Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 1

Well, after several attempts and intepreting different letters into Spanish to try to communicate with at least one international colleague.  I was unsuccessful and it is a bit disappointing to see that many of the messages were returned to me.  Since, I was so confident that I would get in touch my someone I delayed in communicating with someone through podcast when I finally went to connect I was unable to.

I went on reviewed the website on Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s page (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/).  The country that I chose to research was China.  I have gained some good insights into ways that China is trying to end poverty.  The article indicates that China is making great strides in ending poverty.  It says the decline in poverty is due to the social transition and economic growth.  The article indicates that in the Western parts of China economic growth is slower.  Therefore, poverty levels are higher.  China's transition from a centrally planned to a globalized market economy has helped reduce chronic poverty and disadvantage, but also created new forms of vulnerability and poverty (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/). Foreign trade and business has helped China's economy especially since they joined World Trade Organization.  Another way China is making great strides in ending poverty is the constant restructuring of state enterprises.  Child poverty has declined over the years.  Education and Health Care levels are higher than countries that have equivalent income levels. 

As the structure of the economy has changed, the social security system has had to adapt to protect people from different forms of poverty (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/).  They provide services for families who are living in poverty but there is a concern that not enough is being distributed.  The article also discusses those that do not get the assistance and they need it.

This article is alarming, it is very scary to see that poverty levels are bad everywhere not just in the United States.

Sharing Web Resources

I chose to use NAEYC (The National Association for the Education of Young Children)  http://naeyc.org  as one of my web resources since I am a member I already receive their newsletter.

I enjoy staying abreast of the current happenings in the field of Early Childhood Education by researching NAEYC's website, affiliated journals, and newsletters.  One of the things, I like about NAEYC is they address all issues from State to National.  Many state's have their own NAEYC affilated organization and if you join NAEYC they allow you to join in your local organizations automatically.  The main focus of NAEYC is addressing issues and challenges that children and teachers may face in the early childhood field. NAEYC also covers culturally enriched learning environments.  The main goal of NAEYC and their position statement is to ensure all children have the right to quality care and education in a classroom environment that is developmentally appropriate.

I received the September 2011, e-newsletter from NAEYC.  One of the headlines in the newsletter provides Online Q&A:  Supporting Dual Language Learners.  This is a very interesting article, it was interactive and began on September 12-16, 2011.  Educators were able to post questions to Karen Nemeth a contributor to Teaching Young Children.  The article discussed ways and answered questions on supporting children with dual languages in the classroom.  Here is the link if anyone is interested in viewing it http://www.naeyc.org/event/supporting-dual-language-learners.

Another thing I found very informative in the newsletter is the debate that took place on C-SPAN involving NAEYC's executive director Jerlean Daniel and a panel of early childhood professionals at Brookings Institution Center on Children and Families.   The debate is called, "Benefits of Early Education." The discussion focused on the effectiveness of preschool and Head Start programs.  The link to is http://www.c-span.org/Events/Benefits-of-Early-Education-Debated/10737423641-1/.  I encourage my readers to check it out.

Early Childhood Contacts & Resources

In my attempt, to connect to fellow colleagues in the field Of Early Childhood Education from other countries I find it to be a bit challenging.  I have sent several emails out and several have been returned to me.  This is very disapponting I do hope to connect to some because I really do not want to the alternate activity.  I feel as though connecting with others would be more benefical.

My goal is connect with other colleagues from different countries.  If I do not hear anything back I will try to find a translator program online that  will translate my messages in their language and maybe I will have better luck in communicating with others. 

The professional organization that I keep up with regularly already is NAEYC and National Head Start Association.  I have personal memberships to both and I get their newsletters and updates on a daily basis.  I have always followed them and will continue to do so.  When I joined NAEYC, I was able to connect to local NAEYC affilates and I get newsletters from them to keep up with current happenings in my area. 

My Supports

Daily Supports:

After thinking about what supports me on a daily basis, I have noticed that it is the littlest of things that keep my days running. My biggest daily supports include an alarm clock, work & home daily schedules, cell phone, computer, meal menu, car, and my family.

*My day starts off with waking up and getting my children off to school. I start my day with the alarm clock waking me up because I am a heavy sleeper. If it doesn't go off than it is guaranteed that I will be late.

*After my children are off to school I review my meal menu to determine if I need to go to the grocery store. A meal menu keeps me in budget and when I get home for the day I know what is for dinner and I go right to preparing it.

* I have work & home daily schedules that I go by. Things just run smoother if I have schedules to go by. I two separate ones and they are completely different. I have a schedule that keeps my classroom running safe (although I do make allowances for teachable moments). I have a schedule that I go by at home. I have to maintain a schedule with all the extra-curricular activities that go on in my life. My children need schedules to keep them going.

