I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone that I have gone through this program with. As I started it back in 2010, I didn't think that I would ever finish. I persevered and even took 3 classes at one time. As a single mom and having to work full time while going to school, this was very challenging but I am actually going to finish.
I now know that I perseverance is a very important factor in becoming an advocate and I know that I have it in me to make it happen. Anything that I am passionate about in Early Childhood, I will be an advocate for.
Thank you to Professor McDevitt for talking to me and giving me some helpful advice. Thank you to Professor Puntil-Wilcek for all the helpful feedback on my research paper. Thank you to all my my classmates for posting some very insightful blogs and discussions. I have learned a lot from just reading from those.
Good luck to everyone in their Early Childhood careers!!!

Enlisting and Providing Support

• Questions you have with which your colleagues may be able to provide help and support
• Resources and information you are seeking
• Resources and/or information you have found helpful and insightful

This is probably the hardest assignment that I have ever worked on. I think that what I am having the biggest problem with is writing the plan it self. In my mind, I know what I want to do and what I want to accomplish but to put it into writing and action is another story. Does anyone have any helpful hints? Also, How is everyone presenting your plan to your group? I have found some information on the NEA (National Education Association) website. It lists lots of different issues and actions that may be helpful to some of you like child nutrition and IDEA/special education. 

Hello Again! My personal advocacy journey

I am back for round two of my Early childhood Internship. This blog is titled "My personal advocacy Journey". I have learned a lot about being passionate for something and fighting to make a change. I think that is what advocacy is all about. 

“Its hard to wait around for something you know might never happen; but its harder to give up when you know its everything you want.” – Unknown(Brown 2012)

Sometimes you may think that it may never happen but you will never know unless you try to make it happen. The harder you try, the better of a chance you have to succeed.

• What inspires and excites you most about your advocacy plan and being an advocate?
• I am inspired to make a difference. I have always wanted to do something in my life to make a difference in someone else's and this plan may be able to do that. My reading plan could inspire parents to read more to their children so that the children can be successful in school 
• What challenges and/or anxieties do you feel related to engaging in the advocacy efforts you have targeted?
• my challenge that I am facing is the organization of the advocacy plan. I know that once i get it well thought out and planned then I will be able to implement it fine. I am not the most organized person and work best under pressure and at the last minute. I think that is what I am used to. I need to learn to plan more in life and things may go a lot smoother. 
• What do you believe will be most effective in helping you overcome any challenging emotions you may be feeling with regard to presenting and implementing your Advocacy Action Plan?
• Time would be my most valuable asset to overcoming this challenge. i need to set aside a certain amount of time to work on my plan so that I can get it done and make it work. 
• How can you encourage others in their advocacy efforts, and how can others encourage you?
• I can share as much knowledge as I have in their advocacy plan topic and give them whatever helpful advice I have myself. I can give them positive feedback to keep them on the right track. I hope that others can do the same for me. i am willing to listen and learn to what ever people have to say.

Brown, Joel retrieved from http://addicted2success.com/quotes/37-inspirational-quotes-that-will-change-your-life/ 2012

starting my last course.....EDU 455

This Blog post is the beginning of EDU 455, the second half of the Internship at Kendall College.
Thank You

Thank You and Good Luck!!!!

I want to give everyone in this Internship class a great big round of applause. We are half done with the Intern and 1 quarter left before we are completely finished. This quarter was a lot of work and a lot of new information to learn. I want to thank everyone for being very informative and insightful. I learned a lot from each blog post that I read. I wish you all good luck with your careers and I hope that you can make a difference in the lives of children in some way. I want to thank Professor Sisie Puntil-Wilcek for being very helpful, patient, knowledgable and insigntful. Your feedback has been wonderful.  It has been a great class.

Observing and Interacting With Families of the Children in Your Setting

Blog #4 Christina Graves
2/25/13

I observed and interacted with my parents in my own classroom as I start to prepare for an month long reading project in March. To celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss and Read Across America, the national effort to get people to read to children, I am planning a reading event of my own. I am having a Mystery reader come into the class to read each day of March, hopefully. This all is up to how many parents I get to volunteer. It should be pretty interesting. So, in preparation for this, I have been interacting with parents, director of our center, director of the Y and other community helpers. I am trying to get a fireman to come. Well, I introduced it by putting the information on the parent board which is right inside the classroom door on Thursday. Today, Monday, I have one parent signed up and a few more saying they will. One said she saw it but didn’t read it so she read it today and hopefully thinking about it.

One learning experience that I have had is that it is not easy to get parents to volunteer for something even so simple as one book. I was wondering if I should use a little bribery and get like may be a coupon from DQ or Macdonald’s or something if they come and read. This leads to one insight that I have gained from interacting with the families. I have had a few that were totally excited. One mom is getting both grandparents involved but most seem to be ignoring the event all together. I hope it will just take some time for them to plan and schedule the time. One the other hand, the managers and directors at The Ymca are all getting involved in this. I have 3 already and hoping for more.

Observing and Interacting With Program Director(s) and Other Administrative Staff in Your Settings

February 12, 2013

Christina Graves

The program director at the YMCA Kidcare Station is Ms. Linda and she definitely has a busy job. In the last two weeks that I have observed her, she reorganized the menus for all the meals, billed, collected and entered payments for tuition, webinar trainings, and whatever spontaneous problems or situations came about.

One insight that I saw during this time that is related to reading to children is the parental involvement (or lack of) and lack of commitment to their child’s education. Ms. Linda told me that she has seen parents barely walk in the door of the classroom to sign them in, let alone walk them to the bathroom to make sure they wash their hands like they should. She can’t imagine that these same parents would read to their children on a daily basis. Ms. Linda also is in charge of the Scholastic book orders that parents can get. This month, the order only had one parent get any books. . I know that the Ymca is all about advocating to get the children healthy and active. They are working on the Strong Kids campaign right now and Ms. Linda has to get so much money from people. It is quite a chore but people seem to believe that this is important for children. If only we can get the importance of reading to children and how it will help them grow mentally and socially as well as physically,  being a teacher would be a lot easier for the fact that parents would be on board to help.