When I think about research...(Week 8)

• What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
• One of the biggest things that I have learned from this course is learning to break apart a research study and analyze the content. This includes the authors, publication, and the whole process of what it takes to make a research study. 
• In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
• The process that it takes to make a valid, ethical, and sound research study intrigued me. before this class I never thought that the process was this indepth. I knew the parts of a research topic and thought to my self all the time i wish i could do something like this but it looks way to hard. It is hard. However this class has shown me the way that it is done. 
• What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
• When children are involved the more difficult it is to plan research, design research, and conduct research. Getting consent can set back your research. Creating an environment that is stable, and not overwhelming, and creating a relationship with the children so they feel comfortable working with you but not interfering with the research aspect of what you want are all obstacles i never really considered. 
• What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?
• One of the challenges i had was the week that we learned about variables. I, from the time I started learning about research in middle school to today, I have a hard time understanding the difference between independent variables and dependent variables. This course also brought to my attention variables that are unseen by many researchers and create invalidity in the research. THis is because the researcher did not expect this to weigh on the outcome. THrough lots of help of others weigh in and talking with the professor, I understand how to look for those things and understand variables better. 
• What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
• I have changed as a early childhood professional. Research is a major part of being a early childhood prfessional. Sharing knowledge through research is how we grow as a field. I want to contribute and learn more. 

Thank you to everyone in this course. It has been a joy to work with all of you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and understanding of the course content, opinions, and experiences. I have taken away much from this class. I wish everyone the best of luck in all future endeavors!!! Happy Holidays! 

Week 5-Research Around the World!

                The Website that I looked at was the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). Some of the topics that this program researches are:  “Building Community Leadership for Quality Substainabilty…” in preschools, nutrition of children (without mothers), parent collaboration for effective teaching, and more(Early Childhood Development Virtual University, 2005). The one that I looked more into was the nutrition of children. It specifically looks at children without mothers breastfeeding and bottle feeding as part of its study. I find this interesting because is it a hot debate among nutritionist and professionals in the United States. In context to some of the infant health issues, this study has shown how nutrition at birth can make a huge difference with health outcomes in the future.

                I was really fascinated with what ECDVU-SSA was what it is all about. The program looks at the “…strengths and expertise that exists locally and regionally” (Early Childhood Development Virtual University, 2005). The program takes into account the peoples opinion and their life. The program works to enhance technology education to support communication with Africa and benefit the education of the professionals, families, communities and children. The program’s ideas creates a great picture of what is to come for Sub Africa.

The ECDVU "generative curriculum" encompasses the following characteristics:

  a learner-focused approach - drawing as much as possible on the learner's experiences in their personal and professional lives;

  an ecological approach - placing individuals, programs and policies into an interactive and dynamic context and seeking to plan activities and interventions to maximize resonating impact throughout the larger ecology;

  a capacity building approach - aiming to strategically strengthen the capacities of participants to effectively fulfill their mandates in their professional position and to be accountable to their constituents and the broader ECD community in their countries. Although most education activities claim this as a general 'purpose', the ECDVU program addresses capacity development in a specific, strategic manner.

  a co-constructive approach - encouraging each learner to draw upon provided curriculum material as well as their own in-country experience and data to derive their own perspectives and applications;

  a multicultural approach - considering ideas, research, and goals pertaining to child care and development from many different cultural sources, including (but not limited to) African and Euro-Western sources;

  a cohort driven approach - encouraging collaboration, reciprocal learning among peers, and consolidation of networks within and between learners representing each participating country.

  an historical approach - exploring 'how we came to be here' vis à vis the evolution of various theories and constructions regarding children and their care and more recent international development activities focusing on children's care and development.

I think that this was really interesting. I felt that these approaches used by ECDVU could be used in many facets of the early childhood field. As we develop our professional careers to keep some of these approaches in mind, especially ones that deal with multicultural approaches.

