Sharing Web resources

I found that the Zero to Three website offers lots of information about children from birth to three. The section that I feel is relevant to my current professional development it the behavior and development section. This section offers endless articles about a child's development and behaviors during each age of development. In the early childhood field it is important that child meet different developmental milestones so that we know they are developing correctly. One issue that made me think is the language development section, where a parent had a concern about their three year stuttering. I was in amazement because I thought that language was still developing at this age, and they maybe at five they could start getting the speech therapy they need, but I was completely wrong. A child is capable of receiving speech therapy at this age. Neuroscientist help support the articles of brain development in children zero to three and the website have different polices and laws that are in place to support children in this age group.i look forward to learning more through this website.

Poverty around the world

I had the honor of receiving an email back only saying that they did not the time to keep up with the professional relationship that I was trying to established. I was excited that I received something back, but also sad that they could not help me with this experience.
    So I was able to do the alternative assignment which I chose to look at poverty in South Sudan. This was very sad as I read through the article. 1 out of 4 children suffers from malnutrition due to lost crops, food supplies being interrupted, and and increased in the occurrence of diarreheoal and infectious diseases. Only children that are in acute need will be admitted into therapeutic feeding programs to treat severe acute malnutrition. During January to September 54,573 children under the age of 5 have already been admitted.
        One insight that I have gained is that poverty is very real not only where I live but in other countries. I also gained knowledge that poverty looks different from place to place. Here in Maryland I do not know of any therapeutic feeding programs, but in South Sudan many children are admitted and treated. Another insight gained is that many children suffer from such a young age.
    This have given knowledge of the effects of poverty on children and how sickly a child will become when their is no food available tot hem.

Sharing Web Resources

            The organization that I choose was the Zero to Three organization. This organization is a non-profit organization that provides information about early childhood development to parents, professionals, and policymakers. They also ensure that babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. 

          One issue that I found very interesting was the working families with children. The issue is that many jobs do not provide mothers with the paid maternity and fathers with paid paternity leave so they can spend adequate time with their newborns. Now many mothers return right back to work without an extended leave because their income is not sufficient enough to stay off. 19% of working with mother with young children are consider working low-wage occupations while 25% live in poverty.

  This issue caught my eye because it relates to me, I have two children that are under the age of 10 one is 5 and the other is 4 months. When I went on maternity leave me job allowed me the 6 weeks off but it was without pay. My husband had to make up for the lost wages that I did not have. This makes me leery of having children because as a working mother that period that I'm off I have to make up for when I go back to work. It is important for mothers to spend quality time with their newborn, but it may not always be possible because they have to work, because their are no real benefits or support for working mother.

Establishing professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

When I begin this process I went to the Resource list to figure out which professionals I wanted to reach out to. I first emailed

 Ghana
Rev Charles Arko-Nunoo
P.O. Box MK 157
Mankessim
C/R Ghana
Tel: + 233 42 34180
Email: 2kdotcom@ghana.com

and immediately after sending it I got message saying that the message had failed. I then send another email to

Morocco

Garderai Essaada
Mr Hicham MOUKRAM
Rue Sammarinne n : 1
Jnane Illane Safi 46000
Maroc
Tel + 212 44 46 30 83
Email: hicham_moukram@hotmail.com

and that email also failed. So my I did a third and fourth attempt  and it seem like those emails went through. I am very eager to see if they respond to my message

Ajoke International School
Mrs.Bimbo Are
New Jericho G.R.A.
P.O.Box 679, Dugbe, Ibadan
Nigeria
Tel: 080-23236933
Email: arebimbo@yahoo.com

The National Early Childhood Development Alliance
Mr. Eric Atmore
P.O. Box 2363
Clarinch, 7740
South Africa
Tel: 27 21 683 2420
Email: cecd@iafrica.com

The email i sent was just to establish a professional relationship to both with intentions to learn more about the things that they bring the Early childhood Field

For part two of the blog assignment, I chose the Zero to Three organization. I chose this one because i enjoy working with children in this age group and I currently have a baby that is in this age group. The information gain will not only help me with my coursework but also for me personal life.

