When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

1. one consequence of my experience being a part of a caring, collaborative learning community was I a was able to listen to and get suggestions.

2. The second consequence was the collaborative learning community was resourceful. They were resourceful in different ways, such as being able to express frustrations of our profession, and knowing that someone actually understood where you were coming from.

3. The third consequence was encouragement. Encouragement happened at the time I needed it most, our 7th week. Most times I am my own worst critic, and another classmate gave encouraging comments to our assignment we shared that week.

The one goal for using this collegial experience to enhance my advocacy etc. is to remember that everyone has their own personal opinion. I have a hard time accepting something different than what I am used to. This collaborative learning community has showed me that we all are unique in what we have to bring to the table.

My Hypothetical Family Situation

Our family is made up of two parents. We are not married and we have just moved to this country from Mexico to make a better living. I don't know any English. I am about to have my second child and my ultra-sound has revealed that my baby has cleft lip and palate. My partner has just found work and will be making $8.00 per hour at the local palate company. I cannot work because he will be upset. In our culture it means you are not a man if you can't take care of you family by yourself. Our child that is about to be born will be eligible for Medicaid Insurance but myself and my oldest daughter do not have any insurance. I go to the state hospital for care for me and my baby. I do not have much education. I had to leave school in 3rd grade in Mexico. My partner went to 5th grade and we don't understand much. All of my family lives in Mexico so I have no one to rely on for care of my children. I cannot get a drivers license to drive. I do not understand the test and I have no birth certificate. My husband has to take off work to drive me and my first child to appointments. We have no car but a neighbor lets us use his little truck for appointments. Its very small and we don't have much space. I wish for more help in understanding English. I want to learn more to be able to help my child with her learning but I don't know much myself. I wan to be able to understand the papers that come home from school with my first child, but they are in English. Even if they were in Spanish, I still can't read too good.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

The thing that I found this week that could really be used as a strategy to improve the strand of service I was researching this week-(Early Care and Education) was a campaign ticket. There were new school board members chosen in the county. These members unseated current members who had served more than 10 years. The newly elected members ran on a ticket together for district seats and at-large positions. They felt that if they banded together and ran on the same ticket it would help get them elected. Not only would they get elected but they could help each other in the fight to improve service to children and families in the area. This is one strategy and it appealed to me because I think it is important to have people on your school board who are interested in seeing the best done for children and families. I would want to be one of these people. I was thinking of someday running for a school board position so this was especially important to me.

Parent, Family and Community Engagement

I viewed the story of one former Head Start parent who was now A Head Start executive director! That was amazing. She was given opportunities to serve on the Head Start policy council and parent committee. These opportunities prepared her for her current role as executive director. She was learning about Head Start while serving in those capacities. She also talked about how Head Start staff encouraged her and reminded her that she could do anything she set out to do. Involving that parent in a goal setting process changed the life of that parent. She received an associates degree, a bachelor's degree and a Master's degree. This was a benefit to the parent but also to her children as she was better able to provide for them.

my opinion is Parent involvement is definitely an essential part for the early childhood field. Parents are their child's first and foremost teacher and that is a recipe for success when you mix home and school together! Parents that support classroom learning are a great tool for building academic success.

Quality Programs for All Children

I hope that our Nation will see a need for all children to have quality early care. In my job I see many people who come to do a Head Start intake and they are barely over income. They cannot get into Head Start because they make too much money. The money they make is barely enough to live on but it is too much for Head Start. They struggle to make ends meet to pay daycare so they can work. I also see many people who can afford to put their children in an early care program but they don't because they don't want to spend the money. One of the counties that I service has VPI which is Virginia Preschool Initiative. this program isn't based on income and doesn't cost anything so any child can take advantage of this quality program at no cost. I hope to see public opinion that wants this for all children, not just those in poverty. The change in public opinion will influence early childhood education because they will be interested in and supporting that all children will have access to early care programs regardless of their ability to pay.

Resonates with me about Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy

I chose this specialization because many times I have seen little children who needed someone to stand up for them. I felt bad because I didn't know what to do or how to do it. This has happened to me several times and I wanted to be able to be a voice for children. I have three children of my own and I hope that if anything ever happened to me that there would be someone who cared enough for them that they would stand up for them in a situation if they needed it. I want to do everything I can to support all children I come into contact with.

