Early Childhood Quotes on Play

Play, while it cannot change the external realities of children’s lives, can be a vehicle for children to explore and enjoy their differences and similarities and to create, even for a brief time, a more just world where everyone is an equal and valued participant.

Patricia G. Ramsey
Contemporary American educational psychologist

As astronauts and space travelers children puzzle over the future; as dinosaurs and princesses they unearth the past. As weather reporters and restaurant workers they make sense of reality; as monsters and gremlins they make sense of the unreal.

Gretchen Owocki
Contemporary American early childhood educator

Pausing to listen to an airplane in the sky, stooping to watch a ladybug on a plant, sitting on a rock to watch the waves crash over the quayside—children have their own agendas and timescales. As they find out more about their world and their place in it; they work hard not to let adults hurry them. We need to hear their voices.

Cathy Nutbrown
Contemporary British educational theorist

Shel Silverstein quote

“I cannot go to school today"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry.
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox.

And there's one more - that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue,
It might be the instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke.
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in.

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My toes are cold, my toes are numb,

I have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,

I think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There's a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is ...
What? What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is .............. Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play!”
― Shel Silverstein

Testing for Intelligence

When looking up information online for this week’s post, I discovered a name that sounded all too familiar from my undergrad education. Dr. Howard Gardner and his multiple intelligences theory. Gardner believed that we, human beings, are all born with a different combination of intelligences that is as unique as our fingerprints.

According to pbs.org, Dr. Gardner defines intelligence as “the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in a culture; a set of skills that make it possible for a person to solve problems in life; and the potential for finding or creating solutions for problems, which involves gathering new knowledge.”

I am listing an explanation of all 9 of intelligences from his theory for any who may be new to these ideas (you can find all of this and more information here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_overview.html)

1. Linguistic Intelligence: the capacity to use language to express what's on your mind and to understand other people. Any kind of writer, orator, speaker, lawyer, or other person for whom language is an important stock in trade has great linguistic intelligence
2. Logical/Mathematical Intelligence: the capacity to understand the underlying principles of some kind of causal system, the way a scientist or a logician does; or to manipulate numbers, quantities, and operations, the way a mathematician does.
3. Musical Rhythmic Intelligence: the capacity to think in music; to be able to hear patterns, recognize them, and perhaps manipulate them. People who have strong musical intelligence don't just remember music easily, they can't get it out of their minds, it's so omnipresent.
4. Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence: the capacity to use your whole body or parts of your body (your hands, your fingers, your arms) to solve a problem, make something, or put on some kind of production. The most evident examples are people in athletics or the performing arts, particularly dancing or acting.
5. Spatial Intelligence: the ability to represent the spatial world internally in your mind -- the way a sailor or airplane pilot navigates the large spatial world, or the way a chess player or sculptor represents a more circumscribed spatial world. Spatial intelligence can be used in the arts or in the sciences.
6. Naturalist Intelligence: the ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) and sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). This ability was clearly of value in our evolutionary past as hunters, gatherers, and farmers; it continues to be central in such roles as botanist or chef.
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence: having an understanding of yourself; knowing who you are, what you can do, what you want to do, how you react to things, which things to avoid, and which things to gravitate toward. We are drawn to people who have a good understanding of themselves. They tend to know what they can and can't do, and to know where to go if they need help.
8. Interpersonal Intelligence: the ability to understand other people. It's an ability we all need, but is especially important for teachers, clinicians, salespersons, or politicians -- anybody who deals with other people.
9. Existential Intelligence: the ability and proclivity to pose (and ponder) questions about life, death, and ultimate realities.

• Question 1: Considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically (i.e., a commitment to "the whole child"), what, if anything, do you believe should be measured or assessed? Explain your reasoning.

To me, if I needed to assess the whole child, I would measure the intrapersonal intelligence of a person. I feel it is important for a person to understand him or herself, such as what you are good at, what your hopes and dreams are, things you don’t enjoy, things that help you become better as a person. To me, a person who understands him or herself is a well-rounded individual and can be more enjoyable than people who don’t take time for themselves, to do the things they enjoy and learn new hobbies.
For example, my friends and family tease me because I love to talk about my job and write on my teacher blog about things I do in my classroom. I also enjoy spending time at school, organizing my classroom and researching fun activities to do with my students. But since I have started doing this more often, I have become happy and more confident in my teaching abilities. I feel comfortable trying new things and sharing my ideas with others, because I KNOW that this is what I am good at.
Now I don’t know anyone like this, but if I thought about a person who was not intelligent intrapersonally- I envision someone who does a job they hate because they don’t know what else to do. They have not taken time to figure out what they love and enjoy, therefore they are probably more likely to be miserable in life and making others around them feel the same. I believe it’s important that everyone develops a passion in something and becomes active in that passion.
A good understanding of ourselves, leads to us enriching our lives through our hobbies and educating ourselves in things we enjoy and can use in our professions and hobbies. Imagine what a world we would live in, if we were all intrapersonally intelligent!

