Complex Thinking Skills in Preschoolers
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/255373.php
Teaching Kids to Give Themselves a Time Out
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324581504578235911668399722
Links Between Daycare and Behavioral Issues (This is a Must Read!)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130117152016.htm
I sincerely hope that this New Year is blessed and wonderful!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Thanks for all of the support
To All of My Walden EDU 6005 Classmates:
You have been so gracious and generous with your comments and questions. All of you helped me stay focused and confident in my writing and research. I hope that I have been as helpful to you all.
This has been a very fast moving 8 weeks; I cannot believe that it is over already (well except for the grading). I do want to stay in contact and continue to read your blogs. I hope that some of you are in the next class - Early Childhood Development 6160 with me. I am going to miss those who aren't going to be in that class - your wonderful comments and support are truly a blessing. Your discussions have given me ideas for more research and reading - to that a big THANK YOU!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I will be visiting your blogs soon.
You have been so gracious and generous with your comments and questions. All of you helped me stay focused and confident in my writing and research. I hope that I have been as helpful to you all.
This has been a very fast moving 8 weeks; I cannot believe that it is over already (well except for the grading). I do want to stay in contact and continue to read your blogs. I hope that some of you are in the next class - Early Childhood Development 6160 with me. I am going to miss those who aren't going to be in that class - your wonderful comments and support are truly a blessing. Your discussions have given me ideas for more research and reading - to that a big THANK YOU!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I will be visiting your blogs soon.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
NAEYC Code of Ethics Ideals
The National Association for the
Education of Young Children has developed a Code of Ethics that is
used probably worldwide, but definitely nationwide. One of the first
things a Child Development Associate (CDA) candidate must do is read
the NAEYC Code of Ethics. Here are three that really stand out for
me as a director of a child care center.
Ideal 1.1 – Ethical Responsibilities
to Children
To be familiar with the knowledge
base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed
through continuing education and training. If
an early childhood educator is not current and up-to-date with what
is going on in the field, that person's mission is usually not
relevant. You cannot just teach a class of four-year olds. Even if
you are a natural born teacher, you must have some kind of training.
Trends in early childhood are changing quickly, a true teacher must
be willing to hone their craft continuously and must
want to be the best teacher they can be. For example, a trainer can tell us all
day long how to teach a class, how to do assessments, how to make
children listen. If they have not been in a classroom for 5 or 10
years, then what they are saying is not relevant to what is going on
in today's classrooms.
It is
not hard to stay informed. States have agencies that do trainings;
the internet is full of journals, websites, and articles; and
libraries have books and magazines with early childhood information
for any age group or issue with early childhood. If a true teacher
is interested in being the best she can be, she will find a way to
stay informed and up-to-date.
Ideal
4.1 – Ethical Responsibilities to Community and Society
To provide the community with high
quality early childhood care and education programs and services.
Private early
childhood providers depend on word of mouth. A center and its' staff
need to involve parents and work throughout the community with all
aspects of health, nutrition, and education. The teachers need to
make sure that their classrooms and the childrens' environments are
safe and non-violent. Also, the teachers and center as a whole must
make sure that quality, developmentally appropriate practice
education and assessments are happening every single day with every
single child. You cannot make everyone happy all the time; but if
your education program is high quality you will make most people
happy. People won't remember you had an epidemic of flu or strep
throat last year, if their child cries because they do not want to
leave your facility at the end of the day or they are excelling in
kindergarten after leaving preschool with your center. They will
also remember that open-door policy that you had, where they could
come into the classroom anytime to volunteer, share their career, or
attend a party with their child.
Ideal 3.2 –
Ethical Responsibilities to Employees
To create and
maintain a climate of trust and candor that will enable staff to
speak and act in the best interest of children, families and the
field of early childhood care and education. This ideal is just
as important as the other two. If a center does not have quality
teachers and staff, then the other two ideals are non-existent. Trained
high-quality teachers will be able to collaborate with management to
development learning materials and methods. A center has the
responsibility to its' employees to provide a safe and supportive
working condition. Mutual respect is paramount to retaining great
employees. If the director does not respect the employees, then
respect will not be given by the employees. This will cause grief
and much conflict. Employees need to know that the center is going
to trust they will do what is best for the children to keep them
safe, happy, and learning. A trusted teacher will be trusted by
families and many times become part of the family.
