Step 1: Read the following descriptions of three children of varying physical appearance, family circumstances, and behavioral characteristics. Mike is a young 2 year old with five older siblings. His mother is a single parent. He comes to school dressed in threadbare clothes. He is small for his age and has not yet started to talk at school. When he arrives in the morning he lies down in the book area and sucks his thumb and quite often falls asleep as the other children arrive. Mike rarely uses toys but instead clutches his blanket and watches the other children. If any adult (even a visitor) sits near him Mike will sit down in the adult's lap. He eats voraciously and will empty the serving bowls at the lunch table before others eat if a teacher is not present. Tiare is a 3-year-old girl. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her father. She is an extremely verbal child who speaks in an adult-like way. She appears to be beginning to read. Tiare is very affectionate with teachers and also with other children. She has special hiding places where she goes and pretends to be an animal or princess. Sometimes she will only meow for an hour at a time if she is being a cat. Tiare delights in swinging on the tire swing. Leroy is a 5 year old. He is very large for his age and is often mistaken for a 7 year old. His mother is also very large and can be quite brusque. She is a single parent who is fiercely proud of her son. Despite his intimidating size Leroy is a gentle and affectionate boy who is easily led by the other children and whose feelings are easily hurt. Leroy has only recently started to show much interest in books and "school" things like sitting at circle and group discussions. Kristin is 4 years old. In her traditional family dad works and mom stays home. Kristin's parents send her to school in the mornings. She is petite with longhair, always clean and dressed in coordinated outfits with matching barrettes. Sometimes she comes to school wearing her mother's makeup. She follows and talks to a teacher and only interacts with one other child, Wendy. They never fight or argue but Wendy often tells Kristin what to do, and Kristin always does what Wendy says.Her favorite activity is to sit in the writing center and draw rainbows, stars, and flowers and her pictures always look the same. Step 2: Reflect and Discuss Which child's scenario did you like most and which did you least prefer. As an early childhood educator, who would you want to work with and why? How does your choice reveal your personal biases? What does your choice say about your values? What do you value? Step 3: The early childhood period is from birth to age eight. Before we begin to discuss how best to serve children during this period of life, I encourage you to think back to your own early childhood. What is a memory you have from when you were eight years old or younger? Tell us: - How old you were; - Who was with you; - What happened; - Your feeling about the memory; - Anything else you'd like to share