• Question 2: In what ways are school-age children assessed in other parts of the world? (Choose a country or region of the world for which you have a personal affinity.)

I chose to research how Finland assess their students. My dad recorded a new story on Finland and how the country has rebuilt their education system successfully and have become a world leader in student achievement. I found an article titled: “What we can learn from Finland’s successful school reform”. According to Linda Darling- Hammond (2010), “beginning in the 1970s, Finland launched reforms to equalize educational opportunity by first eliminating the practice of separating students into very different tracks based on their test scores, and then by eliminating the examinations themselves. This occurred in two stages between 1972 and 1982, and a common curriculum, through the end of high school, was developed throughout the entire system. These changes were intended to equalize educational outcomes and provide more open access to higher education.”
She also wrote about how Finlands take one final exam before going to a University called the matriculation exam. This exam is not required for graduating or entrance into university but it’s a not uncommon for most students to take this path. “There are no external standardized tests used to rank students or schools in Finland, and most teacher feedback to students is in narrative form, emphasizing descriptions of their learning progress and areas for growth. As in the NAEP exams in the United States, samples of students are evaluated on open-ended assessments at the end of the second and ninth grades to inform curriculum and school investments. The focus is on using information to drive learning and problem-solving, rather than punishment (Darling-Hammond, 2010).”
Teachers will have students do formative and summative reports to assess their learning, rather than taking an exam. They strive to teach their students how to learn through inquiry and providing open-ended questions to show student’s true understanding of the material. The article went on to say that it is rare to see teachers lecturing in front of a classroom for 50 minutes because they let students determine their weekly targets in specific subject areas and they are able to work at their own pace.

• Question 3: What additional ideas, comments, suggestions, examples, and/or concerns related to assessing young children would you like to share with your colleagues?

Wow- Finland’s ideas go back to my belief in letting children steer the direction of their learning. If a student enjoys what they are learning, imagine what they could be become! How successful they will be! In another article on Finland (found here: http://bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=7988) was a quote that really struck my attention… (talking about teachers in Finland): "Teachers focus on learning and teaching rather than preparing students for tests or exams.”

That is so true. I feel sometimes I am teaching my own kindergartners how to be successful in Dibels, rather than teaching to what my students enjoy because “they have to make gains in their scores.”
I truly hope that, our country will learn from Finland and begin to make changes sooner than later. Do you agree? I’d be interested in hearing my colleagues thoughts!

Jessica


Resources:

Darling-Hammond, Linda. (2010). What we can learn from Finland’s successful school reform. Retrieved on December 8, 2012 from http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm

Lombardi, Mike. (2005, March). Finland’s education system is tops: Here’s why. Retrieved on December 8, 2012 from http://bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=7988

Author and date unknown. Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory. Retrieved on December 8, 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_tips.html

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

There are many consequences of stress on a child's development. Many of my students suffer from hunger and poverty. I work at a Title 1 school and the majority of our families are on free and reduced lunch. Thinking about one child specifically in my own classroom at one time, she was not only living in poverty and hunger, but she was also being neglected from her parents. I had her when she was 5 years old, and her sister the following year in my class. Both girls were far behind academically. They were literally blank slates coming into my classroom and couldn't not even write their own names until the end of the year. Most of my students who came in as blank slates, would eventually be caught up academically around Christmas. Both girls were far behind in all subjects. I wondered if part of this was because they were not getting the support at home for homework and extra practice like most of the other children. They were the sweetest girls I have ever taught, but would get upset easily when learning new subject matter because they were not catching on as quickly as the other children. Socially, the girls seemed fine because they had each other, as well as their older sister to talk to and play with. At one point, we found out that the mother was not getting out of bed and the oldest sister was cooking and taking care of her younger sisters. (The oldest was only in the 5th grade.) We found out this was happening after their father had left the picture. When the girls were in their father's custody, they came to school clean and well-fed. And when they were with mom, you could clearly see the neglect. I was hesitant to send them both to 1st grade, but the older sister was far enough along, that she did not need to repeat kindergarten. Her younger sister, however, did need to repeat because she did not know all her letters still by the end of the year.


