The World Forum Foundation

The World Forum Foundation is a \n organizations where Early Childhood Professionals and Researchers from around the world can share ideas and discuss trend and topics within the field. There are members in over 80 countries around the world who meet both regionally and at a world conference.
The foundation is a host to many projects.  One project that is interesting to me is the Working Group on Play.  The group was started in 2009 and is comprised of 16 people from 10 different countries.  The group meets to discuss four basic areas:explaining play, the influence of schools and home life on play, the influence of media and corporate cultures on play, and the role of gender and diversity on play. Play is vital to learning and the group supports each other is this thought.
I've always been intrigued by how much a child can learn through play and was very happy to know that this is a topic being discusses by professionals around the world. I intend to contact the forum and find out how I can become involved with this working group.

For more information about the World Forum Foundation, I invite you to visit their website
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/

International Contacts and Resources

The World Forum Foundation's mission is to link international professionals and advocates in the early childhood field to share ideas and support each others goals of providing quality care to children around the world.  The forum meets every 2 years, early childhood professionals from over 80 countries attend the world conference. Regionally professionals meet to discuss specific issues within the field.
Via the pod casts I was introduced to two very interesting women.  While we are all professionals in the early childhood field, what we do is very different. Deevia Bhana is professional/researcher in South Africa.  She has based her research on the sexuality of young children.  South Africa is plagued with HIV and AIDS and children are very much at risk.  Deevia is proposing that the education system should reach out to the children and teach them to be comfortable with their sexuality.  She believes that this is the first step in understanding sex and it's risks and consequences. Being a mother of a young girl I feel conflicted about this thought.  While I want to make sure that my daughter feels comfortable coming to me with questions about sex I'm not sure preschool is the time to start talking about sexuality. I am very interested in continuing to attempt a correspondence with Deevia and learning more about her research.
Mayson Chehab is a professional in Lebanon.  Mayson working with children and families at an NGO Arab research collector.  Her work in Lebanon is helping children and families after the stress of war.  The most recent war in Lebanon lasted 33 days and destructed near all of the schools.  This, of course led to much stress for the young children who had once felt so safe inside their schools.  I am so glad i chose to listen to the Maysoun's interview because it really put into perspective for me the troubles and stresses that children in other parts of the world have to deal with. It made me stop and think about how lucky I am to be the Director of a school where I am never in fear for my safety or the safety of my staff or children. I am looking forward to continuing to follow and learn more about the work that Maysoun does in Lebenon.

My Supports

I am blessed to have many supports both in my personal and professional life.  My family has always been a great source of support in my life. Through their encouragement, praise and support I have been able to make through my undergraduate years at UT, away from home.  I was the first in my family to leave home for college and though I was excited I couldn't have made it through without the frequent visits and phone calls from my family.  I truly believe it was their support during these early college years that contributed to the success I have found after graduation.  I was able to find a major and career path that was meaningful to me, unlike so many of others I know who were forced into majors by their families; who were not supportive of their liberty to choose for themselves.

My husband is a great support as well. His support is evident in our home life and my work life.  I am able to work late sometimes and attend school functions because I know that our daughter is happy and taken care of at home with her daddy.  Without his support I would not have been able to return to graduate school.  Imagining myself as a single mother is terrifying. On the few days when I have to get myself and my daughter ready for school on our own, I experience what it might be like to not have my husband around. My work life would suffer because I wouldn't be able to dedicate as much time to it, and I would have to take off every time she got sick.  Having a second pair of eyes and hand around helps with the simple tasks like making dinner, getting laundry done and grocery shopping. I have to utmost respect for single parents because I don't know if I would have the strength to do it on my own.

My Connections to Play

Thinking back to my childhood, come of my most vivid memories are of me playing alone in my backyard playhouse. Being an only child, I played very well on my own. I loved have a place outside of the house that was all my own. I spent hours playing house, cooking up dinners and tending to my baby dolls.

