Fundamentals of early childhood education Essay

Fundamentals of early childhood education - Essay Example All young children, including those who have disabilities, are dependent upon the experiences and opportunities available within these everyday contexts as they build a solid foundation for development and learning. The assignment delegated to us was to experience and evaluate a child care facility with the view of gaining valuable knowledge on the operations of our future workplace. This I accomplished with such great eagerness as I was able to appreciate the environment. In the following sections, I will be detailing the information that I have garnered during the course of the study. I will be referring to the child care facility as "the center' and will be mentioning people by letters such as A, B, C and the like. This anonymity may seem to be confusing but it is necessary so as to avoid any conflicts that may arise. Lively, very caring, loving and also very cheerful- these are the traits that characterize the staff in the center. When I interviewed a caregiver on what was her ra tionale in caring fro the child, she said that it's necessary to imagine that you're a star. That is be focus of attention and the "twinkle, twinkle" star that brightens the night sky, comforting and inspiring with its presence and light The caregivers were very much sensitive as you can actually observe them tuning in to a child's behavior, taking time to notice and trying to understand what a baby or very young child wants to "say" with movements or sounds, with facial expressions or gestures. Children find all sorts of ways to express their wants, their interests, and their pleasures without ever speaking a word. They notice these cries, hums, kicks, reaches, frowns, chuckles, squeals and gurgles and begins to understand them as clearly as speech. They are also very prompt in responding to a child. A prompt response is one that follows the child's behavior as quickly as possible. Their actions are also very appropriate as they shape her interaction by matching the young child's behavior as closely as possible in terms of features like the loudness or softness of their voice, the level of emotion in their expression, and the kinds of gestures they make. 2.2 Health and Safety With regards to health and safety, the center is very much prepared and has accreditations and permits from different health agencies. These documents were shown to me. The measures they have installed include emergency policies, provisions, and education for staff, children, and parents. In managing injuries, for example, they follow these steps: survey the scene, assess the injured child, provide immediate care for the child including first aid, notify parents, obtain emergency medical care if needed and document and report the incident and actions taken. I was also told that the caregivers communicate sensitively with the injured child and other children during and after injuries and brief their parents to address their fears and concerns. They also have provision for safety surveillance, medication administration, medical emergencies, dental emergencies, first aid, emergency contacts such as police, fire, ambulance, poison control, child protective services, notifying parents, transporting children, evacuation of the site and emergency shelter (e.g., for fire, storm, earthquake, bomb threat, power failure) and dangerous parent situations (e.g., non-custodial parent, intoxication, threat of violence,