When I Think of Research

Blog Week 8

Insights that I have gained over the last eight weeks would be how hard it is for me to truly understand research and the amount of time that will need to go into a real research study. I understand that this was a learning experience for us all, but I do think I have more knowledge base for if I really take part in a research study. I have also become better at finding sources that I can rely on for my research. When it comes to doing research I think that I have more respect for those that take on the responsibility of digging deeper into a topic through research to help us gain more knowledge when it comes to children across a wide spectrum. If and when I am called upon to participate in any research I believe I can add valuable insight to help the research study. When starting any research you will need to step back and ask yourself so questions to make sure you are implementing the study for valid reasons that will help the participants as well as other researchers. You need to make sure you plan how you will do the research, who will be involved, what design will work best for you, and how the topic will help others. When taking on research there are many layers that need to be looked at and evaluated before starting and this takes time-but if done with care and respect for everyone the results can be beneficial for everyone. My main challenge was picking the one age group of dyslexia to focus on that would give me the best results. I had to make sure I could find enough children to study and then find reliable data to compile. My perceptions of being an early childhood professional have changed in respect to how important it is to understand how research helps us do our job and our input is valuable to the research field. As professionals we need to always remember that our goal is to give the best to our children and families and this means we provide a welcoming, safe and loving place for them at all times.

Week 5: Research around the World

Blog Week 5: Research Around the World

The organization that I looked into this week was: ECDVU in Sub-Saharan Africa: the ECDVU is committed to improving the quality of life for children and their families in Africa. The program seeks to accomplish this through working, on a sustained basis, with ECD leaders from across the continent.

To meet the ECDVU’s child and social development objectives, it employs a number of approaches to post-secondary education that are ‘non-traditional’ in nature. These include: recognizing the strengths and expertise that exist locally and regionally; incorporating these ‘voices’ and experiences into the learning process; promoting sustainable, interactive networks that reach rural as well as urban populations; and using computer technology as a means for developing strong information and communication systems within Africa. At the same time, certain other features of the ECDVU seem more familiar as part of a traditional educational process: delivery of a sequence of courses, each with a course number and title, and delivered by academically qualified individuals. Blending strengths from both approaches is an essential characteristic of the ECDVU. http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php

What are some of the current international research topics?

Some of the things they are doing are:

Pilot study of the Adaptation of an Established Measure to Assess the Quality of Child Services in a Selected Orphanage in Zambia: The Inclusive Quality Assessment (IQA) tool In Eritrea they are doing the Improving the Quality of Childcare Through Parenting Enrichment and Training of Trainers: The Eritrean Model

Next we have: Nigera and their program is called: Involving Fathers in Early Childcare and Development

This is just a few of the things they listed but you can clearly see they are on the right path and want to do the right thing for all the children and families.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

It was interesting to see that no matter where a person lives they will have the same or similar problems to deal with. We in the United States are not alone when it comes to having issues with parent involvement, men in the childcare field, fathers taking a more active role in children’s lives and this is just a few issues. Everywhere around the world we all have to learn to work together and learn together in order to give the best for the children. What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

I thought that the way they helped the online learners navigate their site was very similar to ours and had the same resources available. The other thing I noticed was how easy it was to find what you needed and also I really enjoyed reading about their “Generative curriculum" approach”.

The ECDVU "generative curriculum" encompasses the following characteristics:

a learner-focused approach - drawing as much as possible on the learner's experiences in their personal and professional lives; an ecological approach - placing individuals, programs and policies into an interactive and dynamic context and seeking to plan activities and interventions to maximize resonating impact throughout the larger ecology; a capacity building approach - aiming to strategically strengthen the capacities of participants to effectively fulfill their mandates in their professional position and to be accountable to their constituents and the broader ECD community in their countries. Although most education activities claim this as a general 'purpose', the ECDVU program addresses capacity development in a specific, strategic manner. a co-constructive approach - encouraging each learner to draw upon provided curriculum material as well as their own in-country experience and data to derive their own perspectives and applications; a multicultural approach - considering ideas, research, and goals pertaining to child care and development from many different cultural sources, including (but not limited to) African and Euro-Western sources; a cohort driven approach - encouraging collaboration, reciprocal learning among peers, and consolidation of networks within and between learners representing each participating country. an historical approach - exploring 'how we came to be here' vis à vis the evolution of various theories and constructions regarding children and their care and more recent international development activities focusing on children's care and development.

References: http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/learner.php

Week 3-EDUC-6163

Blog Assignment: Research that Benefits Children and Families-Uplifting Stories

I have worked with young children in some way since I was fifteen and have seen many things over the years. What I would like to look further into on behalf of children is the affects of divorce/separation. I think it is important for us to understand how this affects children and how important it is for them to have both parents involved as they grow up. Sometimes when families break up it is polite on all sides and then again you have the other side of the spectrum-battles between parents or worse keeping the child/children from the other parent. This is close to me because my son is going through the second type and he is not allowed to see or talk to his son at all. I think a study on the effects this has on children would be good data and it could be compared to children that are from non-divorced families.