My Supports

I am supported by so much when I look around many things are needed on a daily basis for me to function. My first support is having a sound mind and healthy body. These are very important and I depend on them everyday. Without a sound mind and healthy body I would not be able to carryout any tasks that are necessary for my life. My life would be solely dependent on others to make all decisions for me. Another support that is my family, my husband; children; and  parents.My husband works hard everyday to support our family and make sure that bills are being paid. Without this support things would be much harder for me and the kids and I would not be able to spend much time with the kids because I would have to work majority of the time to support them, rather than just meeting him half way. My parents are a great support around for me and my family. They are always willing to care for my children when we need care child, if we need monetarily they are right there with no questions. My parents also encourage me to keep going and to strive to be the best daughter, wife, and mother that I can be. They are very important and without them I don't know if I would have pushed myself this far this quickly. I probably would have given up before a bachelors degree. Another support is my vehicle. My car is what allows me and my husband to make make to support our family. Our vehicles also allows us to get to important places such the church, store, doctors appointments, and anywhere else we need to go. This is very important because everyone needs a mode of transportation. Where I live things are not in walking distant and therefore require a mode of transportation to get there.Without our vehicles, the jobs we have would be a struggle to get to everyday because they are so far, also caring for my children would be more difficult because I would depend on someone else to move me from place to place. Another support that is important is our grocery store that supplies me family with good daily. Its very important that we maintain a healthy meal daily. Without the grocery store we have to grow our own goods, which would take much work and land. Just know that this is a big support because we have to eat. My last support would be the internet. Life has evolved so much over the years, and the internet has become so big. Everything is so readily available via internet. I can look up things that I don't know very quickly, learn new things, and can get important things done such an master's degree, job application. This is very important because be a working wife, and mother of two keeps me very busy, but the internet allows me to still further my education without having to go to classes and taking too much time away from other duties of life. Without the internet I wouldn't be in this class, I could file out applications form home, or find answers at the the click of a button. My supports get me through daily and without life would be much different.
A challenge that I chose to imagine is life without a grocery store. Things would be much harder and time would have to be allotted to harvest goods. I feel like the benefits of this would bring my family closer and appreciate the goods that readily available to us everyday.

My Connections to play

  Growing up play was very important in my everyday life. It was a requirement of my parents for me and my siblings to be active. I remember my mother waking my and brothers up early for breakfast and the hours between there and lunch was time for us to be outdoors and explore the woods and what the environment had to offer. Being the only girl I used run throw the trails, and play tag with my brothers and the other neighborhood boys. My mom always felt that it was important for us to be outdoors and experience play through make- believe. Outdoors we found ourselves making forts and clubhouses that we would makes rules for.
Play today is very different than how it was when I growing up. Electronics are a major component of play. Many children feel that they are unable to play without such devices. Also the world has gotten so bad now children playing outdoors have to be monitored very closely because many people are kidnapping and doing bad things to our children.
Through play I developed majorly, I am able to find laughter in hard situations to remain clam. Play has also taught me to be patient and to use my imagination to discover and explore. Still in my adult years its very refreshing to play whether its kick ball with the family or Uno. This allows you to get away from everyday stresses and put you back in the mindset of a little child.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are very important to me. Relationships are very good to have because it will help get you through really tough times in your life, and not so tough times. Its very important to have people that support and help get you to your next level. I am so grateful that I am able to share a relationship with my wonderful family: mom, dad, and three brothers, and extended family. I also am grateful to have my wonderful family my husband, my daughter, and my son. These people mean the world to me. We all have a bond that is indescribable....

My relationship with my parents have made me the person that I am today. I get many qualities from her and find my that i have developed many work ethics from them both. From my brothers our relationships have given me humor in times when I need it most. With my extend family I we have realized that there is nothing like family and that's why it is very important to stick together as one. My husband has shown unconditional love that through thick and thin we are able to still maintain a strong bond. Lastly my children have shown me that life is so precious and a laugh a day will help you live longer.

During the year many pf my family have moved away or went through life changing things such as marriage, or having children, but through it all we come right back to this relationship that we all once had. Although our personal lives might change we still put effort into getting together every once and a while, and also try to stay in contact with each other. Laughter and support keep these relationship thriving and going. Its hard work to sometimes maintain relationships but at the end the hard work and dedication

is worthwhile.

I know as an adult how these relationships have impacted my life, so I know that it is important for children in the early childhood field to develop good relationships with their peers and educators because you never know how far the relationship will get the child, or what types of things the relationships will add to their life.