Advocates are essential to the Early Childhood Field because children aren't big enough to speak for themselves. They also are not big enough to know what is best for them. Children need advocates to ensure that their rights are protected and that they are given the best opportunities for success that they can be offered.

My goals for this specialization are:
1. To learn appropriate ways to support children and make sure their rights are respected and protect them from anything that will hinder their development.
2. Recognizing that children are our future, I want to be able to recognize and support all things that contribute to developing their bodies, minds, and spirits.
3. To obtain skills to make me a more informed advocate equipping me to protect children from harm and support positive influences for them.

Contact Information

I have really enjoyed my discussion group. I think Group 1 Rocks! I found myself reading everyone's blog whether I had to post on it or not. The discussion group was really good and made me think about different aspects of what we were discussing. The blog thing scared me when I first began my Master's program, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it! I didn't think I would have enough things to write about. I have enjoyed posting just as much as I have reading. I really want to thank those who were bold enough to post personal experiences on their blog and discussion boards. It made everything very real for me and gave me a way to apply it to everyday life. I would love to stay in contact with anyone who is willing.
I especially enjoyed the blogs of Sondi and Johan and Toni. I felt a special bond with Toni because she works with Head Start and so do I. I also used to be a Home Visitor so we had a couple things in common.

My contact info is:

Susann Brown
sbrown@pcdcva.org

adjournment

When looking at the Adjournment phase of team building, I feel like this is what I strive for. I think this is what I most enjoy about all team collaborations. When we look back and see what went well, what didn't do so well, what we would or wouldn't do again. The only time I can remember that happening (having an adjournment phase was this September when we held a Community Volunteer Luncheon. It was held in recognition of our 40th Anniversary of the non-profit agency I work for. I really enjoyed looking back over each item we accomplished that day. It felt good to think about what an impact some things made on the Community Partners. It was also helpful to look at things that didn't go so well and think of ways to improve them for next time. I often think of all the colleagues that I interact with while working on my Master's degree. I hope to be able to maintain contact with various colleagues so they may be resources throughout my career, as well as personal friends in the same field. One thing I learned in the beginning of the Master's program is a network of colleagues in the field can be very resourceful!

Disagreements and Conflicts

This week has really been a big conflict. I have said in several portions of this weeks' assignments that this was the right time for me to have this class. I learned from this week to take a look at the other person actually having a perspective and a different view. I learned that I needed to take a look at the fact that this new teacher that I am dealing with may not necessarily be crazy, but just different. I also learned that if I respect, reciprocate, and respond that things worked out much better. I am so glad this assignment came when it did. It helped improve the meeting that I called to straighten some things out with this teacher. I left the meeting feeling much better than when we came in because our issues were communicated much more positively than if I had gone in without having read these resources. The three R's were a large part of our conflict being resolved. I really needed to see them.

Communication Surveys

The thing that surprised me most about others perceptions of my communication was the fact that the two people that evaluated me felt like I was comfortable and relaxed. I find myself feeling nervous when speaking among groups. I don't mean that I feel really, really scared or nervous but I don't feel cool as a cucumber either. (SMILE) It surprised me that they felt that I was comfortable when speaking with them. I guess two things that I have learned were to focus more on being relaxed and present for the conversation instead of trying to be so perfect and solve every problem. The other thing I learned is that sometimes you need to take a moment and check with associates and colleagues and let them tell you how you are doing. The way you feel may be one way and the way they feel could be another. I was more afraid that my colleagues may have evaluated me at a worse perception than I did myself. Actually it came out that I was doing better than I thought! So I think learning to accept others criticism of your communication skills is very important.

3 Strategies for Effective Communication

1. I will remember that individuals in a certain group are just that-individual. That each person has their own being in that group. I will remember not to assume that they all are the same.

2. I will continue to learn as much as I can about all groups or cultures of people. I will try to broaden my knowledge on a regular basis. Broadening my knowledge will include reading, studying and researching other ethnicities and cultures, beginning with those I work directly with first.

3. Lastly, but to me most importantly I will and already do use the "Platinum Rule."
I try to treat others that I communicate with the way I would want to be treated if I was in their situation. I remind myself often when working with my families that I could very easily be thrust into their situation. I want to communicate with them on a level they understand and a level that doesn't demean them. I will work on improving my use of the "Platinum Rule."

