Keeping Up Internationally:Key is Professionalism

I find that there are three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field.  First, there is the consequence of realizing accountability that you have as a professional in the Early Childhood field to keep up with current programs and practices that are being used internationally.  By doing so, the professional can bring new and fresh ideas that are relevant to the field in his or her field.  Next, I find another consequence in learning about the early childhood field internationally is realizing the responsibility we have as professionals to the issues like poverty, quality in child care, and diversity.  When we can take into account the different backgrounds, the lack of money parents are working for to provide for his or her children and the type of educational programming that is being taught an early childcare center.   Finally, there is idea of what it means to be a professional.  Being a professional means learning to grow through knowledge, flexibility, and collaboration with other professional.  If I can promote one goal for the Early Childhood field would be professional development implemented in Early Childhood programs to collaborate with coworkers.  This way, professionals can grow and learn new ideas to teach children.

The HECDI and Unifying Goals for Early Childhood

                The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in conjunction with Bernard van Leer Foundation, Un Kilo de Ayuda (Mexico), Save the Children, UNICEF, the WFP, the WHO and the World Bank have come up with the Holistic Early Childhood Developmental Index (HECDI).   HECDI was created in December 2010, and wants to promote a more cohesive approach to monitoring children from prenatal development to the age of eight.  The goals of the HECDI are to measure the aspects of ECCE policy and programming at a national and subnational level, legal protection of children, social protection and child welfare, social-emotional and cognitive development, access and quality of early childhood care and education, and health/nutrition.

These are all important factors for the educator in me to see being measured because it will allow us to provide a more standard form of policy and programming. For me that is one of the biggest problems I see in the EC field right now.  For instance, certain centers are trying to follow standards while other are not.  This provides a problem for children who are not going to be prepared for Kindergarten.  I would like to see area centers get on the same page as to what is being taught to Pre-K children so children could be more on the same page before entering Kindergarten.  I also feel it is important to have Pre-K programs also screen for learning disabilities for children that way Kindergarten teachers are able to provide interventions the moment the child comes into his or her classroom.

Resource 

(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/)

"National Pyjama Day" in Ireland

The links on the Early Childhood Ireland website take me to several places.  One leads me to the really awesome day of service for Early Childhood is known as Pajama Day, except in Ireland it is spelled “Pyjama Day”.  On Friday, March 23, 2012, children in Early Childhood centers around Ireland wear “pyjamas” to help raise money for the specific charity of their choice.  To further expand on this day the website has a link to the Irish Hospice Foundation, which provides children with a terminal illness a chance to live out his or her final days at home.  Children who helped sponsor the Irish Hospice Foundation, which has only been involved with “Pyjama Day” for two years, raised  €224,337.47 ($289978.61).  The link provided the amount of total Euros that “’Pyjama Day” has raised in its nine years of existence, which was 1.5 million in Euros.  The website also stated that, “In Ireland today it is estimated that 1,400 children are living with life-limiting illness in Ireland. There are about 350 child deaths every year – the majority in the first year of life.” (Early Childhood Ireland, 2012)   As a result of the IHF and “Pyjama Day” the IHF has been able to 5 out of 8 outreach nurses that are needed to provide support for the families and children suffering with a terminal illness.  Donations are still accepted for “Pyjama Day” six months after the actual service day.  For more information on “Pyjama Day” go to http://www.tv3.ie/3player/show/184/46659/1/  for coverage of “National Pyjama Day”.

  

Global Children's Initiative

I reviewed the website about Harvard’s Global Children’s Initiative.  Three big goals of the Global Children’s Initiative are as follows:

1.      Reframe the discourse around child health and development.

2.      Support innovative, multi-disciplinary research and demonstration projects. 

3.      Build leadership capacity in child development research and policy.

Through the three main focuses of early childhood development, child mental health, and children in crisis and conflict situation, The Global Health Initiative wants to reframe health care and development by, “educating high-level decision-makers about the underlying science of learning, behavior, and health, beginning in the earliest years of life.” Next, supporting research and demonstration projects require, “to expand global understanding of how healthy development happens, how it can be derailed, and how to get it back on track.”  Finally, there is the need for leadership in child development and research and policy by, “focused on both individuals and institutions—in low- and middle-income countries to increase the number and influence of diverse voices and perspectives that are contributing to the growing global movement on behalf of young children.”

