I have spent the majority of my career in Early Childhood Care and Education with infants and toddlers so the ZERO TO THREE organization really piqued my interest. This is a nonprofit organization whose purpose and mission to provide information training and support all those who love and work with infants and toddlers. They strive to support healthy development for both the children and their families in all domains of learning.
While I was not able to access the numerous articles in past publications concerning diversity and demographics, I did find a common underlying thread that ran though the policies created by the Zero to Three organization. There is a strong emphasis on addressing the needs of the whole child and realizing that social and emotional growth is just as important as cognitive development. Since culture plays a big part in our self-recognition which is at the heart of social and emotional wellbeing, it naturally is an important theme to this organization. This experience also reminded me of how important the first three years are not only to brain development but also to self-concept. All of the experiences we have during these early years teach us something about the world we live in, those around us and ourselves. Creating a positive environment that honors each child and takes into consideration the needs of the group as well as the individual is more important than ever.
For more information on the importance of the first three years and the goals and ambitions of Zero to Three, visit them at www.zerotothree.org.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. I, too, am a toddler teacher and I love Zero to Three. They are truly a helpful organization. I agree that they promote social/emotional development, which does tie into diversity. I also believe that they promote home language learning for all learners.
I have heard so much information about zero to three and have visited the website. It has tons of information that is helpful and I plan on sharing this with the infant and toddler caregivers that I know. It's different now than it was when I was coming up in this field. I knew about different organizations and I want to do them the favor by sharing some of these great resources that someone else shared with me. Nice post :)
ReplyDeleteZero to Three if a fantastic organization. I did a lot of work with the website in one of my past classes, so I did not choose it this go around. I work with infants, so that was my initial interest in the site. You are right when you say that social-emotional development is just as important as cognitive development. A perfect example of this is kindergarten readiness. So many parents view "school readiness" as knowing how to read, count, etc. What they don't realize is that is what a kindergarten teacher teaches. Therefore, readiness isn't those things, readiness is the ability to sit still, take turns, listen to directions, and make friends. If children are socially/emotionally ready, then they will succeed.
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