TV Show Experience

I chose to record the show "Haters." This was the first time I watched the show and I actually hadn't even heard of it before. When looking at it with no sound I saw Snooky from Jersey Shore on there. I thought she was going on a date with this guy and it looked like she was saying nice things to him because she didn't make any frowns or scrunced up faces or anything. After looking at it with sound I found out she was saying some ugly things to him. She wasn't there to go out with him either. She was there because the guy was telling everyone she was a drunk and she was crazy and she wanted him to get to know her better. I also noticed when I watched it with sound that the sound effects they were playing emphasized the point the characters were making. I learned that I would like to be able to have that face that snooky had when she was talking. It wasn't a face that went either way. I want to be able to remain neutral when communicating so that people won't feel like I am judging or choosing sides. An aha moment I had was when watching one of the characters on the show who was the mother of the guy. I noticed that I do raise my eyebrows and make faces when someone is trying to hold a conversation with me if I question what they are telling me. I also wrinkle my nose when someone is asking me to do something that I don't really want to do. They don't even have to ask me anything because my body language is saying it all. Watching the mother reminded me of myself when I talk to people.

Competent Communication

If I think about a person who demonstrates competent communication it would have to be my pastor. I see him in group settings and sometimes individually one on one and he is always the same. He listens as people are speaking, he doesn't interupt and when its time to respond he speaks slowly and carefully. I have seen him remain completely neutral during meetings. This has even made me wonder which side is he on? He is excellent communicating even with my two children ages 11 and 5. I like the fact that he listens first and foremost. That is one behavior he exhibits that makes him effective. The second thing he does is maintain constant eye contact. This is important to me when I am talking to someone because even if they are not paying attention, it makes me think they are. The third thing I like is he is a mediator. You can't ever seem to see him take any one side. This is an important behavior in communication because you want someone to be able to hear all sides of an issue and discuss the information without forcing their opinion down your throat. I especially would like to model these behaviors after him. I think of people that I have come across in my lifetime that were pushy and when you hold a conversation with them it was their way or no way, and people talk about them. It was in a negative way that people were talking about them. I don't want to be talked about in that way and sure wouldn't want my parents and families that I serve feel like I was that way. I want to be able to help support and encourage my families in their own beliefs and way of thinking not conform them to my world!

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come fromw diverse backgrounds is that I make them feel comfortable. I don't ever want them to feel that I don;t like them or care about them because of their ethnicity, race, etc.

The goal I would like to set for the early childhood field is to be able to have enough respect, and consideration for a person's diversity to stand up for them even if I am the only one.

Thanks to all my colleagues who have shared their personal thoughts, experiences, trials, and stories as I have benefited so much from their real life instances. It truly has been wonderful and life changing taking this course. May you continue to better our profession by being so willing to share such personal and heartfelt experiences.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Opression

The memory I have of an incident when I experienced prejudice was when my youngest brother was dating a white girl from a nearby area. We are Native American and his parents weren't going for her dating anyone other than white. I remember her parents coming to our house and telling her that she had to leave. They told her that she wasn't dating any "so called Indians" They were very rude and it hurt my feelings. I was justa little girl maybe about 10 or 11 years old and I felt like we were dirt. I felt like we weren't really Native American! I doubted who I was. My parents werent home and my brother was about 20 or 21 years old at the time. He didn't argue with them because my parents taught us to be respectful of older adults. I cried and he told me don't worry it would be ok. He said they will never come back and we will be ok. My parents were angry that they treated us like that but they let it go. They didn't want to stir anything up. I still feel that feeling as I talk about it. It definitely had a lasting effect.
This prejudice made me doubt who I was. It diminished equity because it made me wonder if I was truly a Native American. It made me think that I wouldn't really be a Native American if they said I wasn't. I was just a child so I didn't know they couldn't take that away from me.
This incident brought feelings of self-doubt, fear, and was demeaning. Just talking of it again and thinking back to that day has really made me feel funny inside. I never want to make anyone feel like that or scar them for life as this incident has done me.
In order for this incident to change for greater equity, people would have to stand up and recognize Natives for who we are. These people who treated us so badly need to realize that all people are equal and no one should be subject to demeaning remarks. Those people should realize that we are human too. It didn't make us any less of human being because we are Native and as long as my brother wasn't mistreating her they should have left them alone. Their remarks to us and their tone of voice used with us would have to change.

