We did it!

Congratulations to all of you who have officially completed the first course in your graduate program.  I think we work great as a team.  I look forward to getting to know all of you better in the near future!  God bless each and every one of you for the lives you touch on a daily basis.

Early childhood ethics and how they apply to me

I chose three ideals included in the code of ethics for two well known early childhood agencies.  I have listed each ideal as well as a description of how I practice it in my career.

NAEYC – The Code of Ethics of the National Association for the Education of Young Children

CHILDREN

To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

Each child is a beautiful gift from God and they have a meaningful purpose in this life.  It is our responsibility to help them identify their talents and abilities and give them the confidence to let them shine.  We administer a pre-test and parent interview prior to the school year to have one-on-one time with the families, answer any questions, and show them their child’s abilities are important to us by assessing their skills so we know how to better serve them.

FAMILIES

To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

As early childhood educators it is our responsibility to prove to the families of these children we do have their best interests at heart.  We must also present ourselves as the partner in their child’s education.  I make it a goal to get to know each family and provide a number of opportunities for the teachers to get to know them as well.

EMPLOYEES

To promote safe and healthy working conditions and policies that foster mutual respect, cooperation, collaboration, competence, well-being, confidentiality, and self-esteem in staff members.

First and foremost, it is my responsibility as a leader to ensure all my employees are respectful and provide love and support to each other.  Each staff member is a gifted and talented individual and they each have something unique to contribute to our team.  It is important I constantly point out their strengths and  provide them with opportunities for professional development.

DEC - The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

 We shall use individually appropriate assessment strategies including multiple sources of

information such as observations, interviews with significant caregivers, formal and informal

assessments to determine children’s learning styles, strengths, and challenges.

Each child is unique and it is very important we are able to identify their strengths and areas for improvement and communicate them with the families.  Beyond the early childhood years it is more and more difficult to provide effective intervention, so any assistance we can provide to parents regarding their children’s needs and learning styles is extremely helpful.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PREPARATION

 We shall be responsible for maintaining the appropriate national, state, or other credential or

licensure requirements for the services we provide while maintaining our competence in practice and research by ongoing participation in professional development and education activities.

As the director of a preschool it is my responsibility to make sure we are following all of our accreditation standards, as well as the state standards for health and safety.  I must always stay up to date on new developments and adjust our procedures according to the requirements.

RESPONSIVE FAMILY CENTERED PRACTICES

We shall collaborate with families and colleagues in setting meaningful and relevant goals and

priorities throughout the intervention process including the full disclosure of the nature, risk, and potential outcomes of any interventions.

In my position I have to communicate any observations the teacher sees, as well as my own observations, to the parents before we can suggest any interventions.  It is then my job to give them options of different routes to go to seek assistance.  I must weigh the options for them and provide them with examples of what may or may not occur.

Valuable Early Childhood Education Resources

Listed below are a number of reliable early childhood resources...

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://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/72033/CRS-CW-5691431/educ6005_readings/naeyc_dap_position_statement.pdf
• 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.
   

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
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/about/

Selected Early Childhood Organizations

National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/

WESTED
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm

Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

HighScope
http://www.highscope.org/

Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Center for Child Care Workforce
http://www.ccw.org/

Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

Institute for Women’s Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm

National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

National Child Care Association
http://www.nccanet.org/

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/
Pre[K]Now
http://www.preknow.org/

Voices for America’s Children
http://www.voices.org/

The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/
  
 Professional Journals 

• 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

Three of my personal resources include...

http://www.christianschoolsfl.org/csf/about.html
Christian Schools of Florida ~ An amazing accreditation organization supporting Christian schools in Florida.

http://www.sparkpe.org/early-childhood/
SPARK ~ A physical health education program for early childood

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/
PBS hosts a plethera of early childhood articles, activities and ideas

Women who inspire me

Quotes from women who have contributed to the early childood sector

No government can love a child, and no policy can substitute for a family's care. But at the same time, government can either support or undermine families as they cope with moral, social and economic stresses of caring for children.
~Hillary Rodham Clinton

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war. ~Maria Montessori

One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.

~Maria Montessori

Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.

~Maria Montessori

Early Childhood Professional Women who spoke in the multimedia presentation "The Passion for Early Childhood"

“We as professionals in the early childhood field have an opportunity to shape a child’s life for the better”

Sandy Escobido, Deputy Field Director
LA Prechool Advocacy Initiative
California Community Foundation

"A lot of this work is equity work, as far as I am concerned.  It's also, dare I say, feminist work.  I want women to have choices." 

Renatta M. Cooper, Program Specialist

Office of Child Care

LA County Chief Administrative Office

Women to Admire

"Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides."

~Rita Mae Brown

“It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person.”
~ Edith Hamilton

My Personal Childhood Web

My mom Jerianne....she raised me as a single mother while working full time and attending college.  She is funny, creative, intelligent, ambitious, and most of all, loving.  She followed her dream to be an art teacher. She always built me up and taught me I could be anything I wanted to be.  She gave me an eye for design, a desire to travel, and the ability to laugh at myself and have fun.  I admire her and would not be the woman I am without her. 

My grandparents Gene and Joan (Nana and Papa)....I am their first born grandchild and I often refer to them as my "angels on earth".  I am blessed to still have them with me today.  They helped my mom out so much while I was growing up.  They love me unconditionally and have always been so proud of me.  They taught me that you don't need a lot of money to experience life.  They always were able to travel and enjoy all the activities they wanted.  They are friendly, funny, helpful, and considerate and taught me the most important thing in this life is family.

My dad Timothy...My parents divorced when I was three and my dad remarried.  I didn't see him often growing up, but he is extremely hard working, intelligent, and very funny.  We try to see each other once a year now that I am grown and although we may have missed out on a lot, he once said to me "I know your heart", and I do feel the same about him.  I respect and admire him and am happy he found happiness in his life.   I am proud to be his daughter.



A picture is worth 1000 words!

This picture was drawn by my son, Riley.  He was only 4 years old at the time. 

I was remarried about a year and a half ago and I thought it would be special if I had my one and only little boy walk me down the aisle.  He was a little shy during the event but he did it!

A month later his preschool teacher asked the students to draw a picture of what they do with their Moms to have fun.  She then went around and asked them to describe what was in the drawing and wrote it down for them.  I noticed it posted on the bulletin board the next day.

Although he never said anything about it, I was really touched to know that walking me down the aisle meant as much to him as it did to me!

LESSON:  Kids may not always be able to express their emotions with words...look to their artwork for their true feelings!

Rainbow Fish

One of the best children's books to teach children that sharing brings happiness and acceptance.  All children should own a copy!  There are also many activities you can do to go along with this book...

Check out the links below for ideas:
http://themes.atozteacherstuff.com/118/the-rainbow-fish-lesson-plans-activities-ideas/
http://lessonplanz.com/Lesson_Plans/Literature_Activities/The_Rainbow_Fish/index.shtml

(Picture courtesy of Amazon.com)