These needs are great, especially for children in third-world country, because there is no standard form of early child development and education.  This article gives reports of the contributions of the Zambian Early Childhood Development and the Mother Child Initiative from the Turkey Early Childhood Development.  The site also features spotlights on faculty promoting early childhood policy and counties like Brazil trying to implement new policy on early childhood.

Resource:

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

ECCE and It's Importance

The international website that I have been researching and gathering resources from is www.earlychildhoodireland.com .  The website has given me perspective on the belief that no matter where children are from they need learning that is specific to his or her individual needs. I found that reading the section about involving fathers was particularly relevant to my current professional development because where I teach there are extremely many more single parent house-holds that are run by the mother.  The section of the website showed the importance of having both parents involved in her child’s life. 
There is an interesting program that has been designed in Ireland to have children between the ages of 3 years, 3 months to 4 years, 4 months where children receive free, quality Pre-K education.  It is called ECCE Year, which stands for Early Childhood and Care Year.  The importance of finding out that more and more countries in Europe are providing this education for early childhood, but it shows a greater need for me to see children in the United States need this year.  This information is very pivotal to the relevance to the three fields of economists, neuroscientists, and politicians because the idea of having quality early childcare and education before primary school is important because research from each of these fields have shown important impacts that early childhood education makes on a child’s life.   
Another big insight that was made to me through the website is that it is so important how having a child placed in a early childhood educational setting provides the child readiness in  primary school, which makes for an easier transition for  the child socially, academically, and emotionally.  This also takes stress off of parents when their child is able to know what to expect when he or she begins school.

China and Poverty

            China is the most populated country in the world.  According to the 2001 census China has 1.27 billion people According to UNICEF, “90 million children go hungry in South Asia.”  However, in recent years China has been working on reducing the poverty rate in the country because 250 million people were in poverty in China in 1978 and dropped to 35 million in 2000. 

            The biggest factor to the poverty dropping is China making a shift from a centralized market economy to a more globalized economy.  However, in recent years much of the factors for 35 million still in poverty deals with the fact that 1.)  Western China has had slower economic growth and was 3 times more likely to be poor than a person in Eastern China.  Eastern China is definitely benefiting from controlled liberalization and carefully planned foreign investment, and China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 has help with employment and job opportunities. 

            4.2 million Chinese children live in poverty and 8.7 million Chinese children live in disadvantage situation. Urban Social Security Reform has helped provide families in China with anti-poverty initiatives, although small due to China being a Communist country, which is big step.

"A Journey Through Early Childhood Education in Ireland"

I have decided to follow the website of Early Childhood Ireland.  It has an interesting program regarding quality education and curriculum in Early Childhood called Aistear.  Aistear is the national curriculum framework that all Early Childhood organizations work toward and use to produce quality education for children from birth to six in Ireland.

            The word “Aistear” means journey in the Celtic language.  The program can be used by parents, teachers, and early childhood practitioners to provide challenging, enriching, and engaging learning opportunities for young children.  The framework of Aistear believes that, “education is a lifelong journey that can take many different routes.”  Therefore, the framework does not prescribe to one specific curriculum to use to teach young children, but give shared principles or themes that a teacher, practitioner, or parent must cover to teach the child. 

            As an educator, believe that this concept is very important because it allows the educator to personalize and fit their teaching around his or her students needs. To learn more about Aistear visit the website,  http://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/quality-in-childcare-practice-of-childcare/aistear-and-curriculum/ .

