Sharing Web Resources

Sharing Web Resources

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://www.nieer.org/resources/newsletter/index.php 

The Mission Statement of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) is to "conduct and communicate research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children. Such education enhances their physical, cognitive, and social development, and subsequent success in school and later life" (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2014, p. 1).

Some issues this organizations research team is involved in is to monitor and evaluate national and state progress of early childhood education, and to develop standards and regulations to improve access to quality care. They also find information on the status of early childhood education access and quality, and help to develop research and communication strategies so they can apply scientific knowledge to early education policy. NIEER also partners with other organizations to publicize vital information about early childhood education. 


One article that was of interest to me was "Budget Deal Expands Some Early Childhood Programs." This article explained that thousands of young children would be eligible for early childhood programs because of a budget deal decided by lawmakers. These lawmakers are hoping the passage of a universal preschool for four year olds. This budget deal also restores funds that were cut from Head Start. "The deal includes $2.4 billion for a program that provides grants to states for child care assistance for low-income families..." (Hefling, 2014, p. 1). Advocates were encouraging states to create and expand all day preschool programs for low-income children. This budget deal still needs to be approved by Congress, but "Congress is acknowledging the importance of investing in a child's earliest years..." (Hefling, 2014, p. 2). 


Reference

Hefling, K. (2014, Jan). Budget deal expands some early childhood programs. Retrieved
     from, http://nieer.org/publications/journal-articles.  

Getting Ready-Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources 


When I started my journey to establish professional contacts in other countries, I was very excited knowing I was going into a different "world" of early childhood education. I sent emails to Germany, Italy, South Africa, Singapore, Canada, Spain, and many other countries. I received quite of few messages stating that a particular email was no longer valid. I was thrilled to receive a response from Germany, in German, saying they could not read my email. Fortunately my son speaks German and helped to translate the message. I also received messages from Italy and  South Africa. For Italy I wrote to the UNICEF Office of Research and received a reply stating that early childhood education was not one of their main topics of interest and suggested Pakistan and South Africa. This organization suggested other websites that could help with my research:

http:www.unicef-irc.org/publications/700 which is for a children's publication 

http://www. unicef-irc.org/publications/search/?Title=early+childhood&CatagoryID=O&AuthorID=O&SeriesId=O&Year=O&LangID=O&GeogID=O&Themeld=O&ISBN=

Eric Atmore, Associate Professor in South Africa, responded that his organization was closed until January 19th for summer break and that he would respond to me when he got back into the office. All I could think about was the warm sun and wearing shorts as I looked down at my snow boots! A few days later, Mr. Atmore sent an article titled "Challenges Facing the Early Childhood Development Sector in South Africa" of which he was the principal researcher, and he also stated that he would be sending more information in the coming weeks. I may have to utilize the alternative to part one if I do not hear from anyone else, but I am continuing to request information from other counties. 

I have decided to purse information from The Division for Early Childhood and Zero To Threes: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families for part two in Expanding Resources.  

My Supports

I consider myself lucky to have multiple layers of support from many different sources in my life. My mother and father have been a huge positive influence on me with regards to my higher educational aspirations. They are only a phone call away when I am feeling discouraged or overwhelmed; just talking to them always makes me feel better. They also provide support in form of good advice and frequent encouragement. Without the consistent support from my parents, I probably would not have achieved as much as I have at this point in my life. 

At work, I enjoy receiving constant feedback from not only the parents of the children in my care, but also from the Pastor of the church that my center is affiliated with. By listening to and incorporating this feedback, I can better refine and enhance my directing style and this provides me with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. I feel that without this type of support structure at my job I would not be as comfortable implementing what I need to do without knowing how my performance was impacting the business. On the other end of the spectrum, this same system of support provides me with feedback on issues that I need to review in order to make the appropriate corrections or changes.  Being a daycare director means that my job cannot successfully be executed in a vacuum, I must have the support and cooperation of my staff. 

As a member of the Early Childhood Directors Organization, the concept of support and togetherness is also understood and respected between myself and peers. We support each other for the greater good of learning and sharing knowledge about being effective early childhood leaders. The support structure from this organization is unparalleled in our field.  Without support from my peers I feel that my knowledge and skills would stagnate and my capabilities would be hindered. Having the support of a group of like-minded professionals is essential to me. 

One challenge that I would anticipate would be explaining to parents why my staff and I do what we do concerning their child. I know that my education and longevity in the early childhood field will help tremulously as I communicate my opinions, and I would have the support from my staff and the Pastor from the church.     

