Web Resource: NIEER

The organization that I chose to subscribe to and learn more about is the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The National Institute for Early Education Research “conducts academic research to inform policy supporting high-quality, early education for all young children” (2017), education that affects all developmental domains in order for children to succeed in school throughout their life.

A current issue that I thought was interesting from the e-newsletter was the article, Around the World on PreK Teacher Pay. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), recently conducted a study on international compensation for PreK teachers. The OECD recognizes early childhood education as positive improvements for children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development. This article shows how the qualifications for an early childhood educator continue to increase but the teacher’s salary does not. The article also addresses how PreK teachers make an average 52% less than kindergarten teachers. This current issue is one that has been an issue for many years on the fact that early childhood educators shape the minds for a child’s lifelong educational career and yet they make pennies on the dollar to primary grade educators.

In the same e-newsletter there is also an article, Infusing PreK Curriculum with Tribal Culture, that discusses how early childhood education research rarely focuses on young children in tribal communities which hampers our understanding for the kinds of high-quality practices in American Indian culture. This article is related to the weeks topic on demographics because it speaks of the differences between how tribal communities are recognizing early childhood education programs and others capacity to understand the way the tribes approach early childhood education.

You can find these articles and more at the National Institute for Early Education Research website here: http://nieer.org/  

My Supports

When I think about the supports in my life that I need and utilize on a daily basis they would be my family, my mobility and my phone. My family will always be the most important aspect of my life and just so happens to be the biggest support of my life as well.

My husband Joshua, is incredibly supportive in everything I do (even when he knows I'm wrong). Recently, I lost my job due to a loss of funding. The loss of a second income into our household was extremely stressful on myself, but my husband refused to let me completely breakdown. He told me to take some time to be at home and look for something that is going to make me happy instead of rushing to find something that I would not be happy with at all. Without the support of my husband I don't know what I would do, he always knows what I need and the right things to say. If I did not have the support of my husband I know that my life would be much more stressful and I am unsure that I would emotionally be stable without the support he provides me. My children also provide me daily support because they are so loving and encouraging. My children give the best hugs and when they see that I am upset or starting to get frustrated they give me one of those hugs and tell me "I know you can do it". Without their amazing hugs and love my life would not be complete, I honestly don't know what I would do without my children in my life.

My ability to walk, run, stand and move around is an important support in my daily life. I am a wife and mother of four children if I did not have my ability to move around freely (and quickly, I might add) I would not be able to keep up with my children and support them in ways that they need. Without my mobility I would find ways to support my children and physically be there for them but this would be a very difficult task and would change multiple aspects of my life and their lives including the environment we live in and the luxuries we currently have.

I know this may sound cheesy, but my phone is honestly one of the supports in my daily life that I depend on. I use my phone to stay in contact with my family and friends. My oldest daughter calls me everyday after school to let me know when she is on her way home. My husband calls me during the day to let me know if something happened at work delaying him or if we need to communicate with each other about anything else. I also keep in touch with extended family with my phone. If I did not have my phone I would find ways to keep in touch with my family and friends but these other routes would not provide me with the instant access that my phone provides me. I can be anywhere and pick up my phone or answer my phone to get in contact with any member of my family in an instant. 

My Connections to Play

These two quotes represent what play was to me as child growing up and still represent my ideas of play as the adult that I am. I believe that play comes from curiosity and from that curiosity comes imagination and exploration, which is why I chose the first quote. I can just imagine myself as a young child discovering something and poking at it with a stick and then coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas as to what the unidentified object was. I chose the second quote as a representation of play because I agree with it wholeheartedly. Play should be something that occurs everyday when you are a child and when you are an adult. When I was a child I could not wait to be done with school so that I could go home and play and even now as an adult I still cannot wait to get home from work so that I can play with my children.

These three items were essential play items to me as a child growing up. I grew up with four siblings, in the middle of nowhere (35 minute drive to the city) so our days were spent riding around on our bikes exploring everything that southern Arizona had to offer us. We had 5 acres of land at our home but our parents allowed us to ride our bicycles down to the watering hole and back (about 1.5 miles) and on those bike rides my siblings and I would imagine adventures and storylines of monsters, bad guys, good guys, superheros and more. Then when the sun went down and it was time to go inside, my sisters and I had a huge collection of Barbie dolls that we would play with together, my brother even joined in sometimes (one boy and four girls poor guy). These things were essential to my play growing up. 

