Course Resources

Here are some helpful resources for early childhood professionals cataloged by Walden University for our Foundations course.

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• 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
  
• 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, from http://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

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
  
• World Forum Foundation
  http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/about-us/
  
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.worldomep.org/en/about-omep-2/
  
• Association for Childhood Education International
  http://acei.org/
  

Early Childhood Organizations

• 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
  
• Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/
  
• Administration for Children and Families Early Childhood Development
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd
  
• 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://curry.virginia.edu/research/centers/castl/project/ncrece
  
• 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
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
  

Relevant Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education 

In addition to these resources, you might also consider exploring the following:

• The American Academy of Pediatrics
  http://www.aap.org/
  For the most up to date information on recommendations from pediatricians on things like sunscreen, oral health, vaccines, and so much more
• Parent Cue (from reThink Group, Inc.)
  http://theparentcue.org/
  Parent Cue provides some awesome articles, encouragements, and ideas for Christian parents that we can learn a lot from!  If you like what their blog has to say, also look at their preschool ministry blog, http://orangeblogs.org/firstlook/
• Center for Early Literacy Learning
  www.earlyliteracylearning.org/
  Committed to evidence-based early literacy programs, this site has come cool resources for teachers
  

Inspiration

Inspiration can be found almost anywhere, but I am loving finding inspiration in my studies.

 

"I believe very much in the Gospel that says you help people who are hungry and help people who are suffering and you help people who need help."

 -Marian Wright Edelman, Rolling Stone

"I'll work with anybody who would like to improve the lives of children"

-Edward Zigler, PhD, "Giving Intervention a Head Start"

"It was like the most joyful experience where I felt that everything in me was being called on to teach.  And also it was very rewarding, it made me feel whole.  It made me feel whole, made me feel creative."

-Louise Dermon-Sparks on working with three- and four-year olds
(Laureate Education, Inc.)

"Every day I go to work, I look forward to it because I know that the services that I'm providing for children, it's to their benefit...I feel like I have a commitemnt to the service that I want to give them..."

-Raymond Hernandez
(Laureate Education, Inc.)

References

Atkins, N. (1992). Marian Wright Edelman. Rolling Stone, (645/646), 126.  Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). The passion for early childhood. Baltimore: Author. 

Zigler, E., & Perkins-Gough, D. (2007). Giving Intervention a Head Start. Educational Leadership, 65(2), 8-14. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.

Personal Childhood Web

Classmates and friends,
This week has actually been really hard for me.  Isn't it funny how sometimes things that are totally unrelated line up in crazy ways?  This week, we have spent a lot of time reading about the role of the family in growing up young children.  Well, coincidentally in a week where I couldn't avoid reflecting on family, my own family had to face some big changes.  I am so sad to write that my grandmother Margaret passed away this Tuesday.  She was 96 and passed away peacefully, but I don't know that that makes it any easier.  This week has been kind of crazy bumpy for me, thinking about important relationships in my life and reflecting constantly in her role in raising my wonderful father and his sisters, as well as her incredible role as grandmother to me, my sisters, and my many cousins.  Before I can even fathom building my personal childhood web, I need to honor memory and her beautiful role in my own childhood.

My Grandma Margaret and my dad (1950)

My beautiful grandmother, at 94, was able to travel from California to Colorado to attend my wedding.  I was so incredibly honored that after years of being unable to travel, she was able and willing to make the trip.  My grandma brought up my father and three wonderful daughters, who have then raised her eight grandchildren, who have already brought her five sweet great grandchildren.  She has loved each of us so generously and selflessly.  Her legacy is a wonderfully close and loving family.  These people mean the world to me.
(March 2013)

My grandmother was a true matriarch in our family.  She was the centerpiece of all family gatherings.  She was the first person you said hello to when you arrived and the last person you kissed goodbye as you left.  She had a genuine desire to know the lives of each of her grandchildren, and while she always complained about the noise, she loved that her home was full of the bustle of great grandchildren.  Even living three states away as a young child, we knew that we were dear to her from the phone calls and cards so she reliably sent, always covered in the gold hallmark stickers.  Some of my favorite grandmother memories are from our family trips to Disneyland.  While she never enjoyed the rides, she was right there beside us to hold our bags while we waited in line, to save our spots at the parade, and to keep us company if a ride was too big or too scary.  She also shared my taste in food.  When the family would go out to a restaurant that she and I didn't care for, they'd drop the two of us off at Outback Steakhouse for our own special meal.  Her example of a hard working mother who provided for her family at all costs and raised the most beautiful, close knit family will forever influence me.

I'm so sorry to make you read more than you already have to.  I just needed to start there.


For the rest of my personal childhood web, I've chosen to additionally describe my twin sisters (they are twins with each other, not me), my dad, and a neighbor and mother of a childhood friend.

