Week: 3 Issues and Trends Early Childhood 6162

Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 1

I was unfortunately unable to get in touch with my original vision of  international professionals, so I am grateful for the alternative opportunity.  After studying the website from the UNICEF's page I located an interesting article that gave my great insight about childhood poverty in Bangui Central African Republic.

I have learned that, Poverty is widespread in the Central African 

Republic (CAR). 

Years of insecurity, instability and lack of governmental 

investment in social services have plunged the country into a 

deep crisis.

I have learned that; One child out of five dies before reaching the age of five. Central African Republic has not only one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, but also has the lowest school enrollment.

Boda is a small diamond town west of the capital, Bangui. Very little of the industry’s income is invested in the area. I have learned that , children’s health and education is often neglected because parents are forced to spend long periods away from their homes looking for diamonds.

 I have gain great insight on the fact that UNICEF is working 

with the government and development partners to give the 

children of Central African Republic a better future.

UNICEF Community Development Officer Daniel Gbele first met with community leaders in

Boda two years ago to address the issue of poverty.

“We agreed to start a program that would break the circle of poverty the families in the village have been living in for years, by taking care of the health and education of the young children and their mothers,” he said.

The village of Cotonaf, a few miles north of Boda, was among the first to start a community center for young children. 

Each day, just over 100 children between the ages of two and five are sent to the center, where they sing, draw and get important medical attention, including vaccinations. They also receive a meal provided by the World Food Program.

Parents are delighted that their children are getting vital care. Ringo Samedi is the father of two children, the younger of whom goes to the center every day.

“The center takes care of Noella while my wife and I are at work,” said Mr. Samedi. “She learns a lot of useful things. She speaks much better than other children in the village who do not go.”

Boda and Cotonaf are just 2 of the 20 communities across Central African Republic in which UNICEF is supporting early child development and care. Today the program reaches 40,000 people – about 1 per cent of the country’s population.

The CAR Government says it wants to replicate the program in five districts and extend its reach to more than a third of the population. 

The Millennium Development Goals are far from met in CAR. But UNICEF and its partners are backing the government’s efforts to make real progress towards reducing the high levels of child mortality, expanding education opportunities and alleviating poverty in one of the world’s poorest countries.

 Additional Insights,

UNICEF and its partners have supported  the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) in organizing a series of emergency polio vaccination campaigns in 2012.

To protect children from the paralyzing and irreversible 

effects of the disease, and to reach the goal of eradicating 

polio in CAR, vaccination campaigns must aim to reach 

every child.

UNICEF works with partners in the government and the media to provide posters as well as SMS and radio messages to promote polio immunization campaigns. Social mobilizers visit communities to discuss vaccination with parents and persuade them to have their children fully vaccinated.

UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners working with the government have organized three campaigns in three months to prevent any possible new epidemic of polio. The WHO recommends that all children receive three vaccinations against polio between the age of 2 months and 6 years.

“In the future, UNICEF would like to support the government to stage more Child Health Days, which will not only vaccinate children against polio but vaccinate them against all other diseases as well,” said Pierre Signe, UNICEF’s Chief of Child Survival and Development. 

“Child Health Days twice a year would also be a vital opportunity to identify children and pregnant women with malnutrition and begin the treatment they need. UNICEF highlights the need for additional funds to make this a reality for children in CAR.”

Reference:

Breaking the cycle of poverty: UNICEF’s early childhood programme in CAR retrieved from:http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/car_34068.html

In the Central African Republic, UNICEF reaches out to ethnic minorities in the fight against polio retrieve from:http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/car_62528.html

   

Week:2 Issues & Trends Early Childhood

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I chose to learn more about is the National Association for the Education of Young Children also known as NAEYC. 

NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. NAEYC advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. 

Learn more at www.naeyc.org.

One current trend that caught my attention was an article titled 

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage and Eating Right with José-Luis Orozco

This article was about a bilingual teacher name Jose who noticed a need for rich oral language activities in children's heritage language.  Jose began writing songs and recapturing games grounded in rich oral traditions.  

  

 For over forty years he's written and composed bilingual songs, games, rhymes and poems for young children.  In celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, José-Luis talks about his newest album !Come Bien! Eat Right! and the messages he wants to share with families and teachers.

This article states that, the United States is now more diverse than ever. There is a great need to learn a second language to get ahead in the job market. It is important to involve families in the teaching process in order for children to succeed in school and in life. Teachers can create opportunities in their classrooms for parents to get more involved. For example, by asking parents to share a family tradition, a recipe, etc. Teachers should also provide opportunities for parents or family members to share stories, songs, and information in their primary home language. Another great idea to involve parents is to invite parents for an afternoon and have the students learn the dance and song together.

NAEYC is Going Global!

To better serve the world’s young children and their teachers, NAEYC has expanded its role in early childhood education across the globe. NAEYC’s Global Engagement department works with governments and other large-scale systems to create guidelines to support early learning, as well as to support early childhood professionals throughout the world. The Global Engagement Department will adapt NAEYC’s resources, content, and expertise to offer culturally appropriate packages that support high-quality early learning. To see examples of our recent work or to see if NAEYC’s Global Engagement department can help you, visit our technical assistance page.

NAEYC knows that by pro-actively engaging with early childhood professionals worldwide, we will learn more about innovative approaches in early education, deepen our knowledge, and broaden our perspective.

NAEYC’s 2016 Annual Conference November 2nd-5th in Los Angeles, CA, the world's largest early education conference and expo. Build your early childhood education network and knowledge base over four days and hundreds of sessions, and check out our special language-tracks: Grandes Comienzos, our Spanish-language track, and 良好開端 (Good Start), our Mandarin-language track.