Establishing Personal Contacts

It is very important as an Early Childhood Professional to make professional contacts to keep up with the current issues and trends facing the Early Childhood Professional.  I have decided to go global with my contacts by wanting to compare the issues and trends facing Early Childhood in the European country of Ireland.  I contacted NIPPA which is the Early Childhood organization in Ireland, through e-mail.  I am eagerly and patiently waiting to hear back from this organization.

Next, I decided to take a look at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization website.  From this website you can download the global policies of countries pertaining to standards, requirements of Education, Science, and Culture.  I find this site very important because it will allow me to research the issues and trends of countries around the world and how it compares and contrast to the United States.

I am looking forward to taking this course because it will help me focus on what needs to put into perspective for the needs of Early Childhood in the region of the United States I live.

Resources:

http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Daily Supports

Support is means to me that people, no matter who they are, have someone or something to help them accomplish the task he or she needs to accomplish everyday task at home, work, school, etc.  For instance, if I have a job that needs to be done in my classroom I try to make sure my students are knowledgeable enough to help me accomplish that task.

The people in my everyday life that are my support are my husband, family, friends, and co-workers.  Each of these support systems gives strength to get done the day to day task.  I cannot imagine the type of extra support a person who truly has a special need from immediate family and other assistants.  However, I am about to imagine that I am a person who is death and I am going to try to get through my day with the support I need.

 I would have to say the biggest factor that would be the obstacle to my day would be communication. I would need possibly an American Sign Language Interpreter at work to help me with communicating with my students and co-workers,   At home, my husband and family would definitely have to be my interpreter going to run daily errands like shopping.  I would also rely on technology a great deal to conduct communication.  In order to talk to co-workers and parents, e-mail and phone translator that helps me understand what other people are saying on the other end of the phone.  Little things like this will help make my day go easier.   However, some of the biggest challenge would be to make sure that I want to get across the information to my class, parents, and co-workers clearly.  I believe through the support of my family, friends, and other co-workers I could get through the day.

"My Play Connections"

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” 
― Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

I love this quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. because it shows that no matter what age you are everyone needs time to unwind and have downtime relaxing and enjoying life.

“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play” 
― John Cleese

                I believe this quote by the fellow Monty Python actor is so true to education because you will get so much further teaching the children if they are having fun.  The amazing part is that they have no idea that they are truly learning.

           

           My two favorite things two play with when I was a child was definitely my dress-up clothes and my Care Bear Tape Deck with microphone.  These two toys helped me pretend and sing songs that foster my love of the arts and singing.  I was always creating dancing and singing songs coming from the tape deck.  My dress up clothes allowed me to be whoever I wanted to be.

           My parents were always telling me to play. I remember the time I learned to play best by myself was when my mother was pregnant with my brother.  I learned to play the best at this time because my mother was either tired, not feeling well, or busy working on different things involving the new baby.  I found that I had to entertain myself.  

                I think play is so different now because children want instant gratification with everything.  If something is not happening every second, then it is boring.  Children are using technology more than ever in their down time and it is causing them to lose the idea for thinking for themselves.  I want to see play get back to simpler times where children were happen just pretending. 

"Relationship Reflection"

    There are several relationships in my life that have helped me keep moving, inspired me, and driven me to always do my best when working with children.

