Thank You

A common "sign" the children use at my school is "thank you." Those are two very important words to teach our young children as they recognize the kindness and help they receive from those around them. I want to say "thank you" to all of my colleagues from this course as we have learned about collaboration and communication in the Early Childhood field. Thank you for all of the support and feedback you gave me as I learned ways of becoming a better communicator. I hope many of you will be in my next class: Developing People and Leading Teams. I'm really looking forward to the next few classes which focus on administration, management and leadership. Good luck to everyone!

Adjourning

This week I learned about the five stages of team development. These states include forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012). The final stage, adjourning, is when a project or task has come to an end and the members reflect on their experiences together. When I think about a time when I had to leave a group I think back to when I was a summer camp counselor. I spent the entire summer living and working with 25 other college students as we became very close. When our “mission” came to an end it was a strange feeling having to say goodbye now that our goal was accomplished. Before leaving camp, we hugged, prayed together and agreed to stay in touch with each other and made plans to come back to visit periodically. This group was especially hard to leave because we were practically each other’s families since we lived away from our family and college friends for 10 straight weeks.

I imagine the adjuring stage from this program will look quite different than back when I left my role as a camp counselor. When we finish with our master’s degree we will all feel relief, excitement and will probably be proud of our accomplishments. I would like to share contact information with my colleagues so we will be able to continue communicating once the program is over. It’s always very helpful to have multiple contacts in your field. Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork. These closing rituals are important for continued communication and support.

Resource

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Conflict Management

Knowing positive ways of solving conflicts is essential for any teacher or administrator. In the early childhood field there are a lot of different people who are working together to do what they think is best for the children in the program. Classes are made of up teachers who serve students from all different types of families, homes and backgrounds. There are bound to be some conflicts arise between parents and teachers from time to time.

I have experienced a few conflicts over the years in my role as a teacher. A time that especially stands out was when one parent was very upset that their child continued to come home talking about how another child was mean to her. The child the girl was talking about was a student with special needs. My co-teacher and I were working very closely with the student with special needs and keeping in very close communication with the student’s parents as we worked to get him support from the local school district. While we worked very hard to eliminate problems between this boy and the other students, it was impossible to prevent all of them. It was especially frustrating to me speaking to the parent who was very upset because there was only so much information I could give her about the little boy. I did not feel like I could give her details such as the fact that he had special needs.

From what I’ve been learning in this course I know that when people are upset, they usually want to be sure that they are heard and understood more so than they want the problem to end. I know that I could compromise, making steps to help her feel better. I could let her know that I would put her child in a separate group whenever possible or pay closer attention to the interactions between the two children. I could repeat back what she was telling me so she know she was being heard and letting her know a little bit of the situation from my observations/perspective.

Colleagues- do you have any other ideas for how I would solve a conflict like this in the future? I look forward to reading your examples as well. 

Who Am I As A Communicator?

Part of my assignment this week was to take three self-surveys evaluating my level of communication anxiety, verbal aggressiveness and listening profile. Then I chose two people to take the same tests to evaluate myself through their eyes. The results were as follows:

Communication Anxiety

MY RESULTS

MILD- “You reported that you feel a bit uneasy in some communication situations and somewhat more confident in other contexts. Communication does not seem to be something you worry a great deal about. “

HUSBAND- MILD

MOM- LOW

Verbal Agressiveness

MY RESULTS

MODERATE- “You maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others’ viewpoints, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding that position.”

HUSBAND- MODERATE

MOM-SIGNIFICANT

Listening Styles

MY RESULTS

PEOPLE-ORIENTED- “You empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others. This listening style helps you to rebuild your relationships, but it can interfere with proper judgment because you tend to be very trusting of others.”

HUSBAND-PEOPLE ORIENTED

MOM – PEOPLE ORIENTED

I would still like to have a colleague evaluate me in these areas but I did not have a chance this week. Instead, my mom and husband were able to evaluate me. I was surprised to learn that we all thought my listening style was people-oriented. I was also surprised that my mom ranked my communication anxiety as low. I’m glad to know that she can’t sense when I have a little anxiety at times and I hope others feel that way too.

The information I learned from this activity will help me as an early childhood educator because I can be more intentional about not being verbally aggressive and using other skills that will enhance my communication with children, families and colleagues. 

