My Supports

I live in a remote community in the middle of Sumatra, Indonesia.  It is an oil company compound with a several thousand families, of which 30 families are expatriates.  It is very common here to have help in the house to clean, cook, babysit.  Everyone has full time gardeners and drivers.  When first arriving I was appose to the idea of having all these people in my space working for me.  We are living here for my husbands job and I am not able to work here, so I have been home full time with my boys.  I didn't feel that it was necessary to have all the help if I was home and not working.  We have a full time "Ibu", that is Indonesian for Mama and that is the term used here, she cleans and helps me in the house.  We have a part time gardener who also helps me with things like, going into town and running errands.  It is a very different place here and even driving outside the camp is challenging.  There is a big language barrier and my Ibu has good English and helps me to translate.  If we need to go out at night she babysits the boys and know her very well and trust her.  We feel good that we can help to support these families that work for us as they support us in our daily life.  They live in the village and do not have the privileges that we have.  So they bring their washing to be washed and dried at our house and also take fresh water home daily.  We do what we can to make their lives easier as they have certainly made our lives easier. 
As far as emotional support I have my husband who is always willing to listen and give calm and sensible advice.  I have 2 dear friends here that I trust and care about, we often take walks and share our feelings and common problems.

 I have my own mother and my mother in law just a skype call away, even though they are on the other side of the world, Holland and South Africa.
They call the assignment we are on here a hardship and that it certainly is.  Being isolated and also living in a small community has it's challenges, and the support is very welcomed and very helpful.

I think what would be worse for me is if any of my 3 boys had any special needs.  There is no extra support here and besides the teachers, no Occupational therapy or speech therapy, no learning support or behavioural therapists.  If that were case I would not be living here and I would choose to be in a city or a place where I would b

e able to have access to the support that our family needed.  We miss our family support dearly and often it is difficult for us.  We are moving in 2 months as the camp is no longer keeping any Expat families here.  We will move to Holland and I will go back to teaching.  It is an exciting transition and we look forward to being close to family and modern services and support.  I am anxious about the balance of home life, working and the children with no house help - but I know that when I have a routine in place it will all work out.

My Connections to Play

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. 

But for children, play is serious learning"

- Mr Rogers

"Children need the freedom and time to play. 

Play is not a luxury.

Play is a necessity."

- Kay Redfield Jamison

As a little girl I got one of these for Christmas at a young age and I absolutely loved her. I would play Mommy for hours.

Cabbage Patch Kids were a huge craze when I was growing up and we had to go to the shop and formally adopt one.

Something we did very often would be to draw a tennis court on the road infront of the house and play tennis games. 

We grew up with a swimming pool and would spend all summer playing different games in the swimming pool with our cousins and friends.


I grew up in a very playful house, a lot of laughs and a lot of games.  My Dad being a sportsman always had some kind of physical game or big competition going with the kids.  He would engage in hours of playing with us and when I think back he really enjoyed it.  We learnt skills and rules through different games.  40 years later he is playing games with my 3 sons - getting down to their level and engaging with what is important to them and connecting on their level.
My grandmother used to play boardgames with me and bake with me.  She taught me to play cards and different boardgames, we would play and laugh and drink tea together - those memories are yet to fade.  Children want to feel loved and accepted, special and valued - through playing with children adults can share moments on their level and get a better understanding of them. 

Although the world is a faster and more technical place than it was when I was young - essentially play that was present then is still present now.  Many of the games that we played children still play now.  The big problem is that children are often so over stimulated by electronics and television that they don't play.  When these stimuli are taken away children are left to their own devices and imagination and have to room to play again.

Play is an essential part of childhood.  Through play children can model, express and understand the the world around them.  They acquire social skills while playing with others as well as teaching each other different things about the world.  Play is a natural way of learning that is on a child's developmental level and makes sense.  As adults we still play and should.  Sports, board games and playing with children even, these are all positive outlets and important part of our lives. 

RELATIONSHIP REFLECTION

My meaninful relationships in my life


"Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men."

— Albert Einstein

Looking back through the years of life, I could not imagine my memories without the relationships that I have formed and experienced.  All my fondest and also sadness memories are linked to people that I have shared moments, times, experiences and emotions with.  Many of those people have taken separate paths to mine and some are still travelling along side me.  Whether someone shares a season of your life with you or stays for the full journey, the impact can be just as intense and memorable.

My husband and 3 sons are my life and the relationship I share with them is very deep.  My husband I have have been together through thick and thin for 17 years. We continue to learn and deepen our relationship, through mutual trust and respect, communication and putting our family first above all.