How is play different now and my hopes for young today...

Play today is different from play when I was growing up because parenting has changed and technological advancements have taken over. When I was a child my parents would let us roam the streets (in my case desert backroads) all day and simply expect us home at sunset for dinner (we would even drink from the water hose instead of go inside). However, parenting styles have changed and parents are more strict on the activities their children do, places they go and time they are allowed to be outside. Technology has also played a huge role in the change of play because now children are more into playing video games or on the tablets/computers instead of going outside and playing. Technology has also taken away some of the imagination and critical thinking needed for play. For example when I was a child we played with Barbie dolls and we imagined jobs for them, families, homes and took them on adventures; where now the computer of video game does half the work for you. 

I know that the way I parent my children is very different from the way I was parented. However, I try to encourage my children to be more active outdoors and away from the technology and to also use their creativity and imaginations to play. I know that having to create worlds and stories as a child really helped my critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity skills as an adult, and I want my children to also be able to develop these skills through play. I hope that parents realize the importance of play for their children and encourage them to get off the couch and out of the desk and go play with peers, siblings or independently. Play embraces all areas of development and is essential to children's growth and success and it is my hope that all children have the opportunities to play every single day. 

Quotes About Children

Standardized Assessments

When done correctly a developmental assessment can be crucial to identifying a child's growths and areas for improvement. However, in schools today standardized tests are focused on the common subject areas (i.e. math, social studies, language arts). We as early childhood educators know that in order to truly assess a child's development and progress you must look at the whole child. For example you cannot test a child's language development by asking question after question, you need to be able to observe that child at play with peers, in group settings, in one on one scenarios. It is not as simple as yes or no or circling the right answer.

In Mexico, they too conduct similar standardized tests in schools that we do here in the United States. In fact they have adopted the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) that was created in the United States in 2003, and other standardized tests that the U.S. has used as well. These tests focus again on the basics of public education and do not focus on the whole child development.

One thing that really makes me wonder about is, that our schools are measured based upon the results of the standardized tests (in Mexico too), so in order for the public schools to receive a high ranking or "A+" achievement they must have high scores from these tests. Therefore, our children spend their school days essentially just preparing for the 'big test' instead of preparing for life or learning new concepts in their own unique and individual ways.

I know I would much rather have my children be prepared for the real world rather than the 'big test' that clouds over their educational journey.

Reference:

Escobido, P., Esquivel-Ancona, F. & Hollingworth, L. (April 2016). Intellectual assessment of children and youth in Mexico: Past, present, and future. Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21683603.2016.1163745

Exposure to Violence & Child Development

A good friend of mine had a rough childhood. Growing up my friend lived in a rough neighborhood where he was exposed to gang violence and drugs on a daily basis. He was out of his house by the age of thirteen and found himself in with a violent crowd. Eventually the violence he was exposed to lead to aggressive behaviors. Now, even though he has completely turned his life around and is on the right side of the law he still has to attend therapy once a month to deal with his aggressive behaviors.

From researching violence exposure in countries around the world I came across an article that studied a group of children that discovered that “Viewing extreme violence and terrorism, either directly by witnessing acts or indirectly by watching them in the media, affects children’s mental and emotional health” (Pediatrics, 2016). This research also discovered that “Children’s vulnerability, immaturity, and developmental state change their perspective, and the tools used to confront these issues do not affect each child equally” (Pediatrics, 2016).

I decided to look into this stressor because my friend is someone that I care deeply about and children’s exposure to violence is a stressor that can cause lifelong consequences for the child.

Resource:

Pediatrics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. (March 23, 2016). Mental and Emotional Health of Children Exposed to News Media of Threats and Acts of Terrorism: The Cumulative and Pervasive Effects. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4803729/

Nutrition/Malnutrition

According to the June 2017 data report from UNICEF, malnutrition is the cause for nearly half of all deaths in children under 5, which accounts for 3 million lives a year (UNICEF, 2017). Two effects of malnutrition include stunted growth and obesity. In 2016, UNICEF collected data that showed 41 million children under the age of 5 were overweight worldwide (UNICEF, 2017). This data also showed that 22.9% (nearly 1 out of 4) of children under the age of 5 worldwide had stunted growth (UNICEF, 2017).