My Connections to Play


"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."
                                                  Kay Redfield Jamison

                                                                   "Play is the highest form of research."
                                                                                         Albert Einstein

  

Some of my favorite childhood memories involve playing in and around the house where I grew up, and my ideal childhood connection to play would involve this very same environment. My father was in the military, and my mother was a stay-at-home mom, so my days were typically filled with unstructured and unrestrained creative freedom. I shared these experiences with my siblings, and had fond memories of playing with my dolls and pretending to play "school" in my garage with my brothers, sisters, and numerous neighbor friends. In fact, our house was the popular destination for all of our childhood friends and schoolmates; my mother often made homemade cookies for us and let us play freely as we saw fit. She also provided resources by sewing clothes for my dolls and checking on us periodically to see if there was anything we needed. My time during these days was often spent playing tether ball, swimming at the pool across the street, and riding my bike wherever my feet decided to pedal me that day, as long as I was back before the streetlights turned on. I also enjoyed reading and generally being content with the fact that my every need was met and I was allowed to enjoy myself with a minimal amount of supervision. We all came together for our nightly family dinners, and that bonding rounded out the balance between my free play and structured development.

In many ways, I feel my childhood play experiences are similar to those of the children of today, but there are also obvious differences between the two as well. Ask any four or five year old child today about the joys of riding a bike or of role playing with dolls or action figures, and you will most likely find similar enthusiasm. These toys serve the same purpose as they always have; they provided an outlet for a child's imagination to go wild and they promote creativity. A quick survey of my daycare children in this age range shows that swimming is also a popular form of play. And what childhood would be complete without playtime involving school friends or play dates with neighborhood children?

That being said, the world has changed in many ways since my childhood and the impact of technological advances has certainly had an effect on the concept of play. You are just as likely today to find a child happily engaged with swiping their fingers around an interactive learning game on an Ipad or smartphone as you would be seeing them learning their shapes and colors with their parents or in a structured daycare environment. The state of today's economy has also led to many situations where both parents must work full time, and many children are not exposed to traditional family meal routines and grounded home lives in their immediate environments. As the children of today are shuffled around more and more between hectic adult schedules and often become lost in the mix, adequate play time and bonding time between the children and their peers can become diminished.

As an early childhood professional, and drawing on personal experience, I firmly believe that adequate play should be one of the most important functions of one's childhood. By allowing the child to explore creative opportunities with as much or as little material as they are given, the child will learn early on to develop important life skills ranging from problem solving and logical reasoning, to teamwork and social interaction. This provides the foundation for a bright and curious mind that can transition into a healthy adulthood. As an added bonus, it will provide irreplaceable memories that will stay with the child forever, a fact that I can personally attest to. As quoted above by Kay Redfield Jamison, "Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity." I couldn't agree more.

My hero, my Dad

Relationship Reflection

My daughter, Tabitha, me, and my son, Erik

Ms. Kitty Annette Cat

Relationships are important to me because I need people and pets in my life which, in turn, are good for my physical, spiritual, and emotional health.  We are all social beings and have the need to feel a sense of belonging.  Relationships also cultivate shared experiences, socialization, laughter, and stimulation which sometimes inspire every emotion on the spectrum.  What I think, feel, and actually do affects my relationships. I have a special relationship with both of my adult children. My daughter, Tabitha, and I work together as she is the assistant director at my center.  Sometimes we do have issues with crossing that fine line of the employer/employee and mother/daughter relationship, but we have enough respect for each other to communicate our feelings and stresses. We both have a commitment to work through conflicts and disagreements in a respectful manner.  My son, Erik, and I also work together but only on a part time basis as he is finishing his Bachelors Degree and has a few other jobs.  My children and I have the same philosophy of life which includes our values and traditions, and it makes me proud that my children live what I have taught them.  I would like to think that some contributing factors that aid in maintaining our positive relationships are that I listen to my adult children, give advice to them only when they ask, let them make their own mistakes, and yet I am still there to pick up the pieces as a "mother" when necessary.  Another factor in our relationship is the humor that keeps things in perspective.  We treat each other with respect, never taking each other for granted.  

My dad is my hero; always has been, always will be.  The relationship that I have with him is caring and respectful.  He is my rock when I'm feeling overwhelmed with anything, especially school.  My relationship with my dad validates my self-worth and has a huge influence on me.  Because of my dad, I feel safe and supported which gives me the confidence to explore "my world" and finish my Masters Program.  I want to think that I have instilled the same confidences in my two children that my dad instilled in me.  The major factor in maintaining my positive relationship with my dad is healthy communication; we talk all the time.   