For me I have always had the constant of my family, my mother and father, my brother and sister and my Grandmother.  My grandmother that has passed away is the person that has left the biggest imprint in my heart and my life.  I felt her unconditional love always and as a child she was firm and loving.  She was interested in everything about me and I felt that. She taught me things and took me to simple but special places, she made time for me - and I felt that.  She gave me boundaries and love, she was a constant in my life.  Her love never changed nor shifted throughout my life and our relationship grew naturally into that of an adult one. 

Living an expat life that I do, I have made new friends at a later stage in my life.  There is something special about making new friendships but there is also something to be said for old and established friendships.  I have friends from 25 years ago, we don't always keep in touch but when we see each other it's as if no time has passed and we pick up from where we left off.  To share memories and a past together is precious. 
A relationship for me, whether it be friendship or intimate, needs to be based on trust and respect.  We can't want nor expect our friends or partner to have the same thoughts and ideas as we have.  We need to celebrate each others differences and learn from each other.  To foster a good relationship we need to be open and listen to our friends, think about others and make time for them. 
Relationships are not always easy sailing and they require work and dedication.  I have had issues in the past with a friend and even though we both felt very differently about the same situation we talked and decided to agree to disagree - as our friendship was more important that arguing over opinions. 
This posting may be getting long, but I feel that I need to share this special piece that a very person in my life just posted.  I thought it was very apt when talkign about relationships.  SHe has recently given birth to a little girl with mosiac down syndrome and she need open heart surgery.  They do not have the money for the surgery have reached out to friends and family for help.

In the process of living our lives we plant seeds wherever we go with all the people we meet in all the unique ways we influence each other. The initial nourishment and attention given so vital so that the soil can become rich, fertile with inspiration and love.

That encouragement helps the seeds grow up with branches that reach out and bear fruit to nourish others. Remembering its all thanks to the strong roots its been blessed with.
This amazing list of donors reminds me of all the seeds I have had planted and scattered through out my life. How lucky I am that they were given the attention needed to be nourished, inspired and loved. How deep those roots have grown. How beautifully influenced and enriched my life has been as a result. And now, at a time when I need it most, it is raining love on the sweetest little flower in my garden to help her grow strong with encouragement, inspiration and love too.
Thank you all- friends, family, colleagues, students and their families, community networks, acquaintances, friends of friends, strangers... Thank you for your nurture. Thank you for your support.

When working in Early Childhood I made sure to have open and warm relationships with the parents of the children in my class.  For many of them it was their first schooling experience for their child and of course daunting and often emotional.  As a teacher I felt that I needed to be compassionate to that and understanding and by giving the families support they felt cared for and had more confidence in leaving their young children in my care.  It was a mutual respect and the through these relationships the children also felt more secure and happier at school. 

                                            My 3 boys and I, Joshua 4, Jayden 3 & Nicky 1

                                            My beloved Grandmother - Mariella Puccini

                                              The birth of our 3rd son, Nicholas Frank

                                   My brother, Frank, and I growing up with our dog Sandy

                                                    My Mom, brother and sister, Jacinta

My Dad and I, 39 years ago 

Setting up my professional learning community

I have been fortunate enough to have worked at 5 different schools on 3 different continents and through those experiences I have met many diverse and interesting professionals.  I have kept in touch with many of them and have chosen 2 for this excersice.

Julie Hanocque, is a preschool coordinater at International School of Riau (Sumatra - Indonesia)

Frankie Rees - Preschool teacher/coordinator and art teacher at International school of Amsterdam (Holland)

These 2 professions have graciously accepted my request and will gladly help me by answering any questions and giving their opinions.

The organisation that I have chosen is NAEYC.  A good friend and colleague is passionate about this organisation and I have always wanted to know more about it.

"There can be no keener revelation of society's soul than the way in which it treats it's children."

- Nelson Mandela

"Education is the great engine of personal development.  It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of a the mine, that the child of farm workers can become the president."

- Nelson Mandela

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." 

- Nelson Mandela

Testing for Intelligence

This is a very sensitive subject for me as I feel strongly against academic 

testing in the Early Years. I feel that this sort of testing that happens 

in certain educational systems can be more damaging than beneficial.  