              First, there is God, if it was not for my faith and belief in Him I would never be able to get through life and work in general.  I owe EVERYTHING to HIM.  He helps me realize the purpose of why I work with children, and He has put the people in my life to help support me and keep me sane in the crazy world we live in.
             Secondly,  there is the relationship I have with my husband.  He is my best friend and helps keep me going on with the insane idea of working on a Masters in Early Childhood.  There are times where he has stepped it up and help clean house, make dinner, wash clothes, and helped solve technical problems with something I am working on.  He helps keep me calm, and tells me that everything is going to be worth it when I am done working on my Masters.
            Third, there is my mom and dad.  These two people have helped shape me into the type of person who should always want to learn, work hard, and keep going even when problems come along in your life.  They are also another big cheering section in my life, but have also realized that I have to learn certain life lessons myself to help me grow!  I want to thing them for not handing everything to me in life.  I love them for that !
            Fourth, there is my grandmother!  All I have to say about this women is that she has been an inspiration through her health issues and history she has seen in life!  She has made me realize that no matter the obstacle there is always a way around it!  She is also one person who I could talk  to when problems came around in life and she could always make me feel better!
           Fifth, there are my coworkers,  who I receive ideas from and collaborate with in teaching.  I learn as much from them as I can learn from a lecture on teaching strategies.  Working with my coworkers has also taught me you may not always agree, but for the sake of the children you must work together to provide the best education possible for them.
            Sixth,  I would like to say my relationship with my students and their parents is important because by trying to communicate openly and providing resources for parents that are the best for  children helping their children at home is key to my success as a teacher in the classroom. I cannot succeed without support from my parents.
            Finally, there are my pets.  I have a cat named Jenny and my husband and I just recently adopted a Beagle named Zoe.  It is wounder to see the unconditional love from these two furry creatures when you have had a bad day!

Relationships are so key to successful programs because they help shape and mold you into the person you to the kind of person who helps shape and mold the Early Childhood Field.   I believe it is so important to foster healthy relationships to help provide a healthy, caring environment in a Early Childhood program.

What Childhood and Teaching Means to Me

This is a quote by C.S. Lewis, who was a great theologian and author of the great children’s book series “Chronicles of Narnia”.  If there is one idea or concept about educating young children that is truly insightful it is always to remember that just because you are considered an adult never forget that being a young child is less important.  Children are just little people who have feelings and thoughts about life as well.  I believe if we treat children with the same “importance” as adults we will get the best and most positive experiences with our children.  The message from this quote has helped me realize that your childhood as the basis of who we are as adults is so important.  I will never stop singing in public places randomly because it is who I am as a person, I will keep things close to me because it is who I am as a person, and I will always love homemade popcorn off the stove because it is who I am as a person.  All of these things I just happened to realize as a child.

“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” 
― C.S. Lewis

             I would like to say thank to all my colleagues who have help me gain insights in the development of young children.  In order to thank you I will leave you with one personal piece of advice from the musical the Broadway musical Peter Pan it is my one of my favorite songs from the musical called “I Won't Grow Up”

"The IQ Controversy"

   There is a great debate in society that testing a child's intelligence creates social/emotional conflicts for the child.  For one, if a child does not score high on a intelligence test that they begin to feel that they are not "smart enough".  Two, the child may the feel that they were not given the chance to prove themselves because he or she was not able to perform to the best if their ability on the "IQ Test" due to the environmental factors facing him or her each day.
    The next debate over intelligence is dealing with genetics.  Meaning could race or ethnicity being a factor into intelligence. For instance,  Jews and Asians have be know for years to be more successful in society due to the drive and mathematical intelligence of the two races.   Next, there is the studies that have been done between African Americans and Caucasians showing African Americans having lower scores on achievement test than whites.  However. that gap is steadily being closed.

For more information on the research of the IQ Controversy go to:

http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v09n1/eugenics.html

    I personally believe a child is going to excel in one area or another of intelligence.  For instance, one might have a child that is smarter in mathematical or visual/spatial reasoning, a child might be good with words, another child might like to get his or her hands dirty in the soil for nature, one might have a child who is good at dancing, and another child might be able to help a friend with their problems these areas just mentioned are part of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory.  This means that people excel in certain areas of  intelligence more than others.  I feel that people should be tested to find what areas they excel at and than let them pursue that area of talent,  which is why I have no problem with magnet schools that provide this situation for children.   What magnet schools do is they take an area of  discipline like the arts, and provide students who are very cognitively inclined in that area and provide instruction in dance, music, acting, or writing while still maintaining the common   areas of Language Arts and Mathematics.

