Domestic Violence effects Brain Developement

We have been touching upon the effects of toxic stress in young children . This video opens our eyes to how violence in the home effects young children starting from the youngest child, especially infants, on up.The video informs us that children in crisis can not learn, and that the human brain is a mirror reflecting the child's developmental experiences. However ,the beauty of our brains is that they can heal .Take a moment and immerse yourself in this experience;
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brVOYtNMmKk#t=827

How do you think we can help children who come to our classrooms who have been effected by domestic violence? How can we help heal their brains?

We Have Come Along Way

Personal Childhood Web

This is dedicated to the wonderful people who surrounded me love in my childhood, and who made me feel special and made me who I am.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

We Have Come Along Way

Friday, March 16, 2012

Personal Childhood Web

Me, feeling very special in my fancy dress looking sweet as a rose. I was loved and nurtured just like these beautiful roses. 

                                                        Hi, welcome to my family . The five people that greatly supported me as a child were my Mom and Dad, my brother, and my two grandparents and my best friends.

This is me as a baby with my Mom and Dad and Brother

Me as a baby with my family. Check out my christening gown. Dressed to impress.

My Mother and Father

These are  my beautiful parents on their special wedding day. I believe I was blessed with the most caring, patience loving family on this earth. Both my brother and I were adopted from different families when we were babies.They truly wanted us and  loved and cared for us for eternity. They always made me feel special by taking time with me to teach me how to swim,  to sew, to cook, they gave me dancing lessons, piano and flute lessons, and I sang in the church choir.They read bedtime stories to me, always tucked me in at night and said our prayers. They always supported me and were very patient and loving with me. They did not yell , or curse,  they gave me good guidance , if only I had listened. If my Mom was upset with me she would say I am disappointed with you, she always told me she would always be my best friend I would have in life,and that  when she was gone she would always be with me it would be like me looking in a mirror and she would be  there. She would tell me that people judge you by the company you keep.  

My Mother

My beautiful mother as a nurse . She was a nurse in the second world war over in the Phillipines.  She was a very caring and dedicated woman with blueberry blue eyes.. She had a heart of gold and wisdom and strength of a lioness. She organized patient respectful and generous with her love and attention for her family. She was a stay at home Mom, we always knew she would be there. She baked and cooked homemade wonderful meals for us and our clothes were always clean and folded in our drawers. We had clean sheets and pajamas ready for us each night.She said our prayers with us  very night and tucked us in with a kiss on the check.

My Dad

My Dad looking handsome in his uniform. He fought in World War Two in Canada. His parents came over from Scotland to Toronto Canada on one of the ships with the Mayflower. His father, my Grandfather supported them by opening up a bake shop where he made  every thing from bread to wedding cakes. My father became a lifeguard on Lake Ontario beaches and supported himself through University and became an Engineer.My Dad was a wonderful provider, he loved all of us and gave us all an amazing life. He bought the crown land which he built our summer cottage on for $!00.00 and that was a lot back in the 50's. he would take my brother for rides in the wheel barrow when he was taking a break from carting the rocks for the fireplace he was building at the cottage. He took us fishing and taught me to swim, and later I too became a lifeguard and and cross swim instructor. My dad was my watch man and protector all my life. Unfortunately he couldn't protect me from my own worst enemy , myself. He always tried to understand me, he was extremely patient and quiet mannered. he loved to tell us stories about his life and I loved to listen to him. He made me feel safe , loved and secure.

My Dad Playing  Football for the University of Toronto 

My Dad is The one in the middle . He was a hard worker  , he was ambitious, good natured , kind and patient.

My Grandma Bell

This is me and my Grandmother Bell making music together. She had a lovely laugh, she loved to sing , and loved music.She could really play the piano. She passed her love of music on to me. My mother was a wonderful piano player as well.



My Grandma Druding

This is my special Grandmother on my mothers side. She is younger here. She had three sisters who were my great aunts. She always made me feel so special and loved. She would give me the biggest hugs and always told me that I will always be her little girl. I loved the smell of her house, and her rock garden in the yard where I would play as she hung the washing up on the clothes line.I will never forget her tea biscuits she would make warm from the oven and my cup of tea loaded with cream and sugar in a china cup.I would love to dress up in her fancy clothes and dance around in her full length mirrors in the privacy of her room. Lavender was the smell and color of her bathroom, and I loved it along with every piece of furniture in her house, for I loved her and she me and always will.

My dear Grandma and her sister relaxing on the porch a the cottage

My sweet Grandma

My Brother Jimmy and Me

This is my brother Jimmy and me. There was just the two of us as children. He was and still is my big brother and made me feel special by helping me , protecting me, playing with me, and being kind and gentle. He taught me how to catch frogs, to do a cannonball, to climb trees and when I got stuck , he would help me down . He helped me learn to row a boat, and eventually drive the motor boat and later a stick shift car.He influenced my life by letting me know he would always do what ever he could for me,and that  he loves me.

