My Personal Childhood Web

There many people that had positive influences in my life but I will take the time and introduce five people.

1. My Mother (Willa Dean Gray)- At three months old I was adopted and my name was changed from Nichole to McKenzie Gray. My mother from birth always shared with me how special I was to her. Early in age, about five or six years old, she told me I was adopted. She was a true inspiration to me all throughout my life. My mother was a teacher for twenty-nine years. After retiring she worked as a Director of her church after school care program. She always tole me that I would teach but I didn't discover this passion until a month after her death in December of 2009. I thank my mother for being a great mother and my first mentor within the education field.

2. My Sister (Whitney Weston)- My sister is 31 years old and is married with three boys. My sister and I were both adopted but we have other sisters and brothers we don't know. My sister sets a standard that shows me true virtue within  a Godly woman. She takes care of her family and when we were young she would always try to take of me. Even though we were close in age she always showed me true sister love. She is a music teacher on the middle school level. Thanks sis!

3. Mr. Irby ( My forth-grade teacher)- Mr. Irby was my 4th grade teacher at Carver Elementary. He was very stern and loving at the same time. At this time in my life I was not very interested in my education. I made the class room and our class work come alive. He would always stay on me about being consisted and to never give up. Some of the things he taught in that class I can still apply to my life today!

4. Ms. Davis ( The First Lady in my Church)- She has been so inspiring to me because she is so loving and dedicated to her husband and family. She is also adopted and by sharing her testimony inspires me to feel better about my life.

5. My Foster Mother (name unknown)- I just want to thank her for taking such good  care of me when I was a baby. She made sure to document my every move so I can now read and share with others how I was at a baby. She made it possible to connect the things I did not know about me and my sister. I have never meet her but if I could I would say thank you!





Getting to know me!

When thinking of my favorite quote pertaining to children there are so many! I have narrowed it to two quotes. One quote comes from the Word of God and it is what I base my mission and vision statement from. It comes from Proverbs 22:6 and it states "Train up a child in the way that they go and when they are old they shall not depart from it". This statement is so important to me because it shows how important it is to train a child. We know that a child is learning even while in the womb but the most important years of a child's growth is with the first five years. How they process information and how they make choices will be formed during this time. So it is so important to beginning the training process at birth. My second favorite childrens' quote is " It takes a village to raise a kid". This goes hand in hand with my first quote because in the training process it is important to create a positive learning environment for a child. Your child learns from everyone and thing that they are around. This can be a good and bad thing. What you put into a child is what comes out. If it is negative they will be negative also. That is why we have to choose the right things to put into this environment to be able to produce a well rounded child.

My favorite children's book is: "The Little Engine That Could"
                                               By: Watty Piper, George Hauman, Doris Hauman-Platt & Munk (1990)

I choose this book because it shows children that through persistence and dedication you will accomplish what ever goal that is set. Also that encouragement is healthy when trying to accomplish goals. This is so important for children to realize that persistence  and dedication is always rewarded with  accomplishments! 


 

Early Childhood Development: Introduction to my blog!!!!!!!!!!!:)

Early Childhood Development: Introduction to my blog!!!!!!!!!!!:): Hello Everyone! This is my first time ever havin a personal blog. I have never done this before. I would love to get information about how...