For more information on Magnet Schools go to:
http://www.magnet.edu/

Stressors on Children and their Adverse Effects as Adults

I have had several children in my classroom that have experienced different stressors this past year in my classroom.  For example, I had at least one who as experienced a possible case of sexual abuse, one child with a possible case of physical abuse, and one case of neglect.

                The best experience I can give you is how I handle each situation.  First,  the case of sexual abuse information was not given to me, but was told to the administrator by the parent, and I was not told anything by the administration,  however I was told by the parent a few weeks later.  Well, according to the law we are supposed to report this information to the administration, which I did.  Unbeknown to me however, the administrator had been informed already by the parent.  The child was a sweet one who ended up leaving me in the middle of the school year.  I wonder what this child is going through often, and hope he is okay.

                Next, was the case was physical abuse.  The child had told our assistant that his father spanked him or her really hard after wetting the bed. The child was taken to the principle’s office and questioned.  From that point,  I do not know what went on.

                Finally, there is neglect, and this one is actually common.  I found out that a child was going home to an empty house.  Now, at four or five sometimes they do not realize that someone would be there by the time they got off the bus, but this child could not tell you anything.  It was very sad.  The funny thing is the child was pulled from the records several days later after just being admitted into my classroom.

ACE and Prevalence As Adults

According to the Center for Disease Control, early childhood stressors can have adverse health effects on these children as adults.  A study was done called Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE), and the ACE made great strides in linking stressors and risky behaviors or health problems in adulthood.    If you would like to research this topic more you can go to the site:  http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/pdf/childhood_stress.pdf  .  This site clearly shows a somewhat high prevalence of these stressors reappearing in the adults.
France and Child Abuse:

  On June 17, 1998, Law 48-468 was put into place by France to increase protection against sexual predators toward minors.  The law mandates physical and psychological evaluations for children who have been sexually abused.  The law also mandates psychological evaluations and medical treatment for sexual offenders/convicts, which is to help prevent the abuse happening again.  The measures provided by the court maybe upheld to ten years.  The convict can also be put under surveillance by the court also.  A sexual offender could spend up to 10- 20 years imprisoned for his or her offence, but will be made to 2-5 if the obligations brought on by the court were not met.    

Immunizations and a Child's Health

         On a recent episode of Bravo's "Pregnant with Heels" Rosie Pope had a pregnant women who wanted to provide the most organic, non-toxic environment for her baby before it was born,  Part of this future mother's plan on providing the most organic, non-toxic environment was her belief on not having her baby immunized.  Rosie Pope totally disagreed the mother to be on this aspect, and I had to agree with Rosie.  There should be no compromise of a child's health.  The future mother's argument was that most of the diseases we provide vaccines have been eradicated, which is not true a lot of third world counties still have cases of diseases.  Another statement the future mother made was that after the baby was born the baby will be able defend itself from the natural antibodies provided by the mother.  That is true, but only up to six weeks.
          Rosie tried to prove her point for vaccines by using a cool, glowing cream on children's hands that shows all the germs picked up by humans each day.  Finally, she had to take the future mother-to-be to a pediatrician to provide first hand experience and more facts on why it is important vaccinate the baby.
          I understand that many people believe vaccinations are causing the rise in Autism, ADD, ADHD, and other behavior and social struggles in children, but I personally do not think I would not want to take a chance against a life-threatening disease for my child.  Vaccinations are not something to be compromised on.
          In France,  there is great debate on the new vaccines they wanting to make mandatory, but just like in the states children have to have vaccines  in order to be put into school.
         