If you notice, these three actually are part of a never ending circle. You have to have quality teachers to have quality child care. For teachers to have the trust of the directors they have to be current, be informed, and be quality teachers.
NAEYC Code of
Ethics. (2005). Retrieved from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSET05.pdf
Friday, November 29, 2013
Early Childhood Resources
As early childhood professionals, we must stay current; it is our responsibilty. "We need to foster our collaborative skills. We need to foster our critical thinking skills our advocacy skills so that we can share with people why it's important...... to know the research and to develop quality-based programs. We need to know our information so that we can help influence others." - Leticia Lara, Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
Here are some very helpful and important resources for Early Childhood Professionals
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/ect/leadership.htm
The Association of Early Learning Leaders http://www.earlylearningleaders.org/
Scholastic.com http://scholastic.com
Public Broadcasting System http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/diversity/read_linguistic.html
Early Childhood News http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/
Lisa Murphy, the Ooey Gooey Lady http://www.ooeygooey.com
Conscious Discipline http://consciousdiscipline.com
NAEYC - National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/
Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/
Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.
Selected Early Childhood Organizations
Here are some very helpful and important resources for Early Childhood Professionals
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/ect/leadership.htm
The Association of Early Learning Leaders http://www.earlylearningleaders.org/
Scholastic.com http://scholastic.com
Public Broadcasting System http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/diversity/read_linguistic.html
Early Childhood News http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/
Lisa Murphy, the Ooey Gooey Lady http://www.ooeygooey.com
Conscious Discipline http://consciousdiscipline.com
NAEYC - National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/
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, from
http://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
Global Support for Children's
Rights and Well-Being
Article:
UNICEF (n.d.). Fact
sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of
the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
Websites:
World
Forum Foundation
http://worldforumfoundation.org/about-us
This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
http://worldforumfoundation.org/about-us
This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
World
Organization for Early Childhood
Education
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Read about OMEP's mission.
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Read about OMEP's mission.
Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/
Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.
Selected Early Childhood Organizations
The
Division for Early Childhood http://www.dec-sped.org/
Zero to
Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and
Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/
http://www.zerotothree.org/
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/
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/
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
National
Child Care Association http://www.nccanet.org/
National
Institute for Early Education Research http://nieer.org/
Voices
for America's Children http://www.voices.org/
The
Erikson Institute http://www.erikson.edu/
Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010).Infant-toddler policy agenda.Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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
Friday, November 22, 2013
Interesting Quotes from Interesting Early Childhood Professionals
"Children benefit most from teahers who have the skills, knowledge, and judgement to make good decisions and are given the opportunity to use them." Dr. Susan Bredekamp, NAEYC
"If the first three years of life are deprived in terms of stimulation and interaction with warm nuturing human beings, it's going to be real tough for the child to acquire the depth and breadth of verbal language needed to build reading abilities." Dr. Susan Bredekamp, NAEYC
"If done right, high-quality, parent-focused Early Child Development programs that begin at birth can make an extraordinary difference in outcomes both for the child and society." Aurthur Rolnick, Federal Reserve Bank, Minneapolis, MN
"My passion has been evolving through the years. It's an ongoing process. It's like a ripple. You throw a little rock and you have sort of the center.....but it grows." Leticia Lara, LCSW, Regional Manager, Outreach and Professional Development, ZERO TO THREE (speaking about her passion for early childhood)
"I'm not here to save the world. I'm here just to make a difference in the community that I'm working." Raymond Hernandez, MS Ed., Executive Director, School of Early Childhood Education, University of Southern California