microagressions

One example of microagression that I experienced was this week was our Head Start program has hired a new director. When discussing with a member of management (The whole management team is white and our previous director was white)what the new director was like, This is how she decribed her. Well its a woman and she worked in northern Virginia with a non-profit. She was the director there and had been there for a good while and she is black. What difference does that make in how she will perform her duties with us? I am not black but my husband is and I took offense to that. She may not have meant anything by it, but when discussing her as a person and professional why did she mention her race?
This observation made me take a second look at my own actions. I have been really aware of how I am saying things when talking too family and friends since this happened. I keep asking myself, "Do I do that?" It has made me want to scrutinize my language and actions when talking about people. Even if the person is my same race and don't intentionally offend them, I still want to make sure I think about it before I say it. This observation has made me look at everything I say and the way I say it. I don't want to belittle or offend anyone. Whether it is unintentional or intentional I don't want it to happen.

My Family Culture

I would take with me 1. Bible 2. picture of my family 3. my wedding ring

i would let people know that the most important things were with me. The Bible would be the most important thing then the picture of my family and then the wedding ring. My family is what means alot to me and God is the most important. If I had to choose between the three and only keep the one it would really hurt but I would have to choose my Bible over all because God is my everything and his word is whats important in my life and essential for my survival.

This assignment has made me really think about who I really am. It also had made me really see that it isn't the material things that are most important to me but my creator is my everything. This is a part of my culture and my family culture because this has been passed from generation to generation in my family.

When I Think of Research

The insights I have gained about research from taking this course are the facts of importance of validity, having an independent and dependent variable, and having equity in research.

My ideas have changed about the nature of doing research by me learning the steps to take for conducting research. I always thought you just went out and collected data. I didn't realize that you needed an outline or a timetable for research. This was a new idea for me.

The lesson I learned are basically as I said in the previous statement. I learned that it was important to plan an outline and design how you will gather data, how you will select participants, who will participate, etc. This was all new for me. I just thought it was an issue to research and you went out and did what you had to do to find it. The timetable thing makes sense because if you drag it on a long time, it could change results.

Some of the challenges I encountered were the aspect of remaining neutral and putting aside biases. WHen you come into a research topic, you kind of start thinking about how you feel about the subject or what your take is on it. I faced these challenges by reminding myself the research hadn;t been conducted yet so I needed to put the opinions to the back of my head and concentrate on the facts that I gather. This is easier said than done. Way easier said than done!

My perceptions of an EC professional have been modified by raising the awareness of the importance of our profession to children. It also raised awareness of the importance of our future. We have an amazing task ahead of us that requires us to be dedicated to the children of today, tomorrow as they are our future. Research is something that is really needed to ensure that we offer our children the best opprtunities possible. Research is also important to the fact that we need to offer those opportinites in the best way available.

Research Around the World

Early Childhood Australia:

* What are some of the current international research topics?

1. Play based learning

2. Is discussion relating to sexuality in Early Childhood dangerous business?

3. Researching with/for whom? Stepping in and out of practitioner research.

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

I saw something that said Long Day care. I fond out that it is basically the same as our daycare here in the United States. It is daycare for children of working families. It can also be care before and after school.


* What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?
I saw things on the site that are very similar to what we have here in the United states. They are selling scarves and different toys for children. It was neat to see that they do some of the same things we do to educate our young children. There was a whole list of books and different teaching aids available for purchase. The website was real interesting and I saved it in my favorites so I can refer to it from time to time.

Uplifting Stories

The story that came to mind of me is our Conscious Discipline that we have been studying with Becky Bailey. This is an alternative form of discipline that has been researched and it is making positive impact on children. This form of discipline puts the focus on the child and the child's feelings. One of our children was a real problem in the classroom. He was real defiant and violent. We began implementing this Conscious Discipline at the beginning of the school year. The teacher and assistant are using all the techniques and even shared them with his mom so she could implement them as well at home. This boy has made a complete turn around! This is almost the end of the school year and it has made a difference in his life. This is one positive effect that I can see from their research. I am not as involved in the Conscious Discipline as the teaching staff is, but I am eager to get more familiar with it. Has anyone ever heard of it before? Does anyone live in Florida, because I believe that is where it is based?