What I Think of Child Development

Testing for intelligence

Looking at the whole child is the approach that we use to educate and test our children. In school you have your main coursework and also exit test that test the child to see if he understood the material. Although this test is not like a chapter test it is a cumulative test that sums up a unit. This test determines many things. I agree with testing a child to a certain extend. I know when it was time to take for me I begin to get nervous and feeling inadequate, not because the i didn't know the information, but because test are sometimes worded differently, the pressure of the results of the test, and just the fact that this test concludes if I can go to the nest grade or not. At least with chapter test the teacher try to work with you if you terrible. I feel its hard to sum up the whole child by a sheet of paper. That's why we have different learning styles, and I also feel this impacts the testing of child. I feel that assessment should not be as major and curved to the style of the child. Not all children are the same so therefore not all children are capable of the same style of assessments. This gives a child an opportunity to do well.
     In Africa, assessing children is very difficulty and many countries don't assess children at all because so many children don't go to school.
              "The Learning Barometer provides a window into Africa’s schools. Covering 28 countries, and 78                 percent of the region’s primary school-age population, the survey draws on a range of regional and               national assessments to identify the minimum learning thresholds for Grades 4 and 5 of primary                       school. Children below these thresholds are achieving scores that are so low as to call into question               the value-added of their schooling. Most will be unable to read or write with any fluency, or to                       successfully complete basic numeracy tasks. Of course, success in school is about more than test                   scores."
Also children are too low to assess in such places like Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia. Many feel that children are so low, why bother even sending them to school. Many children end up dropping out or never meeting the level of assessment.
   This is really sad, from one country to another the major difference in the value of education and how children are assessed. Many children in Africa never meet such criteria and here in the United States it is mandatory.

Source
Brookings
Too Little Access, Not Enough Learning: Africa’s Twin Deficit in Education
http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/01/16-africa-learning-watkins

Consequences of stress on Children's Development

End world hunger, feed the children are all different things that see on TV and hear on the radio. Many children in the world suffers from hunger. Children are suffering from hunger in many parts of the world. One country in particular is Africa. Many children suffer from extreme hunger deprivation. The affects of hunger greatly impacts the children, many children die because of starvation. This affect the child's development in every way. When a child is not receiving the proper nutrition needing to thrive the child will not  physical develop in the way they should and begin to wither away and many lead to death. Many children in Africa have to travel long distances to fetch cleaning drinking water. As a result of the long commutes to get the water the child miss out on their schooling. Children that are malnourished are more susceptible to the diseases the are spread through poor sanitation. the best start in life is critical in a child's first few years, not only survival but to her or his physical, intellectual, emotional development. These deprivations greatly hamper children's ability to achieve their full potential. Today many groups ask for donations to help with the hunger in different areas of the world.
      Growing up I never suffered from hunger, but there were times that my cousins did. Their stepmother was very evil to them and would make them go days without eating. They would sneak food when she wasn't home or go to a friends house to get food. Of course when their step-mother found out they were grounded and forbidden to go in the refrigerator anymore. But of course when the opportunity presented its self they fled to the refrigerator to get food. This example is not nearly as horrifying as the children in Africa, but there were days that my cousin experience hunger.

Child Development and Public Health

Breastfeeding

Immediately after birth the nurse hands you your sweet baby and if you have decided to breastfeed they place him right on the nipple to latch on. Although your milk haven’t fully come in the colostrum is enough to hold the baby until the production of milk. Breastfeeding promotes a healthy start to the babies’ life and often fights against sicknesses. Breast milk decreases allergies and asthma. The breast will produce more milk as the baby feeds more.  Breast fed babies are also most likely not to become obese. This topic is very meaningful to me because I am a mother and when we just had our son I and my husband debated on his form of milk. Since I was going to be home all summer I thought I would try breastfeeding and see all the many benefits that its brings to both my son and me. This process is fairly new because five years ago with my daughter I tried it and soon realized that it wasn't for me. This time it’s been really different. The bond that I and my son have established is so strong and I have experienced a new experience that promotes a healthy start for him.

                Breastfeeding around the world is heavily encouraged and promoted. In other places it sometimes the only means to feed a baby due to the living conditions. In some places there is no food or clean water so the only clean form of food for babies is their mother’s breast milk. In the Philippines breastfeeding is highly pushed and formula is shone upon and said that babies are smarter if breast fed. In Namibia the first 5 months of life the baby is breastfed exclusively and soon taper off thereafter. In Italy breastfeeding is not pushed as much as other cultures. They push bottle feeding and pacifiers.

                When children have very strong immune systems and rarely are sick, they could have been breastfed babies. Understanding why certain children are sicker than others during allergy season is a sign of those that were fed with breast milk versus formula.

Childbirth in Your Life and Around the Wolrd

On Sunday May 4th, 2014 I was honor to give birth to the most amazingly perfect little guy 6lbs and 8oz that I could ever imagine. This birth was a planned birth and much different from my first. This birth will always bring a smile and laughs to my heart. Saturday while shopping with my parents and my five year old my water broke in the mall. This was something that I didn't experience with my first child because my water broke after being at the hospital. I made my way through the mall and out to my parents car all in the mist of my water running like a well. Although I felt no pain at this time and remained very calm. My mother begin to get very anxious and excited and my dad and I keep clam. Hospital was 45 minutes away from the mall and my dad drove us all the way to my hospital. After getting to the hospital my baby boy decided then that he wanted to take his time coming and slowly dilated. After hours of waiting the contractions begin to come and it got real. Dilating slowly he begin to come and then take a rest and then dilate a little more. Eventually he came on that Sunday at 7:41am. This was the most amazing feeling in the world again to be a parent. I feel like birth is an amazing act and I feel that every woman should try to experience it if they can. Birth is a very critical time in child development. The birth could go in many different directions all depending on the child. I also feel that development is amazing that in 9 months another human being is able to be created.