Reference

Early Childhood Development Virtual University (2005). http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php, http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/generative.php, http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/about.php

Week 2 Research that Benefits Children and Families

If I had no restrictions and no limitations on a research topic where children and families benefited I would chose researching and creating simulation where play, child centered learning, and exploring learning were done from early childhood programs up through high school.

Play changes as children develop. Children will be the center of the learning. Standards would exist but revised for each individual student through lessons. I would observe children's performances in school, stress levels, and success in assessments made by teachers based on their level of learning.

I want to look more into how curriculum, standards and assessment are benefiting children throughout the past 10 years. SInce i have been in school and in college and in the teaching profession, there have been so many changes. Most of these changes have been strict about what children need to learn. Modules have been placed in the NYS education system.http://www.engageny.org/common-core-curriculum

Week 1-My Personal Journey

Hey Everyone! I am looking forward to this simulation! The topic that I chose for my simulation is Potty Training. To go deeper I am looking at what strategies to use in helping children potty train and how potty training affects children socially and emotionally.

The reason why I chose this topic is because I am a toddler teacher with very little experience in potty training. I want to find the best method to use on children and how to create a potty training "program". In the past year many parents have voiced concerns on the toddler program. I came into the toddler position with parents asking my how I am going to do it. I really didn't have any clue. In the past two months I have come up with a plan for children based on what the children's parents want but there are things lagging due to some parents wanting force or some not really worrying. THe problem with both is that these children have to be potty trained before they go to preschool. THe conflicting ideas have created more of a headache. I would love to get a handle on information that deal with potty training and be a source for parents and for other toddler teachers in my school!

This course is been amazing. I feel like I can create a great research project on this topic and become a better researcher in general. I like how the resources have broken down the steps! I am thankful and grateful for these resrouces so far!!!

I am looking forward to reading others process on their topics that they have chosen. Reading everyone's blogs have been interesting. All of your topics are going to be very informative and relatable to the early childhood field and to me as a teacher.

One thing I am going to struggle with is making sure that everything is down with care. I am suggesting to myself and others to get it done with time! Researching cannot be done last minute!!! GOOOD LUCK EVERYONE! LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT 6 WEEKS

final assignment

In the past 8 weeks, I have learned so much about the education system internationally and in our own country. One of the main things that I have taken from this course and the assignments is that learning about education internationally allows me as an educator to compare the systems to the United States and what is working and what is not. When looking through the website SAVE THE CHILDREN, it talked about how children really appreciated the fact that they could go to school. Even though it was hard to make it to school every day, they really felt blessed to even have a school or were allowed to go. I believe that children and even adults do not see what a blessing and do not appreciate education. Working internationally is not easy. There are many challenges that people like Bob has faced. The international guidelines and carrying equipment. The government, money, and social life are different. It takes a lot of time and passion. The third thing that really resonated with me was how many people; professional educators do not do more international work. I think that this has been a real eye opener. It has made me more aware of the world’s activity when it comes to education. I am really interested in working somehow with Bob. I have offered him to be pen pals with my children. I have also asked if there is a way I can get involved.

One goal that I have is to sign up with an international organization. Last weekend I had to renew my first aid and CPR. The instructor asked me if I have done this program with them before. She is through the American Red Cross. I told her that I go through it every two years. She wanted to know if I would like to be an instructor. She gave me so many benefits to doing it. One was to travel and being an educator would really boost my resume. I hope in the next few months that I am in the process of being certified to instruct and soon travel.

Week 7 Getting to know your international contact.