Childbirth in Your Life and Around the World

My Birth:
         Okay, since I have not been given the blessing of going through childbirth yet I will tell you the account of when I was born.  I was always asking my mother to tell me the story of how I was born.   My mother said that she had a great meal of steak, bake potatoes, and salad at a great local restaurant called Harvey's.  Later, she went to play Atari, and started not to feel well.  My mother felt little twinges of pain while playing the Atari.  My mother did not think much of this because she did not feel well most of the time while she was pregnant with me.  After playing the Atari with some of the younger family friends, my mother went home and got sick!  My mother told me she will never forgive me for making her lose such a perfect supper.  An hour later the pain became more intense.  She realized contractions were beginning.  Now, both my grandmothers happened to be at the house, so one grandmother drove to the hospital while the other played backseat driver.  My Mama Net almost ran over the Magnolia tree that my mother had just planted!  We they got to the hospital they had to break my mother's water.  Mom said when they did that things REALLY PROGRESSED!  I was breech, but not a breech where it was life threatening.  I was in fetal position on my back, and the doctor just had to flip me over before I came out at 1:45 am.  I guess I could not do things the easy way!

Births in France:
       Births in France are interesting!  First, each mother to be is required to examined by a OB/GYN.  They are also given a book that records each appointment.  This helps medical staff stay informed of the pregnancy, and it also provides documentation for adminstration.
       In France, women are encouraged to make reservations for their labor and delivery way in advance.  I also found it interesting that midwives deal with most of the child birth process in European countries.  Women are allow to stay 3 days in the hospital after the baby is born, where as, in the U.S women only get to stay two days.
      Finally, home births are not popular in France.  It is due to the legal implications that could happen.  If the mother does decide on a home birth the parents most sign a weaver to have the proper medical support there with them.
       Women in France get 16 weeks medical leave, and if they have three children they receive 26 weeks medical leave!  I found that interesting considering women in the US only get 6 weeks.

Reflection:
      I find that in European countries women are given more time to bond and get into the groove of motherhood.  I find if women in the U.S. were given this chance the demands of having a child would be a little easier, and postpartum depression would be easier to deal with.

"Thank You"

        I am just wanting to say thank to Dr.Kien and my fellow classmates in an overall blog post, and give a piece of little advice that has come to me this eight weeks, and that is never forget to remember the goal you are trying to accomplish with your profession in the Early Childhood field and always remember that there are always people around you to help.  




Best wishes and God Bless,
Kelly 

"Positions of Professionals, Positions of Me"

     For this week's assignment on our blog we were find three positions from the NAEYC and DEC'S  Code of Ethics and find how it relates to us as professionals.   


1. NAEYC's states that we should "Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual" (child, family member, and colleague)
       I feel when I can accept each child, parent, and colleague as an individual that I am able to teach the child better because they are realizing that I see them as a person. I will be able to help the parent better because I can give them individual ideas suited for their child's needs, and finally I can see ideas in a different perspective from a colleague.


2. NAEYC's states,"Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect."
        I believe if you are honest and direct with a child and say what you mean then the child will respect you as an adult  It is all about being consistent!


3. NAEYC's also states, "Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle."
 When God created us, he created us in a very specific way to where we learn and develop skills and physical attributes at certain times.  One of those times is early childhood, this time we are growing cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically at the most rapid rate in our life!  It is amazing and we should treat this time with respect.

Educational Resources Help You Achieve and Succeed

For this week's blog I am providing everyone links to educational resources for the early childhood field.  I hope everyone will take a chance to browse and look at several different sites provided.  As a professional in the early childhood field it is important for us to grow and learn from different resources, so we can provide children the best possible education.

First I am going to give you the articles as resources  to use for references.

Articles:
These articles give positions and developmentally best practices for early childhood educators.

• 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, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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

Next,  These are websites that help promote the importance of early childhood education:

• 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/

Finally,  I am about to give each and everyone of you three sites that I cannot live without as a teacher.


This is Edhelper, and let me tell you it is an helper in my classroom!!  The drawback is you do have to pay a subscription to it, but it is TOTALLY worth it.

http://www.edhelper.com/?gclid=CKSOzYKEsqoCFcO77Qod7RKO-A

Next, is  Starfall.  It is wonderful to help enhance and promote your teaching in early literacy.  It is FREE!
http://www.starfall.com

The last site I have for you is  Gamquarium.  It has awesome educational, interactive games for children from Pre-K to  Middle School. The best part it is FREE!
http://www.gamequarium.com


I try to place these sites as resources for my parents on my newsletter each week.

