Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds:

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I provide them a diversely rich environment where they feel welcome and can thrive and succeed in all that they do. I hope that I can enrich the lives of my students that they “will express comfort and joy with human diversity; [utilize] accurate language for human differences; and [acquire] deep, caring human connections” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 4). Every person is different we should learn from our differences and celebrate the things we have in common.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice:

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be more educational learning opportunities for early childhood professional and parents. “Most of the time, people do not even notice their culture, just as we do not notice we live in a sea of air. We only notice when something changes or makes us uncomfortable…When we find ourselves in the midst of another culture…we discover that the way we do things is not the only way” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 55). Bringing this awareness of one’s own culture and the other cultures out there will help prevent conflicts when people encounter them unawares.

I would like to say “Thank You” to all my colleagues. I have learned a great deal from you all through your discussion and blog posts. I wish you all luck as you continue you educational journey and hope to “see” you in future courses.

Happy Holidays,

Brandie

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

The name of “your” family’s country of origin: India

At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1.      I will learn some of their customs to help them feel welcome. For example, when Indian people greet each other they place their hands together and say ‘Namaste’. 

2.      I will incorporate some of India’s music into my program. The unique sound of India's music is often created with an Indian instrument called a sitar.  This instrument looks similar to a guitar, except that it has a very long neck.

3.      I would learn more about what types of food and drink they like. Many of India's people are vegetarians, meaning they don't eat meat.   Hindus believe that the cow is a sacred animal and never eat beef.

4.      I would learn about their holidays and celebrations, like Diwali. Diwali is a joyous celebration that takes place on the last day of the last month in the lunar calendar.  This is usually at the end of October.  During this five day holiday, people light oil lamps and set off fireworks.

5.      I will learn about family structures and how they are the same and/or different then family structures in America.

A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family.

Taking the time to learn about the family and their culture will help them feel welcome and be the building blocks to the positive relationships needed to help the children learn and grow to the best of their ability. It will benefit me because I will be learning how to incorporate new family’s from diverse backgrounds into my classroom.

Brandie

References

Zimmerman, K. A. (2015). Indian Culture: Traditions and Customs of India. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/28634-indian-culture.html

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

• What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

I do not have any personal incidents when I personally experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression. When I think of those things the movie that springs straight to mind is Forrest Gump, one of my all time favorite movies. All throughout the movie Forrest is overcoming bias, prejudice and oppression because of who he is. In the beginning of the movie his mom is being told he can't go to public school because his IQ test he scored just under the norm. He was picked on and bullied but still accomplished great things in his life because he never gave up.

• In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

Equity was diminished in the movie because every time you turned around Forest was being treated as if he was not good enough. Every person deserves the right to an education and to be treated with respect. 

• What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

This movie mad me angry whenever Forrest wasn't being treated fairly. It made me want to be in the movie so that I could let him sit on the bus next to me! No person should be made to feel less than another.

• What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

I would have educated the teachers and students that different does not equal wrong. 

Brandie

Microaggression

         This week we have been learning about microagressions, most of the time unintended insults.  For this weeks blog assignment we need to be conscience of what was going on around us. My sister-in-law and I sell LuLaRoe. It is a newer direct sales clothing boutique that makes stylish but super comfortable clothes in sizes 2 T to 3 XL and the softest leggings you will ever wear (shameless plug:o)). We were at an event and a wife had stopped in to look at the clothes and fell in love with a shirt. She pulled it out a couple of times and talked about how she loved the colors. We talked for a bit and she walked to check out the next vendor booth. About 20 minutes later she comes back with her husband to show him the shirt she really liked. She was a heavier lady, He looked at her and then the shirt and said, "That shirt will never fit your arms." Her face fell. He looked clueless. He did not even realize his comment had hurt is wife. I felt so bad for her. She kinda nodded and walked away and he soon followed.

