Violence and Human Development

As a child I seen many forms of domestic violence. The greatest explanation of the way I grew up would be the old saying "Everything that glitters isn't gold". My family went to church every Sunday, we were dressed in the best of the best attire and we had more than any child could ever want growing up that included love. However, I watched my grandparents and my parents display physical, verbal and emotional abuse to each other. My bio social development was not effected I was well fed and had no developmental delays. However, my cognitive and psychosocial development were effected. as an adult I began to think this was the way a marriage displayed love. It took a new way of learning to communicate and use of better judgement to change my thoughts on relationships and how they should be handled.

Over in Uganda there is a different type of violence that children are experiencing. Many of them are being snatched from their homes and forced to participate in war. These children are stripped from their homes and taught to be killers. They are losing who they are and never having the opportunity to see family members again. The Bio social, Cognitive and psychosocial development of these children are effected in many different ways. To understand clearly what these children are going through please click on the following link and watch the video.   http://childrenofwarfilm.com/


Berger,K. (2009). The developing person through childhood. 5th ed. Worth publishers, New york,NY

Nutrition VS Malnutrition

   "Malnutrition is globally the most important risk factor for illness and death, contributing to more than half of deaths in children worldwide; child malnutrition was associated with 54% of deaths in children in developing countries in 2001"(Shashidar, 2011, p1).
Malnutrition can affect weight gain and behavioral changes. Behavioral changes that are impacted are irritability, fatigue and attention deficient.
    Children need proper nutrition to sat healthy and grow. Brains are affected by the lack of nutrition children receive. Students that become irritable and fatigue lack the ability to be able to focus and learn. Premature babies require a different nutritional need. It is important for parents to help their children eat healthy, exercise and stay fit. Obesity is on the rise and can cause greater health risk.

The Numerous Foundation. (2012). Nutrition and fitness center. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/centers/fitness_nutrition_center.html
Shashidar, H. (2011, October). Malnutrition. MedScape Reference. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/985140-overview

3 Ideas from NAEYC & DEC Codes of Ethics

Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle

Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)

Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect

We shall engage in ongoing and systematic reflective inquiry and self-assessment for the purpose of continuous improvement of professional performance and services to young children with disabilities and their families.

We shall continually be aware of issues challenging the field of early childhood special education and advocate for changes in laws, regulations, and policies leading to improved outcomes and services for young children with disabilities and their families.

We shall be responsible for maintaining the appropriate national, state, or other credential or licensure requirements for the services we provide while maintaining our competence in practice and research by ongoing participation in professional development and education activities.

http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/ethical_conduct

http://www.dec-sped.org

Early Childhood Resources

Weblinks 

• Wings for Kids

              www.wingsforkids.org

• Early Childhood News Articles

              www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/articles

Books

• Burns, S., Mason, G., & Johnson, R. (2012). Preschool education in today's world: Teaching children with diverse backgrounds and abilities. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc.
• Wood, K. & Youcha, V. (2009). The ABC's of the ADA: Young early childhood program's guide to americans with disabilities act . Brookes Publishing Co., Inc.
• Zaslaw, M., Martinez-Beck, I. (2005). Critical issues in early childhood professional development . Brookes Publishing Co., Inc.
  

  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://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.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.

•  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/wf/wp/about-us
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.omep-usnc.org/
• Association for Childhood Education International
  http://acei.org/

Selected 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
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
• 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//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• 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.preknow.org/
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Professional Journals 

• 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

Aisha Davis & Hillary Clinton dedicated to Early Childhood Education

“The quality of care and education young children receive affects their subsequent development and learning” Aisha Ray (2004).

 “We’ve got to do more to give families the tools and the support that they should have so that they can be the best parents. They are a child’s first teachers... We also need more involvement from the community. We all have a role to play” Hillary Clinton (2008).

So many reasons to love ECH Education...

My favorite motto about children: "Children are the future leaders of America". They are our doctors, lawyers, politicians, sanitation workers, presidents, athletes and the list goes on & on.

My favorite children's book is Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. Everyone  has days like Alexander when you just want to move to Australia.

For along time I had been trying to get the students to grasp the concepts of feelings and using words. This one little girl just would not stand up for herself. No matter how much modeling and coaching I had done. Closer towards the end of the school year she broke out that shell and boy oh boy was she using her words! She began to stand up for herself. She was even directing other children on how to share. This was an amazing break through for her because she wouldn't even play with the other children or share thoughts during group time. It was a long hard struggle but we helped her out.

My class recently talked about the pond we talked about frogs, insects and even took a pretend camping trip where the children pretended to go fishing. The students made their own camp signs and camping rules also. Below are a few images of the students enjoying the activities.