The other picture is Ms. Kitty who, for the past five years, is my center's pet therapist and helps to sell the daycare to families. Research suggests that people who have animals live a longer and happier life.  Some animals need a lot of social interaction and attention to be happy, and Ms. Kitty is one of those animals.  She is such a people person and many of my daycare parents will stop to pet and talk with Ms. Kitty before picking up their child.  I have a special relationship with Ms. Kitty as she makes her home in my office and follows me around everywhere I go.  If a child is crying, she will rub her body next to them and the child will quite down.  A frustrating issue during the day becomes better when Ms. Kitty sits on my desk in front of my computer "telling" me to slow down and smell the roses, or that its time to pet her!  It is easy to maintain my partnership with Ms. Kitty; just feed, love, and talk to her.

One challenge I find when developing and maintaining relationships would be the concept of time management.  These days, it seems as if everyone is busy juggling the day-to-day responsibilities of meeting obligations such as work and family life, and finding the time to manage other relationships or even creating new ones can be difficult. Another challenge would be that new relationships contain a lot of projection and fantasy.  Disappointment can be experienced when the fantasy does not become reality.  Things that can help to maintain a relationship are to take time to listen or to put yourself in the other person's shoes.  With all the technology in our life, it is far easier to stay in touch with our relationships, but actually making the time to talk with someone face to face is critical in maintaining successful and meaningful relationships.

In my profession, establishing and maintaining healthy relationships is an essential part of the job. As an early childhood professional, I must stay involved with and current on the different family situations for each child in my care. When I self reflect on my own ability to maintain relationships, I sometimes draw upon my experiences listening to and guiding my own children with advice and care, and I translate those experiences into building blocks for successful communication with those families. By strengthening these relationships, I can develop a stronger sense of trust and work with the families to ensure the children are getting the most out of their early education as possible. I believe that the ability to relate to people and share experiences is important to my line of work.

When I Think of Child Development

Testing for Intelligence?

The progress young children make in all developmental areas is a continuous and ongoing assessment.  Authentic assessments portray who the child is and what the child knows or does not know.  One of the most comprehensive on-going assessment technique is the child's portfolio.  This form of assessment should occur in a variety of settings, over a period of time, gathering data through many windows of opportunity which will give teachers and parents a tool to look back at what the child has done and see changes in his development.  

"An individual profile integrates information from classroom assessments into a summary of a particular child's capabilities" (McAfee & Leong, 2011, p. 116).  This summary can focus on one skill that a child might be having problems with or on the whole child.  An individual profile helps teachers to know the children in their care, not only their strengths, but also their weakness, and their behaviors.  One factor to take into consideration when interpreting assessments is the child's environment and cultural beliefs.  "Different cultures also view concepts such as intelligence differently"   ( McCauely, 2011, p. 2).  Western cultures put emphasizes on the concept of IQ.  Other countries see intelligence as the ability to perform certain skills that are necessary for family life and growth.  

Assessment is important to understand if there are any developmental delays, or a disability, to understand a child's behavior, to plan the curriculum, and to provide a baseline to see where a child is at.  Teachers must choose an appropriate, valid, reliable, and ethical assessment tool that can be used to assess one developmental skill or the whole child.  I feel that children's assessments should happen at least twice a year so parents will understand how their child is developing and the teacher can understand what changes she might need to make for the child; assessment should bring about benefits for children.


"The earliest known standardized tests were administered to government job applications in the 7th Century Imperial China.  The tests, built upon a ridge "eight-legged essay" format, tested the applicants' rote-learned knowledge of Confucian philosophy and were in widespread use until 1898" (Standardized Tests, 2013).  China may have the longest history of tests and examinations in the world.  These tests are still used today to assess educational outcome, and the scores of these tests are factors for promoting children into the next grade. Children in China usually attend school for nine hours a day and have little time for unstructured, relaxed play.  

As I was researching on how China assessed their children, I did not find very much information.  Children were required to take tests to get into their school of choice.  Parents put a lot of pressure on their children to excel in school.  "Study pressure has led to an increase in stress, psychological problems, and even tragedy" (China's children too busy for playtime, 2007).   

One difference I found between the education system in China and the education system in America, is that if a child is having a difficult time understanding a concept, he is called up to the front of the class and the whole class helps.  In American schools, this would seem like a punishment for the child as it may label the child as a slow learner.  Parents in China are more involved in their child's education than most American parents.



China's children too busy for playtime. (2007, May).  China Daily.  Retrieved from,
     http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/13/content_871182.htm

McAfee, O. & Leong, D. (2011).  Assessing and guiding young children's development and
     learning (5th ed.).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

McCauley, L. (2011).  The development assessment of young children.  Retrieved
     from, http://www.priory.com/psych/assessyoung.htm 

Standardized tests.  (2013).  Is the use of standardized tests improving education in
     america?  Pro Con.  Retrieved from, http://www.standardizedtests.procon.org/