I found an article titled, Child Neglect, Social Context, and Educational Outcomes: Examining the Moderating Effects of School and Neighborhood Context by Dr. Constance L. Chapple and Dr. Jamie Vaske. They discovered that children who were neglected had a higher chance of worse developmental outcomes than children who were not neglected before age 5. Some negative outcomes listed in the article were antisocial behavior and poor school performance. 15% of the children followed in the study were retained at least one grade level between kindergarten and 9th grade. They concluded that children who were neglected suffered much worse educational outcomes than children who were not neglected. The article supported my thinking on why the two sisters struggled much more than most of my other students.



I chose to research Romania and find out what type of stressors impact the development in their children there. I chose Romania because my sister went there when we were in college and her experience there really touched my heart. She told me about how all the gypsy children would literally come up to you take whatever you had in your pockets, and you wouldn't feel a thing. They were told to leave everything valuable at home because of the risks of everything being stolen in Romania. Adoptions have been closed and the orphanages are so full that many children are neglected and do not have human contact every day. I found it very difficult to find any articles dated after 2003 and my sister believes that is because they have closed down the country to anyone outside of their borders.
The children there are suffering poverty, neglect and hunger. My sister also talked about how racism exists there because the families living happily there look down upon the gypsy families and make them feel like the scum of the earth. I did find a newspaper article the read "This adorable little girl is Adi. With dark brown eyes, an infectious smile and a sweet giggle, she could be anyone's four- year-old daughter. But Adi has no parents to call her own. Abandoned in a bleak, overcrowded orphanage, she has the physical and mental development of a child half her age. She cannot talk and struggles to gain weight; consequences, her carers say, of the trauma she has experienced in her short life. Adi is one of a generation of children trapped in Romania's orphanages for two new and unforeseen reasons, both the result of its political unshackling (Collcutt, 2006)."


The article stated the reasoning for orphanages being overcrowded... "The first is the number of adults migrating west particularly to Britain, where immigration controls are shambolic and work is plentiful who dump their children in institutions. The second is a ban on international adoption forced on Romania by the European Union. When the world's cameras captured the horror of its orphanages following the overthrow of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu 16 years ago, there was a rush of adoptive parents from Europe and America. Millions of pounds were spent and around 50,000 children found new homes (Collcutt, 2006)."

As for what is being done to prevent the neglect in Romania... this is what the article says... "
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of the EveryChild charity, says not enough is being done to solve the myriad of social problems that lead to abandonment in the first place. 'We have found that in many cases, there simply isn't the will to change the habits of the past,' she says.
'Although there has been an enormous improvement in living conditions for children in care, it is disturbing that the trend is rising. The Romanian government is not addressing problems such as a lack of housing and jobs. For very little money, a national database could be established to trace parents, register abandoned children and locate Romanian families willing to adopt (Collcutt, 2006)."

I find it heartbreaking to hear what is going on in Romania and how the children are suffering due to the corrupt adoption laws there and how there is not a lot of change being done. These children are not going to school and will have a hard time making it in the real world when they turn 18, if they do not get adopted and get brought up in a household where education is valued.

References

Chapple, C. L. & Vaske, J. (2010). Child neglect, social context, and education outcomes: Examining the moderating effects of school and neighborhood context. Violence and Victims, 25, 470- 485.

Collcutt, D. (2006, February 6). Orphaned. Mail on Sunday, p. 66.

Health in the Early Childhood Field

I chose to research on immunizations because my mother is a nurse. She used to give vaccinations to infants and hated every minute of it because she did not enjoy making babies cry all day by giving them their vaccines. But she still does recommend that all parents get their children vaccinated so you don't put your child or other children at risk. So I was interested in research WHY parents are hesitating about getting their children vaccinated and what the health professionals have to say.

After doing some research, I remember hearing the buzz about how parents were worried that vaccinations could cause autism. In Goodwin's (2010) article, she wrote about how vaccinations carry thimerosal, which is loaded with mercury that was thought to cause infants to develop autism.  The use of thimersol has been used in vaccinations since the 1930s (Goodwin, 2010). The research supports that even infants who were given the highest levels of thimersol, were not at risk any more than infants exposed to a little thimersol (Goodwin, 2010). Dr. Frank DeStefano, director of the immunization safety office at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that vaccinations do not increase a child's risk of developing autism (Goodwin, 2010). The article also stated that thimerosal has been reduced or removed to little amounts in all vaccines for children six and under, except the flu vaccination, for any parents who may be concerned of risks still (Goodwin, 2010).

