Denisha Alexa C.

Suratos June 6, 2021

ED EC 18 – EDC 3 PRELIM OUTPUT #1

A CERAE reflection on Module 1: A Holistic Approach to Wellness in Early Childhood

Education

The topic of children’s wellness is a broad one yet it is crucial for adults especially professionals
dealing with children, to be knowledgeable about this. The word ‘wellness’ may pertain to various
aspects of the child. How can we say that we are actually looking out for children’s wellbeing?
When can we be certain that we are doing what is best and appropriate for the children under our
care? The wellness of children is multifaceted and should be approached with a holistic
perspective. Considering children’s wellness entails looking at the overall condition and situation
the child is in. The holistic approach allows early childhood educators and other adults to
understand children’s development as a whole, targeting all the domains of development early on.
This is why early childhood teachers should be well knowledgeable in that regard for them to be
able to provide the needs of the children according to what is developmentally appropriate
especially for the learning environment they will be immersed in. Therefore, three areas that should
be focused on are safety, nutrition, health.

When we consider the ecological perspective of how we see the growth and development of a
child, we immediately look at the physical environment that the child is exposed to in his or her
day to day life. How the child acts, speaks, and behave usually are products of environmental
factors and generally speaking, the context or background of the child. When I took up Early
Childhood Education, I already expected to learn about child care and how to provide these to the
little ones. Their health and safety should be prioritized above all. Throughout the lessons and
courses that we took, I gained many insights on the reality of some children compared to those
raised in a comfortable home and with the abundance of their needs being provided. I experienced
activities from observing a child in a stable and safe home to a child that is less fortunate and I can
clearly see the difference in how they were brought up which affects their growth as well. Aside
from these, we also learned a bit about Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) developed
by NAEYC. One thing we proposed is on the scheduling of Friday activities wherein the children
are given more time for free play rather than focus on their books all throughout the day. We have
come up with these ideas because the grade school teacher which was assigned to supervise us
voiced her concerns on this regard.

Going back and recalling all our past lessons, I am able to connect their significance to our lesson
at present which centers on the holistic approach in looking at children’s health, safety, and
nutrition as well as developmentally appropriate practices that will help teachers into providing
the children quality care while ensuring their safety amidst learning. After reading the module, I
was able to grasp how crucial the role of the environment is in a child’s growth and development.
Teachers must look into the individual child’s background and work closely with families to ensure
the consistency of practices from home to school and vice versa. It is best that teachers partner
with parents and encourage them to actively take part in their children’s education to be well
informed of their wellbeing even in school.

The implications from this lesson is geared towards educating us on why it is important for teachers
to consider the holistic approach as a means to consider all areas of development. This also serve
as somewhat of a reminder that not all children develop at the same pace and rate; a child may
develop their socio-emotional skills faster while another may be more keen on their gross and fine
motor skills. Looking forward in the future, I can see myself encouraging parents to closely
monitor the growth of their children and as I advocate for the holistic development of the child,
they might as well do the same so as to consider their overall wellness. As a pre-service teacher, I
begin to practice most of what I learned when tutoring and taking care of my little sister who is
four years old.
This lesson delved into some issues and factors affecting a child’s development, health, and safety.
Economic and ecological factors are one of these. A good early childhood education environment
calls for the promotion of every child’s wellness and nutrition, the feeling of safety and security
for all children, supports the needs of children. To achieve this, early childhood teachers should
incorporate health and safety practices and teach them to the young ones. Aside from providing
the children a safe learning environment, children should also be able to distinguish what is good
and what is not for their health and safety. Thus, teaching them to always be careful, what food is
good and healthy for their body, sanitation and other health protocols should be taught as well.
Integrating these in daily routines would be best for children to adapt to these practices and learn
to take good care of themselves in lieu of others taking care of them, promoting independence and
self-help skills.