There has been extensive research and findings that prove that testing in 

the Early Years is not an accurate nor age appropriate technique to gain 

intellectual in site into a child.  Children develop at their own pace and in 

different ways.  As a teacher I have always respected and valued the 

municipal intelligence theory from Gardner.  He talks about children having

8 different types of intelligences and this is very true.  With these 

academic testing we see that it is very much based on language arts and 

mathematics, only two of the eight intelligences.  It is not age appropriate

to be testing children whos emotional and social development is priority 

at this stage of their lives.  Interestingly enough Wales has changed the 

long standing policy of Britain and has abolished standardized testing for 

children up until age 12.  In Germany there was a study performed over 

time on 2 groups of children.  

Those from an academic kindergarten and those from a play-based Kindergarten.  The tests, that are steered towards those academic 

schools, were done on both sets of children.  Initially the academic 

schooling children did better than the play based one, but by Grade 3 we 

see that the children form the academic style Kindergarten are performing

 considerably poorer and have less reading and mathematics skills those 

those of the play-based Kindergarten.  More notable was the social, emotional state of the 

children and how the children from the academic background were having a

 harder time emotionally.  In Britain children are taught to read very 

young, age 4 and although they may be early readers, research has proven 

that they later are not happy and successful readers, they are almost 

burnt out by their teens. 

I feel that children need to be children and learn about life and life skills 

in a way that fosters their curiosity and passion to learn new things.  

There is a place for academics and for testing but in my opinion that in 

not in the Early Years or even in elementary school.  Teachers can get 

an idea of how children are doing without subjecting them to formal 

testing that causes stress and anxiety.  I have just experienced this as a 

Mother of 3 young boys, 2 of which had to sit these tests.  If your 

child is not reading at Grade level then the test will prove very 

challenging and the results will not be accurate as the child has not been 

able to read the questions completely. Children are naturally competitive 

and although the results are not open the children are aware of who 

finishes first as well as the pressure from parents to do well.  

The important aspects of childhood and successful schooling are in the 

social emotional development, the problem solving skills, the self regulation,

the imagination and curiosity.  These are not benchmarks and cannot be 

tested, yet these are the very elements that lead to a successful and 

happy learner. 

References

http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/mismeasure/genius/research02.html

http://fairtest.org/wales-drops-most-standardized-testing

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/11/24/how-twisted-early-childhood-education-has-become-from-a-child-development-expert/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201505/early-academic-training-produces-long-term-harm

Stressors effecting children around the world

There are many different stressors world wide that effect different groups of children from 
different economically sectors.  It is no not only the poorer children that are effected by 
stressors due to their economical situation but also children that fall pray to chaos or violence 
within their family unit.   am fortunate enough to say that I did not experience any major 
stressors growing up, but I did live in a county where there were many children less fortunate 
than myself.   Growing up In South Africa in the late 70’s and 80’s was a very different experience to what it 
would be now.  The law of apartheid was rife and black people had little to no rights.  
They were severely discriminated against and unfairly treated.  Children did not have right to 
education or other basic rights that the white children received.  This absurd ruling led to 
major poverty and an uneducated generation of people, suffering to survive their circumstances.  
My father, a karate instructor, was very involved with the battle against apartheid and didn’t 
see color or race as something that should be differentiated.  He strove to have people of all 
and every race practicing karate.  He was passionate in his conviction and this led him to later
being under house arrest for breaking the rules of apartheid.  I feel blessed to have been 
bought up in a family where my father made a difference in a time where there was so much 
hatred and so much discrimination.  The children of these impoverished and underprivileged 
families would have suffered a lot from their living conditions they would have endured 
malnutrition and poor health due to bad living conditions.  These people had a great sense of 
traditions and culture even within these boundaries, this was a great savior to their people and 
their families. The children were loved and cared for by not only their families but their 
neighbors and other people in the community.  They came together and stood together.

 With poverty and racism come violence and these children were no exception to that.  
Many witnessed  things that no child should every be a part of, and this lead to many grown up 
criminals.  When thinking about the consequences and the effects on their bio-social, cognitive and psychosocial development, one can clearly see that they would have had 
major disadvantages growing up with no access to education and little access to a clean and 
safe living environment. With little to no education you can imagine that their cognitive 
development was effected and with their poor diet and  threat of disease they would have had 
major effects on the development on a whole. Developmentalists have noted that the 
consequences of malnutrition and poverty have noticeable intellectual effects.

I am pleased to say that South Africa has come a long way, but sad to report that their are still 
many children that are not getting the basic needs that they should be getting.  It will take a 
long time to undo the damage of the past. 

References:

Berger, K. S. (2015). The developing person through childhood (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.