The second article I read verified the same findings. Kemp & Hart (2010) found that many parents of children with autism feared autism was linked to the MMR vaccine because autism in diagnosed around 15 to 24 months, just after the infants received the MMR vaccine. The United States immunizations have been proven to drop the risk of measles, mumps and rubella (all deadly diseases) by 99% (Kemp & Hart, 2010). I believe this just emphasized how important it is to get children vaccinated and avoid any risks of preventable diseases.

Today, in the United States, children are immunized against 14 diseases by receiving 10 immunizations (Kemp & Hart, 2010). I was interested to see what type of immunizations were given in another part of the world, such as Vietnam. I discovered that the overall healthcare in Vietnam is much better than one would expect even though it is one of the neediest countries in Asia (Thang, 2006). The Expanded Program on Immunization has helped prevent millions of deaths by providing immunizations in Vietnam (Thang, 2006). The Vietnamese Government have made it a priority to provide immunizations and education on its importance in isolated areas to reduce/eliminate poverty and people living in hunger (Thang, 2006).

After reading up on immunizations, I feel I am better equipped to educate my friends and any families I may come in contact with the importance of getting their children vaccinated.

References

Goodwin, J. (2010 September 13). More evidence that vaccines don't cause autism. U.S.News & World Report. Retrieved from: http://health.usnews.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2010/09/13/more-evidence-that-vaccines-dont-cause-autism  

Kemp, M. L. & Hart, B. (2010). MMR vaccine and autism: Is there a link? Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 23, 48-50.

Thang, N.M. (2006). Child immunization in Vietnam: Situation and barriers to coverage. Journal of Biosocial Science, 39, 41-58.

Early Childhood Development: EDUC - 6160 - Week 1

Sonorah's Birth:

When my niece was born in Sept. 2011, she had some complications. My sister had a great pregnancy, no major problems, but after she delivered, her sweet baby girl had trouble breathing. So they whisked Sonorah away to the NICU and left our family crying and worried about what was going on. A few hours later they came back to tell us they were monitoring her because of her breathing complications. Sonorah ended up staying in the NICU for a week after her birth. It was heart wrenching!

My sister touching her baby for the first time. (The doctors and nurses didn't want Sonorah to be stimulated because she could wake up and start pulling her breathing treatments off her body.)

Poor baby <3

Holding hands with her for the first time

Her daddy reading Sonorah her first book!

My sister feeding Sonorah for the first time.

After a day or two, they finally started letting 2 visitors at a time come in to visit with Soso for a while. We couldn't touch her, but we could stand there and admire what a beautiful little person she was. There were lots of tears shed the first time I met my niece. Seeing her hooked up to all the monitors and breathing devices was so upsetting. One memory I will never forget is going to visit her with her new daddy. She had never opened her eyes since they whisked her away from her momma to the NICU. Her poppa started talking to her and she opened her eyes and was trying to look at him. I started bawling like a baby. He got it on film and everything. It was the sweetest moment I have ever seen. At that moment, I never knew how much you could love someone, as much as I did her. (Makes me excited to have my own children someday!) Here is the video:

  Sadly,  I had used up all my personal days to spend time with my family 3 days after Soso was born, and was so discouraged when I had to return back to school, without holding my new niece. (Anyone who knew me, knew how excited I was to be an aunt... so it was a devastating experience leaving her in that hospital for our whole family (especially her new momma and poppa!)
The next weekend I raced home, knowing I could finally hold my newborn niece. The moment my sister put that baby into my arms, my heart melted into goo. No one could ever take that memory away from me. She was so perfect and reminded me so much of her mom when she was a baby herself.

The first time I got to hold Sonorah

My life has never been the same since that baby was brought into our family. She has been a huge inspiration in my life. When it comes to teaching, I try to treat every child as if they were my niece/nephew so they can get the best education possible. (B/c I know that is what their own parents would want!)
Sonorah's presence in this world is my biggest influence in life. She brings so much joy to our family and I can not imagine life without her. <3

One of my favorite pictures of Sonorah

I believe that a person's birth can have an impact on their development in all areas. But it doesn't set the path for a child's life. For example, if a child has a negative birth experience, but is brought up with a loving and caring family- they can live a normal, happy life and their development will be fine! However, children who are not stimulated, cared for and loved like all children should be, this can lead to devastating developmental delays. I have several students in my class who are far behind in where they should be in kindergarten because there was no stimulation at home.   