Researching Special Needs

Blog Assignment: Your Personal Research Journey

This week we were to narrow our topic down even more, so I have picked Special Needs in the school setting (main topic), I am looking closer at either ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or Dyslexia. My son has Dyslexia and this can be frustrating for him at times. Schools are still in the mind set of pushing anyone to the side that has any type of problem (as they see it). All children need the same treatment even if they may need extra attention. So far working on the research simulation has been a challenge as I am finding it more difficult to fit all the required research and study time into my work days. We are also starting the process of NAEYC Accreditation and that on top of this is at times overwhelming. I am however very excited about finding our more for my topic, so if anyone has any good information or sites to share that would be great! I am learning so much about good and bad websites already from all of my classmates (Thank You).

Class # 5 Towards my Master's !!

EDUC-6163 Hello everyone, hope all is going well for the first week of class. This class promises to be very informative and challenging for me-but as I have never done research before I know I can count on all my new friends to help as I will help each person also. Here's to another class and the halfway mark for us :-) Best wishes to all!!

Final Blog Week 8

Blog Week 8

Three Consequences with working with International Awareness: I have learned many things over the past eight weeks and hope to continue learning as time goes on. One of my consequences from this course is that I have learned so much about poverty/economics and how it affects children everywhere. Many people think poverty isn’t in their neighborhood-but it’s all around us. We should all work to help alleviate poverty by working together and joining organizations that work to make changes happen.

Next is how important it is to interact with educators around the world-I briefly made contact with two professionals and it was interesting hearing how education is handled where they live. In some countries education is put on the back burner or if you’re a girl you are not allowed to go to school or risk being hurt or worse, we need to make education mandatory for everyone as well as safe no matter where you live.

The last is in regard to education for professionals and how important it is for anyone working with children and families to understand how complex and different each and everyone are going to be!! We all need to learn about children developing, diversity, languages, family interactions and many other complex areas in regard to children.

The goal that is related t international awareness for me is how I can work at being an advocate for children everywhere and continue my interactions with my contacts to learn more about education in their countries. I hope to be a voice for children and families in other countries so that they will be able to get better education, drinking water, food, and the many things that most of us here in the United States take for granted. I have really enjoyed this course and hope to continue what I have learned and keep in contact with my classmates throughout the remaining classes and further-hopefully we will meet one day and even work together on some project for bettering children’s lives.

Blog Week 7

Blog week 7: Well, here we go with the alternate for the blog, no reply from my international contacts again. After going to the website (www.unesco.org), and looking over the many articles and sections I have found some that really made me stop and read more. The first article that I read was “Teaching pre-school children about the environment”. This was done in Germany and it taught children 3-6 about how energy happens and about their environment through hands-on activities and play. I really like that they tied everything together and this helps children to use these skills forever. The article states “What children learn in early childhood strongly influences their further learning, health and behaviour. I truly believe this is right-if we let them have many opportunities for playing and hands on activities then they will retain more and this will also help them become better adjusted in life. Young children are sponges that will abosrb as much as they are given.

The second article that I found interesting was “Early Childhood-Getting the big picture”. This one caught my attention because it took pictures from children around the world that would “represent the aspirations of children for education and for their lives, and aim to mobilize additional support from the general public and policy makers for early childhood care and education”. All of the pictures were on display at the UNESCO headquarters to help show the importance of education around the world as well as the work that Global Action Week and UNESCO does for getting the word out about education.

I also found the section about Access and Equity very interesting on this website; they talk about the importance of early childhood education and care. All countries involved are committed to “expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children”. Care needs to be given to all children regardless of where they live or any other difference. All governments need to work harder to have equity and access to every family and not come up with reasons that it will not work. This is a great website that offers so much great information and it is also very easy to navigate. This organization helps so many people everywhere and they are also trying to help education become a topic talked about by everyone. If we talk about it more maybe something good will happen for the many children that are still being denied an education.

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/

Week 6: Sharing Web Resources

Blog week 6: Sharing Web Resources

While looking over my e-newsletter from the “Association for Childhood Education International”, www.acei.org, the area that I clicked on was an article for “Global Initiative on Education”. I then followed the links to the global gateway and then general links and resources. This is something that the United Nations is working on to make sure every child is going to school no matter where they live. They are working to make it so all children regardless of their sex, race or anything else is in school, but there are still many factors that make it hard for children (economics and gender ) being the two biggest obstacles. According to the Global Compact on Learning, “quality education generates greater economic growth, creates a lasting impact on public health, and leads to safer more stable societies”( http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/universal-education). This article also states that just because a child goes to school-does not mean they are learning! There was so much to read and look through that it will take awhile too really look at all this site has to offer. The global Initiative on Education wants to do so many things for all children-but they can’t do it alone, they want everyone-everywhere to work for the children and make it happen so they can start school early and stay in school and learn the foundational skills that everyone needs to be a part of society.

Both the newsletter and the website share information that pertains to what we are learning and as I read more it is helping me to gain a better picture of what we need to do for all children. Just because we live in the United States does not mean that we can’t help children around the world-we just need to find ways to help by advocating, volunteering, and if possible going to another country to help in some way. It is our job to help all children get their education, be safe, and have what they need to be healthy, happy in their childhood. Resources: www.acei.org http://www.acei.org/general-links-resources/education-research-policy.html http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/universal-education/global-compact-on-learning

Week 5

Blog Assignment: Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

This week I have not heard back from my international contacts, so I am doing the alternative by looking into the Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website. The articles that I found interesting were the “Zambian Early Childhood Development Project” and a focus on Brazil and children’s health. The Zambian project was focused on the effects of the anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia. This was started in 2009 and they also did a Zambian Child Assessment Test (ZamCAT) in 2010 that followed how children developed through a certain time frame.