This week I heard from one of the contacts  that I had been trying to get in touch with. The reason why I am just writing my blog was due to the fact that he is right now in California getting ready to make a trip to Chile for the second time. His name is Mr. Bartlett (Bob). We went to the same school in high school. He was about four years older than me. I remember him and  his family always hosting international students and always being involved in international club and traveling. I had reached out to him a few times in the past few years to help him with donations on some of his trips and when I was student teaching he helped me connect with a pen pal down their for my 4th grade class. Recently for this course, I have had a hard time getting ahold of him due to him preparing for another trip to Chile. He is going to be restoring another school like he did two years ago. I asked yesterday in an email about if this is what he thought he was going to be doing this for the rest of  his professional career? "I started off in Chile when I was 18 as a volunteer. When the church found out that I was going to school for International education and policy, they took over my education and as long as I did schooling they would pay for it and let me work there. This is what I have wanted to do since middle school. The church gave me the biggest opportunity of my career.....Since then I have come director of the Language department. I specialize in the correspondence between facilities in the U.S and in Chile." I asked him about professional development and what was the most important thing to keep up on as far as working between two countries. He said that it was policy and monetary. Monetary could get "sticky". "very dangerous". That language doesn't always translate perfectly. I asked him what the near future holds for him, especially going back to Chile. "I leave in a week. I will going to meetings with stake holders and then right onto base to build the new school facility. I am all over the place. This time I am going to enjoy the process more. It is my third time going to South America and I know the process. I hopefully will not be as STRESSED!!!! I can enjoy what I am doing"

Over all the conversation was short. However, I saw passion in his email. He was capitalizing words for emphasis. He was cracking jokes and showing thrill for this trip. He hoped to correspond with me when he could when he goes to Chile through some emails and pictures. I hope to hear from him. to get where he is now took a lot of work, dedication, education, passion, and time! THis is what it looks like to be a professional.

Week 6 --Sharing Web Resources

This week on the Zero to Three website I checked out some of the outside links. One of the links that I looked more in-depth at was the Early Childhood Website: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc. There was so much to do from there. For being 24 and in the generation of the internet, I am not a big fan of it. I never had internet until I was in college. It still feels weird to click a link on something like a webcast. However I found one really interesting from just reading it. It was called “Early Head Start and Child Welfare: A Compelling Collaboration for Supporting Families and Young Children Webcast”. It is an 86 minute webcast where professionals sat around a table discusses ways the two organizations worked together to provide a stable learning environment for children. This conversation brought up how the children were affected developmentally and how to work with children in a child care setting. The great thing about this webcast was that I could take notes with the PowerPoint that they provided with it. There was also a guideline that could be printed out to show when things were talked about. I collected all of these resources. I may not have listened to the whole thing from start to finish but I got to skip around and check out the different topics.

                This week the e-newsletter gives resources about domestic violence and mental health. You can read the descriptions about the books or texts that were suggested. However, you cannot download them without buying them.

This week we talked about the three barriers: accessibility, awareness, and responsiveness. Zero to Three had great resources for parents to use when finding a high quality program. One resource that I found was “Choosing Quality Child Care”. This goes into detail of what questions to ask a facility and themselves while looking. The resource also gives in detail what the program should look like, how it is ran, and what types of things should be seen physically. There were links to regulation laws and liscensing. I thought that that this was an amazing resource that all families should have when seeking child care for their children. The direct link is: http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/child-care/choosing-quality-child-care.html.

Week --Sharing Web Resources

This week on the Zero to Three website I checked out some of the outside links. One of the links that I looked more in-depth at was the Early Childhood Website: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc. There was so much to do from there. For being 24 and in the generation of the internet, I am not a big fan of it. I never had internet until I was in college. It still feels weird to click a link on something like a webcast. However I found one really interesting from just reading it. It was called “Early Head Start and Child Welfare: A Compelling Collaboration for Supporting Families and Young Children Webcast”. It is an 86 minute webcast where professionals sat around a table discusses ways the two organizations worked together to provide a stable learning environment for children. This conversation brought up how the children were affected developmentally and how to work with children in a child care setting. The great thing about this webcast was that I could take notes with the PowerPoint that they provided with it. There was also a guideline that could be printed out to show when things were talked about. I collected all of these resources. I may not have listened to the whole thing from start to finish but I got to skip around and check out the different topics.