Communication and Culture

It’s interesting to reflect on my adult life vs. my childhood/teenage years and the people I’m surrounded by. I would definitely say that before I was in college I mainly associated with people who were from similar cultures as my own. A lot of my friends were from my church or from my school and we all lived in close proximity to one another. In grade and high school it seemed like many people did not want to be different. In many cases they may have been but did not want to highlight it.

Ever since I was in college I have been meeting and working around people from many different cultural backgrounds. I associate with people who practice different religions, are of a different socioeconomic background, age, sexual orientation and race than myself.

In some ways I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. I tend to ask more questions to someone who I don’t know very much about. As an early childhood educator it is important for me to work on being an effective communicator with everyone in my program. Some tips for workers in this field include:

• look at situations from the eyes of the child/family you serve
•  withhold judgment on families and work to get to know them
•  ask questions, learn names and show respect to all families and children in your program

Homework = Watching TV!

This is my second week of the class Communication and Collaboration in the Early Childhood Field. My assignment this week was to watch an episode of a TV show that I do not normally watch but without sound. During the episode I made predictions about the characters’ relationships based on how they were communicating. Then I watched the episode with sound to see in what ways I was and was not correct.

I chose to watch an episode of “The Millers” which is a show I had never heard of before. The show started off with two men talking together in a coffee shop and watching a yoga class that was going on in the next room. One man begins smiling and waving to a young woman in the yoga class and soon they are waving and making faces at each other. Soon the class ends and the young woman and an older woman leave the class talking. The men walk over to them and suddenly the young woman looks upset at the man she was smiling at and immediately leaves the coffee shop.

As I watched I assumed that the two men were friends and the man who was smiling at the young woman was the son of the older woman. It seemed like both of the men were single because they were focusing on a few different women throughout the episode. They would flirt with the women by smiling at them from a distance and then approach the woman and talk very close to them.

During one part of the episode the mother was at a doctor’s office. She was telling something to the receptionist and the receptionist looked like she was feeling sorry for the mother because she had a concerned look on her face and at one point put her hand on her heart.

After I watched the episode with sound, I discovered that I was correct about a few things and incorrect about others. I was correct about the relationships between the characters. I was able to tell their roles and relationships because of their nonverbal behaviors including eye contact, facial expressions, proximity to each other and hand gestures.

If this were a show I was familiar with I would’ve had some past knowledge about how each of the characters’ personalities. Watching a new show without sound I made assumptions that were not always correct. This translates into the real world too because it’s important to not rely solely on assumptions without sufficient information. 

Competent Communicator

This week I began my first week of school (at work) and I also started a new class in my grad program. We're talking about competent communicators. The first person that comes to mind when I think about an effective communicator is a teacher I had when I was in middle school. I think of him as one of my favorite teachers because he found a way to make the content that he was teaching fun for the students. He was passionate about what he was teaching, gave good eye contact and was funny. On a personal level he was honest and showed that he cared about the feelings of each of his students. He took time to really get to know us. He was one of the teachers that inspired me to become a teacher myself. While I have different communication styles, I hope that some of what I learned from him has shaped who I am today.

Professional Hopes and Goals

This is the last week of the course Perspectives on Diversity and Equity. When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds my hope is that more and more educators take time to evaluate their own biases and work to create positive relationships with the children and families they serve. A goal that I have for the early childhood field is to continue working toward creating high quality, affordable and accessible learning communities for our families.

Thank you for all of my colleagues for sharing your personal stories and giving me feedback during this course. I’m looking forward to beginning my 7^th course in this program next week!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

In this week’s scenario I am to imagine that a child is enrolling in my program who has recently emigrated from a country I know very little about. This country would be Nicaragua. How would I prepare myself to welcome the child and his/her family?

In order to be culturally responsive toward this family I could first research what it’s like to live in the area of Nicaragua that they’re from. I would want to learn what the weather is like and about school systems, languages, economy, attractions and more. I would talk to my dad who has traveled to nearby Honduras and a friend who is doing mission work in Nicaragua.

When the family enrolls I would schedule a time to briefly meet with them. This is when I could really learn about their family culture by asking them questions and learning about their experiences. During our conversation I could use a bit of my recent knowledge about Nicaragua. During this meeting I would like to know about the child’s interests and feelings about living in a new country.

