ERIKA MALDONADO 4 HD303

I feel I have met my goals from taking HD 303, The Earliest Years. I wanted to
gain knowledge of infancy and what is needed to help support a healthy upbringing which I
honestly did gained that and more through this course. I also wanted to understand how the
birthing process impacts infancy development through my research, without knowing how much
my eyes would be opened. The last goal I had was to be able to help classmates in this course
through my personal experiences & learn from them as well. I believe I have accomplished that
goal as well as classmates have been giving me positive feedback on my sharing and reflections.
The required readings for this course have added to my knowledge of infancy
development, along with class discussion and prior cultural awareness which have all assisted me
with cognizance as to the importance of culture in infants and their family. I am better able to
examine the culture of the infants I work with through thoughtful and detailed observations and
parent communication. It is beneficial to have cultural awareness and understanding of how
others raise or up bring a child. Different cultures have different parenting styles that may get in
the way of ones own philosophy or comfort. We do not necessarily need to agree, participate or
condone such practices yet respect their beliefs and values.
Because healthy brain development in infants is truly important, I have a new technique
through this course which will be beneficial to my work with infants. I plan on fostering this
through extensive observations to better understand the rhythm, of the infants in my care. When
working closely with infants I will take into consideration the hierarchy of the brain, hindbrain
(survival thinker), midbrain (emotional thinker) and forebrain (rational thinker) when developing
a program for my class or center to help each child master each developmental stage while
embracing each childs uniqueness. This course has given me powerful tools to better understand
infants and all that they encompass.

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ERIKA MALDONADO 4 HD303

Through my new acquired method of observation I plan on fostering positive attachment
relationships among infants and myself by observing and responding to their cues. Being aware
of what infants are trying to communicate without being verbal through body language and cries
and catering to their needs will help me foster positive attachment. I plan on having open and
respectful communication with infants family and my co-workers to assist the infants positive
attached relationships. I will make sure we are all on the same page unanimously caring for the
infant at all times. I plan on fostering infants psychosocial development through free exploration
and autonomy play as it is substantial in early infancy stages. Through observation, I will be
better able to help infants develop positive psychosocial skills by modeling such skills needed
and offering play throughout the day. I am aware that culture, family and community shape
temperament styles in infants. As such I will cater to individual needs of the infants I care for by
providing opportunities for active play, ample room for movement and active motor activities for
those that have a high temperament and the opposite for low temperament infants.
Prior to taking this course I did not have professional experience working with infants at
all as that was an age I was not comfortable working with and always avoided taking infant
classes in college as well. The contributions I made to others in class were more personal one. I
openly shared my experience as a mother and guardian. I was able to discuss my childrens
milestones and development across their growth which was beneficial and added to class
discussions. Others shared professional experience helped me understand and grasp the idea of
working with infants in my future career.
A new concept I gained through this course which continues to stimulate my thinking is
separating infants according to abilities and development. My pedagogy with infants will differ
with that of older children when fostering play and initiative. I have a better understanding of

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ERIKA MALDONADO 4 HD303

infancy and what they need in each stage. I know that I can foster exploration with young
infants, security with mobile infants and exploration with older infants. Older children also have
specific needs going through different stages and I am better able to differentiate between them
now through this course.
I was able to learn something about myself through this courses writings, discussions
and reflections. I learned how my relationships now as an adult were highly influenced by
patterns, events and connections I made while growing up. I was able to see the patterns in my
relationships, of friendships as well as loved ones, and what signs or qualities I look for in others
around me. One thing that truly blew my mind in this course was the birthing process without
medication or medical intervention. I honestly do not recall learning about this in community
college when learning Child Development 101. And sadly, having experienced a birth myself
with my son, I cant say I knew of such option even then. I am so intrigued by the concept of the
natural birth process and all of the benefits it has on the infant and mother that I have decided to
try it myself with my next, future, pregnancy of course.

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