                This week the e-newsletter gives resources about domestic violence and mental health. You can read the descriptions about the books or texts that were suggested. However, you cannot download them without buying them.

This week we talked about the three barriers: accessibility, awareness, and responsiveness. Zero to Three had great resources for parents to use when finding a high quality program. One resource that I found was “Choosing Quality Child Care”. This goes into detail of what questions to ask a facility and themselves while looking. The resource also gives in detail what the program should look like, how it is ran, and what types of things should be seen physically. There were links to regulation laws and liscensing. I thought that that this was an amazing resource that all families should have when seeking child care for their children. The direct link is: http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/child-care/choosing-quality-child-care.html.

Week 5 getting to know your international contact

There was no contact this week:(

I explored the Harvard University's "Global Children's Initiative ".  I read about the Zambian Early childhood development project. It discussed how the area and the surrounding areas were working on an anti malaria initiative. This program worked on all areas of development and assess the outcome of the program. The program is continuing today after the first year showed great suits. One thing that really hit my interest was how al. Areas of development were assessed. I would like to know what type of  steps swerve taken within the program to work on the development of the children. Another thing that was interesting was the health of the children came first. A child cannot grow or develop in ill health . Searching the website I see may pho of the programs look at the health of children first.. Before sent other help starts.he program also mentioned fine motor skills as a huge importance in these children's development. I found this to really spark curiosity in why. The results state that fine motors allow for children to succeed in school. It's harder if those fine motors for writing and other activities are not there. Found this interesting due to not hearing this stated before in other readings. I know as a professional how important fine motor skills are.howepver nanny readings only have a small segment for fine motors. This project takes into account that fine motors is very important.

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/

Early Step Programs

This week I looked more into the U.S based groups that the Save The children organization sponsored. This program looks into Early Childhood development and the children who are from low income families and affected by poverty. This really resonates with me as a professional due to the fact that I work in an Early Childhood Program and have seen only a few families come trough that have been impacted by poverty while enrolled in my class. I could see myself getting involved with a program like this or this program. I would like to learn more about this program as more information comes to the website each week. I have signed up for the news letter and weekly emails from this organization. One of the pieces of information that really struck my interest is that 34 million people are affected by poverty in which 10% of that (3.4 million) are children. That is extremely high. This organization deal s with policies in Early Childhood and the poverty issues when it comes to money and getting back on track, and the health of the children are issues that are dealt with by politicians, economists , and neuroscientist. I understand that no matter the issue or trend being discussed can be taken from any of these point of views and can be influenced by these point of views.

Getting to know your internationally contacts.

So this week was rough in getting in contact with the few people I had emailed, facebooked, and set letters to. Due to some family circumstances, I have not been able to be by a computer. I received an email that was more of a generic letter from a school in Ireland, stating that they are glad to hear from me and would like to hear more. I am waiting on them to send more information. I probably wont hear from anyone directly. I have also recently got in contact with an old friend from high school who was teaching in a international school. I hope to spend more time talking to him about his experiences. He said he was out of town for a few days but when he gets back he will contact me.

This week I went to SAVE the CHILDREN website. I found a blog that really interested me. The blog post title was called "Why Primary Education Matters" by Martine De Luna. She stated that 57 million children globally don't go to school. She says that the children at her school are grateful for the fact that they get to go to school even though they have to walk through mud and swim the river to go to school. She makes the connection between literacy and poverty. I found that most interesting. I am looking into finding research to see what other professionals are saying and learning.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I chose to explore more is Zero to Three. The reason why that I chose this website is because  I work with children ages 1 to 3. I feel that I will benefit from this website in my own professional development. The website for this organization is: http://www.zerotothree.org/. I also used this link: http://zttcfn.pub30.convio.net/child-development/from-baby-to-big-kid/. This link is to the news letter that the organization puts out each month. Of course I just subscribed in the middle of the month so I have to wait till the beginning of October to receive my first news letter. I cannot wait to receive the news letter. I feel that I don't get enough news/reading on information that is and can be directly connected to me and my job.  This is going to be a great way to start collecting more professional resources for me to keep up to date on Early Childhood news and information on development, care, and more

