Course Resources

There is so much information out there on Early Childhood Education! Check out a few resources that I find to be helpful!

Resources I've used and been introduced to this week:

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf
• World Forum Foundation http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education http://www.omep-usnc.org/
• Association for Childhood Education International http://acei.org/
• 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/

Resources I've come to know and love: 

• The Ooey Gooey Lady! http://www.ooeygooey.com
• TORCH (by NAEYC) http://www.naeyc.org/academy/primary/torch
• Becky Bailey and Conscious Discipline http://consciousdiscipline.com

Let me know what you think!

Ray Hernandez-University of Southern California

"My passion comes from wanting to make a difference. I'm not here to save the world, I'm here to make a difference. One little sparkle will make a difference for me throughout the day. When I get bogged down I take 20 minutes to go see the children so you don't forget what you are doing all this for." Ray Hernandez, Executive Director, School of Early Childhood Education, University of Southern California

Marcy Whitebook Quotes

"We know that teachers are the key to good child care - and as long as teachers are undervalued, American children, too, will keep getting less than they deserve" Marcy Whitebook

“These truths about the early care and education workforce are not breaking news. We have known for two decades, since the release of the National Child Care Staffing Study in 1989, that limited education, lack of specialized early childhood training and poor compensation are inextricably linked to the poor to mediocre quality common to the majority of early care and education services across the nation. We have known, almost for that long, that the education level and pay of the workforce play a critical role in whether services can improve.” Marcy Whitebook

Aisha Ray, PhD.

“Families may view education as a vehicle for the future success of their children and hence may seek out early education program to help them gain a head start”. Aisha Ray, Ph.D.

"The failure to adequately prepare teachers who can educate all children has been identified as evidence of pedagogical, instructional and conceptual problems in teacher preparation.” Aisha Ray, Ph.D.

“The effects of a father’s participation or change of behavior on a child or family; or the ways in which these effects on fathers, children, families are threaded together to enable men to become positively involved with their children, mothers of their children and families in general”. Aisha Ray, Ph.D.

Personal Childhood Web

I have been very lucky in my life to have a small, close knit family that would do just about anything for me. A combination of their strengths, and some of their weaknesses, has made me the loving and caring person that I am.

Gramma

This is my most amazing Grandma. She is truly the nicest person you will have have the pleasure of meeting and is one of my favorite people on earth. Some of my favorite childhood memories have her square in the center of them. Gramma and Pampa would take me on trips across the state where I would eat only biscuits and gravy for every meal. We once drove all the way to New Mexico (from Kansas) as a family to celebrate her wedding anniversary. That's approximately 10 hours in the car! My Grandma is the most supportive person I have ever encountered. She supported me as a child, and as I continue to make choices as an adult she is right there for me. I am lucky to have her in my life. 

Seester

My sister, Kinnat, was kind of my mortal enemy growing up. She is four years younger, very opinionated and a polar opposite of me. What I came to realize, as an adult, is that all of our fights, and disagreements, all of the rolling and occasional hair pulling, really made us the people we are today. My sister is my best friend. Growing up, we were learning from each other and she is part of the reason I work with children now; now that we are both adults we see our differences in age and opinions as blessings, and we laugh at how different, yet creepily similar we are. This picture, is us, to a 't'. More often than not, after spending an evening together we will have at least 100 selfie photos of us making faces, pretending to be other people and in general being weirdos. 

Daddio and Mommy

I love my dad. He's funny, creative, and willing to do just about anything for a laugh. Growing up every night before bed, my dad and I would read together. He is the reason that I love reading, and also the reason that I love children's books. My dad took great care in picking out the books that we would read each night. They needed to have great artwork, a good story, and enough characters that he could come up with different voices. My mom (who is incredibly hard to find a picture of) is my best friend. Growing up, I learned professionalism, hard work ethic, how to work with people and so many more things. My professional life is based on everything my mother was/is as I was growing up. I am lucky to have these two people as role models, life coaches and parents. They support me, understand me, still listen when I cry and love me unconditionally.

The people in my childhood web have made me who I am today. I'm a strong, open minded individual who loves with all that I have, and works with every ounce of my being. I love them, LOVE them. 

Inspire me!

When I was in college for my undergraduate degree I would go to Early Childhood Education conferences and trainings and hear about the "AH-HA moment". I had absolutely no clue what they were talking about! I was relatively inexperienced in working with children, I knew I liked learning about ECE, and that the information was interesting to me, so I was pretty happy, but the elusive "AH-HA moment" continued to befuddle me. 

Several years into my career in early childhood I knew that I had found my people! I was surrounded by little people that made me so happy each and every day, and I had adults that were full of information and support, yet I still did not have an "AH-HAH moment"...

And then it happened...

...my "AH-HAH moment" happened while I was watching an amazing training by Lisa Murphy, or, what she prefers to be called, The Ooey Gooey Lady, at an NAEYC conference. The video above (originally posted on The Ooey Gooey Lady's youtube.com page), is a small representation of one of her trainings. During her whole presentation I found myself nodding, "yes...Yes...YES!". Her energetic explanation of early childhood gave me that moment of clarity, the moment where I knew that I was exactly where I wanted and needed to be. 

The Ooey Gooey Lady inspires me about the field of Early Childhood Education, and keeps me excited about working with children. She fuels my passion for working with children on a daily basis. 

I like to share her teachings with the teachers that I work with, some are scared at first. "You want me to put a paint brush on a helmut and let the children do WHAT with paint?" But after seeing the joy in their children's faces many of them start to feel how I felt when I first saw Lisa Murphy. Inspired. 

I encourage you to visit Lisa's website: http://www.ooeygooey.com and explore her other videos, online seminars, and check out her books. Let me know what you think!

Books...Books...Books!

When you work with children books become a HUGE part of your daily schedule. Books about puppies, kittens, dinosaurs, being friends, playing nicely, using teeth for appropriate things and just about every topic you can imagine. Choosing a favorite is like picking a favorite child, nearly impossible!

Each year we send about sixty children off into the big world and on to Kindergarten. Each year I send them with the same message, a passage from a book that I hold near and dear to my heart, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss.

I remember reading this book with my Dad and Grandma at different points in my life. First with my Dad during our night time story around age 5 or 6 and then later in life, at my college graduation with my Grandma. I hope that the children that I send off each year take these words to heart, and maybe carry them with them as they make choices and get on their way!

The One With the Picture

Why is it always so hard to find a picture of yourself that you are willing to share with the world? Here I am, on the right, with someone who inspires and challenges me every single day. The woman on the right is my most amazing mother! She is a constant support in my journey through life, love, education and career.

My mother fuels my passion to work harder and be better in everything that I do!

Stay tuned for more about what drives me in my love for working with children, what inspires me daily and what challenges my thought process! Did anyone catch my reference in my post title?