Once the child begins school I would want him/her to feel a little at home. In the classrooms I could bring in books from the library about Nicaragua, play music from the area and post pictures of his/her family in the classroom. I would invite the family to come in to cook food, teach games, share photos or just spend time in the classroom. My hope would be that these preparations would benefit the child’s school success and the relationship between the school and this family. We would want to do all that we could to support and welcome a new family. 

Bias, Prejudice and Oppression on TV

When I think of incidents of prejudice, oppression or bias in a T.V. context I immediately think of Michael Scott from The Office. In the show Michael Scott is a manager of a paper company. He is known to make inappropriate and offensive comments to the employees in the office. 

The episode “Diversity Day” is a classic example of his offensive ways. It is very obvious that the comments that he says makes those around him feel uncomfortable as he stereotypes minority groups. Michael’s ignorance is evident to everyone around him. Watching this episode or any of the episodes you realize how ridiculous it looks and sounds to use microagressions (Michael's aren’t so micro). It’s a good reminder that offensive comments are never acceptable.

Has anyone seen this episode? What are your thoughts?  

Awareness of Microaggressions

This week I was to observe my own and other people’s verbal interactions and detect examples of microaggression. Microaggressions are quick statements that contain insulting messages and can be based on any marginalized group. Whether it’s because I live and work around really kind people or because I don’t watch much T.V., I didn’t observe any microaggressions this week so far. Instead I did a little more reading about racial microaggressions and found this article while I was at it.

I've heard many microaggressions in my lifetime but off the top of my head I can just remember a few. There have been many times when people labeled someone who may be Asian as “Chinese” or “Japanese”. I probably made statements like that at one point or another before being more aware of stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice.Recently I heard someone describe someone as "retarted" and don't even get me started on people using the word "gay" as a synonym for dumb or stupid. I heard that far too many times when I worked with middle schoolers while I was in college. 

Sometimes microaggressions are spoken by well-intentioned individuals. It’s important to be aware of microaggressions and how they can impact the person they’re directed at. Microaggressions can make someone feel inferior, insulted and excluded. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this week’s blog assignment I was to ask three people to tell me their definition of culture and diversity. Their answer are as follows:

Person #1:

Culture: “The norms and practices of a group of people.”

Diversity: “A wide range of different kinds of things or people.”

Person #2:

Culture: “A person’s background. It shapes him and her into who they are today”

Diversity: “What sets someone apart from others.”

Person #3

Culture: “A collection of beliefs, gender, race, socio-economic status, language, values and more which guide our understanding of the world.”

Diversity: “All the ways one is unique compared to others in society.”

From what I have studied in this course, the people I have talked to touched on a number of important of aspects of these two words. Their responses about culture went beyond surface culture (artifacts, clothing, foods, holiday) and focused on deep culture.

Some additional items I could add to these definitions are as follows:

• -          Culture is learned from what’s around you. It’s a set of rules that governs what we do. Culture and gender are always connected.
• -          Some additional components to deep culture are: work, housing arrangements, religion, migration, ideas about education and many more.

This exercise was a good opportunity for me to think of my own definition of culture and diversity. I have certainly learned a lot about these two important words just from the first three weeks of this course. 

My Family Culture

EDUC 6164 Week 2

Scenario: 

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.

One of items that I would bring relating to my family culture would be a DVD with a collection of home videos from when I was little. These videos include footage of some relatives who are no longer living, vacations, birthday parties and random funny clips from my sister and I as children. I would also bring a family history book that I made full of photos and stories of my maternal grandparents and their ancestors and offspring. Finally, I would bring my recipe box full of many of my mom’s recipes including a number of recipes from her grandparents. If anyone asked me about the items I brought I would explain that each of them provide many memories for me and are preserving my family history so it can be passed down to future generations.

If, upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one personal item and have to give up the two other items I would be devastated.  To have something so terrible happen to your country and then to have your precious memories taken from you would be unbearable.

Reflecting on this scenario I have had to take the time to really think about the items that are important to me as I have weighed the value of each of them. I would have a very hard time leaving many albums and pictures behind, as those are extremely important to me. 

Final Week of 6163

Tomorrow marks my last day of the course “Building Research Competency.” Thank you to all of my colleagues for your support and suggestions as I worked on my research study simulation. I really enjoyed this course!

A few questions from this week:

1.      What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

From taking this course I now better understand ways to look for “quality” research. Some things I can do to see if a research paper is valid is look at the credentials of the researchers involved, compare research on similar topics and compare, and look to see which organizations (if any) are conducting or backing the research.

