Coming to the end

Our course is coming to an end and I would like to thank everyone who commented on my blog and took time to read my posts.  I have learned so much from everyone and look forward to meeting up with you again in future courses.  This course has shown me how in depth the early childhood field is an what a difference we as professionals can make in adovacating for children and families.  Next week we begin another course in this journey and I eagerly look forward to continuing this path.  I wish everyone the best!

Ethical Responsibilities

As an early childhood educator I am obligated to abide by a code of ethics.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 2005) has an entire list of principles and ideals that educators and caregivers are responsible for abiding by.  The three that resonate with me the most are:

• I1.1 - To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.
• I1.3 - To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.
• I1.9 - To advocate for and ensure that all children, including those with special needs have access to support services they need to be successful.

These ideals resonate with me because they represent a commitment to advocating and promoting high-quality care and education for all children.  The first ideal resonates with me because I am a firm believer that learning is a life long process and no matter what profession you are in you should continue professional development and remain current are issues, research, and strategies.  The second  ideal resonates with me because I believe each child is special and has special unique talents and strengths which we as educators, caregivers, and parents should support.  The last one resonates with me because now more than ever we need to continue advocating for high-quality programs for all children.

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Code of Ethics (2009) also resonated with me with their ideals and principles including:

• Shall demonstrate our respect and concern for children, families, colleagues, and others with whom we work, honoring their beliefs, values, customs, languages, and cultures.
• Shall advocate for equal access to high-quality services and supports for all children and families to enhance their quality of life.

Respecting and honoring different cultures, beliefs, languages, traditions, values, and customs demonstrates to our children, families, and colleagues that we value them.  Everyone wants to be acknowledged and valued.

This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an Early Childhood Education Conference in Evansville, Indiana.  I also had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Lillian Katz speak.  She spoke about creating experiences for children of all ages that are "mindful versus mindless" and that engage children in intellectual thinking.  She talked about the difference of "knowing" versus "understanding" stating that we all "know that airplanes can fly" but we don't all "understand how they fly."  Dr. Katz also spoke of the importance of social-emotional development in the early years.  She was very inspirational and I truly enjoyed listening to her keynote address.

References

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

 The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.dec-sped.org/

COURSE RESOURCES

Course Resources

The following is a list of this week’s (Week 5) resources for my EDUC6005-1 Course Foundations:  Early Childhood Studies.  I have broken the resources up into: video/Podcasts, Position Statements / Influential Practices, Global support for children’s rights and well being, Early Childhood Organizations, and Early Childhood Journals. 

The resources I have added are marked by a different bullet (the diamond shaped bullet), I have also put the new resources in red type. 

I chose the Early Childhood News website because this is a recently found resource that I have found very interesting with the latest news on early childhood issues, classroom ideas, and teacher resources.  I

n the Early Childhood Organizations Section I have added two organizations which I have studied recently, Parent’s As Teachers (PAT) and The Brazelton Instiute.  The PAT organization I find very interesting because it focuses on home visiting and educating the family as well as the child.  The Brazelton Institute continues Dr. T. Berry Brazelton’s work on child development and observation.  Both of these last two organizations utilize the latest neuroscience for brain development which I also find very interesting.  The PAT Organization incorporates current brain research and development within their curriculum and the Brazelton Institute continues their research into brain development, provides information for parents, offers materials available for ordering, and provides links to current research projects.

Videos / Podcasts:

·       Video Program: “The Resources for Early Childhood”
Five early childhood professionals discuss their preferred and trusted resources.

v Early Childhood News:  Teacher Resources

 http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/teacher_resources/ecnradio.aspx

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~images/pdfs/snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al.  (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title. 

Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
   
• Websites:
• World Forum Foundation
  http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
  This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage 
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.omep.org.gu.se/English/about_OMEP/
  Read about OMEP’s mission.  
• Association for Childhood Education International
  http://acei.org/about/
  Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/ 
• Children’s Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
• Voices for America’s Children
  http://www.voices.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=22807
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

v Parent’s As Teachers Organization (PAT)

http://www.parentsasteachers.org/

v The Brazelton Institute

http://www.brazelton-institute.com/index.html

Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.) 

