he placed an
emphasis on the thought of development being a life span. According to Eric Erikson, people go
through life stages accomplishing certain goals.
Child Development 260, implemented the importance of understanding the child in the
community. Different cultures as well as religious beliefs have an important impact on the child
in regards to values. The media has an influence as well. As professionals, we must come to
understand different beliefs in a diverse country. Being able to take an objective stance and an
open mind, is a quality teachers must practice. This is important because what might be wrong to

one might be right to another. Being able to find a middle ground, is the best position to look at
in any situation when interacting with parents. There is no wrong or right when it comes to
certain beliefs as long as it is not abusive towards a child. In addition, class discussions covered
topics that demonstrated the cause and effects of childhood abuse and neglect, which has
profoundly shaped my understanding of the needs of children.
Child Development 258, was a pre practicum, where the implementation of all child
development knowledge was reflected through a hands on field experience. During the course we
practiced developmental appropriate practices which reflect the NAEYC standards for early
childhood education. Developmentally appropriate practice means to develop curriculum
according to child development knowledge and what is individually and culturally appropriate.
Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP), is also about meeting children where they are in
regards to development and creating activities that extend their knowledge. Part of the
requirement in completing the course, was 45 hours of out of class assignments. Activities were
created based on a theme the student picked, and had to be implemented during the 45 hours at
our site. Activities were designed to target all developmental domains which are physical,
language, social, cognitive, creative and emotional. The pre practicum gave an overall
experience of the preschool setting. At the preschool site, during morning large group times, we
sang a good morning song, went over jobs, and counted the children who came to school, and
discussed small activities. The head teacher, Ms. Katrina was a great resource and allowed me to
run the morning part of class which was a remarkable experience.

Overall, academic out of class work required certain child observation hours.
Observations were based on different focuses. For example, Child Development 101, required
for observation hours of the development of a child in the social/ emotional context. Our paper
reflected child interactions with children and teachers. Child Development 120, required
observation hours of a classroom setting. Research on the history, philosophy, sponsorship,
tuition, staff ratios and teacher qualifications, were made for the program. Child Development
Early Language Arts 109, required an observation of three hours of a preschool and their use of
language arts. We observed and completed a checklist of the use of language arts in the
classroom environment. Observations focused on certain elements such as number of books,
print around the classroom, writing materials, tools to help children form letters, classroom
management, and literacy activities. The checklist was an evaluation of the classroom that was
further turned into a midterm paper.
In addition, I am currently enrolled in practicum were the completion of three hundred
hours are required in a NAEYC accredited program. In practicum, Students are given the
opportunity to create activities with a purpose, implement and evaluate activities. The evaluation
process allows to identify and pull children that need help into small groups to work on certain
skills. Moreover, it is also essential to a childs academic success, to identify needs. Overall,
academic experiences as well as background knowledge has not only given an in depth
understanding of the whole child in regards to their development, but the skills to create
meaningful activities that are age, individually, and culturally appropriate.

References
Feeney, S. M. (2013). Who Am I in the Lives of Children? U.S.A: PEARSON.