Sharing Web Resources

Listed on the NAEYC website is an area that  includes professional development. There is a list of face to face training, online trainings, trainings that are on dvd's, accreditation trainings, conferences, and trainings resources. The one's that pertains closely to my personal and professional development is accreditation and a face to face training that include communication skills for challenging conversations.

The center that I currently am in charge of is about to go through the NAEYC accreditation. There are several things that I need to ensure that I am on top of. The information in this training will give me the essential information that I need to lead my through the accreditation process. On the other hand, being more knowledgeable of effective ways to communicate when put in challenging situations is also a plus. As educators, we will be placed in situations where we will be yelled at and much more. I need to tools to assist me in the more challenging conversations.

A resource that was provided to make me think about an issue in a different way is an article that implies that cultivating good relationships with families can make hard times easier which is from the Young Children column, "Rocking and Rolling: Supporting Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families".
This articles simply state that if educators communicate with parents on an ongoing basis letting them know that they know best but we are here to assist and help them, parents will feel more comfortable talking where more serious issues arise.

The website contains information under heading titled Association Relation that adds to my understanding on how the early childhood field is supported.  It states, "NAEYC and our Affiliates work together to raise the quality of early childhood programs and to continue building the Association as a high-performing organization, strengthened by diversity and inclusion. Affiliates are represented by the Affiliate Council, an NAEYC advisory body providing leadership and guidance to further strengthen the capacity of the NAEYC Affiliate Network" (http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc).

One insight that I gained this week from exploring the website is the fact that there is an area that includes journal articles and information about educational research. "Voices of Practitioners: Teacher Research in Early Childhood Education is NAEYC's peer-reviewed, professional online journal. Its main purpose is to provide a vehicle for publishing the research of early childhood teachers, who are often underrepresented as authors in the educational research arena. This publication includes informative articles, resources, and tools to promote the participation of early childhood teachers in teacher research.  Voices of Practitioners is published three times a year in February, May, and October" (http://www.naeyc.org/publications/vop/about).

~Getting to Know Your International Partner~

It gives me great pleasures to introduce to you all my international partner, Ms. Bela Frye. She is from Cape Verde, a mother of three (soon to be of five due to her recent engagement), and speaks several languages to include English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Wolof, and Cape Verdean Crioule. She served as a Kindergarten teacher for 2. She currently resides in CO Springs.

One thing that I learned from her thus far in regard to poverty is that regardless of location, someone somewhere suffers from similar issues, homelessness and lack of food being in the lead.  She explained to me the housing situation in certain areas of Cape Verde. Some of the houses are cheaply put together making it easy for families to remain sickly. She also explained that having adequate and safe drinking water can be of concern as well.

She directed me to a website to read about a homeless man, an immigrant from Cape Verde being eaten by rats in Portugal. (http://www.asemana.publ.cv/spip.php?article74939&ak=1)

Please do not read if you are as easily sickened as I am. I wish that there was something that we could do to stop world homelessness and hunger. She mentioned that even though she is no longer in the area, she is always staying in touch with family members and friends.

An insight that I gained this week in regard to poverty is that poverty can be both seen and unseen. There are individuals that are living from pay check to pay check trying to survive with limited resources. On the contrary, there are individuals that are on the streets and looking for help from what ever angel possible. I often see commercials asking for money to help aide individuals from other countries. I've learned that we need to make commercials to help aide people that are right here in our own communities as well.

Web Resources

NAEYC

The organization that I chose to examine in great detail is "The National Association for the Education of Young Children" (NAECY) founded in 1926. It is a professional nonprofit organization which promotes excellence in early childhood education. The organization is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age 8.

The link to the website is www.naeyc.org/

A current issue from the web sight that caught my attention is an article, "Reflections from Teachers of Culturally Diverse Children". This article was great considering the topics that we are discussing this week. The article goes into details and explains the importance of teachers being able to teach children from different cultural backgrounds.