The second article about Brazil covers the science of child health and development and how it helps to make better policies for children and their families. This website in general has so much to offer anyone wanting to learn or help in regard to children around the world. I have learned that each year since 2000 the area of early childhood development has continues to receive more attention around the world by the people that make the policies we follow. These is still much that needs attention and more help-some of these being poverty, food and clean water issues everywhere and equal education for all children on matter where they live or their circumstances.

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/zambian_project/ http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/download_file/-/view/1181/

Sharing Web Resources Week 4

While looking over the website (www.acei.org) this week, I came across the blog article titled "Promoting a Positive Childhood" and found it really interesting because of what we have talked about recently. They list some things that are important for every child and you could build on the list by leaving a comment. Here is the list:

Ten Pillars of a Good Childhood

1. Safe and secure places for living, with learning and access to health care, clothing, and nutritious food

2. Strong families and loving, consistent caregivers

3. Social interactions and friendships

4. Creative play and physical activity

5. Appreciation and stewardship of the natural environment

6. Creative expression through music, dance, drama, and the other arts

7. Education that develops the full capacities of the child—cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and ethical

8. Supportive, nurturing, child-friendly communities

9. Growing independence and decision making

10. Children and youth participating in community life.

I am very interested in the "Decade for Childhood 2012-2022". In this time we all need to put more energy into giving our children back their "childhood" and freedom to express themselves instead of making them conform toso much structure. Children need to be allowed to be CHILDREN! The Decade for Children was jsut so interesting for me and has so much information that pertains to everyone that has anything to do with children. Advocates from everywhere are involved with this and I have found myself joining and hope to do more with this project-just waiting for them to get back in touch with me. Our economy is vital to the health of our children so economists and others in these fields are involved by helping with research and hopefully more politicians will spend more energy on our children and less on politics. There are so many different links on this site that I am still exploring-but anything to do with global children and helping around the world and at home are on my list of things to do and advocate for.

One of the comments on the blog page had this listed and I thought it was perfect for sharing here: Thank you Aileen Puurveen-Abma

“S” social development “I can learn to reach out to others, share and have friends”

“P” physical development “I can learn to move my body that best expresses my abilities”.

“E” emotional development “I can learn to believe in myself and love who I am”.

“C” Cultural development “I can learn and celebrate who I am in the context of others”.

“I” Intellectual/ cognitive development “I can learn to succeed to the greatest of my ability”.

“A” Artistic development. “I can learn to freely express myself through the arts”.

“L” Language and land development. “I can learn to communicate to others and to the earth itself”.

This website has many areas that are adding to my knowledge about how to help children everywhere and how to get others involved by sharing this information with them.

Getting to know Your International Contacts

International Contacts After a rough start for making contact with profesionals outside the United States, I finally have two contacts I'm talking to-one in Denmark and one in Canada.

My contact in Denamrk wrote:
The poverty level in Denmark is not high, but it is increasing. I could not find the exact %, because, there several different ways to calculate how many poor people, and children we have in Denmark Our school system are for everybody, so in theory all children have the same rights, and level of education, in real life, some parts of the bigger cities have areas where the education lack a student standard. These areas are populated with a lot of refugees, emigrants and people with social problems.

At the moment the rich is getting richer, and the poor is getting poorer, and the politicians is a lot to blame. It is the private organizations who help the most, by helping with clothes, food and shelter.

In the area that I work, is no poverty at all, so my job is more to teach these children, that they are very lucky, and there are others who need help, and it is vital to show solidarity, and help others and share.

Rasmus

And for Canada this is what I was given:

Hi Susan, Just to give you a little info about myself. I am an ECE with my special needs and infant toddler diplomas as well. I have been working in childcare for many years and in many places in BC. I am currently managing a young parent program that is being run out of a local high school. We provide an infant toddler center and support for young parents who attend the high school as well as families from the communities. We are able to provide all of the food and diapers throughout the day for our children and help to give them role modeling and routine that they require. I believe that the poverty level in Canada is around 10-14% but you might need to check that stat. I believe that in our society it is mostly the middle income families who sometimes have the hardest times. Families who are below the poverty line in Canada are able to get government subsidy which covers a portion or sometimes all of their childcare costs. For the families who are just above the cut off line, they have to pay full childcare fees and most times it is their paychecks that are going straight to cover the costs of childcare.

There are many resources in Canada to help families who are below the poverty line and needing extra help such as subsidized childcare, food and clothing donation services, subsidized housing, counseling services, etc. There are many community services groups who are able to help out those in need and many resources available. At our center we are able to provide food, diapers and clothing for children of young parents who are not able to provide it for themselves. We offer parent group counseling services, weekly meetings, cooking classes, knowledge classes, teach self help skills, etc. I hope this helps. Sorry it’s not very much but if you require any further info, please let me know.

Thanks-Nicole

After getting this information I did more internet searching to see if I could find more information to go with the emails and I found a chart that lists countries and their poverty levels.

This chart shows us where our country stands compared to others and it’s a rude awaking for all of us to stop and really focus on what our priorities should really be.

