Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

I want to take a moment to convey wonderful Christmas greetings to my fellow students in my foundations class at Walden University. I want to say also that this has been a life- changing experience for me. I have never done an online class before so I was very nervous to begin. However, when I got over the introduction and saw that there were many more nervous students having a similar experience, I was encouraged.

The format that the class took was surprising to me in that, we had weekly discussions and interaction that gave me the feeling of being “in class”. I was frustrated before I started but as the experience grew my fears disappeared, I realized that it is a normal class in an amazing setting. I have gained valuable insight and understanding, and a wealth of knowledge in the early childhood field.  

When I shared with my family and friends that I was going to do this program, they were excited for me and reassured me that I will be fine. That was very true because I found a wonderful community of learners, with the same goals in mind and that made it doable for me.

 I have gained a lot of motivation, my thinking is heightened and my knowledge has increased. I am inspired to continue working towards my goal of becoming the best professional, alongside you awesome community of remarkable people. Enjoy the break and your wonderful families.

IDEALS CONTAINED IN NAEYC AND DEC CODES OF ETHICS

The NAEYC code of ethics is a set of rules/guidelines for responsible conduct or behavior for early childhood professionals. As I read and examined these guidelines, these two stood out to me:
1.Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family

3. Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues.

These are significant to me because ; children do not exist without their families and so we should demonstrate that when they are in our care.When we work with children, it is very important that we recognize their families, and show appreciation for who they are and their very important roles as significant to the children..

2. We must respect and embrace the diversity we may encounter as we work with different groups of children. We must also appreciate  their families and our colleagues who may be of a different ethnicity, economic status, family structure, language or religious belief.

The Division of Early childhood code of ethics is a set of public guidelines.

"The Code’s purpose is to: (1) identify the key principles guiding our professional conduct; and (2) provide 

guidance for practice and personal dilemmas in our conduct of research and practice. The Code is intended to assist professionals in resolving conflicts as they arise in practice with children and families and with other 

colleagues". (DEC,2009,1). One that is very meaningful to me is;

2. We shall demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in all

our professional activities in order to inspire the trust and confidence of the children and families

and of those with whom we work. Our whole commitment should be honorable in all that we believe, do and stand for as professional.

Reference

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.dec-sped.org/

Valuable Resources:

Here is a very interesting link for informative early childhood happenings.

http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn

Additional Course Resources for Early Childhood Studies

http://www.eced-resources.com

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com

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Voices of Practitioners | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC

naeyc.org

Course Resources for Early Childhood Studies

 

COURSE RESOURCES FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES

NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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, 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

Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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/

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 THAT I FIND USEFUL AND INTERESTING.

http://www.eced-resources.com

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com

Brainstorming

The Early Childhood field is an important area of study. It takes us into the foundations of learning and development of the whole person and who they become. These are critical areas of studies that have been taken for granted by many who, if they were educated in this discipline, would have change the course of life

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=644

Hi there everyone,
Sometimes things that are so simple can become so difficult, depending sometimes on one's mindset or the purpose of the task. Our capabilities are sometimes challenged by the expectations of our audience. We always feel the need to present ourselves as,smart, fearless and confident. That is a reasonable mind set, however, I think that we should start out as a learner to truly find our place. When we have found our place, then we will surely amaze ourselves of the awesomeness we possess.