"Quotes of Wisdom and Passion from Educators"

"Quotes of Wisdom and Passion from Educators"


The Wisdom-

These are two quotes from the educators we were told to research this week from the "Sectors from the Early Childhood Field" multimedia presentation.  The two people I chose were Dr. Sammuel Meisels and Dr. Deborah Stipek.  Both have very strong opinions about how children should be taught.  Their insights have really put a new perspective on the type of teacher I want to be.

“Teachers can motivate students only if they themselves are motivated. They can make students feel valued and secure only if they feel valued and secure; they can foster enthusiasm for learning in students only if they are enthusiastic about teaching. The school culture can make or break a teacher in the same way that the classroom culture can support or undermine students' efforts to learn.”


 -Dr. Deborah Stipek

“Results from high-stakes tests should not be used as proxies or substitutes for teacher quality and child learning.”


- Dr. Samuel J. Meisels

The Passion -


"I just simply love children!"


- Louise Derman - Spartks 

"The Shapes of Me"

  This post is going to show you through a web the people that shaped and molded me into the person I am today.  The people are my mom, my dad, my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my fourth grade teacher,  

Jana Manning- is my mother.  She is the one who has pushed me to be the best person I can be even with having been diagnosed with Turner's Syndrome.  I love her so much because she is always there for me.
Keith Manning-is my father.  He has taught me to always listen to the other person and realize it is okay not to have to have the last word in on a conversation.  He has always taught me to listen.
Sarah Davies-my great-grandmother, taught me to love to read and sing songs.  She is one of the reasons I know all my nursery rhymes that I can recite to my children in class!  My great-grandmother also taught me to love history and the importance of it.
Pat McBryde- my grandmother taught me to love my family very much!  She told me family is the most important invention God made on Earth.  You only have one family, so love them each and every day!  She  also made sure I got my homework done everyday.
Mrs. Foster-my fourth grade teacher, Showed me I could be whatever I wanted to be in my life.  I thank her for it!

Seuss Biography

Seuss Biography — Infoplease.com

The Secret to a Life Well Lived, as Explained by Dr. Suess

"A person's a person, no matter how small."
-Dr. Suess

The Pages that Changed My Life

I  have two favorite children's books that shaped me as a child.  One was "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss.  I remember being really proud that I could read that book to my daddy by the end of kindergarten.  The next book was "Jenny's Surprise".  It was a Little Golden Book about two kittens a little girl named Jenny found on a trip to her grandmother's house on the beach.  What our your two favorite books you remember being read to you or you reading as a child?

Live,  Learn, Laugh, and Love

Hello Out There,
        Yes, I wonder if  anyone will ever truly read this blog and take insight to what I have to say in regard to living life, learning, having fun, and most importantly loving.  I may not have any very significant insights, but I am certainly going to try to have some laughable moments from the life of this child of God, wife, daughter,  sister, and Kindergarten teacher.  First,  I will introduce myself, my name is Kelly Banik. I am from the wonderful state of Mississippi. Yes, I said "WONDERFUL"!!!  Personally, I feel Mississippi gets a bad rap,but that is totally another blog for another day.  I am married to a wonderful man named Robert.  We have one cat named Jenny, who was rescued from underneath my car before leaving the school where I teach.  I enjoy riding horses, reading, spending time with my family,  watching musicals, and watching children gain understanding about something for the first time.!!  
     My goal for this blog is for it to become a place where I can share thoughts on how to live better, like learning better, have fun better, and love people better. I hope my family, friends, and classmates will be able to help give me feed back to make this blog better, and a fun place to learn new and exciting events about life. I hope everyone is ready for this amateur author's life.  I might enjoy creating a blog more than I thought!!!

My babies

Me

Jenny the Cat and I

My wonderful husband and I