2.      In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

Before taking this course, the idea of conducting research was intimidating to me. Now that I have worked through each step through an 8 week long research simulation, I have a much better idea of what is involved in doing research. It has been very helpful to read a number of research papers along the way.

3.      What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I learned a lot about ethical considerations to consider before designing research, especially when young children are involved. I read about informed consent, children and consent, confidentiality and privacy and cultural issues throughout this course. Decisions made when planning research studies should not be taken lightly.

4.      What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

When I first began designing my research study simulation, I found it challenging to decide if I was going to use qualitative or quantitative data for my study, because I found both methods beneficial. As I learned more about mixed-method research designed, I realized that using both methods would be the most beneficial for my study.

5.      What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

I have been reminded about how important it is to use research to back up your educational philosophies. There are so many different perspective and beliefs about what is the “right way” to do things in the field of education. If you’re ever not sure, just look at what research says to make a well balanced decision. I have a great deal of respect for people who do research in the field of early childhood education. 

Research Around the World

For this week’s blog assignment I spent time learning about the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) or Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). I used the http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php website to learn about research that is happening in the field of early childhood around the world.

What are some of the current international research topics?

·         There were a number of research articles relating to Indigenous people of Africa. Some other topics included framework for orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana and involving fathers in early childhood development.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

·         One study I read looked at both rural and urban early childhood development programs in Ghana. The focus was looking at why there were problems against successful implementation of early childhood education in Ghana. This study found that teachers of all levels had insufficient knowledge of child development. There was also inadequate supply of teaching materials and staff who were not trained well. While I didn’t know much about education in Ghana I was surprised to read this. Thankfully, studies such as this one are being conducted to help early childhood programs to improve.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

·         I was surprised at how many scholarly articles I found on this website. These are great resources for anyone learning about international early childhood research. 

Positive Effects of Research

This week we're looking at ethics in early childhood research. While some people believe that refraining from social research is the best way to avoid violating professional ethics, I have found a number of examples of how social research has positively changed people's lives. One example is of a positive change is the findings from the Carolina Abecedarian Project. I encourage you to read this article from the New York Times from last March. Checking in with research participants 42 years later has proved that significant benefits have come from providing low income families with full time day care and meals. This research project has a happy ending. I'm so glad to know that early childhood education is valued more today than ever.

EDUC 6163 Week 2

I am now taking the 5^th class in my Master’s program. This course is called Research Competency. My past few assignments have been exploring a research simulation. The topic I am interested in studying is how a mother’s sleep patterns during pregnancy affects her child’s sleep patterns. I chose this topic because I know how important sleep is for children’s growth and development and I’m curious to know how much of children’s sleep habits are aligned with their mothers’ sleep habits.

Colleagues – I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What ideas do you have or challenges do you anticipate? I look forward to reading about your simulation ideas as well. 

Final Week of 6162

By learning about the international early childhood field during this course, I have learned….

• that all countries around the world struggle with poverty
•  some areas value and fund early childhood education more than others
•  there are people in every area around the world who are working to be advocates for our young learners.

I have really enjoyed learning about early childhood organizations from around the world through this course. My goal for the field of early childhood education (internationally) is to work towards closing the poverty gap to give children the best possible start to their lives.  

UNESCO Website

This week I spent some time exploring the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) website. UNESCO advocates for early childhood care and education programs related to health, nutrition, safety and learning which contribute to holistic development.

Three Things I Learned:

1. Under the Investing and Finances tab the author explained how difficult it is for countries to expand and improve early childhood programs. Early childhood education is often overshadowed by universal primary education. Countries should view early childhood education on the same level as basic education.  
2. Gender equality is a high priority for UNESCO. The website explained that even though gender inequality affects both genders, women are often more disadvantaged. Some of the obstacles in women’s way include minority status, poverty, early marriage and pregnancy and traditional attitudes about the status of women.
3. The Global Education Skills Forum was held in Dubai just last month. A new campaign called Business Back Education was launched at the Forum challenging businesses to commit 20% of its global Corporate Social Responsibility spending for educational purposes. The goal is for this to happen by the year 2020.