The President’s Budget Proposal: A Groundbreaking Moment for Our Nation’s Babies is the article that really caught my attention. THis article states that the federal budget is increasing money allocated to Early  Childhood. President Obama is stressing the importance of Early childhood development. Even though this article is from April I feel that to see this news now, it creates a great feeling compared to what has been in the news lately.    One of the things that was really cool about this site is people can write and professionals answer back. The website allows people to ask questions and talk about their experiences. One lady asked if using two languages in a home would benefit the child. THe professional wrote back explaining the benefits of dual language and how to promote it.  http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/early-language-literacy/qa/dual-language-delay.html. The part that I really thought was great was it was a lengthy response. THe professional went into depth about the information and really could benefit not only the women that wrote in but others as well.

My Supports

I look at my daily life and see the support I have around from all different parts of my life. Some of my support comes from people, spiritual beliefs, and some come from daily practices. In my professional life I have an amazing director. She is a great person to go to for advice on teaching, health of children, activities, concerns and so much more. She is a great mentor and has taught me a lot about being a professional. She gives me resources or leads me to an idea that would work in my class. Without her, there would be days that wouldn’t go so well. I would not get that five minute mental health break. A few more supports within my professional life are my assistant, parents and floaters. They have helped me create a warm and inviting classroom. They deserve a lot of the credit for how the classroom is ran, looks, and feels! Without those people, I feel that the children would not have the environment they have now.

I am a spiritual person. I do not want to get into heavy detail, however, God is a huge supporter in my life. I look to him during good times and bad. I talk to him when I need a good talking to. I also am all about nature. Thanks to the peace and serenity of the woods or the pond in my back yard. After a crazy day with one year olds, its great to have someone to sit with and the quietness of the woods.

I am an avid runner and reader. These two activities give me a whole new place to go to for a little while. I can escape reality for a little bit! Allows me to learn and grow more

One type of support that I wish I had and would be beneficial would be a experienced teacher that has had years at the job I am at now to help guide me and mentor me. I feel that it would def help in my first few years of teaching. I would want someone to go to and talk about what is working and what is not, the children, and professional work. My director is a great person to do this with, however, she has never worked in a class like mine or has the education behind it.  

My Connections of Play

"Always jump in puddles! Always skip along side flowers. The Only fights worth fighting are the pillow and food varieties!!" Terri Guilemets

"I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things...I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind." Leo F. Buscaglia



 
 


One of my favorite play items growing up was the Little Pet shop! I had so many animals and so many sets to play with. Also I loved play dough. My parents hated the mess but always encouraged it.

I was an active child. I was always questioning. I had a wild imagination. My parents always pushed me to be outgoing, active, and have my own mind. To this day, I use my imagination with my students. I am creative and bring different ideas to the table. I was taught to stand up with my ideas. As I got older, I was still encouraged to be active. I was a high honor student but was pushed to keep a little child in me. My parents did encourage to have time to my self where I did what I wanted. That was hiking, running, swimming, jumping on the trampoline, playing sports, reading, doing whatever I wanted. when I could.

with the push for excellence in academics, play starts to be forced out the door, especially with older children. I hope that even at middle and high school levels, play will still be enforced. I guess just that free time to do as they wish is important.

Relationship reflection

      Each person in my life that I have a relationship or partnership with is individualized and is important to me in their own way. Depending on the relationship, I am provided support, love, knowledge, connections, laughter, respect, and so much more. In return I give the same back. My parents are my biggest relationship. They provide me love and support in anything I do. We talk to each other. Support each other with encouragement, love and sometimes material things. My director and I have a good partnership at work. I have someone I can look to for advice and support when needed. She can rely on me to do my job the way it needs to be done with other reinforcement. My dog and I have a great relationship. The bond that we have is unspeakable. I know I have the warm of his fur and the love of  his slobber everyday. I never have to explain my actions. We are there for each other at all times.  My spiritual relationship with god is another relationship is important. These are four relationships that mean a lot to me everyday.