*The biggest part of my daily support is my computer. At work I use the computer for recording observations, lesson plans, and emails. I also do trainings online. At home, I use the computer to go to school. I keep up with my family and friends. I maintain all of schedules, menus, and appointments on. My daughter even has to use the computer for school and she is in first grade. The computer is very important in today's society.

*What can I say the next thing I rely on is my cellphone? I feel dysfunctional if I do not have my cellphone with me. My cellphone gives me direct contact with everyone and anyone I need to be in contact with. I do a lot of conference calls on my cell phone. Too I a cellphone to me is an easier version of the home phone. Although, I do have a home phone I rely more on the cellphone because it is more convenient and it is cheaper. I do a lot of travel and I need contact with everyone.
*The next daily support I have is my van. I do a lot of traveling for work with schooling and home visits; I need a way to get there. Not only do I use the van for work it is used at home. My van is a necessity that I use to get to where I am going.

*The most important daily support I have is my family. When I have rough day I know that I can go home and get the love and support of those around me. I am surrounded with love it is always good to have someone to talk to. I cannot go a day without talking to my mom at least two or three times a day, even though she only lives a mile up the road. If I didn't have my family I do not know how I would have made it to where I am.

Challenging Support:

I have already lost one really good support system this past school year.  After working together for 2 years my assistant teacher and I parted ways.  Although we remain in contact it’s just not the same anymore.  When we parted ways, I left the center so I lost several co-workers.  I begin a new school year in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to gaining new support for co-workers.  I am actually excited about going back to work.  Not having the support of my co-workers would be hard to imagine.

Prescription for Play

While doing research for assignment 4, I found a link to this video on the NAEYC facebook page.  It is really good and fits in with our assignment.  I hope everyone has a chance to look at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oiDV6uOY9QI

Enjoy :)

My Connections to Play

Play Quotes:

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.” ~ James L. Hymes Jr. (child development specialist, author)

Play Items:

Growing up as a child, I did not have many of the luxuries that children have today. I had cabbage dolls, Barbie’s, care bears, strawberry shortcake, and so forth. Although, many of these toys are coming back out on the market they are more advanced. When I say advanced I mean to the point that children today do not need to use their imagination to play with them. The child's imagination is already made up for them. It saddens me to think that children are not encouraged to use their imaginations and furthermore are not encouraged to play. Instead, it is easier to watch television and play video games I call these the number one babysitters of today. In today society, play is becoming underrated while technology is becoming overrated. Our society needs to be educated on the importance of play in our children's lives.

Growing up, I played candy land a lot with my younger brother Jake, and mom. Candy land was one of the ways mom taught my brother and I our shapes and colors. It was also a way to teach us how to take turns and share. As a child, I loved to draw and I still do. Crayons were a way that I could use my imagination and create my ideas on paper. Today, children use the computer to create designs. I got my creative side from my mother because she loves to draw. Watching her draw really inspired me to do it. The final thing that I played with a lot was dress up clothes. I had an old wooden toy chest that I kept all of my dress up clothes in. Playing dress up I could be whoever or whatever I wanted to be. The person I wanted to be the most was my mom because I usually wore her stuff around the house. I was also encouraged to play outside a lot when I was a child. Mom did not want us to watch a lot of television so she made sure we had things to do outside.

When I look back on things today as an adult, I see how important the role of play for me was. I am a very creative person and I love to draw still just as I did when I was a child. If I did not have my mother encouraging I to draw and read I probably would not be doing that today. I can remember role playing teacher and students with my two brothers. I became a teacher because I believe in the healthy development of children's imaginations and one way to do that is through play. The power of play is an important of children's lives.



Relationship Reflection

Relationships are very important too me.  Having relationships allows me to be who I am.  Even though my marriage did not last I was able to grow from that and move forward. I have several relationships inside and outside the field of Early Childhood Education. 

All of these relationships, play a certain role in my life both professionally and non professionally.  My professional relationships help me stay abroad in the field of Early Childhood Education.  My professional relationships know how the field is and can relate to the ups and downs.  They are there for support for that very reason.  My non professional relationships help me cope with the situations that do not pertain to my career.  It is nice to step out of the box of working with children and have fun not watching what we say and do.  Relationships are a factor of a healthy lifestyle.

                                                     Anyah & Gavynn

My children are my everything, GOD has blessed me in so many ways by giving them to me they are the reason of my existence. Even though I am a single mom it does not stop me from teaching them the necessary skills to develop into loving and caring adults when they get older. 

I love working with young children and I do that because I believe that if you teach children at young ages they will be successful later on in life.  I am very fortunate to use my children as models when it comes to working with young children.  I have seen several aspects of my career in a sense that I  have worked with children before I had children so I knew what to expect as far as development goes and so forth.  Working with young children I have to remember that I am a teacher at school but I am a parent and teacher at home.