These items relate to my professional goals because investing in early childhood education is a high priority for me. I also think it’s important to help eliminate many of the inequalities facing the field of education, including inequities relating to gender. I found the UNESCO website to have a lot of valuable information which is contributing to my global view of early childhood education. 

Sharing Web Resources - Early Childhood Australia

This week I answered questions based on the organization I have been following - Early Childhood Australia. 

Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead?

I clicked on the mychild.gov link and learned about the Australian online child care portal. This website is a great tool for educators and families and contains a number of resources to best support young children. On this site there are links to finding preschools and Kindergartens, ways to get “fee assistance” and guidelines for quality education and care. All of this information can be found at http://www.mychild.gov.au/

Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find?

One tab of the ECA (Early Childhood Australia) website I found interesting brought me to the position statement on children of asylum seekers. One part read

“Refugee children share certain universal rights with all other people, have additional rights as children and particular rights as refugees.”

This is an issue that I’ve only thought about from the view of the United States. It was eye opening to read about this issue from Australian educators. This position statement lists a number of principles that will support the best interests of children when dealing with asylum issues. To view this page visit http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/position_statements/eca-position-statement-children-of-asylum-seekers.html

If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available?

There has been a number of articles on the ECA website recently about e-bullying. The ECA has called for education on online safety to begin in the early years. They believe that as soon as children are old enough to use technology they should learn about positive online behavior. One quote I’d like to post is as follows:

“A greater focus on socio-emotional skills like resilience supports children to better manage relationships with their peers and resolve conflicts which may include future incidents of cyber-bullying.” To read more about this issue visit http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/early_childhood_news/march-media-release-fight-against-e-bullying-needs-to-start-early.html

Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?

One section of the website was about AEU (Australian Education Union) has been reviewing a report called “Equity, Excellence and Inclusiveness in Education.” The report looks at the negative effects of disadvantage for school performance and stresses the importance of equitable school funding. I read parts of the report and was especially interested in Chapter 5 which is about ways to create an equitable, excellent and inclusive education system. A few of the suggestions include hiring qualified teachers, allocating resources equitably, making pre-primary education accessible to all and more. This report fits exactly into the readings for this week.

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain this week from exploring the website and/or the e-newsletter?

Childhood obesity is one issue that is discussed throughout the website and newsletters. According to ECA) there is no early childhood issue that is covered more widely in the media than childhood obesity.  The ECA website has a number of quality resources for educators, families and children on this issue.

Early Childhood Systems Around the Globe

Since I have not yet heard a response from my international contacts, I have been spending time studying the Global Children’s Initiative’s website. The Global Children’s Initiative was launched by Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Children. Through this website I have learned:

• 1.      This initiative helps support child mental health which they view as a highly under addressed issue. Projects have been launched to focus on this issue in China, Rwanda and in three Caribbean nations.
• 2.      The Global Children’s Initiative is exploring child well-being in a range of natural and man-made disasters. This focuses is immediate circumstances and also long term adaptations.
• 3.      The Global Children’s Initiative is focusing on providing leadership training for teachers, policymakers and researchers around the world.

Harvard’s Global Children’s Initiative is so much more than I initially thought. Their mission to support young children around the world is benefiting thousands of people. I am so glad to learn that such initiatives exist. 

Sharing Web Resources

I can't believe it's already week 4 of my Issues and Trends class! This week's questions are are about the newsletter I've been reading through Early Childhood Australia Web Watch. 

• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

In this week's newsletter there is a section on debt help for early childhood teachers. In Australia if you work in a school with high needs the government will help you pay off your student debt. What a great idea! That would be a great perk for early childhood teachers in the U.S. This makes me curious about if any such programs do exist in the US to help teachers in my field. 

• Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways? 

The newsletter talked about fighting e-bullying by educating early childhood students early on. In the article they explained how technology is being used by younger and younger children. Teaching children early on to make kind choices will help them throughout their lives. I can see how this may be controversial because many people don't believe that young children should be have much or any screen time. 

• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

In this newsletter there is a report on nutrition in early childhood education. This article talks about the future benefits proper nutrition has on children even when they became adults. This is information that economists, neuroscientists and politicians would take into account when looking at early childhood education as an "investment" for our economy. 

• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

In Australia February 21st is National Day of Action against Violence and Bullying. I think this is a great idea to raise awareness about these topics. Any opportunities to focus on reducing violence can greatly help our young children. I gained a lot of great information from the newsletter this month!