         This weeks observations has affected my perceptions of the effects of discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes on people. It showed me that we really need to think before we speak. That we unconsciously can really hurt a person with what we say. I think that the saying is true, that physical hurts can heal and go away over time but words always stay with us. We might not think we are prejudice, discriminate or perpetuate stereotypes but we are with the unconscious comments we all make sometimes.

Brandie

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I ask three people their definition of culture and diversity:

1.       Culture is a group of people who believe in and have the same values and ideals.

             Diversity is everyone’s different sets of values and beliefs.

2.      Culture is the language we speak, the food we eat, how we interact with others.

Diversity is everyone’s uniqueness. Things that make us different from one another.

3.      Culture is a person’s traditions, language we speak, religious beliefs. Culture is the things we share with others.

Diversity is a person’s gender, sexual orientation, religion, and beliefs. They are the things that make us different.

This assignment was fun, it was interesting to learn about different people’s definition of culture and diversity. There seemed to be a common theme in the definitions. Culture was things we had in common and diversity were things that were the same.  These definitions follow what we have been learning about culture and diversity these last couple of weeks.

This was a fun and interesting assignment. Learning about other people’s definition on culture and diversity made me think about my own definitions. Diversity is the things that make each of us unique. It is vital to accept and respect these differences. The languages we speak, the holidays we celebrate, how we dress, what we eat, all of these things and more go into diversity. Our cultures are the unspoken rules we live by that influence our daily lives without conscience thought, our beliefs, morals, and values.

Brandie

My Family Culture

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture...

If a major catastrophe had almost completely devastated the infrastructure of the United States and me and my immediate family had to evacuate I would not be worried about taking anything with me, all I would need is my family. In my family, family is crucial. Things are just that things, they really don't mean anything. 

I would explain to others that within my family culture that our families are what is essential to us not things. It is vital to spend and celebrate life together, the little and the big moments. What I hope to pass down to my children is what my parents passed down to me,  that your family will always be there for you and they are important. That things are just things and there will be things in life that we value and treasure but nothing should be more important than family. 

An insight that I gained about my self and my family culture is that, I believe sadly, not all families feel this way. Many people joke that my family is intimidating at first. We are a loud, loving, crazy family. We fight but we always forgive. We celebrate the good and help pick up the pieces when it is bad. I realized with this assignment that who cares what I could bring or couldn't bring with me as long as my family was together. 

Brandie 

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Reflection

When I started this course I was so worried, I cringed at the idea of research and all that goes into it. I have gained many insights about research from taking this course. For one research is not cringe worthy at all. There is a lot of work that goes into research, that is still true, but when you are intrinsically motivated to find the answers to your question it does not feel like work at all. It was fun to learn all about research with the research simulation application project. Each week adding more and more to the simulation was an easier way to learn about all of the different aspects that go into research projects.

Research helps us “understand, explain and make sense of life experiences” (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraji-Blatchford, 2010, p. 6). Through this course I have learned that there are some basic principles that show up across the board when it comes to quality research. “Quality research is always ethical, purposeful, well designed, transparent, contextualized, credible, careful, imaginative and equitable” (Mac Naughton et al., 2010, p. 10). It is vital to conduct quality research to establish validity.

A challenge I encountered was figuring out the difference between qualitative and quantitative approaches and keeping them straight in my head. I have learned that qualitative approach involves the collection of non-numerical data and are used by researchers that seek understanding rather than explanation. Quantitative approach deals with numerical data and is used by researchers to determine and/or explain relationships (Mac Naughton et al., 2010). I enjoyed this course more than I thought I would. I really enjoyed reading the blogs and discussions of my fellow classmates. They were very informative and I learn a plethora of vital information from them. I will you luck in your continued educational journey for your Master’s degree and hope to see you all in future courses.