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

"We as professionals in the early childhood field have an opportunity to shape a child's life for the better!"~ Sandy Escobido, Deputy Field Director, Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy

"The passtion to create a safer more just world is there..." ~ Louise Derman Sparks, Professor Emeritus, Pacific Oak College, CA

"All parents are vulnerable and need our support!" ~ Dr. T. Berry Brazelton

"The best economic development strategy is investment in early childhood." ~ Art Rolnick

"Curiosity in children is but an appetite for knowledge." ~ John Locke

"I cannot be a teacher without exposing who I am."~ Paulo Freire

"Parents don't make mistakes because they don't care, but because they care so deeply!"
~ Dr. T. Berry Brazelton

"When we know better, we do better!" ~ Maya Angelou

Personal Childhood Web

The first five people that come to my mind when I think of influential people in my life are: my mother, my father, my Aunt Linda, my Uncle Otto, and my fourth grade teacher Ms. Sharon. 

My parents have been the most influential on me and have always made me and my siblings know that we are special and truly loved by them.  We have a very strong sense of loyalty in my family.  It was always known that you may disagree with your siblings, but they are still your sister / brother no matter what!  We have all always been there for one another and support each other even when it may be difficult to do so.  I always felt truly loved and special and know that my parents truly cared about me. 

My Aunt Linda was actually my aunt by marriage and I remember her fondly to this day.  I remember my Aunt Lind making everyone feel special.  She had the softest voice and never seemed to loose her patience or temper.  I am fortunate to still be able to stay in contact with her today. 

My Uncle Otto lived in Germany and when I was little my sisters and I were able to take a trip over to visit with my grandmother, aunts, and uncles.  I remember my Uncle Otto the most and became very close to him. He made me feel safe and secure in a world where we did not speak the language and my mother was not with us.  Even with the language barrier he made me feel safe, loved, and cared for during our entire stay.  When we were older and stationed over there I was still close to him and we often took walks through the woods near his home.  I miss him dearly.

Ms. Sharon was my fourth grade teacher and she made school exciting for me again.  Unfortunately, I had a terrible third grade teacher and by the end of that year I hated school and felt horrible about even going.  I remember entering her classroom and being greeted so warmly and she was so excited to see me.  I'm sure she greeted all the children that way but I felt special and wanted in her classroom.  Since I was a shy child this was very important to me.  She made coming to school and learning exciting and fun and she always had time to listen to me.

Parent's As Teachers Training (PAT)

I just returned from my week long training on Parent's As Teachers Curriculum (PAT).  It was very inspiring!  I love this curriculum because it is so geared for home visiting.  Often program's like mine (EHS) use the same curriculum that they use in the classroom which is not really functional for home visits. Often it is very difficult to get supervisors and upper management to realize that home based programs are not the same as the classroom.  While it is still the same program, the home-base program focuses more on the family and the child.  Sometimes it appears the supervisors and upper management want us to focus on just the child.  I am so excited about beginning this curriculum! It really educates parents on child development, health, nutrition, parenting skills, and brain development of young children.  The training was so inspiring!

Unfortunately, I did miss some of the training due to a very bad flu bug I came down with in the beginning of the training.  I was just glad that I was able to finish the rest of the week.

If anyone else is using, or has used this curriculum I would love to read your comments and thoughts about it.

Inspiration

In this post I would like to continue to add things that INSPIRE me to continue the work I do in Early Childhood.

September 11, 2010

This morning I received a phone call from a very excited young man who was yelling into the phone "Ms. Toni I POOP IN THE POTTY!!!!  I POOP IN THE POTTY!!!"  I immediatly knew who this young man was, it was one of my students, Nicolas, who is 2 1/2 years old.  Mom has been working with Nicolas on potty training and I had offered several suggestions and offered Mom some suggestions on how to stay calm and not to worry or try to force it.  I told her this would be one battle she would loose if she tried to force it.  She tried one of my suggestions and this morning after sitting on his potty for 5 minutes he had pooped in the potty.  Mom apologized for calling me on a weekend but said that Nicolas was so excited when he did it he grabbed the phone and told her to call me.  I told her that was fine and I was so excited for him!  I congratulated Nicolas and told him how proud I was of him!  These are the types of moments that really inspire me to continue my work with young children and their families.