Reference:

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/29/491443/un-report-child-poverty/?mobile=nc

Sharing Web Resources

Blog Week 2: Sharing Web Resources The organization I selected for further research is the Association for Childhood Education International, www.acei.org and I chose this because they cover a wide range of issues that affect children around the world. Their focus is on the rights of children everywhere and to make it possible for children to get an education no matter where they live, to have educators that are knowledgeable on early childhood issues and development. As stated on their website: • To promote the inherent rights, education, and well-being of all children in their home, school and community. • To work for desirable conditions, programs, and practices for children from infancy through early adolescence. • To bring into active cooperation all individuals and groups concerned with children. • To raise the standard of preparation for those actively involved with the care and development of children. • To encourage continuous professional growth of educators. • To focus the public's attention on the rights and needs of children, and on the ways various programs must be adjusted to fit those rights and needs. The topic that I found interesting and important for me is “How climate change affects children and youth” for me this affects children everywhere because we are having more and more major storms, floods, earthquakes and other types of nature related weather problems and they come from what we are doing to our world. I found the article very enlightening. Again as stated on the site this affects children around the world and it affects the whole child-living conditions, education, medical, and the ability to get food. Here is what the website tells us: Issue in Brief Climate change is a serious and real threat to children’s well being. In many areas of the world children’s lives are being disrupted by the shifts in temperatures and increasingly severe weather conditions. Today, they are few areas of the world that are not being impacted by climate change and these changes can also have a significant impact on a child’s ability to attend school. Very sadly severe climate changes may also support conditions that impact a child’s ability to survive. In extreme conditions, changes in the climate may cause a dangerous decrease in water supplies or droughts that result in the tragic deaths of young and old. Climate changes, such as overly dry or wet seasons, may also encourage conditions that contribute to the expansion of deadly diseases such as malaria, which kills thousands of children every year. Climate change can alter the resources available in communities by impacting food supplies and crops. This not only directly affects food availability for children and community members but it may also decrease their ability to trade goods with others creating economic instability in entire regions. Even in less severe cases climate change can still affect a child’s ability to receive an education. All over the world changes in weather patterns that result in extreme conditions such as heavy snow fall, floods, storms and intense heat may force schools to change locations, to close or may significantly decrease the quality of the learning environment. Climate change is impacting children lives and it can seriously affect a child’s access to and participation in school. www.acei.org: Association for Childhood Education International

Week 1: Professional Contacts and Resources

Week 1: Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources This week I was not able to get a solid contact from all my emails, still waiting for someone to hopefully come through. While waiting I went ahead and listened to the world forum foundation’s episode 6 with Meridas Eka Yora who is the founder and director of the institution Fajar Hiayah for Islamic Education and Director of the Yayasan Fajar Hidayah Foundation. Meridas developed three boarding schools for children orphaned as a result of that devastation in Aceh. Aceh, a special territory on the Southern tip of Indonesia, was the closest land to the epicenter of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, in which more than 225 Indonesians were killed and 500,000 left homeless. Meridas talked about how he started the foundation and that it helps many children and has grown to over 2,000 students as well as other children in need. There are seven schools as of 2009. (www.worldforumfoundation.org) The organization that I am interested in is the: Association for Childhood Education International (www.acei.org). This organization was founded in 1982 and they are involved on the international level so they can help advocate for children everywhere. ACEI also advocates for teachers and parents. They have a blog, radio broadcasts, e-news and global news as ways to communicate. I will continue to explore and share over the next eight weeks.

Break before next class!!

Hello everyone, Hope everyone is enjoying our little break from class-getting many things done for work before the rush begins for EDUC-6162, Issues and Trends in ECE field. Is anyone going to be in class with me? Hope everyone did great in our last class and relax for the holiday and get ready to jump in again :-) See ya on the 4th!!

"My Supports"

“My Supports” The supports I have around me are my family: husband, daughter and son. These are my immediate supports because these people help me stay focused, give me the support needed to continue my education and do the job that I love. My husband has been by my side for over thirty years and supported me in whatever I wanted to do, we have always helped each other achieve our dreams of education (while in the Air Force it was his dream to obtain his Bachelors and become an Officer) and when it was my turn to continue my education (after our children graduated high school) I returned to school and obtained my Associates degree at the same time my daughter graduated from George Mason University with her Bachelors degree. My daughter supports me by being there for me to bounce ideas off of and help me understand how to put my thoughts onto paper when I need it. She is there for me when I am having a rough day and I am there for her as well. My son supports me by being my computer wizard and helping me to learn new things for my education and job. He is always just a phone call away for me to ask how I do this. All of these people support me through my goal of getting healthy and fit again-by cooking me healthy meals, going on walks or bike rides with me. My challenge would be to move to another country again and have to leave my support system behind and start over. Even though I have lived overseas many times, I always had my family with me and now my children have their own families so I would not have those supports with me. I would have to build new relationships with new co-workers and neighbors and for me this would be hard because I am really an introvert and do not make friends easily. I would have my husband with me so that would be a big support to keep me grounded and able to start over, I would be linked to my children by email, skype and the phone. The other challenge with the move would be learning the language in order to do my job-this would be an intense learning experience, but again with my husband and new co-workers it would get done. If I did not have my supports, I feel I would have a harder time at succeeding in my new job and home. I would need to find a way to take them with me while I build a new support system to help me succeed.

