Professional Resources

I love this book and use it a lot because of the way it is written.  Dr. Elliott is both a scholar and a mother and the book is written from both points of view.  She is able to be technical and present all the important information on child development while also balancing the realities of parenthood.  The book provides both clarity and humor and I find it easily relatable. 

www.whitmancounty.org

This is the site for my local public health department.  They provide the community with access to programs like WIC, ABC Dentistry, Family Planning and Counseling and Children’s Medical Insurance. 

They also provide our center with a nurse consultant who makes regular visits to ensure that we care supported in what we do.

www.customerservicezone.com

 

This site has a great video of Scott McKain sharing a story of his experience with “Taxi Terry”, a man who takes his job to a new level and goes above and beyond to serve his customers.

 The Little Chill by Lisa Funderburg

www.lisafunderburge.com/write/Flittle.htm
 

Originally printed in “O” Magazine, this article deals with the nonverbal signals we send out to those around us.  Every time I read it I am reminded of the importance of how I treat my teachers, my colleagues and my clients. 

• 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.

• 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

·         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.

• 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/

"If you continue to follow just your own ideas about what's good and right for childen and their families, even if those ideas are a result of your traning, you may be doing a dissevice to children whose parents disagree with you.  I try to impagine a world in which oppression is a thing of the past and wquity flourishes, a world that is unified not by bland smaeness, but rich in diversity."

-Janet Gonzalez-Mena,  MA

“I do not believe in telling people how to parent… I don’t like parenting courses. I don’t think they really serve a purpose, and, in a way, they are negative. They say, “We know how to do it and you don’t.”  Is that what you really want to put over with parents?”

-T. Berry Brazelton, MD

"Everything within me was calling me to teach!"

-Louise Derman-Sparks

"I'm not here to save the world, I'm here to make a difference in the community I'm working in."

-Raymond Hernandes



Childhood Web

Mom-From my mother I received my most precious possession, my faith.  For most of my childhood my mother was single and did her best to raise the three of us on her own.  These were lean years and I have many memories of standing in line for government issued cheese and butter, using food stamps, powered milk, top ramen and the luxury that was bologna.  During all this time she worked as if it all depended on her and prayed as if it all depended on the Lord.  She gave to each of us a foundation of faith and guidance that has the possibility to lead to our greatest happiness.  From her influence I have the knowledge that I am special and entitled to divine inspiration for my own life and family.  I still rely heavily on my faith as my husband and I work together to provide our boys with the things they need, both temporal and spiritual. 

 Dad-My parents divorced when I was very young so many of my memories of my father take place during our visits.  I loved going to see him and the times we were able to share camping, fishing, running Bloomsday, and of course shopping.  My dad was not able to spend a great deal of time with us when we were small so he tried to make each one of the visits was packed with quality interactions.  As we got older my dad was also a big supporter of my extra-curricular activities, especially basketball.  My dad would financially support special basketball shoes, camp and tournaments, all of which were not cheap.  He would attend as many activities as his profession would allow.  My dad has an air about him that people are drawn to.  His confidence and his profession make him come across as an important figure in the community.  The “status” that always came from being around my dad always made me feel important and special by relation.  In contrast, my father’s family was from very humble origins.  Even though he had “evaluated” himself from his beginnings, he never treated his sisters or mother as being less than him.  He taught me the importance of remembering who you are, where you came from and your responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect.  My father continues to teach me valuable lessons to this day.  As he wages his fight against Cancer, I am in awe of his strength and determination.  It has taught me to be positive and face each challenge with determination. 

Don-My stepfather is one of the greatest men I know.  He is the picture of a “gentle giant”.  He is kind but firm, caring, slow to anger, and would never harm another.  In a time when the court system was almost exclusively giving custody to the mothers, Don received custody of his two children, then 6 and 10.  I believe this speaks to the kind of man he is.  When they married it was not easy blending our family together but he never lost his temper and always made time for him and my mother to spend time together.  Their Sunday afternoon drives gave them time to talk through all the challenges they faced and focus on their relationship as a foundation to our family.  He worked hard to remodel the house so we could all fit and to provide for our financial needs.  While we may not have had all the latest name brand clothes, we always had what we needed.  He supported all of our extra-curricular activities often times driving many miles and dealing with several late nights.  No matter where the game was, I knew Mom and Don where in the stands.  My fondest memory from my childhood is when Don took us fishing.  As a young child my patience was not too terribly developed so after a while of not having any success at catching a fish Don asked to see my fishing pole.  After a few moments he returned to pole to me and within moments I had caught my first fish!  I was so excited!  Looking back, I know now that during the time he took the pole he hooked a fish and then allowed me to reel it in.  It is little quiet gestures like this that have defined this man and I am eternally grateful that he is in my life and is a granddad to my boys. 

Grandma Ina Mae & Grandpa Clyde- Ina Mae and Clyde were my step-father’s mother and step-father.  Maybe it was because they understood the challenges faced by blending families, but these two people could not have been a more supportive set of grandparents.  From the moment my mom and Don started dating they treated each of us as if we had always been a part of their family.  Going from two grandchildren to five overnight couldn’t have been easy on them but you would never have known it.  A great deal of my childhood memories take place in their home.  Picking raspberries, family BBQ’s, homemade noodle soup at Christmas time, horseshoes and croquet in the yard and of course all the additional family members.  They, like so many of those in my web, supported all my extra curricular activities.  They were there for every game, play, and special event.  They even helped financially support my first year of college.  It wasn’t until they passed several years ago that I was able to truly see all the things they did for me and the great part they played in my childhood.   

Mr. Lane- Mr. Lane was my high school math teacher.  I hated math!  It was difficult for me to process and left me feeling intimidated.  Even with all my difficulties, he never gave up on me.  He took the extra time to explain to me the things I was struggling with.  While I never took advanced classes like calculus or trigonometry, I did manage to pass algebra and geometry.  I couldn’t have done that without his help.  One of the memories I have of his additional help was a visit he made to the drive-in I was working at.  He ordered his meal and when I waited on him at the drive thru he gave me ideas on how I could use this process to strengthen my math skills.  I followed his advice and practiced with several of the customers that came in.  I didn’t fully realize the benefit of Mr. Lane’s time and attention until I entered college.  Even though my grades in math were low, I had received strong enough instruction that I was able to pass all the college math entrance exams with flying colors.  I received clearance to take any college level course I needed.  To this day I remember and use the tricks me taught me and the formulas we drilled over and over again.      

This is one of my favorites because it brings back such great memories of when I was a child as well as the wide variety of activities you can do with this story.  The story allows for so many different core curriculum areas to be fostered while providing an opportunity to share with a whole new generation this classic story.

Teach daily and when necessary, use words

-Unknown