I guess being completely honest and knowing that they are honest with me really makes these relationships work. I feel that with the relationships I have had or do have that is the key. I know that I can give and take because they will do the same. I know that each relationship has expectations and their own life line. Not all relationships are the same.

I believe that how I conduct my relationships out of the school with people in the personal life is conducted the same within my job. I am always happy and loving to all people. I am honest, trustworthy, and believe  in reciprocal, two way communication.

quotes that inspire my class

"You are never to old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read to a child" Dr. Seuss
     --This quote is above my children's books
"If a child cannot learn in the way we teach, we must teachin a way the child can learn"

The best teachers teach from the heart, not from a book!

Testing for intelligence

The Whole Child Approach- “Each child, in each school, in each of our communities deserves to be healthy, safe, engaged supported, and challenged. That’s what a whole child approach to learning, teaching, and community engagement really is.” (The Whole Child, 2013).

This website was so much fun to look through. It talked about the learning strategies that create higher order thinking. I believe that children should be observed and tested through action. It should be able to show that what was taught can be used off a piece of paper and pencil. So the question asked in assessment is, what they were taught can it reciprocated to knowledge of the real world?

In Japan standardized testing is what is being done in the schools. In the article I found, it talked about how passive and quiet children are in school. They learn facts. The author stated that he noticed how different it is from students in the United States. The children in U.S stated facts but also stated their opinions. There was emotion in the classroom when children are learning (Moderator, 2010).

The development of the whole child is important. I feel that understanding all depths of a child first comes from observing, guiding, and actively assessing. Children should be able to explore their environment, learn facts, come up with their own reasoning/opinions based on facts, and be able to speak out!!

flooding...natural disaster

Just as I was starting my student teaching, we the after math of a tropical storm Irene. I live in valley in upstate NY. We had major flooding in the area I was teaching. We mixed the first week of school and then it took six weeks to get all the children back in school full time. So many children were without homes, warm blankets and real food. It was so tough for this community. All of the resources were being used left and right. It was a horrific experience. FEMA was in to help as best as they could. The outside communities that could afford to help were there. Teachers were struggling with their homes but did the best they could to stay positive.

http://www.irinnews.org/report/94669/ethiopia-drought-floods-hit-education

This article talks about Ethiopia and how the drought and floods have effected the education of young children. after the major tragedies in the past few years, many of the children have just not return. Programs are being started up to help draw children back into school. underfunding and lack of other resources is making it hard for many organizations.

Child Development and Public health- Breast feeding

                I was a baby that was not breast fed. My mother had a hard time producing milk and even when she did, it wasn’t enough. My sister was adopted. She of course was not breast fed. My cousin just had two boys in the past five years. She could not breast feed. One reason was due to the fact she was not producing any milk and if she did it hurt so bad that she could not do it. This topic is very interesting when it comes to my family. Many women in my family have had a hard time producing milk, let alone be able to breast feed.

                Breast feeding has many benefits. Human milk is sterile. It is rich with iron and other vitamins. According to Berger, babies that are breast fed are often less sick due to the antibodies that come from the mother’s milk.  Also, breast milk has specific fats and sugars that make it easier to digest and better for the infant’s brain (2012).  Yes research shows that breast fed babies are healthier and may be getting different nutritients compared to babies that are formula fed, but due to health circumstances many women cannot breast feed. This decision has been a topic for millions of mothers and health care providers. It depends on the family, mother, child place and culture they live in. Culture and place play a role in this decision of breast feeding.

