Harry Harlow Monkey Experiment

After watching this video it is shown that Harry Harlow uses a monkey in his experiment to see which type of mother he prefers; a wire mother who nurses or a cloth mother who provides comfort. It was obtained from the experiment that the monkey spent 17 to 18 hours a day with the cloth mother and less than 1 hour a day with the nursing wire mother. What is really love? I believe from this video that the monkey preferred the mother of cloth over the mother of wire because comfort is necessary in order for one to develop. Being comforted is much more worthwile then being lonely. Cloth is much more satisfying then wire.

He's up up and away!

Today was the final day at St. Mary's. The theme was all about Super Heros so my group and I made sure to go all out=). My group and I were in charge of the special projects, which meant that we took care of the equipment room, were in charge of the song of the day, one game, and the closing cheer. When it our time to show the game, the children seemed to be much more involved and more excited then they usually were on other days. I believe it was our costumes that made the children truly interested in participating. The game went well, and when it came time to introduce our song we gathered the children and Cortland students into a big circle. The song went " There goes the super hero watch him go, flying, flying, he's up up and away!" We used differnt moves throughout the song, and it seemed fairly easy for the children to pick up. My group and I closed the day with a cheer, and then we said our goodbye's to the children. It was almost sad to leave, because I felt that I really connected with the children. Certain children remebered my name and always wanted to play when I came into the gymnasium. It felt good to know that I had some kind of impact on them, as well as they did on me. Looking back at day 1 in St. Mary's to today, I know that I have really changed as a teacher & leader. I now know that working with children and helping them to stay active while teaching them skills that they can use in their everyday is what I want to do. I spent some time this semester thinking if my major as Psychology was really what I wanted to do, but now I know that Physical Education is where my heart really is. Switching back into the P. E. major is the best decision at this time in my life, and I know that it will benifit me and also the children that I aspire to work with.

" Move Around ! "

This is my group and I performing our infant skip to the song Move Around. It was a great time!

Buzzing Kick's

Today at St. Mary's was a new experience. We were told that the gymnasium was closed due to a spring concert, and that we had to play with the children outside. At first I have to admit I was scared about how the children would be ourdoors, and came to find out that it was a definite eye opener on how one should come across when trying to teach children. My group and I started the game and activitys. My group member Stephanie set up different stations where the children would participate in activitys where they bounced and kicked balls. She made the theme of her stations Toy Story related. Controlling the children was a had task, and at times being outside made them more out of control then usual. It was difficult to make all of the children hear what you had to say, so using a loud and clear voice was always needed. Stephanie's activity went well, and with group members at each station the children had someone to ask if they didn't understand what it is exactly that they needed to do. Kyle went next, and his game strictly involved kicking the ball. There were many balls in his game so at times the children did get riled up and balls ended up going everywhere. But again, when we had group members assigned with different groups of children, everything became much more controlled. We did not have time for my game, because the next group had to start on their activitys. My game was a drill that involved both kicking and bouncing. I made Buzzlightyear flash cards for the children which related to the Toy Story theme. All in all, it was a good day outside it just took some time to get used to the new environment.

Day 4, The Easter Bunny is Coming!

Today at St. Mary's involved great Easter Fun. I thought it would be a good idea to bring some visual props to excite the children, so my group and I came prepared with Easter Bunny ears & Easter egg necklaces. As soon as we put the props on the children become overjoyed and came running over to us. The Bunny ears definitely caught the children's attention and made them ready to interact in all of our Easter activites. The day started off with my group and I observing the children participate in activities where they were working on skills such as the overhand throw and catch. We watched a girl named Mady and a boy named Garrett's reaction to both skills. As they passed a ball back and forth to each other, Mady struggled a little more then Garrett in how she did the " T " and extended her arm during the throw. Mady did an underhand toss almost every time instead of any initiation of a wind up. She didn't have any follow-through or weight transfer during the attempt. Garrett was succesful in the overhand throw for the most part, but had trouble rotating his body. When catching the ball, again Mady struggled and caught the ball close to her chest; almost using her chest as a backboard. Garrett was good at catching, he flexed his elbows and held his friends infront of his body. After observing the children, my group and I posted the collages that the Cortland student's made onto posterboard, and put the poster board on the door of the St. Mary's gymnasium. We tried to be as creative as possible as we decorated the door's, and took our time making sure that they looked great. Next my group and I cleaned up the exquipment room. It took a little while and we did our best. When it was our turn for my group's activity, we split up the children into two different groups. The goal of our game was to have to have the children participate in different skills such as hoping, skipping, jumping. We placed Easter cards with instructions such as " hop 5 times ", " jump 10 times on your right foot", after finishing the skill the children could pick up a nearby bean bag and run to the oppoiste end to place the bean bag in a Houla Hoop. Then the children would run back to the Easter cards and complete another task until all the Easter cards were picked up. Our game was a good time, and I felt like the children really liked it. My group and I were assigned to make up a Easter themed song, and to teach it to both the children and Cortland students. It was a fairly easy song to follow, and we sang it togeather 4 times. To close up the day my group did an end of the day Easter cheer. All in all, it was a great Easter filled day. I had a good time with the children, and I hope they enjoyed us ! =)

Childhood Growth & Motor Development

http://prezi.com/stkwxdmofxex/

Dinosaur fun !

Day 3 with the St. Mary's children was a blast. The theme was dinosaur related, so my group and I dedicated our games and activites to dino fun. We brought props for our games, coloring cartoons, and also dinosaur books. We each dedicated our time with the children to have a dinosaur twist. When first arriving at the gymnasium, my group and I observed children jumping, sliding, and leaping. We were assigned to watch a red headed girl and a boy named Zaine. The girl and the boy were good at jumping, but at times both didn't quite land with two feet on the ground. Zaine slid well, but the slide for the girl seemed like more of a jumping motion. The leap for Zaine seemed to have hopping included in it, while the girl continued to have a walk rather then a leap. The girl did not seem as interested in the activity as Zaine, and did not really pay attention when the Cortland students were giving out directions. After the gymnasium my group and I went to the Pre-k room. The children were awesome! I found it really easy to capture the attention of this age group, and had fun playing house with two of the girls. After snack time Stephanie and I each read a story to the children. I found that when you truly put a lot of excitement and enthusiasm into the story that the children focus more on what is being read. My story was about Princess Dinosaur who had to find her way back to the toy box before the family dog Spot could reach her. It was an easy story to understand and the children seemed to enjoy it. After spending time in the Pre-k room my group and I headed to the gymnasium. Kyle, and Stephanie did great with their games, and the children loved the props that they used. It seemed that the more props the easier it was to grasp the children's attention. We ended the day with a group sing-a-long to the dinosaur hokey pokey. As a group we really involved the children into the song, and it was a great way to end the day.