My Personal Childhood Web

There are many people who influenced my early childhood.  The most important person in my early years was and still is my mom, Diana.  She was only 16 when she had me, but she did her best along with my dad to instill strong values and to teach me right from wrong.  We have always been very close and I have always been able to talk to her about anything and everything.  She has supported all of my decisions and I know that she is proud of who I have become. 

My dad is another big influence in my life.  As a young child he was the one who played outside with me and pointed out all that nature provides.  He worked hard so that my mom could stay home with me and to provide us with all of our necessities.  He also made sure that we took vacations every summer.  Because I am an only child, my parents made sure I had other children to play with and allowed me to have friends over.

My grandparents also played a role in my early years.  We visited them often when I was growing up and I would spend time with my grandma when they would let me spend the night.  I remember telling my parents that we slept in the "closet".  It was actually a third bedroom that my grandma used for storage with a pullout couch that we slept on.  But in my way of thinking it was a closet!  My grandma was always nice and never yelled at us kids.  We knew the rules at grandma's house and followed them because we wanted to please her.  Grandpa liked to tickle us, but it usually hurt because he would grab too hard.  But I loved him anyway and when we would visit, I would put the teddy bear in his bed to keep him company if I was staying the night and would take grandma away.  He remembered that many years later and I now have that bear. 

Some other people that influenced my early childhood were my great grandparents and my great aunt Ruby.  Aunt Ruby taught me how to tie my shoes when I was little and also taught me how to play several card games.  My great grandparents listened to my stories and made me feel special when I was around.  My great grandpa always saved pennies in an aerosal can lid and when I would visit with my grandma he would give them to me.  We also had a neighbor that I would visit when I was little.  He lived across the street from us and I would carry my stuffed animals and dolls over there and sit on his porch and play.  He always listened and never asked me to leave.  He would often have to help me carry my things home, but he always had a smile on his face.  Looking back, I'm not sure if I enjoyed his company more or if he enjoyed mine! 

I grew up in a small community and all my aunts and uncles lived close and were an influence on my development and so were many of my teachers through the years.  I also was involved in girl scouts when I was young and participated in a youth group at church.  I was and still am a very lucky person to have so many people be a part of my life!  I guess I wouldn't be who I am today without each one of the people that have been in my life.

A children's book I love and what I love about it!

Again, this was very difficult to narrow down to just one!  I have many favorites, but I think my most favorite is Green Egggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.  I love this book because it is fun to read and it keeps the children's attention when I read it.  I think that because I love this book, the kids are more interested because I read it with so much enthusiasm.  I also like how the story talks about trying new things and that in the end he decides that he does like green eggs and ham and is glad that Sam got him to try them.  There are also many other Dr. Seuss books that are fun to read and also have a good message, like, What Was I Scared Of. 
          

a meaningful quote about early childhood

I was supposed to pick just one quote, but I just couldn't do it...so I choose 3 that I felt had a lot of meaning to me.
1.  "If a child does not learn the way we teach her, let us teach her the way she learns" (sorry, don't know who said this). 
2.  "People don't stop playing because they grow old; they grow old because they stop playing." I believe it is so important to take time to play each day and a lot of us in the early childhood field get paid to play!
3.  "Use what talents you possess.  The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang the best" ~ Henry Van Dyke  The children don't care if we can sing perfectly or how we dance, they just want us to sing and dance!