Brandie

References

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S. A., & Siraji-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research (2nd ed.). Missouri: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Research Around the Word

          For this blog assignment we needed to research some of the current international research topics. It was a fun and interesting assignment. I visited many different websites and explored the different topics being researched around the world. Here are some of the research topics I found from the UNICEF website http://www.unicef-irc.org/ "Research supported by UNICEF – whether undertaken with partners or independently – takes place across a range of geographic, social and economic settings and needs to respond to different thematic priorities and accommodate different levels of research capacity" 

I found a wonderful publication from UNICEF that is called The Best of UNICEF Research, this publication  presents the top 12 studies. It is an annual publication "that promotes the sharing and recognition of quality research for children". 

https://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/3/97869/342422/pub/html5.html#page/1

One of the studies was about a recent research study by UNICEF in East Asia and the Pacific. This research "has broken new ground by gathering data on child maltreatment from every country in the region and by developing a model from which the minimum economic associated costs can be established" (p. 7)

Another study was Water Sanitation and hygiene in Bolivian schools; Empowering girls through WASH. (WASH: WAter, Sanitation, and Hygiene)

The Best of UNICEF Research was a wonderful read and I learned so much about the many research projects around the world. I recommend if you get a chance to check it out.

Brandie Madrid

Resource

https://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/3/97869/342422/pub/html5.html#page/1

http://www.unicef-irc.org/ 

Research that Benefits Children and Families

This week’s blog assignment was to find and share a positive example of the effects of research on children and/or families. I found an article about Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. “The national evaluation conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and Columbia University’s Center for Children and Families, in collaboration with the Early Head Start Research Consortium, found that 3-year-old Early Head Start children performed significantly better on a range of measures of cognitive, language, and social-emotional development than a randomly assigned control group” (Administration for Children and Families [ACF], 2006, p. 1). The research shows that through early intervention programs like Early Head Start children can thrive despite the negative obstacles that may impact their family’s and/or their lives.

“The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project involved 3,001 children and families in 17 sites; half received Early Head Start services, while the other half were randomly assigned to a control group that did not receive Early Head Start, although they were free to use other services in the community. Parents and children were assessed when the children were 14, 24, and 36 months old. Families were also interviewed about their use of a wide range of services at 6, 15, and 26 months after enrollment and when they exited the program. The 17 sites were selected to reflect the array of all Early Head Start programs according to geographic region, racial-ethnic status, urban-rural location, program auspice, and program experience in serving infants and toddlers”(ACF, 2006, p. 2). This research will have a positive impact on many children’s lives. It proves the importance of early intervention.

Brandie

References

Administration for Children and Families. (2006). Research to practice early head start benefits children and families. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/research_brief_overall.pdf

My Personal Research Journey

I have decided that the topic I will use for the research simulation will be, how poverty affects a child’s learning and development. I have chosen this topic because I live in a rural area and many children and their families suffer from poverty. Many children the only food they receive for the day is what they get at school. Just at our local elementary school over 60% of children are on the free and/or reduced lunch program. I am hoping to learn about the effects poverty have on children and their learning and development to find intervention strategies to help children and ways early intervention can help them.

Constructing the research chart has been very enlightening. I really like the section key terms. It has helped me understand the articles I have been reading. It is a wonderful tool to use. To take words I do not completely understand and defining them in my own words has not only expanded my vocabulary but has helped me understand the research articles I have been reading.

I have had some difficulty using the Walden library and if any classmates have any handy tips to make it easier I would love them. I am never sure of which data bases to use. I have found some research articles but it took me quite a while to find them. I have found some wonderful resources and would love to share them. If you have any resources to share that would be wonderful.

Brandie

Resources

Gundersen, C. (2015). Food assistance programs and child health. Future of Children, 25(1), 91-109. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5e7efeb8-0548-44d4-8d99-c2187d9812d3%40sessionmgr4003&vid=5&hid=4104

Simpson, D. (2013). Remediating child poverty via preschool: exploring practitioners’ perspectives in England. International Journal of Early Years Education, 21(1), 85-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2013.771327

Final Blog Wk. 8

This is the final week for this class, EDUC: 6162 Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Field. This has been a wonderful course and I have learned about many important issues and trends affecting the early childhood field; poverty, changing demographics and diversity, influences of economics, neuroscience, and politics, and equity and excellence in care and education of children, families, and EC professionals. I was never able to establish contact with an early childhood professional from another country but I was able to learn a lot of information exploring the different early childhood professional websites.

