1-Discuss the benefits of Infant Massage for infant, mom and dad?

Infant
Stimulate neural development
Better physical development
Baby child bond
Improve sleep
Lowers cortisol levels
Better self-worth when grow older
Healthy touch
Release of endorphins and oxytocin

Mom
Lowers cortisol levels
Helps with postpartum depression re-establish connection with baby
Baby child bond
Release of endorphins and oxytocin

Dad
Gives mom rest
Baby child bond
Release of endorphins and oxytocin

2-What time of day and how often could you give infants massages?

Anytime, whatever works best for the family.

3-How does it help in developing ‘body image’ for the child?

Mentioned above. They felt love from the healthy touch of massages

4-What new information did you learn from video and readings?

How beneficial massages really are.

Section 1: I’m a toddler
Providing abundant and safe opportunities to explore with their bodies and senses, fuels the learning process for toddlers.
• The indoor foam climber in the classroom is a safe option for children to find out what they are able to do and encourages them to try raise or lower the bar and find out what else they can or can’t do.
• In the class when children are on the foam climber, keep a safe distance to be able to stop or redirect danger, but far enough where the child can grow and learn. Sometimes when you tell a child “be careful” you’ve actually struck fear into them. Instead I think telling them to focus would be better.
• In the classroom we use specific praise so the child will focus on the skill and have the ability to build on that skill. “You have strong legs you climbed the stairs so fast.”
Section 2:How does that work
• Children use their gross motor skills to kick balls, run, and throw balls. Sometimes you might see them putting things in their mouth, this is actually a part of their learning development.
• Students fill buckets with animals, dump them, and react with joy. They are exploring their body parts and want to know the cause and effect of things.
• In the classroom the teachers are never too close to each other to cover the room. We stay active by participating in the class and playing with the toys
Section 3: I want that
• The children rarely like to share and the ones that do are from learned behaviors. I am experimenting with telling them to take turns as a mental cue because sharing is a more difficult concept to grasp.
• A child was building and another child came, so I said ask “can I build with you, ” The child asked,then I coached the other child to say “yes or no.”Most of the time, the child says yes, unless it’s a more physical or aggressive child coming to play.

Section 4: Gentle touches
• Child A hits child B then both start crying. Child A doesn’t look like an aggressive or violent child he just didn’t want child B to knock down her blocks and didn’t have the knowledge on how to do that properly. I stepped in and showed her where to build to prevent anybody sneaking up and knocking the tower down. Also, told her to say “no thank you.”
• Instead of telling the child don’t do this or that, I tell the child the behavior I’m looking for. For example in the class the child was running in the class, instead of saying
“no running,” I showed him walking feet and said “we walk in the classroom and run outside.”
• I tend to see that when a child had a bad interaction with another child the teacher will quickly hug and comfort the child. Instead of this I will help the child to express themselves positively and gear those feelings to a productive activity
Section 5: I can do it myself
• The untrained person rushed to wipe the mucus of a child, but this cripples them. One of the children in the classroom had a runny nose, so the teacher directed her to go and wet a paper towel and clean their nose. The teacher further supported the child by holding the paper towel and directed her to blow gently.
• We give the children reminders of the schedule and countdown for transitions so they are not in shock when it’s time to clean up
• During eating we carry conversations about weekends and how their mornings went and guide them when cleaning up by giving them step by step directions.

1. The first thought that pops in my mind is the cognitive domain. Next, the 0-3 window where the child’s brain has the most plasticity. Around the 1970’s a great focus began on the study of the brain. If teachers have knowledge of the brain, they can create better environments for children to succeed. Listening to Mozart makes babies smarter and we only use 10% of our brains our myths. Screaming at babies can lead to smaller brains and fosters fear.

2. I think the advice of being present is the foundation which all the 4 components sit on. I think it should be the first thing we check when trying to overcome any challenge. The next component is being attuned, which is well connected with being present. Some of the ways babies communicate is reading reactions or cues; they’ll look to our face for information.

3. When I’m in the classroom I will be present and continue to bring my mind back to the moment, so I don’t miss any cues from the baby. When I hear a baby or child get hurt, I am going to respond not react by soothing the baby while regulating my own self. When they are in a critical situation, I will do everything I can to help the children feel safe. I will have face to face meaningful interactions to catch the baby while they are being present minded. The visual of a back-and-forth dance with the baby is something I’m going to keep in my mind when engaging with babies.

4. I am a person who likes to know the origins and sources of knowledge. I’m glad there is a section that mentions resources. In the description section a time breakdown of the video is available, which is helpful when watching. Often times after a video your left thinking “what’s next?” But not here they have a section titled Helpful Next Steps. If one were interested, on the side is more videos to help support.

1-Concept development-using descriptive language
a. Bringing children to pictures that are eye level and asking them questions about those pictures. For example, “is this grandma?”
b. Also, if you are changing them, you can bring their focus to an object and ask, “can you point to the heart?” (hanging above nearby)
c. A third example is describing a toy with details. For example, “look at the lion’s long and brown hair.”

2-Describing events and actions
a. Describing washing your hands step by step and narrating the observations. For example, saying “look at all the bubbles.”
b. Describing the movement of a ball. For example, “look how I use my hand to roll the ball to you” or “look how I use my hand to pick up the ball and throw it to you.”

3-Social and emotional development
Learning how to interact with others and explore their environment safely.
a. Asking questions and pausing, giving children time to respond verbally or non.
b. When baby or child is crying, quickly respond because it helps them better describe their needs.
c. Acknowledging positive interactions when children are playing together. “I love how you are sharing; we need to always do this.”

4-Responding to communication attempts
When babies or children react, teachers try to satisfy their want or support them.
a. Baby signals that he wants to be picked up by raising hands; you can say do you want me to pick you up, say pick me up please.” Then, pick up the baby. Even though baby cannot say these words now, you are building language structures in their mind.
b. Baby is in a position and is trying to roll over, but cannot; so, you respond by saying “do you want to roll over.” Then help the baby to roll over increasing the amount of support until the baby turns over.

5-Positive language for guidance
a. Thanking and praising a younger child for helping a baby find a toy and giving them clues to what would be the perfect toy.
b. Pointing to the different body parts and using other children as a scaffold, so students learn from the example.

6-Using language during daily activities
a. Instead of saying no! Saying “feet on the floor” when a child is climbing furniture is better.
b. “Walking feet” instead saying “no running!”

Welcome my brand-new blog at Edublogs!

What started out as an assignment for a class is now my new passion. I plan to blog once every week, so be on the lookout for new material about my classroom, education, and the issues around education. If there is any feedback, please visit my about page for contact info. I look forward to going on this mission together.

Have blessed one!