My Connections to Play

Adults are obsolete children-Dr. Seuss www.quotegarden.com We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing-George Bernard Shaw www.quotegarden.com "Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." Friedrich Froebel http://www.childsplaymagazine.com/quotes/index.htm When I was young I would play outside all day with my friends and family. We loved to go exploring because we lived in the country and had alot of fun climbing trees and just seeing what nature had for us to find. I used to enjoy playing outside on our tire swing and playing games at night around the neighborhood. My siblings would play games and explore with me even though they were older than me. This helped me to grow closer to them and learn young about how rules can change from one minute to the next. I was an outside player when I was growing up and still perfer to be outside whenever possible. Both at school and at home outside play was encouraged and we also had family time when we would play games together (board games and outside games ). Play was encouraged-but I grew up in the 1960's and the electronic age had not hit yet, so that was good. Today I think play is alot different because so many children do not play outside. Today children play inside on electronic devices or are watching television. When I was growing up children played sports and got together outside-today children play some sports, but also get together to play computer games and other inside activities. Play time is being taken away from children today in many programs and being replaced with more desk work and for me this needs to be changed back to how it was when i was growing up and you had recess two to three times a day and you played outside most of the time.

These are some of my favorite things to do and play with even now with my grandchildren-we are always playing outside and making up games to play. It is great to watch them explore and ask questions about the world around them. I instilled in my children a love for the outdoors and we are all trying to do the same thing with all the grand children.

Relationship Reflection

Blog: Week 2

Reflecting on Building Relationships: My Reflection

Reflecting on my relationships and partnerships with the many people in my personal and professional life, I find that they are pretty much separate from each other. My relationships/partnerships with my parents are very important because they will be the foundation of how my relationship with each child starts. Relationships with anyone can make you who you are or what you become throughout life. I have a very good relationship with my daughter Sarah (now that she is older); over the years we have grown very close and work together to raise her daughters whenever she needs a sounding board on why they are doing something she doesn’t understand. Sarah is my biggest supporter on continuing my education and pushes me forward whenever I think I can’t go on. I know I can talk to her about anything and she comes to me whenever she needs to talk as well. My son is also part of the backbone to getting my education-he is also working on his Bachelor’s degree after returning from Iraq and having a very hard time adjusting. We are his family and help him in any way we can. My family is who I depend on daily and I know they will stand behind me in all my decisions. They help me understand why I should or should not do something and I am the same way with them. Being from a military background I have made friends around the world, so sometimes it is hard to stay in touch-but I still keep in touch so we can continue our relationship over time and distance.

My other person that I have a great relationship with is my husband, we have been together for 31 years and I know I can depend on him to keep me grounded in both my personal and professional choices. I can talk to him about anything and know he will give me an honest answer and help me understand why if I don’t agree with his answer. We have been through many happy and sad times and I know he is there for me. My cat that we had for 18 years is also very important to how I look at relationships because he was a constant in my life for a very long time and went everywhere with us (traveling cat) he went to Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia with us. He was part of our family and it was very hard on everyone when he passed away. These relationships have made me into the caring person I am today and taught me how important each person is and I continue to build on this daily.

These relationships have helped me to understand just how important building a connection with my families is and also how hard it can be sometimes. I try to learn about each of my family’s backgrounds so I will better understand them as a whole. When I know as much as possible about them then I will be able to work better for the whole family. It can be difficult to keep relationships going because sometimes you get busy, move away, change careers, or any number of other reasons. Sometimes it is just meant to be that a relationship fails or changes and we need to move on. My experience with relationships/partnerships has helped me grow into a better listener and also I have a better understanding of other cultures/diversity because of moving around so much throughout my life. I have built an understanding that each culture is different and we need to understand that not everyone has the same beliefs-but we do all have the same needs.

My relationships over the years have definitely made me who I am today because when I want something I have people behind me telling me to go for it and that I can do anything I put my mind too.

Week 8: When I Think of Child Development

Quotes that have meaning:

While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about-Angela Schwindt
www.quotegarden.com

Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.-Kay Redfield Jamison
www.quotegarden.com

"Children are our most valuable resource" -Herbert Hoover
www.compassion.com

Children need models more than they need critics.-Joseph Joubert
www.notable-quotes.com

All of these quotes reflect jsut how important children are to us and they show us that we must take care of them because they are the future. There are so many quotes available for us to read and ponder and it is sometimes hard to pick just one or two. I can't wait to read everyones quotes so maybe I will be able to find some new favorites. This class has been great and I have learned so much from my colleauges-I hope to see many of you in my next class.

Testing for Intelligence? Week 6

Blog Assignment Week 6:

Testing for Intelligence?

This week we are looking at children being assessed and or measured. For me I think that assessing a child can be done with the “whole child” in mind, but is not normally. Most assessments are focused on certain areas and then they have another assessment for whatever else is being looked at. Assessments can be a good thing for a child because we need to look at everything to see where the developmental issues might be. When assessing a child we look at many areas; social, cognitive, and physical and each of these areas has other areas within to look at and measure. In order to get a full picture of a child’s development and or abilities we need to assess them at some point. This is not to say we test them so much that they are afraid of testing or even failing, we need to make it more of a game for young children if possible so they will get the most out of the experience. When we only look at certain areas of a child-we are not getting the full picture so we will not really know the child. Every child is different and develops at a different pace, so we need to take this into account when doing any assessing.