I really liked the NAEYC website, http://www.naeyc.org/. I really liked all the information you could find on this site. They had information for parents and families and professionals. The links to the other EC websites was very informative. I really liked the link to the common core standards website. I was hearing a lot of different information about the common core standards. I was not sure what was correct and what was myth/ confused facts. The website,  http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/myths-vs-facts/. I recommend this website to anyone who may have questions about common core standards.

I also learned a lot about poverty and that it effects children all over the world. “Poverty is growing in Australia with an estimated 2.5 million people or 13.9% of all people living below the internationally accepted poverty line” (Australian Council of Social Service [ACOSS], 2015, pg. 1), about 603,000 of the 2.5 million are children. In the United States poverty is just as big of an issue.

I really liked this course. It was very informative and made me realize how important it is to keep up with the current trends and issues within the early childhood profession. I look forward to keep exploring the websites I have found. I am also going to keep up and try to contact other early childhood professionals in another country. I think it would be so interesting and informative to learn about what goes on in my profession in other countries.

Brandie

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

 I explored the UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/, this week. I learned that “UNESCO’s educational objectives are to support the achievement of Education for All; to provide global and regional leadership in education; to strengthen education systems worldwide from early childhood to the adult years; to respond to contemporary global challenges through education” (UNESCO, n.d., p. 1). The UNESCO’s works with government officials to review and develop their policies affecting children from birth to age 8.

I learned that “Africa is a priority for UNESCO and education is key to the region’s development.  UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Education…work to keep education high on the agenda of governments and development partners” (UNESCO, n.d., p. 1). Their focus is on improving the quality of teacher education in the region.

I also learned that the “UNESCO’s three Institutes and two Centre’s in Europe and North America assist countries in addressing specific education challenges at regional and global levels.   
Each institute and center in Europe has a distinct mission: 
International Bureau of Education (IBE) - to enhance curriculum development and educational content
International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) - to help countries design, plan and manage their education systems
The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) - to promote literacy, non-formal education, adult and lifelong learning
Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) - to assist countries to use information and communication technologies in education 
UNEVOC - to improve education for the world of work
UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) in Montreal, Canada provides global and internationally comparable statistics on the world of education”  (UNESCO, n.d., p. 1). This website is full of wonderful information and I plan on continuing to delve more deeply into it.

Brandie 

References

UNESCO. (n.d.). Africa. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/worldwide/education-regions/africa/

UNESCO. (n.d.). Europe and North America. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/worldwide/education-regions/europe-and-north-america/

UNESCO. (n.d.). Mission. Retrieved, from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/strategy/

Blog Wk 6

I have been exploring the NAEYC website: http://www.naeyc.org/. I found a link to the Common Core State Standards Initiative website. It was a very informative website. I really liked this website. It explained what common core was, “State education chiefs and governors in 48 states came together to develop the Common Core, a set of clear college- and career-ready standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts/literacy and mathematics” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015, p. 1). I also learned that teachers were a critical voice in the development of the standards.

The website has tabs that are full of information like what parents should know and standards in your state. This is a wonderful website full of resources for parents, family, and teachers/caregivers. I found out that the common core standards were adopted by my state of Washington in 2011 and fully implemented in the 2014/2015 school year. I also learned that all but seven states have adopted the common core standards.

The most helpful and informative section of this website was the section myths vs. facts.  “Myths and facts aim to address common misconceptions about the development, intent, content, and implementation of the standards” (Common Core State Standard Initiative, 2015, p. 1). I had heard a lot of information about common core. I really liked reading the facts vs. myths it cleared up a lot of conflicting information that I had received.

