Question 1: Discuss the benefits of infant massage for infants, mom, and dad.

Infant massages helps stimulate neurodevelopment and increase health for the baby. It can also encourage the development of the nervous system and be used as a form of bonding an attachment with caregivers. Infant massages can also encourage and accentuate the mother to child bond. It decreases stress hormones and increases bonding hormones, which leads to an overall improvement in the baby’s development.

Question 2: What time of day and how often could you give infant massages?

It is important to understand that when doesn’t really matter. It is best to do a baby massage whenever it works for the rhythm of your family.

Question 3: How does it help in developing body image for a child?

It can help when it comes to teaching your child about positive health body images. This can emphasize, to them, that their bodies are beautiful, lovable, and a wonderful gift. Teaching infants healthy body image can help prepare them for going out into the real world.

Question 4: What new information did you learn from the video and readings?

Baby massages can create the same chemical reaction as if they are being breastfed. This is beneficial for mothers who struggle with breastfeeding their child as it allows them another avenue to bond with their little one.

Section 1

I observed my mentor teacher helping younger students use their body to achieve a goal. The student was trying to kick a ball in the play area but would use the things around them such as nearby furniture to maintain their balance. The teacher saw this as an opportunity to move the ball in a place where the child could not rely on any objects to steady themselves. Eventually the child was able to kick the ball without any assistance. 

An infant student in the classroom who is new to walking was trying to explore the stairs. The mentor teacher in the classroom helped encourage the student to go up the stairs by placing one foot on the first step and allowing the student to go up with little to no assistance. Eventually she was able to go up the stairs on her own, but the mentor teacher was always there to provide guidance if needed. 

When the students are upset about sharing toys the lead teacher makes sure to ask the students who are capable of problem solving on their own to do so. The teacher tends to follow up with questions that can help the students get to the bottom of things pretty quickly like “is there a second ball in the classroom that we can let our friend use?”

Section 2

The infants in the classroom tend to use their whole bodies when exploring different toys and objects in a classroom. Most of the time you will see them put new times into their mouths and roll them around with their hands. 

One example of this type of group activity would be when one student asks for building blocks the teacher brings enough for all the students to use. Once the other students see one student playing with the blocks they tend to come over and join. 

The mentor teacher and teachers assistant often work on different activities at the same time in different parts of the classroom. Even those these activities are related to each other you’ll see students gravitate more towards the teacher who has the most students there. In other words, the kids tend to go towards the activity that they perceive as most “popular” or that has the most “action.”

Section 3

I have observed my lead teacher talking students through turn taking by simply having them ask their peers for a turn when they are done. For instance if Stacy has something that James wants, instead of allowing James to snatch the object from Stacy the teacher instructed James to politely ask if he can use it when she is done. 

I have observed my lead teacher in the classroom ask students to give items back to students who had them first. This promotes the child’s problem solving skills as well as their ability grasp concepts such as possession and ownership. 

One activity that can help with promoting problem solving skills while using descriptive language can be a ball passing activity. During this activity the student will roll the ball to the person next/across from them and then the teacher can provide them with descriptive words that introduce turn taking. 

Section 4 

My mentor teacher/infant toddler lead teacher dealt with this phenomenon directly by explaining to the kids alternative options that they have which do not include hitting, grabbing, or biting one another. 

When a child got upset due to another fellow students actions, the lead teacher used this as an opportunity to demonstrate how to properly regulate your emotions without resorting to hitting. 

When put in a situation where a student was hurt by another student the lead teacher took this as an opportunity to teach the child who was hit how to stand up for themselves. The lead teacher did so by explaining how to ask for an apology and how to communicate why their feelings were hurt in that situation. 

Section 5

When preparing for breakfast my mentor teacher allows the students to practice their autonomy letting them wash their own hands, putting their bibs on, and choosing their own seat at the family style table. 

This was demonstrated during diaper changing. For example, the lead teacher walked the students through diaper changing protocol while also asking them questions about personal daily experiences during playtime, circle time, and the morning greeting. 

During circle time the students are given the opportunity to take part in a routine where they each get their own time to express themselves individually through dance, if they desire to do so.