Wednesday, April 6, 2011
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!
Friday, April 1, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, February 28, 2011
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!
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!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
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.
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.
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