Breast feeding around the world: In Africa on demand feeding is a way of practicing good parenting. This means that it is ok to breast feed whenever or wherever. In the western world, it is looked down upon to show that you are breast feeding.  In France around 50 percent of women breast feed their infants. However, 30 percent of the stop at 3 months (Brown, 2013). In Peru it is normal for a mother to be breast feeding in public. 97% of infants in peru are breast fed at birth and 69% of those are breast fed till five months (In Culture Parent, 2013).

http://www.incultureparent.com/2012/03/breastfeeding-around-the-world/ This is a great website to learn about different cultures and their belief and practices of breast feeding.

Brown, T. (2013). Breast feedings’ popularity varies from place to place. Breast Feeding Around the World. Retreived on May 17, 2013 from http://www.breastfeed.com/nursing-mothers-life/nursing-facts

Berger K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6^th Ed). New York: NY Worth Publishers

Childbirth in your life and around the world

This assignment was a little hard for me. I have never had a child and the only part of pregnancy I have been apart of is coworkers and family members talking about and sharing their experiences. I have not watched someone give birth besides videos in classes. I have gone to the hospital to give my congratulations with friends and families. I have seen cows, horses, pigs, cats, and dogs born. It is an amazing experience  I do not think that this hinders my knowledge of prenatal care or pregnancy. It is something that I hope to experience for myself.


One of my cousins just went to japan to live with her husband while he is in the navy. I thought that would be a great place to research about. Prenatal care is about the same in Japan as in the united states. Traditionally, mothers have a midwife who goes and visits them instead of the mother going to see the midwife and the doctor. Foods high in protein are offered to induce labor. I have never heard of that! One thing I found interesting is that traditionally not to shower for a month post delivery. After birth, many women went right back to work and went back to doing their roles as women in the household. traditionally mothers and babies are not allowed to leave the house 2 to 4 weeks after birth. In the American culture that is def. not the case. Everyone wants to see the baby and mom and dad like to show off babies.
HESONO is the ritual of when the umbilical cord falls off and is placed in a special wooden box and is significant in the relationship between baby and mother. I thought that was really interesting. It is a milestone for American mothers and babies but is different to keep it. At least I don't know of anyone who has kept it.  I like learning about how other cultures live.

Examining Codes of Ethics

DEC Code of Ethics and the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment provide guidelines and  conduct for early childhood professionals. Three that are meaningful to me:

DEC Code of Ethics
      Professional and Interpersonal Behavior (3) We shall strive for the highest level or personal and professional competence by seeking and using new evidence based information to improve our practices while also responding openly to the suggestions of others
      I am always willing to work with others (colleagues and families) and since the start of this course I have learned so much more about myself and learning new things from sources I need to seek out. Instead of waiting for sources to appear on my desk for someone around me I look out and about on my own
      Professional Development (1) We shall engage in on going and systematic reflective inquiry and self assessment for the purpose of continuous improvement  of professional performance and services to young  children with disabilities and their families.
      Early intervention and action is a critical part in children's development. I am a firm believer in IEP's and integration in a school and classroom. Assessment is not a one time deal but continuous documentation on the growth and change in a child with our without disabilities.

NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment
      Ethical Responsibilities  to children (1.1) To be familiar with  the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training
      I just went to a conference at a local college to enhance my knowledge on infant and toddler care with a few of my colleagues. There we earned credited hours towards professional development needed.
     1.3 To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.
         I am a firm believer in the individual child. I work hard every day to provide activities and lessons and a program for each child that I have. I know my children in the class and I want to make what ever I do work for the uniqueness and individualism of each child.
      Ethical Responsibilities to Community and Society (4.1) To provide the community with a high quality early child hood care and education programs and services.
     I want to provide what is best for the children and families of the community that I live in. This is a huge goal that has to be tackled in so many ways.


NAEYC, (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved April 17, 2013 from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf


The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August) Code of Ethics. Retrieved April 17, 2013 from http://www.dec-sped.org

More Course Resources!!