                                               My Cottage the place where all my memories were created

Our families most cherished and beloved summer cottage. This was the first section built, which included the kitchen , living room with the famous stone  fire place.We spent every summer here as a family and eventually I was married close by  in a little white pioneer church and held our reception here over looking Bells Bay.

My Dad at the cottage finally getting a moment to do what he  loves, fishing.  He taught me to love nature and the stillness of the water, to be patient and silent waiting for the fish. This patience is a trait I carried throughout my life.

All packed and ready to roll to the cottage with our row boat on our roof.




the famous stone fire place  that my Dad built by hand and where I learned to make my first fire

Meal time on our screened porch at the cottage. These were the best times. Yummy food, fresh from the local farms always eaten before or after swimming in the fabulous lake.   Hearty appetites sparked by the great outdoors.We always said grace before our meals and asked to be excused from the table, this taught us good manners.We always and helped set the table and clean up the dishes. This taught us responsibly.

My brother and me a the cottage with our handmade boats that  our Dad helped us build and paint. We would have a fine time floating these in the lake. My parents took time with  to teach us new things. At the cottage we played games on the porch every evening before bed. We would play the card game rummy for hours as a family before bed, and my parents would play scrabble and bridge and do jigsaw puzzles



Here I am a the little beach at our summer cottage with my two Grandmothers and my Mother. We are watching the swimmers and enjoying family and the beauty of nature to

Happy smiles at our little beach at the cottage.Feeling happy, enjoying  nature  and each other.

Friends and Family

This is me at our Christmas with my brother, my best friend Valerie and her brother Laurie, sitting at the kids table for Christmas dinner. We always spent Christmas Eve with our neighbors who were our best friends and with our families including Grandparents. These were the best times. We felt very special as we would get all dressed, and we would provide the entertainment for the adults. We would sing, play the piano and put on skits.

Christmas time with or best friends and family. Valerie and me reciting a poem. This helped us to gain confidence, bring out our talents, and  feel special in our little performances.

This is me playing with a friend  in our backyard in the pool. The days would be hot and muggy and I loved to play in the water. My parents made me feel loved and nurtured as they took care of our every need and supported us in our interests,while giving us the   the extra pleasures that made our lives feel special. Love love and more love.

                                                                       

                                                                       Best Friend

Me and my best friend Valerie ready for church on Easter Sunday.

We felt special in our white gloves and Sunday bonnet's. Our families taught us that we are loved by God. This was a wonderful gift they gave us for the rest of our lives.What a blessing.

Me with my best friends on the first day of the fourth grade. These were my very close and best friends.

Me again

These are some of my natural brothers and sisters from my birth Mom

I was the oldest of seven children, but I was  adopted  as a baby into my wonderful family.

that is another story

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About Me Elizabeth Bell Born in Canada, love that land, and landed in the USA as a young bride. Turned gypsy for a time travelling this land in our hippie mobile VW van, young and free. Soon mother to be , until seven children later and six grandchildren here I be, blessed by them all. View my complete profile

Blog Archive ▼  2012 (2) ▼  March (2) We Have Come Along Way Personal Childhood Web

The Power of Play

The Power of  Play

My Three year old granddaughter doing what all kids love to do , ride their tricycle 

My granddaughter riding her grandmas bike , the same type that I used to ride

Me doing what I always and still do love to do best, playing in the water 

My brother and me playing with our homemade boats at our  cottage, the most magical place on earth to me

How fun riding the tire swing just like in our day, but my granddaughters is pink

Playing at the beach s a favorite of every generation, here is my grandson to prove it

  

My beautiful mother and fabulous brother and me enjoying our little beach  together at the cottage

Our family enjoying the beach together at the cottage

               Some Valuable Quotes Supporting Play Seen        Through My Playful Eyes 

“Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good” Lucia Capocchione

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”George Bernard Shaw

“Play has been man’s most useful preoccupation.” Frank Caplan
Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.O. Fred Donaldson
Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child. Joan Almon

     As a child the games I remember playing the most were skipping, roller skating with the old fashion kind that clamped on your shoes with a key to tighten and loosen them,cowboys and Indians, and cops and robbers when we played with the boys. The places we frequented were the fields at the end of our street that went on for miles and miles with the big pond, where we would look for frogs and snakes, or the woods behind our house where we let our imaginations run wild and our bodies with it.     But if I was to pick one spot with one special friend it would be the little beach at our cottage. My best friend Valerie and I would spend hours playing at the beach creating our own little world. We would use pine needles, pine cones from the tress, clam shells from the water and best of all acorns  and their caps to create our villages in the sand.The other major ingredient we needed was water which we would collect in our pails from the lake. We would dig holes in the sand  and pour the water into our holes in which we would create our witches brew. Yes, we were witches and quite evil at that. We would pretend to capture little children, poison them with our witches brew and bury them in our sandy graveyard. Yikes, I am scaring myself.Why we did this only a psychiatrist knows, or do they. Fantasy, imagination and team work, e merest  in this magical place, where we were powerful , and in control. Mixing our witches brew was the most phenomenal fun thing to do along with making spells. Little did our parents know that evil witches were lurking right under their nose, but they brought us picnic lunches all the same, and tucked us in at night.     Play was what we did while growing up. We spent long hours every day playing. Our parents would encourage us to go outside and play with our friends, or  have our friends over.That was our life, or our work as some say.     Now it is different. There is more fear around our children going out to play. Nature has been paved into concrete, and has become something we have to go  to to visit. Children now a days still play because that is instinctual, but technology is strongly influencing the modes of play that our children engage in. Board games and cards are becoming a thing of the past and I feel saddened by this.     I really do agree with the  previous quotes that play is the magic ingredient in keeping us young mentally and physically and it fills our spirits with joy. Once play is eliminated from our lives the child in us is imprisoned , we must each free the child within us and let play led us through our days.     