Here is a paragraph from the article that I would like to share:

"Beginning the journey toward increased cultural competence (the ability to understand diverse perspectives and appropriately interact with members of other cultures in a variety of situations) requires teachers to rethink their assumptions and consider life’s issues through the lenses of people who come from cultural backgrounds different from their own". ( Michaela W. Colombo, EdD)


Reference
 Colombo, Michaela W. , EdD.  NAECY Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Reflections_Teachers/

Establishing Professional Contacts & Expanding Resources

~Establishing Contacts~

The very first thing that I did when trying to establish professional contacts was research the areas of the world that were most interesting to me. After browsing through all of the countries listed under the resources, I found that I was drawn into almost all of them. I finally selected four contacts. Two from UNICEF and two from The Global Alliance of NAEYC
1. media@unicef
2. ydionne@ccf-fasge.ca
3. ruzanna@sbsbf.am
4. accra@unicef.org
Thus far, I haven't received an email back from anyone. Yes, I am getting a little worried. My sister n law is from Ghana. I will called her to see if there was anyone that she could recommend but the individual that she had in mind has not returned a response to her email either.

Can anyone that has been successful give me a few tips on where to go to locate someone that is interested in communicating with me? This is such a great opportunity to get to know and meet people from other areas of the world discussing issues that are important to all of our children. Your help with this is very appreciative.

~ Expanding Resources~

The early childhood organization that I chose to study is NAEYC (www.naeyc.org/). This organizations provide information and helpful tips for all children. There were others that really caught my eye. However, I want to become ore familiar with NAEYC and all of the information they have to offer.

"My Supports"

Factors within my daily environment that are supportive to me are my parents, my husband, my daughter, my Ipad, my best friend, and my supervisor.
~ My parents are supportive because if there is anything that I shall need, they will do their best to ensure that I have it. They are there for me and my family through think and thin. My parents are constantly on their knees praying for me and my family. That is the most important support for me.


~My husband supports me on a daily basis as well. He is always there to listen to me being nonjudgemental. He is there to rub my feet after a long day of hard work. He is always there to ensure that we have all of our necessities and wants. Most of all, he reminds me at least weekly, why he chose me to be his wife and that he loves me to pieces. Having support from my husband gives me the strength to press on each day.


~My daughter supports me by being patient while I do homework and be doing her best in school. 


~My Ipad simply does it all. I can do homework assignments and attend classes while on the run. I have a note pad on the Ipad for taking notes and reading them when I need to. The Ipad connects to the internet therefore I can search the web, check on the weather, watch movies, and much more. The Ipad is simply a mini computer that includes all of my personal book and books that are related to my job.


~My best friend is supportive because she is there to listen when I need to talk about things that my husband may not understand. She is also there to provide me with advice. She supports me regardless of how she may feel about a particular situation.


~Last but yet importantly, my supervisor supports me by assisting me with the tools that I need to be successful at my job. She supports my decisions even when they are not always the best. She also gives me the support that I need to assist my employees. 


All of the above supports have benefits. With the exception of the Ipad, they are make me feel valued and that I have a purpose. They make me feel as though I could do anything. When I feel positive, I am able to make others feel positive. The Ipad helps keep me on track and organized.However, the Ipad is the only thing that I could do without. It would be pretty difficult without having the people that I love dearly away on a daily basis. Although I am far away from my parents, I still talk with them on a daily basis. If I did not have all of the individuals above, it may be difficult to remain both positive and focused. 


~The challenge that I chose to  imagine is being the President of the United States.
I feel as though I would definitely need the support of my spouse and my family. I would also need the support of the American people as well as people from other countries. I would need secret agents and individuals to assist me in keeping up with all of things on my agenda. I would also need a second man to go to help make big decisions. (These are only a few)
These factors would also be there to help me stay focused and at times will believe in me when I may not believe in myself. They will be there for me when I feel as though others wont. Having the people on my side will make me feel as though regardless if a plan fails, they will know that I did my best. 
without having the supports mentioned above, I may feel as though I do not have a chance and that it is too much to accomplish. Without the secret agents, i will for surly be a target for some that do not care for me. Without the Vice President (the second man/woman), I wont have that person to go to to think things through. And without the secretary (the person to keep me on track), I may loose track on the things on my agenda.