This is a photo of me with my two younger sisters, Holly and Lexi.  They are twins, born three and a half years behind me.  I can attribute so much of who I am today to my relationship with them.  As a child, they taught me to be a caretaker, a helper, a leader, and a teacher.  My personality now as the responsible planner of the family, I attribute in whole to they way I learned to herd and guide them as a big sister.  They were there for me at every soccer game, every award ceremony, and every capstone moment.  They are always have been and always will be my biggest cheerleaders and my favorite confidants.  The way they looked up to me when we were young pushed me to be the smartest, quickest, and most helpful in everything that I did and for that I am forever grateful. Still today I strive to set a good example for them, teach them how to live life to its fullest, and be open to learning new things.  I'm sure that I've learned more from them than they ever could learn from me.

If you haven't already gotten the gist, my daddy is absolutely the best.  Here's one of the many ways I know he loves me deeply. When I was an infant, he set up one of those old, huge video cameras that he borrowed from his work on a tripod in our kitchen so that he could take a home video of the first time he gave me a bath.  He then made copies of that video and sent it to my Grandma Margaret (his mother).  While today, it might be common place to video such a moment and post it all over facebook, in 1989, that took planning, patience, and an incredible amount of excitement and love

My favorite memories of my childhood are of Saturday morning cartoons and pancakes with dad, soccer practice with dad, or take your daughter to work days with dad.  Everything I did, he cared about 100%.  For example, when I sold Girl Scout cookies, my daddy would make spreadsheets of neighborhood streets and office building floors to keep track year to year of who bought cookies and how we could improve my sales.  He has always wanted me to succeed.

 My dad has taught me to always try new things, to be open to the curveballs of life, and to be a lifelong learner.  His example has shown me how to work hard while balancing the fullness of life that a family brings.  He has shown me how to deal with adversity and come out happier than ever.  More than anything, my daddy has given me confidence in who I am today and who I want to be in the future.  He has taught me to be proud of myself just like he is proud of me.  He is the best daddy a girl could ask for.

This photo is one of my favorites from my wedding.  On the left is my beautiful mother, and the three women to the right are very close family friends.  These women were my "village."  They loved and supported me unconditionally like a second, third, and fourth mother.  In fact, at one point in middle school, my family was faced with the possibility of moving because of my dad's job, but my mother refused because she recognized how important these three women were in the lives of me and my sisters.

Cheryl, the woman on the far left, was a neighbor and a friend of my closest childhood friend (and first real 'crush').  When I spent time at her house, she always made sure to have something special for me.  You see, she had a son my age and a son my sisters' age, but no daughter.  So she had a stockpile of dolls, Sailor Moon wands, and art kits that she kept special for her 'daughter from down the street'.  Keeping up with her boys challenged me to be tough and outgoing, but coming back into her house was always a safe, comfortable place for me.  She has remained close with my family, continues to take great care of my mom, and threw me a beautiful bridal shower before I got married and moved.  She taught me how to hold my own in a room full of boys and for that I am grateful!

You have now read far too much about my childhood and for that I am so very sorry.  I hope to be less emotional, nostalgic, and crazy minded by next week.  I would, however, sure appreciate thoughts and prayers for my dad and his sisters this week and as we move into the holidays.

Thanks for getting to know me.

Amy

Getting to Know Me

 Back to the blog and already excited that week two is coming to a close!  If the weeks continue to move this quick, we will be through the program in no time!  Here are a couple photos of me:

This is a picture of me and my family as a child.  I have two younger sisters (twins - on the left).  In the middle is my daddy,  one my #2 favorite person in the world.  These are the people who made me who I am today!

Here is a more recent photo of my with my actual favorite person in the whole world (sorry Daddy!).  Josh and I have been married for a little over a year and a half.  We met in high school, started dating long distance in college, and were married a year after we graduated.  He's my biggest supported and my solid rock.  No picture of me is complete without him!

For the second part of this post, I want to tell a quick story.  I so badly wanted to include this story in this week's assignment about passion, but with all the other information we had to cover, I was worried that I wouldn't do it justice.

At my center, we had a sweet little girl named Allie that I worked with in the infant room.  She was there when I started working there (she was 7 months).  Her dad, I found out quickly, had had a horrible form of brain cancer and was in recovery.  Not long after I had started at the center, he found out that he had had a relapse and from the beginning, the prognosis wasn't good.  To make a horrible story short, he lost his battle to the cancer when Allie was only 16 months old.  Our hearts were so broken for her and her mother.  At the visitation, I had a short moment to talk to Allie's mom, and she told me this sweet story.

One of the things that had been meaningful to her of my time with her daughter was that I always blew her kisses when I saw her and when she left at the end of the day.  Her mom credited me with teaching Allie to blow kisses in return.  The morning after her husband's death, Allie's mom was searching for a way to explain to her young daughter why she couldn't find her daddy.  She told me that she wound up explaining to Allie that while her daddy wasn't there, she could always blow kisses into her hand for him.  Her mom, in the middle of this emotional visitation, thanked me for teaching this sweet little girl how to blow kisses.  Allie's mom has since made other child care arrangements for her, but I still think about her and her family often.

This was one of those moments for me where I so tangibly got a glimpse of how important our work in early childhood can be.  We are giving these sweet babies the tools they need to communicate with and understand this big, scary, beautiful world we live in.  We may never know how significant the small skills we teach our kids are, but we can be comforted to know that we are absolutely making a difference.

Thanks for reading!