References

Common Core State Standard Initiative. (2015). Myths vs. facts. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/myths-vs-facts/

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2015). Frequently ask questions. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/frequently-asked-questions/

Blog Week 5

For this week I explored the Global Children’s Initiative website it was very interesting and informative website. I saw a link on a program from Grand Challenges Canada, Saving Brains. When I saw this title it grabbed my attention and I had to read more. This program “seeks to improve outcomes for children living in poverty through interventions that nurture and protect early brain development in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. The Center on the Developing Child supports a dynamic learning community of Saving Brains grantees to help them advance the impact and scale of their work within global contexts” (Center on the Developing Child, n.d., p. 1). This program is geared to improve early brain and child development in low-and-middle countries. In their programs they are addressing three elements of healthy development, enrichment, health and nutrition, and protection through intervention (Saving Brains, n.d.). Early intervention is imperative to help children learn, develop, and grow to their fullest potential.

A second interesting insight I found on the website was a video, In Brief: Early Childhood Mental Health. This video “explains how improving children’s environments of relationships and experiences early in life can prevent initial difficulties from destabilizing later development and mental health. The 5-minute video provides an overview of establishing l level for life: mental health begins in early childhood, a working paper by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child” (Center on the Developing Child, n.d., p. 1). Early relationships and experiences are vital in building the architecture of the developing brain. When children do not get the experiences and/or have positive relationships this can have negative impacts on their development and learning. Such as, problems relating to others and impairing their abilities for learning.

This website is full of wonderful resources. I found information about Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância (NCPI). This program “seeks to apply scientific knowledge to inform new strategies that will improve the well-being and life outcomes of vulnerable children in Brazil, while also supporting sustainable social and economic development in the country” (Center on the Developing Child, n.d., p. 1) NCPI works with six other organizations to build a scientific community around early childhood development, translate scientific knowledge for submission to social policy, strengthen leadership in regards to early childhood development, and adapting the center’s existing resources for a Brazilian audience (Center on the Developing Child, n.d.). This sounds like a wonderful program that is trying to take the scientific knowledge about early childhood development and put it into media and print resources for the everyday Brazilian. This helps get the vital information about the importance of early childhood across to everybody.

I had a lot of fun researching this website. I believe I have discovered only the tip of the ice burg of information this website has to offer. I will continue to explore and I am sure I will find more wonderful resources.

Brandie

References

Center on the Developing Child. (n.d.).  Applying the science of early childhood in Brazil. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/applying_the_science_of_early_childhood_in_brazi/

Center on the Developing Child. (n.d.). InBrief: Early Childhood Mental Health. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/multimedia/videos/inbrief_series/inbrief_mental_health/

Center on the Developing Child. (n.d.). Saving brains. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/saving_brains/

Saving Brains. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from http://www.savingbrainsinnovation.net/about/

Sharing Web Resources

I have been exploring the NAEYC website; http://www.naeyc.org/. I have really liked exploring their Teaching Young Children [TYC] journals, past and present. I really enjoyed reading all the different articles. I really enjoyed reading the article in the April/May journal titled Five Questions Asked at Every Teaching Interview. I am currently the CEO of the household, also known as stay at home mom :o). I will soon be headed back into the workforce and really found the information in the article very helpful. They had other interesting articles such as, The Science of Superheroes and Writing Poetry with Preschoolers.

The online journal resource, Voices of Practitioners made me think about how much teachers can contribute to the EC profession but rarely get a chance to. “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. In teacher research, teachers engage in the systematic study of their own practice. Deeply involved in the daily lives of children and their families, teachers provide a critical insider perspective through publishing their investigations and reflections on life in their classrooms” (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], n.d., p. 1). This journal is for the everyday teacher to publish their findings on what is working and not working within their classrooms. This is a wonderful resource and will add it to my personal resources.

I had a hard time finding information about how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field. I am going to continue to explore the journals and articles to see if this site has information about this topic. I really enjoy exploring this website and all the wonderful resources that are part of it.