International Contacts

This week I had the opportunity to listen to a podcast from the World Forum Foundation Radio (http://sarah-dev.worldforumfoundation.com/world-forum-radio/). Episode 3 was a talk by Delfena Mitchell who is the Director of Liberty Children’s Home near Belize City. She works with young children who have been abandoned or abused. During her talk, Delfena tells a story about a little boy named Joseph. Joseph had been abused by his grandmother and hadn’t talked in over a year. After spending a couple of weeks with him in the gardens, horse backing riding and homeschooling him Joseph began to talk again. In just a matter of weeks in a loving environment, Joseph would open up and talk about his experiences. Delfena helps many children like Joseph each day at Liberty Children’s Home. To learn more you can visit her website http://www.libertychildrenbelize.org/ .

Unfortunately I have not yet heard anything else back from the e-mails I sent to other early childhood professionals around the world. In the mean time I have been learning about the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIPS). CHIPS is a joint effort between Save the Children and the Chronic Poverty Research Centre. Together they are working to end childhood poverty and educate people about the problems and causes associated with poverty.

From reading a report of childhood poverty in Rajasthan, India I learned:

1.  India accounts for the majority of the poor in South Asia. There were 260 million people living in poverty there in 2000.
2. 28% of homes in Rajasthan used pipe drinking water compared to 89% in urban areas 
3.  Rajasthan has been prone to water scarcity and drought

I am thankful that CHIPS conducts reports such as this to take a close look at the needs of a country in order to best support the people. 

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I have chosen to follow is Early Childhood Australia (ECA). ECA is an Australian early childhood advocacy organization.  From their website (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/) I found the following information:

OUR VISION: Every young child is thriving and learning

'Our role in achieving this vision is to be an effective advocate for young children and a champion for quality outcomes in early childhood education and care'

From reading the latest ECA VOICE newsletter I learned about a Productivity Commission inquiry which is connecting with the Australian early childhood learning community. They are looking at ways of achieving a more productive community. Some factors related to early childhood education included…

·         Quality programs best support children and the outcomes continue until adulthood

·         Early childhood education allows parents to work which increases workforce participation

The goal of the ECA is to reach 90% early childhood education attendance by the year 2020. They are also working to supplement out of pocket costs to low income families and increase subsidies for middle class families. If you’d like to read more about these issues you can view this newsletter at http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Voice_1401_screen.pdf

Good news! This week I received an e-mail from Éva Izsák from the International Step by Step Association (ISSA). She said the following:

I will get back to you soon with details of your Friends of ISSA registration and let you know as soon as I have a contact person regarding your questions.

I am really looking forward to connecting with an early childhood professional from the ISSA (probably from the Netherlands). Good luck to my colleagues this week as you’re making international connections as well!

Establishing Professional Contacts

Monday marked the first day of my fourth course in my Master's program. EDUC 6162 is called Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field. One of my first assignments is to begin making connections with early childhood professionals and organizations around the world. Here's a quick glimpse of my progress this week...

Thursday, March 6th:

• Through the Global Alliance for the Education of Young Children I found resources for the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) which originated in the Netherlands.

• I sent an e-mail to membership@issa.nl requesting to have access to the ISSA website and to become a member. I also asked if there were any early childhood professionals that would like to connect with me via e-mail.

• Sent an e-mail to the Director of the Network Early Childhood Program with a request to connect through e-mail. This e-mail, unfortunately, was sent back to me saying "delivery to the recipient failed." 

• Subscribed to the National Institute for Early Childhood Research (NIEER) online newsletter 

Friday, March 7th: 

•  Subscribed to the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) newsletter. I also received an e-mail confirming my subscription 
• Subscribed to Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Web Watch

• From the UNICEF website I found contact information for representatives in the Philippines. I sent an e-mail asking if someone would consider connecting with me through e-mail. 
• Through the Global Alliance for the Education of Young Children website I found information about a school called Ajoke International School in Nigeria. I e-mailed the director asking if she would answer a few of my questions through e-mail. 

It is now Sunday and I haven't yet heard back from any of my e-mails. If by next week I still hear nothing, I will subscribe to some podcasts through the World Forum Radio. I have now subscribed to two different newsletters and haven't yet received one. By next week I will decide if I am going to focus more on the EECERA or the ECA. I'm looking forward to learning about the issues and trends that are going in in early childhood programs around the world!