To sum it all up, it would be accurate to conclude that we all need a support system to help us remain focused. We need emotional support, physical support and practical support.

~My Connections to Play~

~Quotes about Play~

It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.

D.W. Winnicott

Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.

O. Fred Donaldson

~Essential Play Items~

          

Things that were essential to me when I was growing up were boxes. I loved boxes. Boxes gave me the opportunity to make what ever I wanted to make using my imagination. One day my  box would be a store and the next day it would be a school.

A second essential element to my childhood play was my friends and relatives. We learned from each other. I would see my cousin do things that I felt was fun and exciting and then I would try to demonstrate the same thing.

A third was plain paper and crayons. This gave me an opportunity to express my creativity with pictures and words. I also drew signs that went in my creative box.

Caring for a baby (baby doll) was my all time favorite. I demonstrated the things that my mother and grandmother did for us. I cooked for the baby, fed the baby, dressed the baby, read to the baby, sang to the baby, and much, much more.

~The Way my Play was Supported~

My parents supported the way I played in multiple aspects. My mother always supplied me with toys of my interest. She never hindered me from playing. If I was playing "church" with my boxes, she would encourage me to have equal amount of seating on both sides. If I was playing school with the box, I had to have assignments for my students and I had to supply a key with the answers. One thing that I learned from  my mother was that play was important. We made sure to incorporate learning into everything that I did.

My mother never discouraged me when I chose to use my imagination. I was able to be myself and I learned a lot from being able to play. When I made signs for the store, I had to show the signs to my brother before I was able to put the signs up. He checked to ensure that all of my spellings was correct.

My brother also supported my play. He would tell me that he was tired of one store and encouraged me to do other things. He helped me design a gas station with one of my boxes. After the gas station was complete, he drove his cars to the gas station to get gas and he even purchased candy for one of his men.

~How Play Today is Similar~

I cannot speak for others but play today for my child is the same as it was for me. I encourage her to play and we play together. Play is fun but play also has to be educational and meaningful. My daughter is much different from me. I wanted to incorporate leaning into play. My daughter is much happier if I leave her alone to do her own thing. I join in on the fun with her each opportunity that I have. 

When I was growing up, we had more things where we had to use our imagination. Kids of today have more electrical games. MY daughter enjoys when I play with her but I want her to play more using her imagination.  

~Role of Play~

Throughout my childhood and up until now,play has always been relaxing and enjoyable for me. I always learned how to find easier strategies through play. I love color pencils today, the same as I loved crayons when I was a child. I taught my daughter how to add by drawing pictures. After completing the problems she could go back and finish coloring and decorating her page.To sum up the importance of play, I use this quote:

Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.

Diane Ackerman

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important for several reasons. Relationships helps build bonds with others and also emotions. Relationships make you feel important, gives you a sense of hope and it gives a sense of comfort and relaxation.
I have a great relationship with my parents, my siblings, my daughter, my husband and my co-workers.
My relationship with my family members is positive because I always know where I can go to get the truth. I am comfortable around them and they make me feel happy. When there are things that I am concerned about, I go to them and they help me make the right decision. The relationship that I have with my husband consists of the same things but he makes me feel like I am his everything. At times, that gives me the strength to go on and make a difference in the world regardless of the things that I am faced with.
The relationship that I share with my co-workers is amazing. They know that I am there for them and knowing that they are there for me gives me the courage and the strength to do some of the tougher things on the job.
There are challenges that we must achieve when having a relationship. Family members are forever. However, friends and spouses may be temporary. One thing that I have learned is that you have to be honest, never say things that you are afraid to repeat, and let go of childish ways and think and act like an adult . Last but yet importantly, let the past be the past.
Special characteristics from my relationship is trustworthiness, honestly, and loyalty.
My experiences with relationship contributes a lot in the early childhood field. All parents want to know that they can trust and depend on the individuals that are caring for their child in the absence. Parents also want to know that they can trust that individual. All the things that I acquire from relationships, I give. Children deserve to have people in their life that will make the right decision for them. Honesty is the key.