A VERY happy Sonorah on her 1st birthday! So blessed to have such a sweet, adorable niece! I am so excited to see what the future has in store for her!!!

I chose to find out how births happen in Haiti because I had the chance to visit there when I was in college. I found an article written by Amie Newman, titled "Giving Birth in the Streets" that talked about the effects of the earthquake had women giving birth in the streets because of all the chaos. Newman also wrote that Haiti has the highest mortality rate in the Western Hemispshere. I was not at all surprised by this after seeing first hand how these women and their families lived. They had no windows or doors in their homes. Some houses didn't even have roofs. They had dirt floors and the whole family shared a room to live in. They were living in such poverty that the women would beg for money in the streets and the men would offer to carry my bags for tip in return. 

A photo taking during my trip there- we saw several women trying to work by carrying large tubs of things like this on their head.

Homes in Haiti

The streets of Haiti

Children walking to school

  Here is a quote form the article that explains the high maternal mortality rate:
"According to the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):

(W)omen of reproductive age face limitations in accessing pre-natal and post-natal care, as well as greater risk of vaginal infections, pregnancy complications including spontaneous abortion, unplanned pregnancy, and post-traumatic stress. An increase in violence against women was also recorded…
…(I)n natural disaster situations and in post-disaster recuperation, the cases of violence may increase. “Given the stress that this situation caused and the life in the refuges, men attacked women more frequently."

 They also found that 670 Haitian women die from pregnancy- related causes each year for every 100,000 live births. Only 26 percent of women in Haiti receive a skilled birth attendant during childbirth. They go on to say that women were giving birth, literally in the streets because the hospitals there are full. And without the appropriate pre-natal and post-birth care, they could die from complications.

I find this to be such a terrifying thought! The nurses and doctors at the hospitial took such great care of Sonorah and were very sweet and kind to my sister, her husband and the rest of the family through the whole time she was in the NICU. After the big scare when Sonorah was born, I feel so blessed to live in a country that values pre-natal care and taking care of women and their children.

Week 7: Three Ideas

Three ideals contained in the NAEYC codes of ethics that are meaningful to me and their significance to my professional life.

I-1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.
Having knowledge about child development and the most recent studies and research on how children learn and develop can only strengthen my ability to teach my students. For instance, I have been diving deep into the new Kindergarten common core standards and "de-constructing" them with my colleagues at school, so I can gain a true understanding of what specific skills I am teaching to my students. Our administrators also provide weekly in-services to keep us all up to date on the most current teaching strategies, vocabulary and assessments.

I-1.5—To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.
I believe if an early childhood educator provides a safe and loving environment for their students, that their students will enjoy coming to school, and in return, help instill a love for learning. It is also so, so important to show respect to young children. They have feelings and to teach children to be respectful, we need to be modeling that behavior to them. (aka: Practice what you preach!)

I-1.7—To use assessment information to understand and support children’s development and learning, to support instruction, and to identify children who may need additional services.
Assessments are such an important tool in the education field! We use assessments (Brigance, Early Star Literacy and Dibels) to base our instruction with students. For example, my kindergarteners who don't know all of their letters, work with me in a small group of 5 children and we do fun learning activities that teach them their letters! My kindergartners who know most of their letters are working on making sure they can name their letters and sounds with fluency. We do this with CVC words and sight words, as well as fun games that I create or buy. My students who need enrichment, are working on comprehension strategies in reading, building their fluency and reading fry phrases. We use assessments to plan our lessons by "planning with the end in mind!" We create our assessment, and teachin our students strategies to help them throughout the week so they can master the skill.
Also, if students are not showing gains in assessments after "tried and true" teaching strategies, we can refer out students to the support team (a team of administrators, experiences teachers and Title 1 teachers) to get some new ideas. They can also decide whether future testing is needed for students who may need an IEP or further assistance.

Week 5: Course 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 media segment 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/
    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/
  
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
  
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
  
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
  

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library
Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to "How Do I...?", select "Tips for Specific Formats and Resources," and then "e-journals" to find this search interface.)