I was lucky to have had parents that supported my play and provided me the opportunity to spend so much time playing in my backyard playhouse. I can remember my father and grandfather building the playhouse together and how I felt so special that they were working so hard to make something just for me. Play has changed so much since I was little. Now children consider play to be something you do on a computer or through a video game. While there are some good things technological games can teach, there are no opportunities for language development or social engagement. When I played in my playhouse I carried on full conversations with my baby dolls and imaginary friends and tea guests.  The thing I found best about my playhouse was that I made the rules and decisions. Nobody told me how or what to play, I always just decided to play with my baby dolls.  My choice to pursue a career in child development could very well have stemmed from the hours I spent tending to babies in my backyard playhouse. Some children play doctor or teacher, I took care of babies, there is something to be said of that.

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” Plato

“Play has been man's most useful preoccupation.” Frank Caplan

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Becoming a mother for the first time is a frightening thing. Although our pregnancy was planned, we didn't expect to be successful so soon.  I felt unprepared when we became pregnant and, like many new mothers, ran to the book store and picked up a pile of books to help me through my pregnancy. 
I learned what to eat, how to exercise and could give you weekly updates on how my fetus was developing. All of this knowledge was completely useless once my daughter was born. I couldn't believe that, despite all my readings and degree in early childhood, I was at a loss when it came to caring for a newborn.
SIDS was a HUGE source of stress for me.  I think the ambiguity of the syndrome is what scarred me the most. It was something you couldn't do much to prevent, you just had to cross your fingers and hope it didn't happen to your baby.
The more I researched the more I found that there were actually several things we could do to prevent the chances of SIDS. Keeping the temperature at 70, not letting a baby sleep on your chest and of course putting a baby to sleep on their back were all preventative measures. Still, I checked on my infant constantly to make sure I saw her little check moving up and down. She began sleeping through the night, I however was waking every 2 hours to check on her.
I hope that we will soon know more and understand more about SIDS.  sidscenter.org listed the US as having the second highest infant mortality rate due to SIDS.  The Neatherlands and Japan were raked as the lowest.

Resources

Geaprgetown University (Retrieved 2011) National Sudden and Unexpected Infant\Child Death and Pregnancy Loss. Resource Center. Retrieved from http://www.sidscenter.org/Statistics.html

Thanks to all my Wonderful Colleages

Self-esteem is the real magic wand that can form a child’s future. A child’s self-esteem affects every area of her existence, from friends she chooses, to how well she does academically in school, to what kind of job she gets, to even the person she chooses to marry.

STEPHANIE MARTSON, The Magic of Encouragement

I'd like to thank all of my wonderful collegues for sharing stories and resources this semester. I have learned so much from reading your blogs and discussions posts. Please continue making a positive impact in all the lives of the children you work with!

Happy Holidays!

Educating the Whole Student

More and more we are hearing about the "Whole Child" and what it means to address and understand all the needs a child has: intellectual, spiritual, social, physical and emotional.  In researching this topic I came across an article in which the New York State education department is outlining exactly how a school can educate the whole child.
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/sedl/DRAFTguidelinesforNYSlatestversion.pdf
These guidelines walk you through the domains that should be addresses and how a school should go about doing this.  The basics are support, involvementt, outreach and intervention. It is the belief of this education department that when the "Whole Child" is considered teacher can teach more effectively, learning will happen more consistently and parents and the community will become more involved.

Other countries are already prioritizing social and emotional learning. Singapore for example, had integrated SEL (Social Emotional Learning) into their schools and consistently scores at the top of Iinternational Math and Science competitions (Barth,M. 2010).

American children deserve every opportunity for success and if social emotional learning is missing for the schools, it's worth a try.


Barth, M. (2010) Educating the Whole Child Engaging the Whole School. NYS Eduaction Department, Albany, NY.

