This semester at the U of R, one of the classes I'm in is focussed on strategies for teaching and implementing physical education. Last class, our professor had us read several articles that examined the relationship between technology and the increasing rates of physical inactivity in children.  After we read the articles, the professor had us discuss as a class what we thought of the articles.  Everyone in the class started knocking technology and saying how it's to blame for kids not being active enough nowadays.  If I would have been in this class a year ago, I would have been right in there with the anti-technology comments.  But from working at a medically inclusive daycare and having recently been enrolled in the class ECMP 355, which promotes technology as a learning tool, I was able to see technology as an asset and give the class an example of how technology enables the group of kids I work with to get active.  

I explained to the class how, at the daycare I work at, which is situated in an older school in Regina, there are three classrooms that each have ten to twelve children in them with varying conditions/diverse needs, and that there is only one nurse who circulates between the three rooms.  If it were not for cell phones, our group would never be able to go to the gym or outside because there would be no way to quickly communicate with the nurse if one of the kids needed something or started to decline.  If we did not have cell phones, our group would only be able to go to the gym or outside when the nurse had a few free minutes to go with us and we would have to go back inside when it was time for him/her to go see one of the other two classrooms.  So, depending on the situation, technology is sometimes the only thing that can help  get children active.  
 
The other day I was talking with my group of kids at daycare about the history of dreamcatchers and how many Indigenous people believe that dreamcatchers can filter good and bad energies and/or dreams while a person sleeps.  The discussion lead into a art activity where each child made his/her own dreamcatcher to take home and hang up beside his/her bed.  One boy asked me if he should keep his dreamcatcher with him during the day for protection.  Before I could answer, a little girl, who has always been wise beyond her years, replied, "No, because you can control whether your thoughts are good or bad when you are awake."  I could not (and still can't) get over how brilliant and, well, true her response was. It reminded me of a quote by the philosopher Marcus Aurelius: “Our life is what our thoughts make it," in that I, personally, believe that our attitude(s) have a huge effect on our day-to-day life (i.e. whether you spend it optimistic or pessimistic.)  Sometimes, however, when I get caught up in the stress from external factors such as work, school, and family matters, I end up forgetting this concept - that happiness can come from the inside - that you need to look at the bigger picture and see the good. Young children can really put things into perspective; do you want to have a good day or a bad day?  From now on when I wake up, I'm going to look at the dreamcatcher beside my bed that one of the kids at daycare made me and ask myself that very question. 
 
Today at daycare, we took the kids to the new playground in Gocki Park, which is between Saint Augustine School and the Core Ritchie Neighbourhood Centre on 15th Avenue, here, in Regina.

 
As a student, I am always looking forward - forward to the next semester, to graduation, and to when I can finally have my own classroom.  But today, I'm looking back... on my childhood... and I would like you to do the same.    

Is there anything from your childhood that you wish you still had?  Maybe a favourite game, a close friend, or even a feeling?  My answer to this question, albeit materialistic, is something that I used to play with for hours and hours... and hours: my Ninja Turtles action figures.  

 
If you haven't heard of Hope's Home, it's probably because it's the first daycare of its kind in Canada.  It's a medical daycare, which means that children with diverse medical needs can learn, play, and be cared for in an inclusive environment.  Here's a video that gives a great overview of the daycare, its mission, and what's at the heart of it all - the children.