THANK YOU

Dear Classmates and Dr. Kien,

Thank you for your time, comments, and resources throughout this course. I look forward to hopefully working with each of you in the future.

Ideals from the NAEYC Code of Ethics

Blog Assignment Week Seven

Ideals from the NAEYC Code of Ethics

-To be familiar with the knowledge base of early

childhood care and education and to stay informed

through continuing education and training.

-To recognize and respect the unique qualities,

abilities, and potential of each child.

-To create and maintain safe and healthy settings

that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and

physical development and that respect their dignity

and their contributions.

These ideals from the NAEYC Code of Ethics are similar to my goals and aspirations of being an owner of a Child Care Facility.  As a person entering into the ECE field, it is necessary to have the knowledge of the changes in this field. It is also important to meet each child’s needs as individuals as well as a group, to ensure the comprehension and engagement of the children in your care. I will also want to focus on the health and wellness of each child, as some children only receive healthy meals and outdoor activity at school.

Course Resources

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://main.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/~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://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
  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-usnc.org/
  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.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week’s Application assignment.

Part 3: 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/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: 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

I am pursuing this field in an effort to become a child care facility owner or administrator, the following sites, I use to increase my knowledge and training purposes are:

-www.decal.ga.gov (Georgia’s Bright from the Start program website)

-http://www.ccrrofsoutheastga.org

-http://www.parenttoparentofga.org

-http://www.coastalfirststeps.com

Blog Assignment 4

From this week's Discussion:

Marcy Whitebook

-"Children in early care and education are better prepared for school when their teachers have

higher levels of education and specialized training." (Excerpt taken from, Who Cares? Child Care Teachers and the Quality of Care in America)

Sylvia Chard

-“Teacher instruction or Children’s construction? Children need explicit direction for acquiring skills, as well as ways to apply their knowledge to relevant work.” (Excerpt taken from , The Project Approach: Making Curriculum Come Alive)

From the video:

Renatta Cooper

-Working with children and families, was like earning a doctorate degree, as there is always a new challenge to meet, not only for me, but for my staff, and the families I worked with each day.

Personal Childhood Web

This past week’s lesson has helped in my development as I pursue my passion of becoming an Early Childhood Administrator. It has shown me how everyone has to help in the development of the child in an effort to promote a nurturing environment. When I think about my own childhood and the people who showed me love, guidance, and wisdom, I have 5 family members that really helped in my child rearing and even help me become the person I am today.

My mother inspires me through her actions of kindness, acts of love, and devotion to our needs & desires. She is a model of true leadership and determination and lives to serve others. I would not be the woman I am today without her in my life. A quote growing up that she always told my sisters and me, “good manners can take you places that won’t”. Not only do I live by that today, my husband and I are teaching our children, about manners and respect of yourself and others. Today, my mother and I are close friends who give each other great advice.

My aunt, Emma, was an aunt that had a hand in our child rearing once my parents were divorced. She was the person that was always there to help out when my mom needed an extra pair of hands. She was the cool Aunt, that everyone always wanted to be around, having her in my life was special because she always told my sisters and I that we were the best of the best, she told us that we wanted to be the person who stood out above the rest, almost like a giraffe, which she still uses this example in her life today, as our relationship has become full circle, now that I am an adult, I look up to her as a big sister and she is actually the person that introduced me to the Early Childhood field, as she has been an ECE for over 25 years and very successful, as I hope to carry on in her footsteps.

My grandmother, our bond is so great it at times surpasses that of my relationship with my mother. As she taught me how important it was to be independent and be able to stand on your own. Based off of situations in her life and even in my mother’s life, my grandmother always told me to go above and beyond because you only get one life and to not let anyone or anything take your “joy “away from you. She was also a stickler about saving money, as this is the piece of advice I wish I would have listened more too today (student loans..ugh). Today, my relationship with her is that of a woman my own age as she is dating now and seeks my advice about modern day relationships, we talk about everything and she truly is a great friend.

My sisters, my relationship is interesting with my sisters as I have become more of a mother to them than an older sister. My sister Brittany and I are barely two years apart, so we are more close than the others, as we both have families now and learn more about life in regards to our children together and growing up I used to take up for her and now I found out that our older children have the same relationship that we had as children except they are boys. My other two sisters Gabrielle and Justine, are the exact opposite, as I am 7 and 11 years older than the two of them, as I can truly say that I come off as a second mother to them, but I mention my sisters as people who have shaped and inspired my life for one reason, because only one thing comes to mind when I am bonding with my sisters both individually and as a group, that I remain a Christian woman who inspired and encouraged others by what she did, not just by what she said.

My church family, there were several different people throughout my years of attending my home church as a teenager, that I feel shaped and inspired my adulthood and the person I am today, my pastor would always take about success, failures, and triumph growing up, back then I did not realize how important it would become to help me more in my life today , rather back then, my pastor would say, that young people must realize that failure, losses, and disappointments are a part of life experiences.  It’s not the fact that one looses but how one deals with those setbacks.  I learned early in my life that you must make it a priority to learn when you lose however success and triumph comes in many different forms and at different times in a person’s life. However, significant success occurs when an individual makes a positive impact on someone’s life.

Blog Assignment 2

My favorite quote or excerpt relating to children is, an excerpt from "Within My Power" by Forest Witeraft, entitled, "One Hundred Years from Now",

One Hundred Years from now

It will not matter what kind of car I drove,

What kind of house I lived in,

How much money was in my bank account

Not what my clothes looked like.

But the world may be a better place

Because I was important in the life of a child.

I love to read my children anything by the Berestain Bears, as I love the simply message that it sends to the child. Currently, my son who is in Pre-K at a private daycare facility. He is in a diverse environment very different from his previous school. He is going through a phase that I call, "Pre-school Peer Pressure", as I find our daily conversations about how he wants what another child has, or brought to school and not wanting to be his friend because he did not have this item or object, so I begin reading the book entitled the IN-CROWD, by the Berestain Bears. I love the message that it sends to him and shows that you don't have to be like another classmate to fit in, just be yourself and you are just as special, because your family likes you for you.

I would love to hear your thoughts, thanks.

First post, for my new blog

11/06/11

Hello to my fellow classmates,

I am new to this world of blogging, so I hope this is correct. I am excited that we will be blogging with each other, as we utilitze the new age of communication through social media. I look forward to engaging chats and debates on early childhood education.