This assessment has two-parts. Click each of the items below to complete this assessment. Part I: The Care In Caregiving Blog You are an independent professional development consultant in the field o

This assessment has two-parts. Click each of the items below to complete this assessment. Part I: The Care In Caregiving Blog You are an independent professional development consultant in the field o 1

Four Weekly Progress Reports on Abidah, Age 4, from Her Teacher

Week 1: Friday, September 7

Abidah was introduced to the group on Tuesday of this week. She was brought into the early childhood care center by her grandmother, who does not speak English, and seemed cautious about speaking to me, so I was unable to communicate very much with her. I realize she is probably not used to professional women, and perhaps she will warm up to me over time. They seem very close, and I noticed that Abidah wanted to be carried around instead of walking on her own like the other children in the group do. I mentioned to the grandmother that Abidah should be more independent by this age, but, as I stated earlier, she did not seem to understand what I was trying to tell her. Some of the other kids have had trouble pronouncing “Abidah,” so we have taken to calling her “Abbie.” She is a sweet girl, quite shy, and I worry about her ability to pick up English due to her lack of interaction with other English speakers outside of the center. She wears a headscarf, like her grandmother, which the other children seem interested in to a point but not in a way that is distracting to the group.

Week 2: Friday, September 14

Abbie is still quite shy but has discovered another little boy in the classroom who speaks Arabic at home, although he is a fluent English speaker. Having been born in America, he can converse with Abbie and she seems to feel comfortable around him. I would like to encourage him to speak to her only in English, but I will give her another week to become more comfortable in the center.

I plan on asking these children if they would like to talk to the class together about what makes their culture and life at home unique compared to the rest of the children in the center. I think it would be very interesting for the kids to realize that there are other very different cultures out there in the world, and especially in the United States! What a great opportunity to teach an early lesson about diversity.

Abbie’s grandmother continues to drop her off at school, and I still have yet to meet her actual parents. I am hopeful that they will come in soon so I can address some issues I would like them to work on at home. I would recommend that they speak English in the home as much as possible, so that Abbie may develop more confidence and proficiency in it. Because she is still so young, it is my feeling that she could easily become fluent in English by the time she enters school next year.

Week 3: Friday, September 21

Abbie has gained some confidence in the past week, but I am concerned about her eating habits. She does not seem to enjoy many of the foods the other children eat. I am curious as to what she is fed at home and if she is getting a well-rounded diet. I know she does not eat pork, and we have made an effort to provide substitutes for Muslim (and Jewish) children in the center when hot dogs, for instance, are served. However, it seems more problematic than just that one food. I may ask her grandmother to bring specially prepared meals going forward. She also is learning to eat with utensils, which does not seem to be practiced in her home. Some of the other children make fun of her for eating with her hands, and I simply tell them that Abbie’s family does things differently because of where they come from. Once again, I see this as an educational experience for the entire group—Abbie helps them learn about diversity in a very personal way.

Week 4: Friday, September 28

At the beginning of this week, I asked the children to bring something from their home to class that reminded them of a fun trip they went on or their favorite place to go on the weekends with their family. On Thursday, when the children were supposed to bring in their objects, Abbie came in empty handed. She sat through the presentations quietly and respectfully, but seemed distracted and isolated. When her grandmother came to pick her up, I tried to explain what had happened that day, but she did not seem to understand most of what I said. Eventually, Abbie came over and seemed to translate some of what I was trying to say, at which point her grandmother became very upset, which seemed to make Abbie quite upset as well.

I reported this incident to the administrator because I was concerned that perhaps Abbie’s grandmother is not an appropriate caregiver. My hope for Abbie is that she can find a way to integrate herself into American society, and her grandmother’s role as the main source of influence will straddle Abbie between the two cultures. If she is going to be successful in America, she must abandon some of the more traditional aspects of Egyptian culture, which her grandmother cannot seem to comprehend.