The region most affected by malnutrition with the least progress since 2000 is the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The 2016 data reports showed that 1 in 3 children that lived in the Sub-Saharan Africa region were victim of stunted growth and, the health care systems in this region are not equipped for the rise of overweight children and the growing number of malnutrition (UNICEF, 2017).

Nutrition and malnutrition are important issues to me because I believe that all children should have access to healthy foods. Nutrition allows children to grow and develop healthy across all domains and I am someone that believes that no child should have to suffer without having access to nutritious foods.

Currently, I only participate in community food drives and fundraisers and have not yet been able to globally help. I hope that I can continue to support my local community and further help children globally with obtaining access to nutritious foods.   

Reference

UNICEF. (June 2017). Undernutrition contributes to nearly half of all deaths in children under 5 and is widespread in Asia and Africa. Retrieved from: https://data.unicef.org/topic/nutrition/malnutrition/#

Pregnancy & Birth

Both of my pregnancies and births were very different from each other. My first pregnancy was relatively easy. I did not have morning sickness at all and the only thing that made me even a little nauseous was the smell of McDonalds. Though my pregnancy was deemed high risk due to my heart condition there were no complications and the birthing process took only a few minutes once I was fully dilated. However, my second pregnancy and birth of my son was very different than my first.

First of all, my son was born in August, meaning that in the last months of my pregnancy (when I was at my biggest belly wise), were the hottest months of the year here. This pregnancy was also considered high risk due to my heart condition and I ended up having to be placed on a beta blocker as well in the last month of my pregnancy. The birthing process started out good, it took a bit longer than my first child but pain wise was about the same until the end. When my 9lb 3oz, son finally came out and the nurses took him from me to get him cleaned up, I began to convulse due to a high amount of blood loss and went unconscious. I woke three hours later to my screaming son and husband that was doing everything he could to soothe our son. I was able to assist my husband when I woke and soothed and fed my screaming son. Though this birth experience was very traumatic for both me and my son, we both came out healthy and good to go home in just three days.

I chose to discuss this pregnancy and birthing because even though it was a traumatic experience I came out of it with a beautiful, wonderful baby boy. I do believe that the pregnancy and birthing experience are significant for child development for many reasons. The health of the mother often determines the health of the child, the first moments of the child’s life occur during the birthing  process and it provides the mother and baby those first instances to build that lifelong bond.

The region that I chose to discuss about birthing differences from the U.S. is Italy. I found an article from a mother that was pregnant and gave birth in Italy, and her remarks about “The things you need to know about giving birth in Italy”. From reading the article I discovered some major differences between giving birth in the U.S. and giving birth in Italy. In Italy hospitals, “will not charge anyone for giving birth or for any emergency procedures that may occur during labour or delivery” (Bowden, 2016), but here in the U.S. you need to have some form of insurance to avoid accruing very high hospital bills. Another huge difference for parents in Italy includes the paid time off that they get to take after having a child. In Italy, “working mothers get five months (or more in some cases) off at full pay” (Bowden, 2016); and here in the U.S. mothers are lucky to get 6-8 weeks maternity leave at partial pay. I was lucky enough to not have to work the first year of my both of my children’s lives to build that bond and relationship with them.

The article contains more information about giving birth in Italy including the amazing Italian food you are served, doctors encouraging you to scream while giving birth and the government offers a subsidy to parents within a certain annual income range for having a child. If you would like to read more I have listed the link below.

It seems that the most important difference between giving birth in Italy and giving birth in the U.S. is the allotted time given to fulltime working mothers to build a positive, trusting bond with their newborn child. It is those first relationships that are the most vital to any child’s healthy development and for a mother to be able to have that much time with their newborn and not have to worry about how the bills are going to be paid is wonderful.  