Consequences of Stress on Child Development

Stress comes in many forms, from hunger and poverty to noise and chaos.  My husband has shared with me forms of stress that polluted his childhood. As a child of divorces he remembers plenty of noisy fighting and getting packed up in the middle of the night to stay at Grandma's - chaos. He withdrew as a child and started doing poorly in school because he said, "he just didn't care".  As a result of his childhood he struggled through life resenting his parents.  When he finally was able to leave the house for college the freedom was too much to handle and he failed out.  He keeps his emotions and feelings guarded and has a difficult time trusting. Somehow he allowed me to love him and has been a wonderful husband and father. All it took was patients,understanding and showing him that I would love him unconditionally.
Children in Africa face very different stressors. Hunger, poverty, disease, violence, and isolation.  Riddled with AIDS many children are left on their own when their parents are taken by the disease. Relief workers and missionaries volunteer their time and efforts to help these children left behind but the numbers are overwhelming. We are so blessed in this country to have the resources to help those less fortunate, yet children go hungry here everyday. Hunger is a problem that can be found in every country the world wide.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding was a lot more difficult for me that I was expecting.  I read about all the wonderful benefits and had decided during my pregnancy that I would breastfeed for the recommended year.  This all changed while I was in the hospital after having my baby.  My daughter Madison had a difficult time latching on.  I was constantly worried that she wasn't getting enough to eat, it was hard for me to not have an exact measurement. As Madison grew breastfeeding became more and more painful and frustrating.  I decided to pump exclusively, which led to decrease in production.  I finally gave up around month 4 a good 6 months shy of my goal....I felt both relief and failure.
I recently learned that the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe. UNICEF believes that this statistic is due to lack of information and promotion of "Baby Milk" or formula (UNICEF, 2010).  This is starkly different from the US.  Here it is driven into mothers to feel, as I did, like a failure for not being able to breastfeed.

Child Birth Expereience

The birth experience I had with My daughter Madison was generally a good one. I was admitted to the hospital at 41 weeks. Being a week past due my Doctor strongly recommended we induce labor. There was no other cause for concern in my opinion other than being past due. Blood Pressure was good, glucose was good, babies vitals were strong and the baby wasn't even exceptionally big. Still I was admitted and we proceeded with the induction. My doctor broke my water early on which made the next 14 hours of labor hard. I got an epidural which meant I was no longer able to walk around. Eventually it was time for a C-Section to avoid rick of infection because my water was broken early on. Within minutes we had our beautiful baby girl. Recovery after a C-section is horrible. I was barley able to move which made getting up to nurse unbearable.
If I had it to do again I would have waited as long as I could for the chance to go into labor naturally. The potossin brought the contractions on so hard and fast I wasn't able to walk around and help the baby get into position. This may be why I didn't dilate completely. Recovery after the C-Section made nursing even more stressful which may be why we had such a hard time latching on and why I could only bear to breastfeed for 4 months.
I did some field research of my own and asked relatives that have gone through labor in Mexico. Induction in Mexico is not as common of a practice. Since health insurance in so costly pre-natal care is rear. This means that women may not know exactly how far along they are and may not feel the pressure and stress of being past due. Many women in Mexico, including my relatives, simply wait till their body tells them it time and have their children at home with the help of a midwife. Barring medical complications, this sounds rather ideal compared to my birthing experience.

NAEYC & DEC Code of Ethics that are Meaningful to Me

All of the NAEYC Code of Ethics help to guide me within my field.  Two, in particuluar, really speak to my responsibilty as a leader in the field. I will keep these Ethics in mind as I address the needs of the families at my center.  I will also lend a hand to nonprofits in the community so that I might help support a wider range of families.

P-2.5

effectively with all families in a language that they

understand. We shall use community resources for

translation and interpretation when we do not have

sufficient resources in our own programs.

P-2.15

refer families to community resources and professional

support services. After a referral has been

made, we shall follow up to ensure that services have

been appropriately provided.

(NAEYC 2005, April).

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) also has a Code of Ethics. As a Director of an Early Chilhood Education Center I have the opportunity to help train and develop new Child Care Professionals within the field.  The Ethic below will serve as a reminder of the great responsibility I have.

4. We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and

ethically based services (The Division for Early Childhood 2000, August).

