MAHALO NUI LOA

In retrospect I am so glad I made the decision to pursue my Master’s Degree at Walden. I have learned so much from Dr. Kien about writing, citing, references, and looking inward as I grow. I am so grateful that I have been able to share my thoughts with each of my peers as they have given me inspiration and support in my quest. The wealth of knowledge within this group was willingly shared without reservation. It is comforting to know that we all share particular passions in early childhood and that I can look forward to continued collaboration with each of you.  You all brought a wealth of knowledge to the table making it an incredible feast. I am deeply indebted to you and look forward to an even greater journey in the next session.

Codes of Ethics

(Three Ideals that are meaningful to me)

“To listen to families, acknowledge and build upon

their strengths and competencies, and learn from

families as we support them in their task of nurturing

children” (NAEYC, 2005).

I am very family oriented and place priceless value on the institution of the family.  My experiences in early childhood have deepened my conviction that children have strong ties to their family and desire to feel good about their own so they can feel good about themselves.  That is why I strive to listen to families.  I want to know what their strengths are so I can support them in building on those strengths and from there encourage them to define and lift their weaknesses.  It was through my participation with T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. and his Touchpoints center that I gained knowledge and practical application about relationships and how to fortify them.  By doing so, children can reap the blessings of nurturing from their own families.  It is my hope that I will continue to apply the principles from the Touchpoints Approach and help others understand and use this technique.

“To help family members enhance their understanding

of their children and support the continuing

development of their skills as parents” (NAEYC, 2005).

Can you tell that families are my passion?  I chose the above statement to go along with my first choice.  You cannot have one without the other.  First comes the relationship, the nurturing of the child, and then we begin to help families because they want help.  Once the bridge is built then it can be traversed.  That is, families will come to us for support and help and we will go to them to enhance their relationship with their child. Voilà! There is trust.  I hope to build many bridges in my life time.  I want to learn from others as well as share what I know.  I can only do that through trusting relationships.

“To encourage and support continual development

of employees in becoming more skilled and

knowledgeable practitioners” (NAEYC, 2005).

When I say employees, I am referring not only those I may supervise, but those that I hope to mentor, and those who are or will be my peers.  I want to be the type of person who will always encourage anyone to pursue their aspirations, especially if their goals are those in becoming educated as to best practices when working with children.  I want all to understand the value of children and how we can best help them in the growing and learning processes.  For myself, I want to always learn and be there to support others in their educational advancement.

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

Play Quotes

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

Plato

"The truly great advances of this generation will be made by those who can make outrageous connections, and only a mind which knows how to play can do that."

Nagle Jackson

"The opposite of play is not work, it is depression."

Brian Sutton-Smith

Course Resources

Part 1: 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

Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.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.
Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.



Part 2: 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

Websites:
World Forum Foundation
http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage

World Organization for Early Childhood Education
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Read about OMEP’s mission.

Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/about/  
Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.



Part 3: 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/index.cfm

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/



Part 4: Selected 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



5. Sally's Additional Resources:

Websites:

Brazelton's Touchpoints Center
http://www.touchpoints.org/  
(Offers resources for parents and providers in its endeavor to strengthen relationships for the betterment of children)


Books:

Touchpoints-Birth to Three and Touchpoints-Three to Six
both are by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., and Joshua Sparrow, M.D.
(Offers an array of ideas concerning the development or "Touchpoints" of young children and how to best deal with those milestones of varied behavior.)


Calming Your Fussy Baby The Brazelton Way
by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., and Joshua Sparrow, M.D.
(There are six other Brazelton Way books (Discipline, Toilet Training, Discipline, Understand Sibling Rivalry, Sleep, Mastering Anger and Aggression, and Feeding Your Child. They convey messages from the "Touchpoints" books, but emphasize specific subjects singularly)


Use Your Words:  How Teacher Talk Helps Children Learn
by Carol Garhart-Mooney
(Through sharing real-life happenings from the classroom, the author helps the reader to understand how they can use their teacher language to help children learn and to manage the classroom atmosphere)

Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky

by Carol Garhart-Mooney

(Offers the reader a basic understanding of the ideologies of five renowned child development theorists)