Brandie

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). About voices of Practitioners. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/publications/vop/about

Week 3

My computer crashed on Tuesday night and I lost everything  :o( I have learned from my experience that I need  to have a backup. I am in the process of now trying to find and buy another computer or laptop; it is not an easy thing. It is like buying a car you got to find one that fits you, your family, and your family’s needs. So right now I am using the library computer, because of this I am choosing to go with the alternate blog assignment for this week, to list three insights/ideas I have learned about poverty in a different country. I have chosen to learn about more about poverty in Australia. I found my information at Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) website; http://www.acoss.org.au/poverty-2/ and UNICF Australia website; http://www.unicef.org.au/our-work/children-in-australia

Three insights that I learned from this site about poverty in Australia:

• “In October 2015, ACOSS released a new report revealing that poverty is growing in Australia with an estimated 2.5 million people or 13.9% of all people living below the internationally accepted poverty line” (Australian Council of Social Service [ACOSS], 2015, pg. 1), about 603,000 of the 2.5 million are children.
• “Alongside the National Children’s Youth Law Centre (NCYLC), UNICEF Australia co-leads Australian Child Rights Taskforce (ACRT), a group of over 100 child-focused organizations and experts, which reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Taskforce reports to the Committee in a five-year cycle to ensure that the Committee has a full understanding of how well children’s rights are upheld in Australia, and can make the most practical and timely recommendations to the Australian Government about how to improve the lives of children and young people in Australia” (UNICF, 2015, pg. 1).
•  UNICEF “support children’s rights through initiatives in the Australian community, such as the Child Friendly Cities Initiative, and the Baby Friendly Health Initiative which help community organizations, like local councils and hospitals, strengthen rights for children. We also work with schools through consultations with children and young people and we support them to take action for children’s rights” (UNICEF, 2015, pg. 2).

Poverty is an epidemic everywhere, men, women, and children are struggling to survive while living in poverty. We need to continue to fight this epidemic.

Sharing Web Resources

The name of the organization I have chosen to focus on this week is NAEYC, National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Website: www.naeyc.org

NAEYC’s focus “is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children” (National Association of the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], n.d., p. 1). The website is wonderful and full of great information to help any Early Childhood professional.

While exploring the website I found a wonderful online journal, TYC: Teaching Young Children. In the current issue there was a very enlightening article tittle Playing, Laughing, and Learning in Preschool. It was a fun interesting read and gave seven “ways to learn to let go of control and encourage laughter with preschoolers” (Smidl, 2015, p. 1). The article lists fun ways to include and encourage humor into the classroom.  This article peek my interest and enforced my beliefs that learning should be fun and laughter and humor should be utilize as a wonderful teaching tool.

Brandie

References

National Association of the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). About naeyc. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc

Smidl, S. (2015). Playing, laughing, and learning in preschool. TYC: Teaching Young Children, 8(5). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/8_ways_to_encourage_laughter

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I have been having difficulties establishing contacts. I have been getting frustrated trying to get this assignment done. I have many different feelers out for early childhood professionals in a different country but I have not heard anything back yet! I will not give up:o) I am going to continue to try to find these resources. I am hoping to be able to establish contact and not have to do the alternate assignment.

The website I have decided to look more in depth to is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), http://www.naeyc.org/. This is a wonderful organization and is the site is full of wonderful resources for Early Childhood professionals.
Brandie

MY SUPPORTS

I am fortunate to have many supports in my daily environment that are supportive to me. First and foremost my husband. He supports me and our family financially, I am blessed to be a stay at home mom. My husband is also my emotional support. We have our ups and downs, you are bound to after almost 17 years of marriage, but we have overcome the difficult times and cherished the good times together. We work as a team and face the days together.

 I come from a big family and we all live around each other. My mom and dad, sister, brothers, and sister-in-laws supports me on a daily bases, I know that they are a phone call away and will come help in a quick minute if I need them to. My kids support me too. They help me with some simple chores around the house. But more importantly they remind me to stop and have fun. That the day to day tasks can always wait till tomorrow because the time with them is so short and should be treasured.

  I am the PTA president at my son’s elementary school. We always have something going on and I have the support of the teachers and staff at the school, the parents and families, and our wonderful community. Without the supports from the school and community I would not be able to do my job as the PTA president.