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

My 3 resources related to young children, families, and/or the field of early childhood:

• The Southern Early Childhood Association An Organization Committed to Southern Issues.... The Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA) is committed to
  improving the quality of care and education for young children and their
  families through advocacy and professional development. http://www.southernearlychildhood.org/
• National Head Start Association NHSA offers a wide variety of services to its members and to the Head Start and Early Childhood Education communities. The website enables you to find out more about their many programs, partnerships, and professional development opportunities! http://www.nhsa.org/
• Early Identification and Intervention - The First Signs web site provides extensive, vital information, covering a range of issues from healthy development to concerns about a child, from the screening and referral process to treatment, and from current research and guidelines to links to other resources on the internet and in print. https://www.firstsigns.org/

 

Week 4: ECE Quotes

Excerpts from writings of each of the two people I identified for my Discussion assignment this week:

"Most primary school teachers would probably agree that they don't expect kindergartners to enter first grade with a complete mastery of spelling and addition. After all, it is in the early elementary grades when children learn these academic competencies. However, teachers of entering school-agers do hope that the children who come into their classrooms can concentrate, pay attention, and be considerate of others. These areas are developed not by using flashcards or computer programs, but through interacting with peers during play." -Dr. Elena Bodrova &amp; Dr. Deborah J. Leong in Why Children Need to Play (Scholastic Early Childhood Today, Sept. 20, 2005; 20, 1; Proquest Central pg. 6

"Research comparing half-day and full-day kindergarten strongly suggests children benefit more from a full-day kindergarten. Full-day kindergartners are more prepared for school: they do better with the transition to first grade, show significant gains in school socialization, and are equipped with stronger learning skills. These children have enhanced social, emotional, and behavior development, and equally important, reduced retention and remediation rates."-Marian Wright Edelman in Child Watch Column on October 14, 2011 (Retrieved from: www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/child-watch-columns/child-watch-documents/full-day-kindergarten-missing-half-step.html)

Quotes about passion, motivation, and wisdom from the professionals in the media segment I watched during Week 2 of the course:

Leticia Lara LCSW, the Regional manager of Outreach and Professional Development ZERO TO THREE stated “When I think of the word “passion” and the meaning to the word “passion”, what comes to mind are: What are my values? What are my beliefs? What are the ideas that lead me to action? What do I do so naturally that perhaps seems natural to me but may be challenging to others? What’s in my heart? I also want to say that my passion has been evolving through the years. It’s an ongoing process. It’s like a ripple. You throw a little rock and you have sort of the center- but it grows” (The Passion for Early Childhood)

Sandy Escobido, the Deputy Field Director for the Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative CA Community Foundation said “We as professionals in the early childhood field have an opportunity to shape a child’s life for the better...”

Note: Add additional quotes and excerpts you find inspiring to this section of your blog as you proceed through this course and your program of study.

Week 3: My Childhood Web- Happy Memories

I am so grateful to say that I had the best childhood! I think back and have nothing but happy memories! I had so many people who cared, nurtured and loved me. I have one older brother and 2 younger sisters, so we always had a great time together!

My mom, brother and I making silly faces!

My Mom

My mom was a stay-at-home mom and I loved it growing up because I have so many memories with her! She babysat for a few other kids too, so we grew up with great social interaction as young kids. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, but I remember one week, she had themed dinners for us to try. My favorite was the Hawaiian themed dinner because she had the kitchen set up all with "palm trees', got us grass skirts and leis to wear and I remember being so excited for dinner that night- We waited for dad to get home to eat.

My sisters and I waiting for dad to get home!

Another favorite memory with mom is when she used to grow her own vegetable garden and grapes on a grapevine. I remember the smell of the kitchen when she was jarring her home-made jelly from the grapes and spaghetti sauce from the tomatoes in the garden! I beg her still to this day, to start doing that again! (She says she will when she retires since it's a lot of work- so I'm holding her to it! hehe) Mom is quite the seamstress too! She made all our Halloween costumes growing up and even made some Christmas dresses when we were young! The fact that she took the time to make things (so time consuming) for her family, showed us how much she cared for and loved us.

Mom's seamstress skills =)

My mom is always there for me, supports me in everything I do, shows me by example what it means to love and care for others. She always practices what she preaches and I look up to her so much. I hope that one day I can give my own (future) children all that she has given me. No more and no less. She gave me the right amount of love, the right amount of fun, and the right amount of "tough love." She did it right.

Kisses for my momma!