"If the first three years of life are deprived in terms of stimulation and interaction with warm nuturing human beings, it's going to be real tough for the child to acquire the depth and breadth of verbal language needed to build reading abilities." Dr. Susan Bredekamp, NAEYC
"If done right, high-quality, parent-focused Early Child Development programs that begin at birth can make an extraordinary difference in outcomes both for the child and society." Aurthur Rolnick, Federal Reserve Bank, Minneapolis, MN
"My passion has been evolving through the years. It's an ongoing process. It's like a ripple. You throw a little rock and you have sort of the center.....but it grows." Leticia Lara, LCSW, Regional Manager, Outreach and Professional Development, ZERO TO THREE (speaking about her passion for early childhood)
"I'm not here to save the world. I'm here just to make a difference in the community that I'm working." Raymond Hernandez, MS Ed., Executive Director, School of Early Childhood Education, University of Southern California
Friday, November 15, 2013
Personal Childhood Web
I would like to introduce you to some of my childhood influences. My mother, Margie. She is the absolute biggest influence in my childhood and continues to be that influence. My mom always has had a love for children. She opened our center when I was 6, my brother 4. She worked long hours everyday, but we always knew she was there for us. She instilled such a great work ethic into us. I actually started working at the childcare when I was 12, cleaning bathrooms and sweeping sidewalks and driveways. She helped to develop my love of children by being an great role model. Even at 73, she is still working everyday, either with the children themselves or with the health dept., dept. of education, and school district to further the causes of children. She is a great encourager and my proof-reader for my papers and proud of me going back to get a Masters Degree.
My grandmother, Margaret Blacklidge, was the smallest little lady with the biggest heart and personality. She made a huge impact in my life. She was one of my biggest supporters. She loved everyone and treated them all like they were her own grandkids. I try to make sure that all childred I come in contact with are made to feel that they belong to me and I love them. I felt it was a privilege to be able to sit with her when she got sick until her death. I loved that little woman and still remember her smiling as the ambulance took her away for the last time. She grabbed my hand and told me to tell the family to let her go. She trusted me to take care of that for her. She died 2 days later after the family decided that it was time to trust her and God. Even now I'm tearing up and she went to heaven 20+ years ago.
My Aunt Patty, she's not really my aunt, but my best friend's mother. She made sure that we always had what we needed, still does. She is a loving woman and going through some hard times now. I hope that I am able to support her like she has always done for me.
Childhood influences are so important to build positive experiences. The three ladies are the epitome of positive experiences. I am so thankful to have grown into a woman and mother with these ladies influences in my life.
My grandmother, Margaret Blacklidge, was the smallest little lady with the biggest heart and personality. She made a huge impact in my life. She was one of my biggest supporters. She loved everyone and treated them all like they were her own grandkids. I try to make sure that all childred I come in contact with are made to feel that they belong to me and I love them. I felt it was a privilege to be able to sit with her when she got sick until her death. I loved that little woman and still remember her smiling as the ambulance took her away for the last time. She grabbed my hand and told me to tell the family to let her go. She trusted me to take care of that for her. She died 2 days later after the family decided that it was time to trust her and God. Even now I'm tearing up and she went to heaven 20+ years ago.
My Aunt Patty, she's not really my aunt, but my best friend's mother. She made sure that we always had what we needed, still does. She is a loving woman and going through some hard times now. I hope that I am able to support her like she has always done for me.
Childhood influences are so important to build positive experiences. The three ladies are the epitome of positive experiences. I am so thankful to have grown into a woman and mother with these ladies influences in my life.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Fave Books
Some of favorite books that I use in class are
Elmer by David McKee
It's all about being original!
The Maestro Plays by Bill Martin, Jr & Vladimir Radunsky
Great new vocabulary words! skippingly, beseechingly, maestro, etc. Just a fun book.
Llama Llama books
They're just plain good, fun books.
Pete The Cat books
Pete Rocks!
Wolf's Coming by Joe Kulka
I use this for birthdays. It's spooky and scary, then it's a party.
Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood
Love repeat books.
Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
There are so many things this book can teach. Everyone is different, but can be friends; colors & blending, etc.