Bowden, Patricia. (November 7, 2016). Ten things you need to know about giving birth in Italy. Retrieved from: https://www.thelocal.it/20161107/ten-things-to-know-about-giving-birth-in-italy

Special Thanks to EDUC6005

I would like to take a minute to give a special thanks to my colleagues and instructor in EDUC6005. I truly appreciate all of the feedback, comments and encouragement throughout these past eight weeks. I have grown professionally and academically in these past few weeks by all of the resources and information available. I hope that you all succeed in your professional and educational goals in the future.

Ethical Values in Early Childhood

The following ethical ideals that hold personal meaning to me and my career, have been taken from the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, and the DEC Code of Ethics. 

Enhancement of Children's and Families Quality of Lives

• "We shall advocate for equal access to high quality services and supports for all children and families to enhance their quality of lives" (DEC, 2000)- This ideal is important to me because I believe that all children should have access to high quality childcare programs to ensure a brighter future and lifelong love of learning for ALL children. Families should be able to have access to high quality programs without having to pay a fortune for their children to attend. 

Responsive Family Centered Practices

• "We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children" (DEC, 2000)- In all my years of working with children and families I have noticed that families that need assistance are either too embarassed to ask for help or just do not know where to begin. It is our jobs to keep current services and informaion readliy available to parents and families and to have trusting relationships with all that we support so that when they do need assistance they have someone to turn to and information that may help even if they are too embarassed to ask for it. 

Ethical Responsibilities to Children

• I-1.1 "To be familiar with the knowledge of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training" (NAEYC, 2005)- This is particularly important because if I expect to continue to provide the best practices and quality services to the children and families I interact with then I have to be up to date on current trends, research and ideas. Times they are changing and if we do not change with them the children we care for will not get the highest quality of care and will not be able to grow up and adapt in this ever changing world. 

Ethical Responsibilities to Families

• I-2.2 "To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve" (NAEYC, 2005)- Without trusting relationships all of the work we do will be for nothing. The relationship we have with the children and families we serve needs to be one of trust so that the information we exchange holds meaning, in times of turmoil they have someone to turn to, and so that the best care can be provided to the children of our future. 

Resources

• NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved from:
  http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
• The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved from:
  http://www.dec-sped.org/

Helpful Early Childhood Resources

·   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/ 
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/ 
 Institute for Women's Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/ 
 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/ 
Pre[K]Now
http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067 
Voices for America's Children
http://www.voices.org/ 
The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/

    United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund

     http://www.unicef.org/ 

    World Forum Foundation

    http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/

     World Organization For Early Childhood Education

     http://www.omep-usnc.org/

     Association For Childhood Education International

     http://www.acei.org/

     

     Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning
    http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/
    The Learning Child

     http://www.child.unl.edu/

     Conscious Discipline

     http://www.consciousdiscipline.com/

     Foundation for Child Development

     http://www.fcd-us.org/

     Child Development Institute

     http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/

   Resources Specific for Arizona

    Arizona's First Things First

    http://www.firstthingsfirst.org/

    Raising Special Kids

    http://raisingspecialkids.org/

    Childcare Resource and Referral for Arizona

    http://www.arizonachildcare.org/

    Bridges Early Learning

    http://www.bridgesearlylearning.com/

    Easter Seals Blake Foundation

    http://www.easterseals.com/

c

Quotes

"Children need play in order to play. Good old fashioned fun- with an empty box or a simple rag doll- provides something very important to later growth and development" 

-Deborah Leong, PhD

"Children benefit most from teachers who have the skills, knowledge, and judgment to make good decisions and are given the opportunity to use them"- Sue Bredekamp

"It is our responsibility to cultivate children's delight in exploring and understanding their world. Early childhood is and should be a time of laughter, love, play and great fun"

-Sue Bredekamp

"Passion is an ongoing process, its like a ripple you throw a little rock and you have sort of the center ignite"-Leticia Lara LCSW

"It became my passion to make sure that all children were taught in environments and in ways that truly nurtured their ability to grow and to develop to their fullest ability"-Louise Derman-Sparks

Personal Childhood Web

When talking about the influential people in my childhood I have to say that there were quite a bit that continued to encourage me and push me to be all that I could be. I was blessed to have so many teachers over the years that took the time to build a trusting relationship with me and push me to do my best academically. However, there were a select few that influenced me more than others and aspects of each of them that I still see within myself today.

