Inspirational Quotes

The isolated and simultaneous action of our senses exerts a powerful influence upon the formation and development of our ideas.
-Jean Marc Gaspard Itard


"The preschool years are critical, they are the first most fundamental period when children are in fact noticing who they are and are noticing the attitudes and the stereotypes and the discomforts or the positive messages about their skin color, their racial identity, their ethnic identity and so on."
-Louise Derman-Sparks, on the reason for her passion for early childhood

"We as professionals in the early childhood field have an opportunity to shape a child's life for the better."
                                                                                                        -  Sandy Escobido

Personal Childhood Web

 This first person that influenced my childhood is my mother. She gave me life, showed me love, and instilled in me everything that I know now. She was a provider, my best friend, a leader, and my disciplinarian. She taught me right from wrong and though I didn't always listen she still loved me the same. She is the reason that I am the woman that I am today.

This is my older cousin Kemisha. She has had a major influence in my life because she was like the older sister that I never had. When I needed advice and felt like I could not talk to my mother about it she always had a listening ear. She is now the God Mother to my daughter and loves her and calls her her niece. She has been a role model for me since I could remember. She has taught me some valuable life lessons and we have shared many laughs and cries(we still do!). I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world even though we fuss and fight, the love never changes. 

 This is my grandfather. He practically raised me along with my mother. I remember all the summer vacations, family reunion trips, holiday family gatherings, and school functions, and all of those memories include this man. He has been like my father figure and has done a spectacular job! He taught me about Christ and made sure that I was in church every Sunday, he taught me how to ride a bike, and he even taught me how to drive. I am so thankful that he is apart of my childhood web and that I have had the opportunity to share my life with such a special person. He may fuss at me but the love just grows stronger and stronger.

 This handsome young fellow holding my daughter is my little brother. He came along later in my childhood but influenced it just as much as if he was there since I was born. He was born when I was 13 years old and he is who truly taught me to be a leader. When I realized that there was a little person that looked up to me and admired me, I began to realize the importance of my actions. He has taught me how to teach and instill morals in a little person and has a lot to do with why I chose to become a teacher in the first place.I love him with all my heart and I stay on him hard but I know that it will pay off. He will be very successful one day.

Last but definitely not least, my gran gran. Oh how I miss this lady. This is my grandmother, she passed away in 1996 and before I had the opportunity to cherish her as I would have like. Even though I was young when she passed I remember everything about her. Her scent, how she used to take me for snow cones when she picked me up from daycare, how she called my her jazzypooh, how she would take me for the day and we would go to all her friends houses and they would pinch my jaws, and even how she used to keep a warm smile on her face. She was the best grandmother that I could ever even dream about having, and I am privileged to have had her in my life.  She taught me what it meant to be strong, how to have a pure heart, and how to be a genuine and loving person to anyone who crosses my path.

Week 2: Favorite Children's Quote, Children's Book, and Story about a Child

This book has been a favorite of mine since I can remember. It is full of color and mystery to figure out the next object that catches Brown Bear's eyes! I remember my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Campbell, reading this story to us and when I left school I made my mother buy this book for me. I even bought it for my daughter! Great childrens story!

MeetSt. Judepatient Audrey

Corinne, an attorney, let her assistant know she’d be out of the office that afternoon to take her daughter, Audrey, to the doctor.

That was in May 2013. Corinne hasn’t been back to work since.

Eight-month-old Audrey had been sickly all her young life, but this time when the doctor examined her, he saw her stomach was distended. He referred Audrey to the affiliate clinic of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital near her Louisiana home, where she was found to suffer from neuroblastoma, a cancer originating in nerve cells.

Audrey had two tumors in her abdomen, three tumors in her head and cancer cells in her bone marrow.

Within a week and a half of arriving at the affiliate, the tumors had grown so rapidly Audrey could no longer sit up or eat.

Doctors referred her to St. Jude because St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for some of the most aggressive childhood cancers.

At St. Jude, Audrey was started on an intensive treatment plan of chemotherapy, surgery, a bone marrow transplant, radiation therapy and antibody therapy. Then, just as Audrey’s family was ready to celebrate the completion of her treatment, the cancer came back. This time in Audrey's leg.

The family’s journey was beginning again.

“It’s been so scary, but at the same time, it’s taught me a lot of life’s lessons,” Corinne reflected. “One of the biggest is the goodness of people, and I think that’s exemplified through St. Jude. The thought of how Danny Thomas had this vision — to see it come to fruition is amazing. Without a doubt, it saved my baby’s life.”

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. “Other people that aren’t at St. Jude have a whole lot more to deal with, because they have to figure out a way to pay,” said Corinne. “Thankfully, those are issues we don’t have to have. I could work ten jobs and still not be able to pay for all the treatment Audrey’s received.”

Today, Audrey is 2 years old. Amazingly, all she’s been through doesn’t seem to get her down. “She’s got the best laugh,” said Corinne.

“She is really funny. She’s smart. She loves to dance, and she loves her music. She doesn’t let anything stop her.”

St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. Because, in the words of Danny Thomas, “No child should die in the dawn of life.”

Week 1

I have been fascinated with young minds every since I can remember. Now that I have a little one of my own, the way that they perceive the world just blows my mind. From the way that imaginative play consumes their day to day actions to the way that social interactions shape their vocabulary, it is extraordinary to study. I have always expressed a great passion for children, but to actually study their interactions and development throughout adolescence has been a true eye opener. From birth through toddlerhood are the most intricate years of a child and those years define the success factors going into the school years. Influential milestones such as singing to your little one in the womb, to reading books at bedtime, and making silly songs at bath time can all play vital roles to vocabulary, speech, and thought processing. I am excited to be in this course and field, to learn so much more about the childhood stages.