Charner, K., Murphy, M., & Clark, C.(Eds.). (2008).The Giant Encyclopedia of Lesson Plans For Children 3 to 6. Silver Spring, Maryland: Gryphon House Books.
**** This has been a great resource for me when it comes to my classroom and coming up with some lessons.

http://www.timesjournalonline.com/details.asp?id=81067
*** please read this!!! This is the head start in my town!!!!

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-resources

http://www.theeducationcenter.com/home/go.do

great websites Course Resources

World Forum Foundation
http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us

World Organization for Early Childhood Education
http://www.omep-usnc.org/

Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/

• 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/
• 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.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

course resources!

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

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.
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

Quotes on passion

"Instead of playing house I used to play school"-Louise Derman Sparks

"I am not here to save the world but to make a difference" Raymond  Hernandez

Zigler

"I am not sure that its moral to segregate children along socioeconomic lines. I am not sure it meets John Dewey's notion of educating children to live in a democracy. If you put pids fro all social classes together, they get the benefits of learning about one another. And research now indicates that poor children's education accomplishments are greater when they are in classes with middle-class children than when they are in classes only with other poor children" Zigler on transforming Head Start programs to benefit all children.

Being an excellent teacher

Sue Bredekamp wrote about being an excellent teacher. Teachers are intentional in all that they do. "Creating a caring community of learners, teaching to enhance development and learning, planning curriculum to achieve important goals, assessing children's development and learning, and establishing reciprocal relationships with families"
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice (3^rd ed.). Washington, D.C:

Personal Childhood Web

 

This is my personal childhood web. I have placed the people in my life who have cared for me, nurtured me, made me feel special, and also placed things in my web that have special memories to me.
MOM-She is my best friend. I can talk to her about anything. She gives me encouragement in everything I do. She has taught me so much. She taught me how to cook, how to bake, love, hug, learn, be passionate, courageous, and be someone is accepting of all.
DAD-he is my pal, my protector, my catcher, and my model for a perfect gentleman. Growing up my dad and I shared a passion for baseball and softball. He gave me every opportunity to go far in what I loved. Through little league, high school and college he was always there.
AUNTS/UNCLES/COUSINS- I put all of them together because my family does everything together. If I had a concert or anything school related I always had the biggest group in the audience. They accepted my silliness, shyness, and all my dreams. I never was alone. I always had a friend when it came to them. Most of my memories have to do with them.
BEST FRIENDS-I have 4 friends that I have grown up with and ones from college are still friends today. We have all gone through our own journey but when we do see each other or do talk, nothing has changed. When I got into grad school I called them right away and it was all congrats and you are going to do amazing.
GRANDMA- I have two grandmas that have been a huge part of me growing up. I look at them as strong beautiful people that have made me into the woman I am today. They gave me love, confidence as a child. They taught me to cook german food, crotchet, and be independent.

All these people had such an impact on me as a child that everything they have done for me still carries on to today. I want them to be proud of the person that I have become and thank them for being great supporters.

Oh the Places You'll Go

This book is encouraging, inspirational, and light hearted rhyme about life. Read this when you feel like something is not going the way you want. After you will have a new outlook with a twist of Dr. Seuss. I do truly believe it!

My passion

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

I love to read. A book is a place I can go and get lost in. Learn new facts. Possibly go new places!!

Taking steps

Today at my job we have a little girl who is a little over a year. She is one of about 4 of her age and she is the only one that is not walking. She will walk if you hold her hand but does not see the sense in walking if she can crawl. Even when you hold her hand she tries not to walk. Today she walked across the room. All I did was hold out my hands and everytime she took a step, I took a step back. My coworkers and I were thrilled that she did it!!! What an exciting day!

RSS Aggressor

I am hoping that this rss aggressor has worked! comment if it did!

testing!!

This is my first post! I am hoping this works. I was really nervous about starting a blog. I have never done one before and never thought I would. It is a task in my first online class to create one so here we go!!!