The country I picked to look into is Japan-partly because I lived there for three years and I would love to go back at some point (maybe as a DOD employee). In Japan they have no real assessment criteria, until they are in secondary education and this is so they have a better picture for the high school years. Children are regularly assessed by their teachers in Japanese and mathematics by teacher made assessment forms or professional ready-made tests (http://www.inca.org.uk/japan). In order to continue into high school each child must be assessed or they cannot proceed. Children are passed onto the next grade by the teacher’s assessment and not by testing as we do in the United States.

http://www.inca.org.uk/japan-system-mainstream.html

Blog Assignment: Week 4

While going over this week’s assignment, I was overcome by how many of the stressors we see throughout our lives and how they affect us. I will say that for me I feel my childhood was very stressful because I was a military child and moved often and then when I was two years old my dad was killed in a car accident. After this happened my mom did the best she could to raise five children alone and we ended up still moving around and living close to military bases so we had their support system. Being part of the military family has a lot of benefits because they do take care of their own-no matter what. One week before my eleventh birthday my mom passed away from cancer and we started moving around to family and strangers homes. My brother tried to care for us but he had his own family by now and it was just too hard to take in four more people to care for. I lived with aunts that just wanted the money that came with us and then the foster care system that I my view did a very poor job of screening families before putting children in their care. One family I lived with abused us often and we finally found our voices and told someone and they came and got us out, but not before they had damaged our small two year old brother (foster brother) by hitting him because he wouldn’t talk-he had something in his throat that had to be operated on later and I found out he fully recovered with no side effects. I lived in over ten places between the years 1971-1979. Over this time my siblings and I lost all our belongings so that we now have nothing to show or share with our own children and grandchildren.

For me I feel that many of the stressors listed this week and many others fall into my life as I am sure they affect many of my classmates. We all have difficult times to remember and persevering throughout is what makes us stronger and the person we grow to become as an adult. I am very sensitive to how the foster care system works and have talked with social workers many times about what I need to do to make a difference and I am in the process of working with our local office as a volunteer so I can made an even bigger impact on children’s lives and help them in new ways.

Childhood Stress

I chose childhood stress in Japan because of the Tsunami and the fact that I lived there for three years (in Misawa). I would like to research the Tsunami and find out in what ways others and I can help those affected. I was reading on the internet today that a man’s motorcycle was washed up in Canada in April. It was a very touching story about the Tsunami even though it does not deal with childhood stress. So many families were and still are affected; they will be continued to be affected for the rest of their lives. Children need to be talked to and shown books that can help them understand what happened and this also helps them to cope with the help of the adults in their lives.

References: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/04/disasters-put-stress-children-japan.html

Just a side note about breastfeeding-does anyone have an opinion on the Time magazine cover story? Just wondering what everyone's ideas are on how it was done and all the hype that is going on with it. I'm all for breastfeeding, but not so sure about children of this age-any thoughts?

Week 2: Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

I chose breastfeeding because it is a very important issue and one that needs to be talked about more and not pushed under the carpet. In the United States it is a topic that people don’t like to talk about and it just so natural for a mother and child to have this connection from birth. Breastfeeding is very important for a child’s healthy development and there are many benefits for both mother and child. I breastfed both my children (both until 6 ½ to 7 months and I stopped then because when the teeth start coming in OUCH) and I think it helped us to bond better and they had less colds and other health problems growing up. I believe that every mother should try to breast feed unless there are health problems that prevent it. My daughter has breastfed her children as well and I think they have done very well also. Some things about breastfeeding that I feel are important: Breastfeeding protects babies, breastfeeding should last at least the first six months, breastfeeding helps the mother’s body and also breastfeeding helps the child fight illnesses through the nutrients in the mother’s milk.

I found many sites with information about breastfeeding around the world and it can vary depending on where you are. There are many factors to look at in regard to breastfeeding, social issues, workplace issues and the country you live in. according to the World Health Organization, globally less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed (“10 facts on breastfeeding,” 2012). Optimal breastfeeding together with complementary feeding help prevent malnutrition and can save about a million child lives. The Philippines is one of the leaders in international efforts to promote and protect women’s right to breastfeed. The country has implemented laws to control aggressive marketing by formula companies and their false claims that formula makes babies smarter. The WHO estimated that the nation’s total lost wages from caring for formula-fed children with diarrhea and acute respiratory infections during the first six months of life was 1 billion pesos ($23.4 million). Eighty-eight percent of Filipino babies are breastfed at birth and 34% are exclusively breastfed up to five months of age (www.incultureparent.com).

Share ways the information you have learned may impact your future work

This information will not really change my work because I work with preschool children; however, some of my children have newborn siblings. My center does care for infants six weeks of age, so I may find that I could share this information with my co-workers that work with the infants. I know this information will come in handy when I finally get to open my own school after I finish my Master’s program. My daughter and I want to care for infants because it is so hard for mothers to find quality care for these very important young children when they have to go back to work. I say this because my daughter had this problem and ended up being a stay at home mom because she couldn’t find a place that she really felt comfortable with and I am in the mindset that if you can stay home at least for the first year-DO IT!

References:

(2012). 10 facts on breastfeeding. World Health Organization, retrieved from http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/breastfeeding/en/index.html

http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/workplace

La Leche League International; http://www.llli.org/toolkit

www.healthychildren.org

http://www.incultureparent.com/2012/03/breastfeeding-around-the-world

Blog Assignment Week 1 EDUC-6160

Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child's birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development?