The benefits of my supports is that it makes my days easier. I don’t have to get through the days all alone. With bad days, to me, is easier to get through them with help and good days it is fun to share them with others. I can honestly say the impact on my life without my supports would be extreme. I am so used to having them around I do not know what I would do without them.

A challenge I have chosen to imagine is if my husband had to transfer to a new state for his job and we knew nobody in this new city. I would luckily still have the support of my husband and children on a daily basis. I know my family would still support me from afar. It would be difficult to start over in a new place but we would begin to get involved within the new community and build our daily supports back up. The potential benefits from these supports is that they make daily living easier. My husband and I love each other but we also need our alone time and date nights without the kids.  Finding new friends to hang out and to talk with. Finding supports we trust to watch the kids. Finding places and children my children can play with and have fun being kids. Life can get lonely without supports.

My Connection to Play!

                      Quotes that summarized what play represented for me in childhood

My childhood was full of fun and adventure, real and imagined!

I played and ran free! We would eat breakfast (my brothers and I) and we would be out the door and only come back when we
were hungry or it started to get dark.



Essential play items for me when I was younger was the outdoors and my brothers!

The outdoors
my older brother
my twin brother getting married and younger brother giving a toast!

My parents supported play when I was younger. I remember playing with my brothers outside. We would go on adventures and explore the neighborhood. We would leave after breakfast, return when we were hungry or it had started to get dark. We would play games and ride bikes. We really never sat still. My mom was a stay at home mom for most of my childhood. She would take us on hikes and picnics. We would do craft projects. When I think back on my childhood I remember laughter, happiness, adventures and fun. Play is so different now from when I was a child. For one we spent most of our time outdoors running around, a lot of time nature was our toys, like sticks and rocks. We live in such a technological world that when you ask a child if they want to play they want some kind of electronic toy like video games or tablets. My hope for children in regards to play is I hope parents make sure they get the opportunity to use their imaginations and play outside. And I do not think play has to end in childhood. Adults should play outside too! Take your children to the park, go on a hike or picnic. Teach and show your children the joys and fun they can have using their imaginations!

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are vital in life. It is important to have people in your life who will celebrate with you when life is good and help and support you when it isn't. I am lucky in life, in regards to positive relationships. I come from a very big and very close family.

This is a picture of my mom, sister, sister-in-law, and myself on the underground tour in Seattle. Every relationship takes work. We work on ours with "girl days". Just all the women in the family get together and go on adventures. Where we can talk and catch up with each other.

My parents, brothers, sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews and my kids. 

nieces, nephews and kids at the Woodland Park Zoo.

2nd mother and kids. My best friend passes away 9 years ago, this is her mom. Our relationship has evolved and changed throughout the years. We have stayed in touch, talked and visit as often as we can. Through heartache and sadness we stuck together to help each other through it. She is Grandma J to my kids. 

My husband and son at cub scout camp learning about being blacksmiths. My husband is my best friend. We have been married almost 17 years. We have had our ups and downs during this time but we have communicated and worked through the bad and have cherished the good. 

My kids and I  at our lakes annual fishing derby.

My kids, Georgia and Meilo. We having fun camping and hiking!



Developing and maintaining relationships is work. Relationships are give and take and this can sometimes be a challenge. The biggest challenge I believe in developing relationships is opening yourself up to a new person. You have to have a bit of trust in this new person that they will not take what you give them and end up hurting you in the end. This is true for any type of relationship/partnership. I have learned that you have to take the risk. Yes it may not work out in the end but you will never know unless you try. 

The special characteristics that I see that make these relationships into partnerships are good communicator, passionate and trustworthy, understanding, hard working, honesty and dedication. 

Relationships are vital as an early childhood professional. It is important to be able to develop and maintain positive relationships with families and children. You need to have the ability to be an active, reflective contributor in the relationships. It takes work to maintain a positive relationship, you must be willing to put the work in.

Quotes about children

                                                     Emma Goldman, author

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” 
― Margaret Mead

“Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.” 
― Robert A. Heinlein