Learn more at www.naeyc.org.

Week: 1 Issues & Trends EarlyChildhood EDUC:6162

Establishing Professional Contacts 

and Expanding Resources

Part 1:

Establishing Professional Contacts

I am very excited and eager to be apart of this assignment and have the opportunity to engage with early childhood professionals from across the world.  I was very proud to be able to have a meaningful reason to contact one of my past professors and ask for information regarding her experience traveling to Africa and then China for Early Childhood Conventions.  I an hopeful for her to return my call so that I may expand my knowledge and gain information regarding international issues in the field of early childhood.

Part 2:

Expanding Resources

To broaden my knowledge and expand my resources in the field of early childhood I have filled out an application for The National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC.

 The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.

The association comprises nearly 60,000 individual members of the early childhood community and more than 300 regional Affiliate chapters, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning. Together, we work to achieve a collective vision: that all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential.

       

Week: 6 EDUC 6161 Effective Programs and Practices

My Supports

                                                                                      

My greatest support is My Faith, My Family, and My Friends.

I believe that my religion and faith in God is the reason I am where I am today.  In this world called life my relationship with God is my strongest support.  I have not gone through anything in my life without God being by my side.  I thank God for his favor over me and I thank my parents and grandparents for instilling in me the values of praying, reading the Bible and learning how to trust and believe in Jesus. 

My family is my biggest support on this planet :)  Without my families love and acceptance, I would not be as strong and confident as I am today.  My family pushes me to be the best person that I can be.  They always have my back and support my dreams and goals, my family is everything to me, without them I would be lost. :(

 My friends are my role models they inspire me and help make life more fun.;)  I thank God for the friends that he has put in my life because they have been there for me through the good and the bad and I appreciate their support and love. 

I believe that having support from people that have your best interest is truly a blessing.  The positive benefits is having someone to lean on, laugh with, and share special memories.  It can be difficult to not have a support system because life is too challenging to go through it alone.  Having friends, family, faith, and support can make this thing called life just a little bit more easier. ;)

My Connections to Play.... Week:4 Effective Programs and Practices

My Connections to Play

                                             

                    

                                       
                 

                                                                                              

         

Here are some of the essential play items that I enjoyed from my younger years :)

 Play was an important role in my house as a child with 5 children. 

 I can remember when I was younger my grandparents basement was full with all of our toys and games.  

We had roller skates, roller blades, scooters, bikes, big wheels, jump ropes, basketballs, baseballs, footballs, soccer balls, hula hoops, Frisbee and anything else that would keep us kids busy playing outside.

Having four sibling was a lot of fun at times however it was also challenging at times too.  While playing together we had to learned how to share with each other, take turns, cooperate, be nice, and solve our problems.  "Sometimes playing was hard work". :/    

     

 I think play is different today from when I was a child because children are not engaged in as much physical activities outside as I was as a child. 

Children today spend most of their time in the house on their cell phones, computer, playing video games, or watching t.v. 

 

                                                                                         
                           

                                            

I really wish children of today had more opportunities to experience activities outside that I had when I was a child.

I can remember that I had so much fun playing outside that I did not want to come inside to eat dinner. :) My mom would call us and call us to come inside and we would say "5 more minutes mom please". ;) 

Laughing, smiling, jumping and running is what we called playing when I was younger and spending time outside with my friends and siblings was the best part of my childhood.  

Having a connection with my peers and enjoying our play time is what life was all about as a child for me.  

     

As an adult I still love to play and have fun! :)  I have grown to be a very competitive person.  I enjoy playing basketball (especially one on one with my daughter) ;) and I enjoy nature and being outside going on hikes, riding bikes, camping and fishing.   

    

Week: 2 Effective Program & Practices.... Current Relationships

                             Relationship Reflection

             Why relationships are important to me.

Relationships are important to me because they show how much I am wanted, needed, and valued to the people in my life.

The most important thing that I have gained from the relationships in my life is LOVE.  

I believe that there is no genuine relationship without giving love and receiving love.  

Whether is it giving  time, attention, money or just a smile, true genuine relationships is all about showing that you truly care.  

I appreciate the people in my life that I have built relationships with because they have touched a part of me and contributed to the woman I am today.   

I would like to give a big shout out to my 14 year old daughter Jada and my Fiance of 8 years Ben, for standing by me and supporting me while I attend college.  They are my biggest supporters, my life and my joy and they have been by my side through all the bad times and good times.  I love them so much and could not imagine my life without either of them.

These special relationship that I have formed with my family and friends has allowed me to experience trust, loyalty, honesty, understanding, love, and appreciate likes and differences with amazing positive people.

 A recent article that I read Building Positive Relationships by (Campbell 2014) states that, 

"One of the most profound experiences we can have in our lives is the connection we have with other human beings. Positive and supportive relationships will help us to feel healthier, happier, and more satisfied with our lives". 

Accept and celebrate differences.

Listen effectively. 

Give people your time.

Develop your communication skills.

 Learn to give and take feedback. 

Develop empathy. 

I believe that my positive personal relationships with my family and friends impact my work as an effective early childhood professional because I take away learning how to ensure that the relationship I have are positive ones.  I accept the fact that all my children and families are all different.  I actively listen to hear what my children and families have to say.  I give my families my time and “be present” when I am with them.  I work on developing my professional communication skills.  I have learned to give and take constructive feedback, be more understanding and empathetic and treat people as I would like to be treated myself.  

With these strategies I hope to continue to develop more positive and healthy relationships with not only my family and friends but the young children and families in and around my community. 

Reference:

http://www.education.com/reference/article/building-positive-relationships-students/