Recently I was having a lunch date with my older sister, and somehow or other, I found
myself explaining to her some ECE fundamentals. I told her how the acronym S.P.I.C.E. stands
for social, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional in regards to meeting the needs of the
whole child--both individually and within program planning. I shared with her that after all these
years in the field, it still guides me throughout my working day. She liked it so much that she
asked me to repeat myself and wrote it down. Interestingly, this is not the first time this has
happened. When I was instructing College students first entering the ECE program, I watched
many students quickly write this down, and the following day, proudly illustrate how they had
memorized the acronym. Or, as an Early Childhood Educator, sitting with parents in
meetings who would ask me to repeat what each letter stands for while writing it down on their
own accord.
In my conversation with my sister, I explained to her how S.P.I.C.E. is so ingrained into my practice, that I can comfortably know that I am providing quality care. And sometimes, I find myself using it to assess my own life and personal decisions. For instance, I will look at my life, my day, my decisions and ask myself, are you fulfilled socially, physically, intellectually, creatively and emotionally? For example, I might ask myself, "Do I have social time with people who care about me? Have I been exercising? When was the last time I learned something new? Do I have moments when I am creatively charged? How am I feeling?". I might not necessarily make the changes I know I should, but it definitely guides me towards making sure the individual "child" within me has her needs addressed.
How are you at meeting the your needs socially, physically, intellectually, creatively and emotionally?
