Thank you fellow learners

I want to thank you all for the impact that you have had on my learning experience.  I feel very blessed to have spent these 8 weeks with you, this is a pivotel time for me, determining to go back to school was hard and each of you had a hand in making it a little bit easier....May your futures be greatly blessed!

Important Early Childhood Ideals

* We shall care for and educate children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and that support each child’s
culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure. NAEYC. (2005, April).   (There is great importance in offering children a social and emotional setting that encourages age appropraite development.  It is crucial that we take a holistic approach and consider the WHOLE child, to include their outside environment--Heather)

* We shall use appropriate assessment systems, which include multiple sources of information, to provide information on children’s learning and development.  NAEYC. (2005, April). (Using assessment tools that are proven to be age appropriate and that require anecdotal noting can provide a developmental continuum needed to track growth and to allow teachers to adjust lesson planning accordingly--Heather)

* We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that enhance the quality of their lives. The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). (There is great importance in integration at a young age, early childhood professionals need to understand the possiblity of collaborative programs and braided funding in order to serve all young children in the least restrictive settings--Heather)

Resource Connections

Early Childhood Resources

• 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

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 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/

Additional Resources

• Great Start for Kids http://greatstartforkids.org/
• The Early Childhood Cognition lab at MIT  http://web.mit.edu/eccl/
• Teaching with The Brain in Mind http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/articles/brain.html

LOVERS OF THE FIELD

"I had a built in passion that it was important to make a real contribution in the world"....Louise Derman-Sparks

"It is not all about you, you've got to take YOU out of it, it is what's best for the child....Renatta Cooper

AMAZING CONTRIBUTORS TO THE FIELD

“We have a lot of research that says if a child is in a healthy environment, in a loving environment in which there’s bonding between the parents and the child, where there’s positive interaction, so the child starts ready for school, cognitively ready and socially ready, there’s a high probability that child will succeed in life. If not, there’s a high probability she will not”.....Art Rolnik


"I think the biggest thing a parent can give a child today is resilience — helping them see they have the inner resources to overcome whatever they have to"......T. Berry Brazelton

The Large Family Collection

Jill Murphy writes wonderful stories about real life.  Parents and kids alike can connect with theses stories. The illustration is incredible, full of color and detail. I love them all, but am most fond of Five Minutes Peace, a story of a momma elephant searching for 5 minutes of alone time. I think all mothers can relate to that....

Quote

One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had, nor what my clothes were like, but the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child.
- Paraphrased from Forest Whitcraft