The birthing experience I chose is when I had my daughter. I remember most of this because I was having my second C-Section and was able to be awake for everything. When I had my son I was put under because it turned out he was too big for a natural birth and I was a small framed person and this is why I chose his sister’s birth. I was able to pick the date I wanted to have her (so I could spend Christmas with my son) and then move on to recuperating. I went in the night before to get ready and then in the morning everything just went fairly quick. They gave me the epidural and then after about 10-15 minutes they checked to see if I could feel anything and when I couldn’t they started the C-section. What I remember from the prep before having her is the doctors and nurses talking to me as they did each step so I knew what was happening the whole time. I do remember the pressure from when they were taking my daughter from my body and the joy and excitement when I was able to see and hold her for the first time. I chose this one because it is the one that I was awake for and really remember. My thoughts on birth and the impact on child development are that we really do need to have some idea about child development when thinking about having children.

Choose a region of the world or a country, other than the U.S., and find out how births happen there. Write about what you learned, and the differences and similarities with your experience (in the personal example you provided). What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience on development, did you gain from this comparison?

I chose Turkey for this half of my blog assignment, in Turkey most births where supervised by midwives as recently as 20 years ago because there was a shortage of doctors. However, now most do use doctors and many Turkish women elect to have c-sections done (a rate of 75%) according to Kybele, a U.S. nonprofit group that is for safe childbirth practices in developing countries. A main reason for this is not enough people trained in obstetric anesthesia. By using general anesthesia Turkey has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Europe. Local customs for Turkey are that all celebrations are done after the baby is born, plus, mother and baby stay home for the first twenty day after birth. Friends come by and drink a special beverage called lohusa serbeti. After the twenty days the mother and baby can make return visits to friends. The baby also gets flour rubbed on their eyebrows and hairline which is supposed to grant a long life.

References:

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Birth Customs Around the World: http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/

I am very excited to be starting my next class on Monday! However, this black board stuff could be a challenge-thinking positive!! I will figure it out and succeed! Hope I have some familiar classmates for this class, if I do see you on Monday and best to all of us!

I want to thank all my classmates for a great first class in my Master's program.I am very excited to continue and make more friends and learn new things from everyone. Best to each and everyone of you and hope to see you again in another class.

Week 7:

 Post three ideals contained in the NAEYC and DEC codes of ethics that are meaningful to you, and explain their significance to your professional life.

Professional and Interpersonal Behavior

“We shall demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in all

our professional activities in order to inspire the trust and confidence of the children and families

and of those with whom we work.”

This one for me is significant because we need to be a team when working with children and their families. If we do not work together then it is the children that will suffer. We need to let the children be active in what happens in the classroom and to share with our families. When we model behaviors for the children and our peers then we are instilling in others what we hope for them to learn and share. The most important thing teachers can do is to show others trust.

Professional Collaboration

“We shall honor and respect the rights, knowledge, and skills of the multidisciplinary colleagues

with whom we work recognizing their unique contributions to children, families, and the field of

early childhood special education”.

Again, we must respect our peers beliefs and feelings, even when they are different than ours. By recognizing everyone’s differences and learning from them-we become better professionals as well as individuals that work with children and families. Each of us can learn so much from the people we work with and we need to remember this and excel with the new knowledge we can gain from others.

Responsive Family Centered Practices

“We shall demonstrate our respect and appreciation for all families’ beliefs, values, customs,

languages, and culture relative to their nurturance and support of their children toward achieving

meaningful and relevant priorities and outcomes families’ desire for themselves and their children”.

Each of our families is different and we need to embrace this and learn whatever we can from each child. We can incorporate this new information into the classroom for all the children to learn. Families want to share with us and we need to welcome them into the fold of the school family.

. References

Code of Ethics (2009)

Here are my resources to add to the list already posted!

http://www.nieworld.com/teachers/minipage/2009/200935.htm

This is a great site for anyone that enjoys using the mini page from the newspaper. They have lots of ideas and they can be used for many age groups.

Another site that I use all the time is http://www.hummingbirded.com/

It has a large list of themes for anytime of the year.

A great multicultural resource that I use is: World Playground by Putumayo World Music, www.putumayo.com  that comes with a book, ideas for the places you can travel throughout the book and a music CD that has songs and games from around the world.

Tot line is another great resource that has books, and newsletters with ideas to use in the classroom. This is no longer what it used to be when I first started out-she has now put her resources online for parents, teachers and anyone else that loves children to use.

http://www.preschoolexpress.com/meet_jean.shtml

My last resources are books that I have read and enjoyed.

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv is a great find and I am all for children being out in nature and not inside with the electronic age. Have always spent as much time outside with my children and now with my grandchildren-so get outside and renew the love for nature!

The other book that I have started to read is: The Sandbox Investment: The preschool movement and kids-first politics by David L. Kirp. Will keep you updated on how this book turns out if you would like.

Hope you enjoy the resources J

This week our job was to post the resources we are using for our assignments.

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

.

Part 1: 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.

Part 2: 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/

Okay, thats the list from the class! I will post my own later tonight.

This week our assignment is to post quotes or othr interesting writings from the people we learned about for our discussion and from our week 2 video resource. For my discussion I picked Stanley Greenspan and Lilian Katz.

