Course Resources

Video Program: “The Resources for Early Childhood” Five early childhood professionals discuss their preferred and trusted resources.

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
  
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
  
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
  
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
  
  
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
  
  
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
  
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
  
  
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
  
  
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
  
  
• Websites:
  • World Forum Foundation
    http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage
    
    
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP’s mission.
    
    
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/about/
    Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

 Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
  
  
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
  
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
  
  
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
  
  
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
  
  
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
  
  
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
  
  
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
  
  
• Children’s Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
  
  
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
  
  
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
  
  
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
  
  
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  
  
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
  
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
  
  
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
  
  
• Voices for America’s Children
  http://www.voices.org/
  
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
  

 Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education

In April, I attended an Early Childhood Conference and was fortunate enough to get some really great resources.  The conference focused going green in the classroom and also creating a more physically active learning environment.  I love these resources and wanted to share them with all of you.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

The first session I went to was put on by Diann Gano, who has runs an at home day care, Under the Gingko Tree, in my area.  The unique part of her daycare is that it is all run outside.  Her children eat, play, learn and even nap outside.  She is so passionate about her day care that she has done further research and now speaks throughout the state on the importance of letting children enjoy and learn from nature.  Here are some of the resources she shared with us:
www.arborday.org/explore/  -Nature Explore outdoor certified classrooms
www.allianceforchildhood.org/publications   -great articles on a variety of early childhood issues
www.ooeygooey.com/  --ideas for hands on activities
Book-"Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv--I have not had a chance to sit down and read this book, but it look amazing.
eyesonnature.blogspot.com --interesting blog about outdoor learning

Another session I attended was about Yoga in the classroom.  Very interesting and what few poses I worked on with my kids, they loved it.
www.yogaed.com


Magazine-Below is a magazine that I follow.  You can sign up and they will send you articles from the magazine to your email.  The article I just received today was entitled, "Giving Books:  A Great Holiday Tradition"
http://www.brighthorizons.com/



http://www.nifplay.org/states_play.html

More quotes

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around"  Leo Buscaglia--A mother of one of my favorite little girls gave this to me on a magnet when her daughter moved to the Pre-K room.  I loved the quote and I keep it in a spot in my office where I can see it everyday. It helps me remember why I do the job that I do and also reminds me of one of my favorite little girls.

Louise Derman-Sparks-"The two main reasons to be a teacher.....I wanted to fix injustices of the world and I always loved kids."

Raymond Hernandez-"I wanted to keep doing more, so that is why I became an administrator.  I felt like I would have a larger impact on managing programs and to be able to shape programs.  Being able to look at how to best design a program to benefit a child."

What Is School Readiness?

School readiness involves more than just children. School readiness, in the broadest sense, is about children, families, early environments, schools, and communities. Children are not innately "ready" or "not ready" for school. Their skills and development are strongly influenced by their families and through their interactions with other people and environments before coming to school.

(Maxwell & Clifford 2004, 42)

Quotes

"When asked to describe her job, a kindergarten teacher said that teaching 5-year olds is like trying to keep crickets in a basket:  when you open the lid to put in a few more crickets, the others jump out."  (Bodrova and Leong, 2008)

"For example, research shows that mature dramatic play promotes children's development of self-regulation and other valuable capacities.  But many children have not reached mature play-dramatic play in which they act out specific roles and plan their play-and some will not acheive this level without teacher action.  Defending underdeveloped and immature play as a valid part of the school day for preschool and kindergarten children often backfires, leading to general devaluation of play and its role in child development.  It is important when using terms like play to carefully specify their meaning."-(Copple and Bredekamp, 2008)

Explanation of my Childhood Web

Mom-To this day, my mother remains my best friend.  I can talk to her about anything, she listens to me and is supportive of me in whatever I'm doing.  In my early years, my mom worked full-time, so, while, she wasn't with me all day, I knew she cared about me and loved me.  I understood from an early age that she needed to work to support our family and I think that is where I learned my strong work ethic from.

Dad-My dad was laid off from his job for a while when I was young and I had the priveledge of staying home with him during this time.  We didn't have a lot of money to spend on different things, so many of my early childhood memories with my dad include fishing, feeding the ducks by the river and riding bicycles.  One of my favorite childhood memories of my dad is when he entered me in a fishing derby at the local lagoon.  I was able to catch a fish and after the day was done, mine was the biggest!!  I won a bicycle and I think my dad was more proud than I was!

Grandma and grandpa-After my dad went back to work, I split time through the week with my grandma and grandpa and another babysitter.  My grandma her hair done once a week and I loved going to the hair salon with her.  She would let me go pick out a movie when we were all finished and watch it when we got home.  We also watched the Price is Right and All My Children everyday.  My grandpa enjoyed taking walks and working his garage and he let me tag along all the time.  We would walk to the creek by their house and throw rocks in the water and look for turtles.  He would also let me sit in his boat in the garage and pretend to fish.  My grandparents spoiled me rotten and I loved going over there for all the attention they gave me!!  They have both since passed away and I cherish those memories with them.

Robin-She was my other babysitter through the week and I was the only other child she watched, until my brother came along.  She had two children and they all treated me just like I was another member of their family.  They had a barn with horses and her daughter and I used to play out there all the time.  I still have a birthday card Robin and her family made me one year for my birthday. They always made a big deal out of birthdays. 

Gail-When I was in school and needed care in the summer, I went to an in-home daycare at Gail's house.  It was wonderful!!  She had other children, which included my cousins, and an awesome backyard to play in.  I always loved going over there to spend time with my friends and cousins. 

All of these people have helped shaped my life by giving me love, support, and unconditional love.  I was taught from an early age to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, to be happy with what you are given and the value of hard work and working for what you want. I've carried all of traits these over into my adult life. 

Personal Childhood Web

My Favorite Children's Book

I have always loved the book, "Where the Wild Things Are".  It's story about a child not getting their way and having to go to their room, as a consequence, using his imagination to go to far away places, and then realizing, he's hungry and he needs his mom so he can eat dinner.  At least that is what I think about as I read the story and I think it can be used as a great teaching resource when you read it to children.  The children in my room last year, were really interested in monsters, so I did a one week lesson plan on this story and they loved it!  After reading it everyday, they could pretty much read the story at the end of the week.  They all got the chance to stand up and act out different parts of the story, we made our own forest and they all got to use their imaginations and create their own monsters.  The book covers all of the four learning areas we look for at work (Social/Emotional, Physical, Language, and Cognitive) and the children loved to read it!!

My Favorite Quote

"Children are like wet cement.  Whatever falls on them makes an impression."  -Dr. Hiam Ginnot
  
    Outside the window of my office, they are currently working on a new emergency exit for our center.  The day the men laid cement, my director came over and jokingly said, "Let's hurry and go write our names out there.  It'll be there forever."  We both laughed and went about our day and not long after that this quote appeared in our staff lounge.  I thought it was the perfect quote to sum up children and, the early childhood field.  I think about this quote when I'm stressed at work dealing with the children. We have a great power as teachers, mentors, coaches, or whatever your role in a child's life is. The things you say to a child, positive or negative, will stick with them forever.  I am blessed with the opportunity to be able to make an impression on children each day and I intend for it to always be a positive one.

My profile picture

My picture is of me on vacation in the ancient city, Pompeii, Italy!  My boyfriend deployed from May of 2010-2011 and we met in Rome in March of 2011.  We backpacked for 16 days to different cities in Italy and it was amazing!!!  A once-in-a-lifetime trip!!