Ktantanim Balev

After being part of virtual learning, of an early childhood team over the past two weeks, posting and communicating with our young students virtually, My heart led me to choose and focus on the aspect of isolation, as a stressor factor on the development of young children. I experienced isolation through several encounters. As a young child who sat in a bomb shelter, as a young mom that spent hours sitting with a young child in a safe room, while wearing a mask, and currently, as an early education professional, that works closely with young students and their parents, virtually. Socialization, and interacting with each other, is essential for young children’s language development, attachment, and social-emotional growth, Berger, K. S, (2018). As the children grow, through their social interaction they practice problem-solving skills, experiment with different roles, and practice the world around them, Berger, K. S, (2018). What happens when children are finding themselves isolated, f...

Sudden infant death syndrome- SIDS. Thirty years ago, while we were building our first house in Isreal we met our neighbor. She was in her early thirty’s and 39th weeks pregnant. The next time I saw her it was about a month later. I approached her and excitedly greeted her for the arrival of her new baby girl. She looked at me and shared that she had quiet labor, which means, that her fetus died in uterus. She explained that it was considered SIDS since her baby reached 40 weeks of gestation. This meeting is engraved in my mind forever. In addition, I met two other mothers that had experienced the loss of their babies to SIDS. I decided to read about this topic in order to raise awareness for mothers in my professional and personal community. According to, Berger, K. S, (2018), Sudden infant death syndrome happens when healthy babies between the ages of two to six months, stop their breath and dies during their sleep, Berger, K. S, (2018). Some of the risks for SIDS occur during wint...

My first personal birthing experience was in Israel. I was a young woman (24), mentally and physically ready for the biggest exciting moments of my life. My husband and I took a birth class that lasted two months. we learned about birth, different breathing techniques in order to ease the pain, and watched a video about the stages of labor. In addition, we had visited the labor and maternity ward and learned about breastfeeding and how to take care of a baby in terms of feeding, bathing and dressing up. We were encouraged to have a natural birth with no drugs that may affect the baby. When I was 38.5 weeks pregnant I started having contractions and went to a public hospital in my neighborhood, the same hospital that we visited during the birth class. I was excited and eager to finally get to meet my daughter and to have the natural birth that I was practicing in theory for the past months. My labor proceeded fairly quickly and I was in much pain. ignoring my original plan, I asked for ...

As I wrap up my first class at my Master’s program, I feel that the experience I got in writing an educational blog allowed me with the opportunity to reflect upon my thoughts and my experience,  and to focus on some issues that made me the professional educator, and a unique individual I am today. For instance, reflecting upon the people who supported me in my childhood and looking for some words of inspiration.  

As a professional educator in the field of early childhood education, I feel that the most valuable code of ethics is to  respect the dignity and worth  of the children we work with, their families, and respect our colleagues who share our role, NAEYC,(2005, April), Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment, Core Values. Respect is an essential value in my personal and professional life. I believe that all children should be respected and deserve to be enrolled in developmentally appropriate practice. Parents should be respected based on their culture, values, and beliefs, and the educational team should be respected and viewed as a valuable part of the teaching process.      In addition, according to The Division for Early Childhood, (2000, August), Professional and Interpersonal Behavior, section 4, As professional educators we should be the voice for children with special needs, support them and their families. Another Code of ethics That I ...

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