My Supports

I have been incredibly blessed to have a great deal of support in both my personal and professional life. To me, support in this context means someone or something that encourages and helps you to become a better version on yourself. God is my number one support and next being my incredible family. My husband supports me in numerous ways, always helping me to stay positive when things don't go as planned. Throughout my life my family, friends, teachers and pastors have helped shape who I am today. I am also blessed to have wonderful co-workers to support me and a job that supports me financially.

My family enjoying a picnic under a willow tree. (summer 2013)

For this week's assignment I am to imagine that I have a challenge that I currently do not have. I know I would have many challenges if I did not grow up in a family that supported and encouraged my education. If I did not think I could get into college or afford college my life would be a lot different, and would certainly not have the same job that I do now. Money may be a struggle. I would certainly depend on my family to help me financially.

It's good to think about the struggles that others face in our community. As educators, we work with all different types of families. It's important to research and understand supports that are available in the community to help people in need.

My Connections to Play

“Play is the highest form of research.” – Albert Einstein

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” -  Fred Rogers

 The three pictures above represents some essential play items from my childhood. I spent countless summers running through the sprinkler with my sister, Sarah, in the backyard. I remember my parents playing with us too. Sometimes Sarah and I would giggle as we'd run around the house and back to our parents who would be spraying us with a hose. Sarah and I also spent a lot of time with our neighborhood friends. Chris and Kevin lived across the street from us and had a tree house in their backyard. Each summer we would work on fixing it up. The neighborhood girls and I would look forward to decorating it to make it look more beautiful. When the weather didn't allow us to be outside, I really enjoyed playing games with my family. The Memory Game was one of my favorites and still is to this day.

Play was supported and encouraged all throughout my childhood. Lucky for me, it wasn't just the kids. My parents played with us, told us stories and acted silly with us. I have so many great memories from my childhood. When my Grandmama watched my sister and I, she would teach us to play games with each other without getting upset if we "lost." We took turns, learned to share and congratulated the other when we "won."

Today, play can be similar to the play that was part of my childhood. I love seeing children in my neighborhood playing outside. They go sledding, ride bikes and build forts in the "woods" behind my house. At a recent townhouse association meeting I attended, a number of residents were upset by all the children in the street and running through yards in my cul-de-sac. I spoke up and reminded everyone how great it is that they are actually outside and not in their homes playing video games. I think the new world of technology certainly has brought some change in the world of play. While positive skills can be developed through certain games or programs, I feel strongly that children need lot of time to play, invent and create away from screens. They need ample time outside to learn about the world around them. We're lucky to live in places that have so many opportunities for outdoor experiences.

I hope that my future children will enjoy spending their summers building forts, running through sprinklers and playing games, lots and lots of games.

Relationship Reflection

"Human relationships, and the effects of relationships on relationships, are the building blocks of healthy development." ~Shonkoff & Phillips

My assignment this week is to focus on relationships within my own life and to reflect upon ways in which my experiences help me to be an effective early childhood professional. 

Today I spent part of my morning doing an observation at a local preschool. My focus for this observation was family partnerships and cultivating relationships. I watched students and parents as they entered the building. One teacher was stationed in the entry room as the greeter. The teacher smiled as she greeted each child and parent by name. She was enthusiastic warm and friendly, gave her students hugs and gave them encouraging words as they worked to undress from their snow gear. When appropriate, she made small talk with the parents. She asked and answered questions. I could tell that the children and parents were genuinely happy to be in her presence.

On my way back to work after my observation, I was thinking about how good it must feel for those parents to drop their children off at school with someone they have a positive relationship with. I thought about all the things the teacher I observed did "right" and what made her an effective communicator.

I feel very fortunate to have positive relationships with a great deal of wonderful people. I have strong relationships with my family, friends and co-workers. In order to develop and maintain these relationships I (and we) have needed to...

• show kindness
• respect
• trust
• encourage
• share
• smile
• listen
• ask questions
• be inclusive
• initiate contact
• speak kindly of each other to everyone

Knowing these attributes of a good friend/family member/coworker has been helpful for me as an early childhood professional. I want children and families in my program to feel welcomed, accepted, appreciated and supported. I have worked to get to know them as individuals and have treated them with kindness and respect. Modeling these positive relationships will enable children to develop healthy relationships as well. Love and kindness can go a long way...