My Dad

My dad is equally as amazing. He is a hard worker, family man, hilarious and the best dad in the world. (Some could say I'm a daddy's girl!) One of my favorite memories with dad is from the first day I moved home after graduating college, and I was crying in my room because I was scared of all the changes in my life that was to come. He knocked on the door to check on me, and ordered me to open up. He sat down with me and talked to me about how everything I was feeling was normal and just comforted me. That was the first day I truly understood what an amazing man I had for a father. He worked so hard (and still does) to support his family. He will do anything in his power to make me smile when I'm not in a good mood. He calls to check in on me when we haven't talked in awhile. He shows me how to fix things around the house when needed. He gives me financial advice (often! haha) and gives the best hugs. I used to love when dad would come home from work and play with us. He made the living room into a tent one night and told us "scary" stories with a flashlight.

Goofing off with dad in the backyard!

We didn't go on too many vacations growing up, but I will always remember going to Disney World and Niagara Falls- I was so amazed at how beautiful the waterfalls were there! Mom and Dad tried to teach us how to cherish the memories we had together. I'd say they did that pretty successfully. Our family is so close and we enjoy spending our times together!

My parents raised two teachers, a social worker, and an amazing stay at home mommy- who aspires to be a worship minister when the timing is right! They inspired us to make a difference in this world and I am so proud to call them my parents.

A picture I made of my parents =)

Grandma and Grandpa

Some more important people in my life are my paternal Grandma & Grandpa. Grandma made it very clear that my siblings and I were her life. They would have us spend weekends with them and a week long in the summer. We LOVED to sneak into the house when we arrived and run up to Grandma and Grandpa and you could just see how excited they were to have us there! I always knew how much they loved us! Grandma used to set up the patio table and we'd have a "tea party".  Grandpa would be the butler and we'd giggle every time we heard called him that. We used to play card and board games a lot, and when we'd play SORRY, Grandma would ALWAYS lose, so we'd giggle and say "SORRY!!!" They came to EVERY Christmas since I was born. Grandma passed away when I was 17. That was one of the hardest times of my life. I still cry when I think about how much I miss her (11 years later)! At her funeral, my brother, sisters and I were standing at the front doors of the church and as everyone was leaving, they stopped and told us how much she loved us, was proud of us and we were her WORLD- needless to say, we could have flood the church with our tears! I'm tearing up, just thinking about it! When she was alive, we would write letters to each other often (through snail mail) and we'd always end it with "I love you INFINITY!" Grandpa lives with my parents now and I get to see him often! His eyes light up every time I walk into the house! I love going home and spending time with him and my family after a long week of working! Grandpa cracks me up with his quick-wit! I'm starting to realize where my dad gets it from! My favorite memory with Grandpa is when we would sit at the dinner table and he would tap his fingers on the table like a spider. Then he'd crawl them over to my arm and tickle me! Then my sisters and I would make him "wiggle his ears" and it would just fascinate us! Oh, and who could forget the packs of spearmint gum he had. He's go into his bedroom closet, pull out a pack, and give us each a piece to chew! It was a real treat! So now every time I smell or chew spearmint gum, I will always be reminded of my Grandpa. I love him so much!

My Grandpa =) He's grown a beard since this picture!

Mama and Grandpappy

My maternal grandparents are equally as amazing! My mama (pronounced: "mum-mul") and grandpap have 11 children!!! (My mom being the 2nd oldest.) So I had a large family on my mom's side... I always loved going to visit because there were ALWAYS kids around! Mama has the best home-cooking, and I STILL get excited when we get to visit and have some her of home-made meals! I love sitting down at the dinner table and waiting for her to say "We thank the Lord" after we pray! =) When she does the dishes, she would hum these pretty little melodies and I would just sit there and listen. It's so calming to watch how she just has this inner peace and expresses it daily! Even listening to her talk, relaxes me with her soothing voice. So when people tell me that I have soothing voice or love to hear me read to my students, it makes me happy to know I have picked up a little of that from her. Grandpappy is a big goof ball! He loved giving us extra long, sloppy kisses so we'd yell "Ewww!" and wipe our faces off afterwards. hehe! I remember talking to him about his navy days and his job in photography. I was so fascinated!

Looking at family pictures with Grandma and Mama when I was a toddler.

 My family has played a huge part in my success as an educator. Growing up with over 30 cousins (being the 4th grandchild out of 32), I had plenty of experience with children. I tell my cousins often, that they are the reason I went into teaching. Thea majority of them are now in high school/college. (Makes me feel old! haha) But I am so grateful that I had such a wonderful childhood with a supportive, loving family. I will never take that for granted!

Week 2 Assignment

Me, around age 3

A co-worker and I in my classroom a few weeks ago! (I am on the right.)