Little Cloud by Eric Carle &
It Looked Like Split Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Great imagination books
The House That Jack Built by Simms Taback & Mandy Patinkin
Love repeat books.
If there is one on here you don't know about, please ask so I can give more information to you. You NEED to read each of these to your children. You'll have as much fun as they do.
Elmer by David McKee
It's all about being original!
The Maestro Plays by Bill Martin, Jr & Vladimir Radunsky
Great new vocabulary words! skippingly, beseechingly, maestro, etc. Just a fun book.
Llama Llama books
They're just plain good, fun books.
Pete The Cat books
Pete Rocks!
Wolf's Coming by Joe Kulka
I use this for birthdays. It's spooky and scary, then it's a party.
Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood
Love repeat books.
Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
There are so many things this book can teach. Everyone is different, but can be friends; colors & blending, etc.
Little Cloud by Eric Carle &
It Looked Like Split Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Great imagination books
The House That Jack Built by Simms Taback & Mandy Patinkin
Love repeat books.
If there is one on here you don't know about, please ask so I can give more information to you. You NEED to read each of these to your children. You'll have as much fun as they do.
Sites I love...
www.mralmusic.com for Mr. Al great musician and loves kids!
www.ooeygooey.com Lisa Murphy, what can I say. She's FUN!
www.consciousdiscipline.com Dr. Becky Bailey has some great information
www.ooeygooey.com Lisa Murphy, what can I say. She's FUN!
www.consciousdiscipline.com Dr. Becky Bailey has some great information
Llama Llama Red Pajama Day
Al Rasso Rocks!
Stocking the shelves at our food pantry with food we collected during community helper month
Friday, November 1, 2013
Long-time provider; continued learning; children excel!
Hello everyone. I’m Kim Merritt from Petal, MS. Currently, I am the Director of a childcare center with 170+ children, with 25 staff members. I am President of our local State Early Childhood affiliate, an officer of our local Owners & Directors Network, and a members of the National Child Care Association and Association of Early Learning Leaders. I have presented at several conferences and love getting to meet so many early childhood professionals. I am also a mother of an 8 year old, who (I have to brag) is reading on a 4th grade level, as well as the Children's Coordinator and VBS Director at my church. I am happily married to my husband of almost 18 years (on Christmas Eve).
For me, the purpose of earning a Teaching and Diversity in Early Childhood Ed. Masters Degree at Walden University is to greatly expand my knowledge in the early childhood field. I do my best to stay up-to-date on current trends going on in our state, but so much is changing it is extremely hard to keep up. I am looking forward to learning new things and also getting to know my colleagues.
In Mississippi, it has changed so much in the last 5 years, providers, as well as teachers must be current new terminology, trends, and legislation to be able to adequately care for themselves, their businesses, and their children and families at the center. We now live in such a diverse and politically correct world that old school ways of doing things sometimes just don’t work.
Hello everyone. I’m Kim Merritt from Petal, MS. Currently, I am the Director of a childcare center with 170+ children, with 25 staff members. I am President of our local State Early Childhood affiliate, an officer of our local Owners & Directors Network, and a members of the National Child Care Association and Association of Early Learning Leaders. I have presented at several conferences and love getting to meet so many early childhood professionals. I am also a mother of an 8 year old, who (I have to brag) is reading on a 4th grade level, as well as the Children's Coordinator and VBS Director at my church. I am happily married to my husband of almost 18 years (on Christmas Eve).
For me, the purpose of earning a Teaching and Diversity in Early Childhood Ed. Masters Degree at Walden University is to greatly expand my knowledge in the early childhood field. I do my best to stay up-to-date on current trends going on in our state, but so much is changing it is extremely hard to keep up. I am looking forward to learning new things and also getting to know my colleagues.
In Mississippi, it has changed so much in the last 5 years, providers, as well as teachers must be current new terminology, trends, and legislation to be able to adequately care for themselves, their businesses, and their children and families at the center. We now live in such a diverse and politically correct world that old school ways of doing things sometimes just don’t work.
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