 

“if you do a little bit of looking at books with your children and inspire them to be curious about the pictures and … what the word means, but don’t get into very structured systematic teaching at too early an age,…and you interact emotionally and have fun with pretend play…then you have the best of both worlds.” Stanley Greenspan

“We need to take a less narrow look at our children’s problems and instead see them as windows of opportunity—a way of exploring and understanding all facets of our children’s development. If we can understand the underlying developmental process, we can see a child’s struggles as signs of striving toward growth instead of chronic problems or attempts to aggravate adults.” Stanley Greenspan

“Regardless of the history of IQ tests in the family, if I see nurturing, warm, interactive people who read emotional signals well and interact well, usually I see happy, competent and bright children.” Stanley Greenspan

“We overestimate children academically and underestimate them intellectually” Lilian Katz

“Let’s keep up the good work for the sake of the children. The best way to influence others is to do the best we can! It may very well be that what we do speaks more loudly than what we say”. Lilian Katz

Quotes from the Week 2 video:

“I want to fix all the injustices in the world. I want to make sure children are taught in an environment to grow and develop to their fullest abilities and to create a safe world”. Louise Derman-Sparks

“It helps me to put my ego aside and help these children to succeed”. Renatta M. Cooper

“We in the Early Childhood field have the opportunity to shape the child for the better”. Sandy Escobido

Personal Childhood Web

This week our assignment was to right about five people tht had an impact on our lives growing up and maybe even now. There are not many people that I can truly say have had a lasting impact on my life, but I will try to put some out here. I am starting this way because I have lived with many people throughout my early years and at times it was very hard to come to terms with what and why things happened the way they did. It was not until years later that I finally came to terms with "there is a reason for everything-and I will find out the plan at the appointed time and place".

1. The first person I will talk about is my mom: I pick her because for the first eleven years of my life she was one of the constants for me. When I was two my dad died so my mom was left to raise five children alone. Not only did she have to raise us away from any family, but during my childhood she found out she had cancer and still made sure we had everything we needed. She was a very strong woman and showed me that when you put your mind to something-you will succeed no matter the obstacles put in your way. My mother was always there to listen and hold us when we needed it and always told us that whatever the problem was-it would work out! My mom always made sure I knew that she was there for me and would help me with anything I needed. She made me feel special because of how she treated each of us as a separate person and did not compare us; she knew that we were all different. I think my mom helped me to be the person I am today because she helped me understand that each person is an individual.

My mom and dad

2. The second person I will talk about is my older brother Carl that has played a very big role in my life because he was one of the main people that helped to make it through the difficult time after my mom passed away when I was four days away from being twelve years old. Even though he already had a family of his own, he took all three of us girls and for me this was very special. It is hard enough to raise your own family, but to take on your sisters was a big challenge for him and I feel he has been an inspiration then and now because he gave unselfishly in order to keep us together. He was always encouraging and keep pushing us to do better and I thank him for instilling in me the value and belief that I would complete all I put my mind too. He has been through many hard times and yet he still remembers each of us and is only a phone call away.



My brother Carl

3. Third on my list is my Uncle Charlie, my uncle was the next person to take us in after my brother and we stayed with him for a few years until it became too much of a family hardship. My uncle had five children of his own, so it was difficult to add more at this time. My uncle was the one in the home that seemed to understand what we were going through and helped us along the way. My uncle was the backbone of the family and I was truly sad when I had to say goodbye and leave. He showed me things about my mom that I would have never known and I thank him for that. He helped to put my family history in perspective and I continue to build on the history that he started and try to share it with the family I still have. Thank you Uncle Charlie for being a figure I could look up too and wish I could still talk with you today.

My Uncle Charlie

4. The fourth person on my list is my foster dad that I lived with for six years/through my high school years. He was the one at home that I could count on to listen to my problems and help me figure out what to do. My foster dad was the person during these years that helped me gain insight into what I needed to do in order to move forward and find what family I had left in the area. He helped put me in touch with people that took the extra steps to find my sisters and brother so I could rejoin them. If I ever had a problem I could talk to him and he would help me understand why I should do something or not. My foster dad helped me gain some of the values/beliefs I live by and have raised my own children by. If I had not met him I don’t think I would be the person I am today-so I say thank you.

My foster dad

5. The last person I will talk about is the teacher that made the biggest impact on my life after my mom died and I went to live with my last foster family. Mr. EcKard was a major influence during my junior and senior years of school. I remember walking in on my first day at my new school and he was there to help me and each day I knew I could go to him about anything. Mr. Eckard was my favorite teacher while at Gavit-he was always there when I needed someone to talk to. He helped me find my place when I first moved to the area and I will never forget him.

       Mr. EcKard

This is a picture from January in Fl or graduation with my two grand daughters-Isabella (in white) and Marysol in blue.

This is my new Marine son and daughter at his graduation from Parris island.

I am an avided reader and always have been, so picking one book is hard for me-but I have always loved reading about Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Another one I continue to read is the book Love you Forever by Robert Munsch  to my children and grandchildren ( which I have given each a copy with a dedication inside ). When doing our theme on families I also read this to my class and they enjoy it as well and think it's funny when the mommy is the one being held. These books are jsut two of many that I read every year and hope I pass down a love for reading and learning to every child I meet.