Research Simulation

The topic I chose is Increasing Parental Involvement. I chose this topic because I have problems getting parents involved in our Head Start classrooms. It would make such a difference in the education of the children if parents would get involved. The questions that I had to go over in my head for the assignment were so many. I did enjoy coming up with them because it made me think about what is it I really want to know? I am also interested in knowing if anyone has any ideas for increasing parental involvement not just in the classroom but at home. This would involve using methods of teaching at home and being involved in homework and school extension activities?
My questions for researching increasing parental involvement are:

1. Why are parents reluctant to get involved?
2. What are some strategies that have been successful in involving parents in the past?
3. Should we offer an incentive to entice parents to be involved?

Anyone who has suggestions or comments on these questions please feel free to comment. Also, if you know where I can find resources for answers to these questions, please leave them here for me. Thanks!

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 3

I am having trouble with my international contact. All of a sudden I am not hearing anymore from him. I am not sure if he is extremely busy or if he is no longer there. The email hasn't bounced back so I know the address is still good. I did however meet a person Monday night at a parent workshop that was held at my son's school, (Also the school where the Head Start class I work in is located). She isn't international but she is in another state. This person I talked to had a wealth of information for me. I had printed out this assignment for the blog, so I was asking her some of the questions. She is a parent trainer, and also trains teachers and teacher assistants in the Early Childhood professions. She said the issue regarding quality childcare that they are talking about is training. Of course she is in the training field so they are most concerned about the development of staff. She said they find the primary reason programs do not train staff is because of budget. However this is so important for maintaining a high quality center.
They have several different opportunities for professionals. One of them is the CDA-Credential. The program that she works with offers that for groups and will send out professionals to oversee staff working on the credential. They also offer private trainings on a variety of topics focused on specific needs of programs.
Her professional goals are to travel, meet and train as many Early Childhood Professionals as she possibly can. She feels this is the key to transforming our childcare standards to higher quality. Her dream is to see a set of Standards put into place for all child care centers that want to be licensed. She also wants to see a system of checks and balances so that we know the centers are abiding by the standards.
I really enjoyed the chat with her that happened by chance. I don't believe in coincidences, I feel God sent her my way because he knew I would need her. I also got her card so maybe our teaching staff can be trained by her.

Sharing Web Resources

Some of the links I explored went to training events that NAEYC offers. I also saw one link that told about special projects and initiatives that were happening all over the US. The one area that I explored was Week of the Young Child which is this coming week, April 10-16, 2011. I chose this to explore because I am so excited about it! We are planning activities here at our Head Start program in recognition of the week. It gave suggestions for activities you could do and places you could share what you're doing. There were also themes you could use for your celebrations. I do not receive an e-newsletter from this site. The thing on the site that adds to equity and excellence in child care would be the trainings. They also offer a training guide to go with their journal that they mail out. These things could improve the quality of the care children receive by training the Early Childhood professionals who are members of or visit this site. The other insight I gained from exploring this website is more information about Week of the Young Child. It gave me some more ideas of things we could do next week. I also learned the theme is "Early Years are Learning Years" and the site listed some sub themes and my favorite was "Play: Where Learning Begins". I will be consulting this site more next week. Lots of good stuff!

Exploring Global Children's Initiative

I had to do the alternate assignment this week because I haven't heard from my contact in South Africa. He hasn't responded to my email this week. In looking at the website Global Children's initiative, I discovered

1. Other countries around the globe are facing the same issues we face in the United States. Such as poverty, hindering the learning process.

2. I also see that other countries have the holistic approach to child development. This is what I pulled from one part of the website.

"Much progress is needed to successfully raise the commitment to an integrated approach to early childhood health and development in global and national policy circles. A particular challenge in this area is the multidisciplinary nature of comprehensive approaches that bring together all the domains of child development."

Child Health is very important in the development of children.

3. Here is another thing that I found similar. The effect of stress on the children around the world is a growing issue as well. The following is another interesting point that I felt I should share.
"Healthy social and emotional development can be derailed in early childhood by a wide range of stressors and environmental influences interacting with genetic predispositions. Indeed, the foundations of many mental health problems that endure through adulthood are established early in life. In some cases, significant impairments in mental health that occur in young children can have serious consequences for early learning, social competence, and lifelong health."

I enjoyed being able to see training opportunities on the site. I also subscribed to the newsletter and events that are being held at Harvard.

Exploring NAEYC

The specific section of NAEYC that seemed relevant to my professional development is the Periodicals Section. There are so many articles that you can read and study guides to go with the articles to help facilitate training sessions.