My parents were the most influential people in my life and the values they instilled within me I now teach to my children. My mom was always very nurturing and could see the beauty in almost anything. Her love of photography and the arts are something that I grew to love also. To this day taking pictures and editing them seems to relax me and gives me a sense of joy. Now, my dad influenced my life more than anyone because he came into my life and became my dad when he didn’t have to be. My mom and dad married when I was 4 bringing with him 3 new sisters for me and my younger brother. My dad treated my brother and me as if we were his own, raised us, and instilled the values I now teach my own children and always encouraged us to be more than what we were. My dad taught me that family is everything; you need to work for what you get/want and to stand apart from the crowd (be a wolf not a sheep). My dad continued to push us to be the best we could but was always there to support us in our decisions and was always there when we needed to talk. My dad was and is there for me in all of life’s ups and downs (he even married my 6 husband and me 2 weeks ago)!

As I said previously, I was lucky enough to have many people in my life and childhood that nurtured, cared and influenced me including; my uncle who always taught me tomorrow is another day and beauty can be found within; my cousin who taught me loyalty, honesty and love will get you through it all; and my Nina who taught me to have fun and be myself no matter what people think of you. However, my aunt Marty influenced me more than most and is actually the person that brought me into the ECE field. My aunt Margaret was an amazing woman who was taken away from us way too soon, and I still find myself thinking of her at least once a week. My aunt Marty was an ECE teacher for over 10 years and was one of the kindest, funniest, most outgoing, and creative people I have ever met. She taught me how to shake it off and laugh through it all, turn trash into art, and to never grow up (to be young at heart always). My aunt brought me into the ECE field and made me see how much I loved teaching and helping shape the minds of the future. I believe her influence and spirit are some of the biggest reasons that I continue to love and live in the ECE field.  

 This is my Dad, me and my step mom

 My aunt Marty & uncle Johnny

 Aunt Marty (Orange was her color)

 Me & My Dad when I was a child

My Nina & my Mom

Favorite Quote - For Teachers

"If a child can't learn the way we teach, then maybe we should teach the way they learn"

- Ignacio Estrada

This quote has always resonated with me because too many times have I walked into classrooms where the teacher is struggling to get the children to sit down for circle time for 30 minutes, or get them to focus on a 'project' and have asked the teachers "what is wrong with this picture?". If you are not reaching every single child in your classroom then you are not completely fulfilling your role as a teacher. On top of that you, as an educator, need to be able to jump out of your comfort zone, change up your teaching style and have fun while your teaching because if you're not having fun chances are the children are not having fun either (and who wants to learn something that is not fun). Another great quote (or passage because it is quite long) that I recently discovered the other day that I wanted to share is:

"Good teachers teach us how to do something, but Great teachers teach us why. Good teachers share the facts while Great teachers weave facts into real world applications. Good teachers may do activities, but Great teachers create unforgettable learning experiences"

- Steve Spangler

Go Away, Big Green Monster!

I love this die cut, children's book by Ed Emberley because it is not only fun to read for children and adults but it also teaches children to face their fears. Go Away, Big Green Monster allows children to face their fears and take them a part piece by piece. As you go through this book in the beginning you build the "Big Green Monster" and then all of a sudden Big Green Monster is not scary anymore and the reader then begins to take the monster apart piece by piece until there is nothing remaining. The book ends with "and don't come back...until I say so" which allows the child to face their fears and not allow them to creep back into their minds without them allowing it to happen. 

Some Wedding Photos...

Here are some photos from our May 12th wedding...they are from my computer screen that's why they are a bit fuzzy...

Read before submitting

Hello all,

Yes it is 11:10pm MST and I am still catching up on homework and work- work. The wedding was amazing and I am so happy to be the newest Mrs. Scott, however starting school the week of my wedding and working on a work project that is due by Thursday probably wasn't the best idea. With that said little tidbit for those of you that submit assignments at the last minute (which this week is me) make sure you read the full instructions before submitting an assignment or work project because you might just miss a very important step and then 10 minutes later kick yourself in the butt for making that mistake. Alas, we all learn from our mistakes and grow from our experiences but I cannot reiterate enough...

READ BEFORE SUBMITTING.