In the Vietnamese culture child birthing is very similar but yet very different. During the prenatal period women are not  allowed to eat certain foods because it will affect the women's yin and yang balance, which is the hot and cold balance in the women's body. Also in the United States men are encouraged to be present in the room during delivery, but in the Vietnamese culture men and family are not allowed in the room during delivery. After delivery the mothers are expected to stay in the bed and not shower but keep their body at hot temperature because during the delivery they loose all their warm blood. Also the father is not sleep in the same bed as the mother if the mother is weak and the father is strong. After the delivery of the baby in the United States the mother and baby goes out a few days right delivery to take the child to the doctors. In different cultures child birth is different. Its amazing to see the same process of child bearing in women done differently across cultures. I learn that in the Vietnamese culture things are done a similar but yet differently and that in development they make sure the mother is protected during the entire process and that the mother is doing harm to the baby.

Examing Code of Ethics

Every profession has a code of ethics and it is important that professionals abide by them. All the code of ethics in the early childhood field is equally important three that stood out for me were:

1. To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

2. To advocate for and ensure that all children including those with special needs have access to the support services needed for them to be successful.

3.We shall demonstrate the highest standards or personal integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in all our professional activities in order to inspire the trust and confidence of the children and families and those with whom we work.

These ideals stood out to me because I work with special needs children and it is very important that have access to the same support that those without needs do. I advocate for them everyday and learn that its fighting battle to get the support but still they are entitled to it. Another reason I choose these ideals because I feel like all children are capable of, each child has potential and its our job to maximize there potential. We as professionals are held by standards and it is our job to fulfill them and be honest in way.

Resources

Course Resource Section

• 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/

Additional resources:

Words of inspiration and Motivation

" The right to play on any field. You earned it. The right to study in any school. You have earned it. The right to hold a job. You have earned it. The right to be any one's neighbor. You have earned it"-Eunice Kennedy Special Olympics founder

"The more that there is exposure, the more that people with intellectual disabilities are living in typical neighborhoods and going to typical schools and working in typical employment settings and hanging out in the community where other people without disabilities experience recreation, the more acceptance there's going to be, relationships" - Dr. Ann Turnbull

" My passion to make sure that all children were taught in environments and ways that they are truly nurtured to their ability to grow and develop to the fullest of their ability"- Louise Derman Sparks

"Its not all about you, sometimes you have to take yourself out of it and your ego and think about the child"- Renatta M. Copper

Personal Childhood Web

My mother Velvet Wallace has one of the biggest influences in my life. She instilled in me strong traits that would help me succeed and get through life despite life obstacles. She is a hard working women for her family and very willing to do what it takes to take care of them. Even today she makes me feel like anything i set my mind to do I can do. She still supports the path that travel and encourages me daily that I can do it.

My Grandfather Blondell Mason is my rock. He is 96 years old and his influence on my life have been around forever. He has shown with his life that if you treat people right, right will follow you through life. He is the one of the strongest men I know. He always made me feel special by buying me little things from the store and making sure i always had money in my pockets for school. Today he still impacts my life. He shows me to never stop fighting in life no matter how old you get.

My father Mark Wallace growing up suffered with many obstacles to soon overcame them fully once I was older. Although he had his ways his life still impacted me.Now that things are different we are very close and he shows me that I can too do anything I want as long as I have a mind to do it. He works very hard to provide for my mother and give her the world and always willing to do whatever he can for me and my family. He has impacted me today by showing me that in order to succeed u must work hard and maybe even do jobs that other people do want to.

My aunt Gloria Mason is very strong minded person that was always blunt with that she had to say. She has supported me in childhood years by pushing and getting me exposed to things new experiences. She was the one that brought my first violin and made sure I practiced everyday. Today she still pushes me and makes sure that I have a game plan for my life. She asks me daily about whats next for me. Through her strong mindedness I've learn to push aside excuses and just get it done.

My cousin Ariel Mason is such a wonderful  person that I have always looked to. She was the one that really laid the path for me. She received good grades and went to college and I always wanted to be just like her. Today we both encourage each other to get through life. Her wonderful personality puts a smile on my face and helps me find laughter in any given tough situation.