Posted by Elizabeth Bell at 9:58 PM 1 comment: 
Posted by Elizabeth Bell at 9:58 PM 1 comment: 
Posted by Elizabeth Bell at 9:58 PM 1 comment: 
Posted by Elizabeth Bell at 9:58 PM 1 comment: Posted by Elizabeth Bell at 9:58 PM 1 comment: 
Posted by Elizabeth Bell at 9:58 PM 1 comment: 
Posted by Elizabeth Bell at 9:58 PM 1 comment: 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Perfect Parents Need Not Apply | Blink–And They're Grown

Perfect Parents Need Not Apply | Blink–And They're Grown

Learning to Underparent -- New York Magazine

Learning to Underparent -- New York Magazine

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Relationship Reflection

 When I reflect on my current relationships I realize that my first positive  relationships as a child have enabled me to create all of my future relationships. Due to fact that I was very sheltered and nieve  with a huge loving and forgiving heart I allowed others to come into my life who were often cruel and I would forgive them until I had finally had enough abuse and chose myself and my children over them.This is  where I see that nature our nurture has strong bonds. I was adopted as an infant at only a few weeks old to the most stable, loving and supportive parents , however my adult relationships have taken me on a roller coaster ride similar to that of my birth mother, who I only met as an adult.We both ended up birthing seven children and had multiple abusive relationships.Is it in the genes? I believe a great deal of it is .

        I now have seven children who I adore ranging in age from 36 to 16, and six amazing grandchildren ranging in age form 2 to 10 years old . They are my strength and my reason for living, they also have become my best friends. I could not have manged through these years without the support of my loving husband .We meet 33 years ago and have been together for almost twenty years.  However it was not a picnic.  We both have  to work at this relationship everyday. We are actually opposites in every aspect yet we have had  to  learn to cooperate with each other in order to support each other and  our family. His love for me is so powerful that he won't let go and I have come to realize that even though I want to run  he is my support , and I need to bless him and love him for that .Not every one  is easy to love, and he came from a very difficult and abusive childhood.He seeks the love and safety of my port and I thrive from his determination and undying love for me and our children.

                       Photographic Journey With my Family; Children, Grandchildren and our  Husbands

                                                        My Oldest Daughter and grandaughter

                                                             My Oldest Grandson

                                                                         My Family

                                                           My oldest granddaughter

                                                     My third daughter and her partner

                                                      My second daughter on her wedding day

                                                          My first child with his wife

                                                                 My daughter and granddaughter

                                                                   Daughter and grandson

                                                          My fourth daughter

                                                          Me and my two last teenagers

                                     Beautiful couple , my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter

                               Happy wedding day; my Husband, my son, and my two son-in-laws

                                                           My son and daughter-in-law

                                                                    My second grandson

Me and my granddaughter and new grandson 

  

                                           My husband and son and me at his high-school grad

My son and daughter

Me and three of my grandchildren

Me and my hubby long ago 

My son and I

                                                                Grandson , 6months old

                                                              Grandson 9 months old

                                                                        My husband

                                 My two year old  grandson drumming with the big men at the African dance class

                                                              Grandpa and grandson shopping

                                                       Our son playing football in College

Lovely family, my daughter and partner and grandson Trey

Through my journey of strong love and support as a child I am able to give this to others. Through my journey of motherhood I am able to understand child development and relate to parents and their journey through childbirth and child rearing. Through my own journey I have compassion for families who are struggling through poverty and abuse and addiction. Through my journey I know the benefits of loving and nurturing relationships, and I in turn am now responsible to provide that for my children, grandchildren,my   partner as well as all of my associates. It's a big job but love is the greatest blessing and love is what we all need.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

CHILDREN REFLECT THE TREATMENT THEY RECEIVE

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

WHEN I THINK OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

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THIS SAYS IT ALL

WHEN I THINK OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Elizabeth Bell  click here to watch the video

  HERE IS AN AMAZING TWO YEAR OLD , CHILD DEVELOPING

                        KEEP GOING...

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Children are great imitators . So give them something great to imitate.

Welcome to my Blog. Passion,Motivation and Wisdom, are three ingredients that when blended together create a beautiful relationship within the Early Childhood world of children and teachers, as teachers are children andchildren are teachers.