Journal 4.1

A parent of a 5-year-old comes in to talk to you about his child's learning in your classroom. "When I watch him with his friends in the neighborhood or at home, all they do is play. They play with those little cars and trucks, build things with Legos, and use a lot of cardboard and tape to make garages. I can see that it's kind of creative, but how is he learning?" Practice what you will say to this parent and to others about the value of play.



I would tell this parent that his child is learning through his play. By playing with blocks and cars, his child is developing hand/eye coordination. His child may also be learning about shapes and properties of blocks. He is also using his imagination. When using tape for his cardboard garages, he may be using some fine motor skills to manipulate the tape. A child's play is extremely valuable. They are constantly learning through play even if it doesn't look like it. Children should always be encouraged to play as they are really learning valuable skills.

Positive Checklist for the Semester

• Having friends in each class (because we had all of the same classes!)
• Feeling like all of my classes are actually applicable
• Staying in the same class at elementary school all semester
• Teaching actual lessons (and doing a pretty good job!)
• Feeling like I can actually teach
• Getting good grades
• Doing projects rather than lots and lots of homework
  

Poverty

I know that when making up blogs, we don't have to do the original ones, but I really want to write about the video we watched. Tammy (the mother) worked extremely hard every day. She was trying to play the roles of both parents and keep a full time job. This was especially hard as she also walked to and from work each day. She led an extremely difficult life and I can't imagine having to take on what she did. Although she led such a rough life, it's also hard to justify her treatment of her children. It's obvious that they wanted more than the poverty that they lived in. She almost discouraged them by telling them how they wouldn't get out of it. I would never want my children to be ashamed of me, but I would always want them to do their best and try their hardest.