There was an idea that made me look at an issue in a new way. That issue was engaging diverse families. On the website it recognizes centers that are exemplary in engaging families. It had a guideline of what families should look for in choosing a center that encourages involvement from all cultures. This made me look at this from the standpoint as if I was the one from another culture coming to register my child. It made me think differently about the whole concept.


The thing that showed me about support for early childhood was the section that talked about Supporting Japan's young children and resources for coping with disasters. This is something specifically for the children of Japan after suffering the earthquake and Tsunami.

The other new insights I gained were the fact that there are other organizations bigger than National. There are also world organizations that NAEYC ties into. We are all concerned about our children no matter what country we are in. I also gained insight to t he fact that our profession is one that requires constant training. We have to stay trained on current methods that are best for educating young children. NAEYC offers many trainings all over the nation that supports this effort. The website lists these trainings and helps you to stay on top of current issues.

International Contact

My conversation partner is Eric Atmore. He is the Director at the Centre for Early Childhood Development in South Africa. The Centre for Early Childhood Development is committed to putting young children first by ensuring quality care and education for our country’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Mr. Atmore responded to my email quickly when I first was seeking out an international contact. He said he would help me in whatever capacity I needed. The most important part was he said he would be happy to assist in whatever way I needed. This made me feel good because I knew I had someone who had a passion for the Early Childhood field because he was willing to help someone coming up from the ranks wanting to learn more.
The most interesting thing Mr. Atmore has shown me is their program called Little Village Early Learning Programme. This is where the Centre has developed a programme of Literacy, Numeracy and Life Skills for children ages 5-9. This is some tidbits about Little Villiage from the website:
# The Little Village characters are colourful comic puppets. They do not represent any race, religion or group. Little Village is a place that could be found anywhere in South Africa.
# The characters in Little Village promote our belief that learning must be fun. Each edition of Little Village is validated for ECD suitability by ECD specialists at the Centre for Early Childhood Development.
# Educational material is often too expensive for families in the lower LSM brackets. Little Village is cost-effective to print as it doesn’t require glossy paper or fancy binding. An additional benefit of this is that the booklets are designed to be well-used by young children. Each booklet includes at least three age-appropriate activities. The booklet doubles up as a workbook and a story book.
# The Little Village Activity Booklet is designed to be used by teachers in the classroom; however, teachers are encouraged to send the booklets home with their children to encourage parent-child interaction.
# The Little Village Activity Booklet can be translated and printed in any of the eleven official languages to ensure mother-tongue instruction for young children.
# Jincom Publishing and CECD plan to create a radio and television broadcast of Little Village to encourage learning through popular mediums.

One thing that I have learned about poverty from Mr. Atmore for South Africa is that you have to meet people where they are at to really help them. It made me feel like there was a Head Start in South Africa. Where we go out and do home visits with the families, this center actually goes out to the villages and works with the groups of children together. It reminds me of our Home Based program for Head Start. Its a combination of literacy and life skills as well as medical. The Little Village program includes hygiene which is not a primary topic for Head Start but we do touch on Hand Washing and make sure the children brush their teeth. It was great to learn that we approach poverty in some of the same ways. Meeting them where they are at because they can't get to us is one important factor. Also, making the families realize the importance of Literacy and an education is another approach that we use. If the parents realize the importance, then the child has a stronger web of support. This child getting an education and being successful could be the key not only to his family of getting out of poverty, but in South Africa a whole village's key to getting out of poverty and/or improving living conditions. This is so exciting! I really want to go to South Africa now, just to visit this Centre and learn more about Little Village.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I chose is The National Association for the Education of Young Children
www.naeyc.org
My favorite part is Next. That is a collection of study guides to go with Young Children. Young Children is an award-winning, peer-reviewed professional journal published bimonthly by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Young Children issues are organized around topical clusters that devote special attention to issues in the field of early childhood education. Next for Young Children suggest ways to build on the content of selected articles from Young Children. I like that because we can use articles for staff training and professional development. The site also has upcoming trainings in different locations listed. One other thing I found helpful was that you could join the organization online. The website has this posted:
NAEYC members can receive this award-winning journal (Young Children) for free six times a year as one of their membership benefits. Ninety-three percent of a survey sample of independent members named Young Children “the most useful NAEYC benefit in their work as early childhood professionals.” I think this organization is a great resource for us all.