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
        http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
       http://www.dec-sped.org/
—We shall be familiar with and appropriately—We shall make every effort to communicate

Resources

There are endless amounts of resources available to us on every subject imaginable. Here are a few that I have found helpful in the Early Childhood field

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Engaging Children's Minds by Lilian G. Katz and Sylvia C. Chard

Ages and Stages: AParents's Guide to Normal Childhood Development by Charles E. Schaefer and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo

 

http://www.easterseals.com/

 

 

Words of Motivation and Inspiration

Through this course, I have been introduced to a variety of child care professionals who are very passionate the field.  Listening to their words of passion has really fed my own motivation.  As I learned more about Lilian Katz I was impressed by how much of an impact she had on Early Childhood Education. She is a wonderful resource for teachers of young children as well as researchers in the field. Katz has often described her role as, "that of translator and interpreter between researchers and educators" (Rothenberg, 2000).  I also admire Marian Wright Edelman who has been a crusader for children's rights. She believes that education and health care is the key to keeping youth out of the juvenile system. She states, "The most important thing is to have students be able to read and compute and stay at grade level" (American School Board Journal. 2007).  These two women are major contributors in my field and it is clear that they serve as motivation to us all. 
In one of our course multimedia resources we were introduced to working professionals who shared their passion.  Sandy Escobido a child care deputy said something that I really agree with, "As professionals int he early childhood field we have an opportunity to shape a child's life for the better" (Walden, 2010).  I say this time and time again to my teachers.  It's so important to remember what an influence we are and what an impact we can make in a child's life. Raymond Hernandez, another interviewee, stated that he was "not here to save the world, (he's) here to make a difference in the community (he's) working in" (Walden, 2010).  I say what we do to make change in our community will change the world!

References
Rothenberg, D. (2000). Proceedings of the Lilian Katz Symposium. Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting.

American School Board Journal, (2007, June). Five Questions for Marian Wright Edelman.

Walden University (2010). The Passion for Early Childhood. A Multimedia production.

Personal Childhood Web

My childhood web consists of the following 5 people....

My Mother - As an only child I feel my mother and I have an exceptionally close relationship. We share almost everything, I always felt like my feelings were heard. She was a teacher which is where my love of teaching children came from. I always admired how the students loved her and all the Thank you cards she got at the end of the year from parents.

My Grandfather - I had a very close relationship with my Grandpa. I was the first grandchild for a long time and we spent a lot of time together. I can remember spending the night at their house as a girl and my grandfather reading Aesop's Fables to me. I can also remember dancing with him on his lunch breaks. 

Ms. Garcia- My third grade teacher was very special to me. What I remember most about her was the wonderful things she would tell me mother about me. She was so encouraging and always had praise to give out. I also remember how she included music and movement as part of the day. It was so interesting to me how we could be doing something so fun at school in our classroom everyday!

Mr. Kennison- My Elementary school Principal also left a lasting impression. What I remember about him was not very positive. I had a hard time adjusting to school because I knew My mother taught in the classroom next door. I cried a lot my first few months in Kindergarten. Mr. Kennison would take me for walks to calm down and let me know that my mother had given permission for spanking and if I continued to cry he would have to do it. This was back when Spankings were OK with Parent permission, isn't that crazy?! He did not nurture or comfort me. I learned from him how to more appropriately handle behavior issues with children.

Maritza - My best friend as a child was one of 4 sisters. I loved spending time with her family and the sisters. It was always fun and exciting at her house. Any longing I had for siblings was met by her family. Even though her parents had their hands full they always invited me to stay for dinner or travel with them. I even went to church with them which has had a lasting impression on my life and faith.

Taking time too think about my Web has been a good experience for me. I can trace my love of teaching, reading and dancing back to my mother and grandfather. I can also see how my compassionate and nurturing personality was formed by a negative experience and how my faith was affected by my best friend.

Powers of Reading

One of my favorite books to read to my daughter is Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton. It was my favorite while I was a toddler teacher years ago. I had a personal copy that I couldn't wait to share with my future children. I'm so glad Madison loves it too. In the evenings she will being it too me and sign "More". I like the book because it's simply written and illustrated with a nice beat. I appreciate children books that keep it simple and silly.

Watching children enjoy being read to really fuels my passion. I hope to enlighten many parents to the joys of reading to your child. It is so beneficial for all involved. It's never to early to start!!

Work In Progress

Hello- this is my first Blog entry. The idea is that my growth in the field will be tracked through this blog - Here we go!