There are three things to keep in mind when thinking about how children learn: a) learning is best done through social construction, b) learning takes place through language, which children develop through repetition and modeling, and c) children learn best when adults provide structures and routines. The theories that I will discuss on this web site are based on the work of Vygotsky and follow the idea of social constructivism. I learned about Vygotsky just prior to having my first child, and I was amazed at how helpful his theories were in preparing my own children for school!

Children learn best through social construction--when they are able to construct their own knowledge through interacting with others. Although adults can certainly teach their children, learning is often even more effective when children are learning with peers--constructing the knowledge together. In preschool, as children play together in different centers, they are constructing knowledge. So, offer you child opportunities to play with other children. Not only will it give you a chance to be with other mothers, it is actually more beneficial to your child--how wonderful!

Learning takes place through language, which children develop through repetition and modeling. Set up opportunities for your child to play other children (again, added bonus that you get to spend time with other parents). For you, part of this time might need to be catching up over a cup of coffee. However, your child also needs guidance. Time and again, children need adults to intervene in their play, proactively guiding them through social interaction.

We have been through this type of interaction umpteen times, but now, as I am cooking dinner in the kitchen, I can hear them using those exact words with one another as they work things out on their own. The power in this type of interaction is two-fold: first, they are learning how to use words and second, they have the control to determine when they give up the toy. The key to remember, however, is that it takes repetition--and a lot of it! Don't despair--they will get it.

Children also learn best when adults provide structures and routines. Our brains respond best when they are given a framework within which to work. Children need us to structure those frameworks for them for them, give them opportunities to practice skills within those frameworks, and, finally, once they are more comfortable, fashion the frameworks into their own way of knowing. Think about the way that musicians work on new pieces. They are given the basic framework of the piece (the key) and specific notes to play. They learn to play the notes of the song and it takes time for them to become comfortable playing those notes. Once they are comfortable, however, they begin to improvise, creating their own music.

Routines work because they are consistent and predictable. Whenever we first introduce a routine, there is often some resistance. However, as long as we consistently follow the routine, the resistance decreases. When I first started trying to brush my son's teeth, he fought tooth and nail (how punny!), but now that he expects his teeth brushed every morning and evening, he happily runs to the sink (okay, maybe not always happily, but he is usually running to make sure that he beats his sister.)

Effective preschools follow routines each day. Typically, this might include open play, circle time, craft time, snack, story time, and music. Whatever the activities, the children have a good idea of their order each day. Although it is not important (and is virtually impossible) to organize such firm routines at home, it is helpful to ensure that your child has a specific structure to his or her day. For some children, predictability is more important than for others, but all children appreciate having some understanding of what comes next.

The thing that I really want to talk about here today is what you will plan on doing after you graduate Planning what you will be doing after college is essential and it'll make it much easier to pay off any debt that you may off. Most of the time, people just simply find themselves in a lot of debt and its just hard to get out of it. So the best thing to avoid getting into all this debt in the first place is to not take out too many of these  student loans .

In fact, you should have a plan to repay it all. I didn't have a plan to repay it all and when I graduated, I found myself just kinda scrambling around and looking for jobs here and there and had to settle for a low end job. Lately I've been researching these things that allows you to get money to pay off your loans. Now that's an interesting concept. On average it'll take a new college graduate around 6 months to 1 year to finally land a job that is related to their field of study. Many of these jobs are entry levels and that just kinda sucks.

I had a college buddy of mine really went out of his way to make sure that he paid off every debt he accumulated while he was still in college. To my knowledge, the only real way to do this is to get a full time job while you are still in college. So if you are still in college and doing full time work, then you're gonna have a hard time picking up that grade. Consolidating your student loans can easily make them more management and quicker for you to pay off. A good practice is to keep a complete listing of any kind of loans that you have taken out while in college and to calculate your monthly repayment.

Today was really my first official day interning in the County of La Probation Department. The Probation Department being the huge department that it's provides extensive potential interning sites, and so i said excitedly the website I preferred to intern at what food was in certainly one of their juvenile detention camps. With this particular information, they sent me right now to my official intern site at Juvenile Camping Glenn Rockey in San Dimas the nearest camping to Whittier College. Being my first day I had been introduce to any or all employees working, that one I scheduled my 120 hrs for that month. No sooner did I step feet onto the yard (entertainment center for that juveniles) there have been kids’ equine experimenting and disobeying staff orders, so within the words of among the staff “I reached see action inside the first half an hour of my first day.” It was true since it did produce an opportunity to observe how staff regains treatments for a juvenile who's causing problems. Both kids active in the incident were make the SHU, Special Handling Unit, that is where I spent the majority of the day. Within the SHU I and the other intern did an exam and among the juveniles, that is where we request them regarding their problem behavior that arrived them within the SHU. My day ended once the change ended at 10 am, all of the kids were bathed as well as in their rooms, while staff remained completing the boat loads of documents for your day.

About this day, April fourth, the big event that separated itself for me personally probably the most, when i pointed out, was the equine play and also the disobedience of staff orders by the juveniles, that we observed inside the first half an hour of my internship. To enter greater detail around the incident, everything began whenever a Latino juvenile leaped with an Black juvenile’s back. These were purchased through the AD, Acting Director, to prevent equine playing, which they didn't and both were purchased to visit the SHU this they didn't do voluntarily. The Latino juvenile designed a scene playing around the yard right up until staff corned him and escorted him towards the SHU. For the Black juvenile, it required him some time but he walked themself towards the SHU, but declined to enter his designated SHU room, so staff needed to go on the job and physically put him in the room. I didn't play any vital role within this event in addition to an outdoors observer. Despite the fact that I wasn't permitted to aid in this incident and did find out how staff responds to whenever a juveniles act up and the steps needed they decide to try restore/keep treatments for the problem. Ultimately I disappeared with this particular understanding and both juveniles were put into the rooms securely, however i did hear later that although going on the job the juvenile bit the staff and started another.

Today I went in only using the understanding of methods a juvenile hall operates from the previous internship, but after investing your day at juvenile camping Now i understand how a juvenile camping differs and is comparable to a juvenile hall. The trainer told us this camping was diverse from every other juvenile hall or camping because every kid in Camping Rockey had some kind of disability. Knowing i examined the juveniles more i quickly always might have, but ultimately I came to the conclusion that the juvenile, disability or otherwise, is simply a troubled kid. I additionally found that a camping, a minimum of that one, is simply a huge juvenile hall that enables the juveniles more freedom to roam around. The SHU is how I felt probably the most knowledgeable since it appeared to operate and act as being a unit inside a juvenile hall would. Therefore if I needed to say I learned anything today it might be that the camping certainly enables more freedom and privileges for the children and fewer for that staff.

Searching back on today, I wouldn’t say I'd did much in a different way because like me just an intern, I am unable to do much if this involves close interactions using the juveniles. I'd have loved to assist once the occurrences happened, but all I'm able to do for the time being would be to study from things i see staff do. Something I'd of loved to possess done today is viewed the dorms (their living space), which we was without here we are at. Therefore if I'd change anything it might be searching more to determine the dorms, however i know I'll get lots of more chances to do this. Ultimately, I'd say the one thing I had been most happy with is when much my very own personal understanding in the hall really compensated off within camping. The AD even stated he felt he could let me know much more about the camping compared to other intern while he could tell I'd lots of understanding in this region, that we could honestly say helped me feel truly happy with myself. It had been an excellent first day.

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