Expanding Resources

I have to admit I was a little nervous about this assignment. I was afraid of being able to communicate with people outside the United States because of language barriers. I did however choose to make contact with someone in South Africa. I emailed two people. One at the UNICEF in South Africa and the other was at an Early Childhood Conference in South Africa. I will post something as soon as I hear from them. I am excited now about what I could possibly learn! I am no longer nervous just hoping to hear back soon. I am so excited!

I chose to use The National Association for the Education of Young Children
www.naeyc.org website for exploring. I like it because they have so much information from all over. I really am looking forward to getting information from them. I especially like that they have different trainings that are offered listed on their site for a variety of different issues. This is going to be great!

My supports

I would have to say my first support would be God. Without him, I couldn't make it through the day. The support of prayer and my personal relationship with God gives me hope when the day is rough.

Second, support of Family is very essential to me. I have my parents to help me when I need them, my husband to help me with the children and household things.

Third the support of my pastor. I am fortunate enough to see him for a few minutes each weekday and then on Sundays because he is a bus driver at our school. If I have a problem or the day has been tough, he will give an encouraging word and I am re-energized.

Fourth, I have the support of my teachers and teacher assistants. They help me stay in touch with my families. I cannot be at both schools at one time, so I need their help to get information back and forth between the parents and myself.

The benefits of these supports are that I don't have to be a hundred people. I have lots of people to help me cope, to encourage me, and to share the work load. It is a benefit because I won't go crazy trying to do it all myself. It would be extremely difficult for me to make it through the day without these supports. I need each of these things to function. They all play an important role in the success and productivity of my day. If I lost these supports my life would be haywire. I definitely need this support system because of my busy life. Family is so important as is God and my spirituality. Without God, I could do nothing, he is my everything. If my family was gone I would have to give up my job because i could not afford a babysitter for all the after hours events my job requires and for the crisis situations that arise at any time. It would be detrimental to have these supports removed from my life.
My imagined challenge is completing my Master's without my Family or Pastor. If I had to do this, I would need to physical support to be able to do homework with he kids around. I would need someone to watch them when I need to read lengthy assignments. I would need someone to get the kids off the bus in the evening, put them on the bus in the morning, and cook for them. There are so many supports that I would need physically and emotionally. I need encouragement. Sometimes I feel as if I want to stop because it's too hard but someone will come along and say something to give me a boost and I keep pressing on.
All of these things are important to me. It would be difficult to survive without them and I truly am thankful for them. I try not to forget what a blessing they are to me, or take them for granted. I remember to thank these people and let them know that they are important to me. Even if it is just a little note to say I care. The loss of these things would be a great impact on my life and would cause me to have to change alot of things.

My Connections to Play

I value play as am important medium for learning. I feel that that is how I learned to do many things.

Whoever wants to understand much must play much.

Gottfried Benn
German physician
1886–1956

Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.

Fred Rogers
American television personality
1928–2003

I had many aunts who supported my play as a child. We could not go many places as children because my mom and dad had four of us. It was costly to go to movies and things like that because my family only had one income. My aunts would take me to different places, such as the park, or playground. We would swing and run and do many things that taught me through experience. One of my aunts was a teacher and she would always bring blocks or books or something and I would read with her. I would have the blocks that had numbers and a set that had letters and we would play with them. I would learn number concepts or problem solve when I would try to stack them. I could just go on and on about the different things that I learned from playing. That is why I feel this quote is so personal for me.

Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.

Kay Redfield Jamison
Contemporary American professor of psychiatry

Today's play to me is better than what it was when I was a child, because we have learned so much about how play benefits children. Toys have been developed to foster that learning in more ways than what it used to be. Now that stuffed doll may sing ABC's or that toy fire truck may flash lights and be more realistic. I think since we know more about learning through play than when I was a child, it has improved the way children play.

This was one of my favorite toys. I think I liked it so much because it was family and all the components were there. There was even the dog. The car was in the little garage and I had so much fun with it. I think it taught me about family and gave me a since of love for spending time together. I wish i could buy this somewhere now for my daughter. I hope she will value the time she spends with us as she grows like I did with my parents.

Play was so important to me as a child. I loved to play with other people more than being alone. I longed to have other children come to my house and spend the night or come over and spend the day with me. I loved to be outside and ride my bike. I oved playing kickball and choosing teams and team captains. I'm so glad we did this assignment. It brought back so many memories and has warmed my heart.