My Favorite Quote(s):

Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning.

"To laugh often, to win the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 My Favorite Children's Book:

I read this book to my kindergarteners and they have it memorized by the end of the year. They love every time I bring it out and read along with me.  It is a great story they can sing along to, about Pete the Cat in his new white shoes. He steps into piles of strawberries, blueberries and more, but he never cries. He keeps walking along, singing his song, "because it's all good!" I love the moral of the story and how it encouraged kids not to get upset when things don't go as planned.

Here's a live story telling of it by the author:

A Story about a Child that Touched My Heart:

When my niece was born in Sept. 2011, she had some complications. My sister had a great pregnancy, no major problems, but after she delivered, her sweet baby girl had trouble breathing. So they whisked Sonorah away to the NICU and left our family crying and worried about what was going on. A few hours later they came back to tell us they were monitoring her because of her breathing complications. Sonorah ended up staying in the NICU for a week after her birth. It was heart wrenching!
After a day or two, they finally started letting 2 visitors at a time come in to visit with Soso for a while. We couldn't touch her, but we could stand there and admire what a beautiful little person she was. There were lots of tears shed the first time I met my niece. Seeing her hooked up to all the monitors and breathing devices was so upsetting. One memory I will never forget is going to visit her with her new daddy. She had never opened her eyes since they whisked her away from her momma to the NICU. Her poppa started talking to her and she opened her eyes and was trying to look at him. I started bawling like a baby. He got it on film and everything. It was the sweetest moment I have ever seen. At that moment, I never knew how much you could love someone, as much as I did her. (Makes me excited to have my own children someday!) Here is the video:

Sadly,  I had used up all my personal days to spend time with my family 3 days after Soso was born, and was so discouraged when I had to return back to school, without holding my new niece. (Anyone who knew me, knew how excited I was to be an aunt... so it was a devastating experience leaving her in that hospital for our whole family (especially her new momma and poppa!)
The next weekend I raced home, knowing I could finally hold my newborn niece. The moment my sister put that baby into my arms, my heart melted into goo. No one could ever take that memory away from me. She was so perfect and reminded me so much of her mom when she was a baby herself.

The first time I got to hold Sonorah

My life has never been the same since that baby was brought into our family. She has been a huge inspiration in my life. When it comes to teaching, I try to treat every child as if they were my niece/nephew so they can get the best education possible. (B/c I know that is what their own parents would want!)
Sonorah's presence in this world is my biggest influence in life. She brings so much joy to our family and I can not imagine life without her. <3

Child's Drawing:

As a Kindergarten teacher, I get numerous drawings throughout the year from my students- but this is one I just adore....

 This is a drawing that was given to me by one of my kindergarteners from last year.
I love this drawing for many reasons...

1. She drew me smiling. So she sees me as a positive/happy influence in her life!

2. She wrote "You get pink!" which is part of our classroom behavior plan. I reward children who are making good choices by moving their clothespin UP on a chart and when they get their clothespin to pink, they get a sticker at the end of the day!  So needless to say.... she LOVED getting on pink.

3.  All the hearts show me that she really loves her teacher. =)

4. On the back she wrote: "I really miss you so bad. And you are cute and precious." (She drew this over a weekend. haha! This is one of those drawings that makes me realize I am in the right profession. When children want to bring me drawings to hang up... it shows that they value my opinion and KNOW that I care about them enough to display their beautiful creativity! =)

Funny kid stories that fuel my passion for working in the Early Childhood field:

1. (Quick note: I have a recess horn that I take out on the playground and use to let the kids know when it is time to line up. It's a plastic horn from the dollar tree.) As my kindergartners are lined up to go outside a week ago, I was tapping the recess horn on my leg while waiting for one of my girls to line up. Then one of my boys say "Nice rhythm Ms. G!"(I love it when kids have a good vocabulary! So cute!)

 

2. Each week I teach my kindergarteners 2 new high frequency words. We chant the spelling of the word, we cheer it, and we use them in sentences. When I was teaching them the word "so"... one of my sweet and hilarious girls' raises her hand. I call on her to use "so" in a sentence. She replies with "Ms. G is soooooooo fashion!" (as in fashionable.) Please keep in mind that I am in NO WAY fashionable. And as she used the word "fashion", she flipped her her hand like "valley girl". It was priceless!

3.  That same little girl was playing with a new friend during recess at the beginning of the school year. I was listening to her conversation as she played and overheard her say "I am too hot to handle, because I'm a rockstar..."

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