Early Childhood Journey Continues...

Now that I have learned and gained more knowledge on the "Foundations of Early Childhood Studies", I look forward to the next stepping stone, "Early Childhood Development". I have really enjoyed this class. Glad I chose Walden University to get my Master's Degree in Teaching and Diversity in Early Childhood Education. Thanks to my instructor- Dr. Longo, my colleagues, and the Walden EC field for the great experience.

Ideals Meaningful to Me

I-1.5: To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.

I-1.8: To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities.

I-4.3:  To work through education, research, and advocacy toward an environmentally safe world in which all children receive health care, food, and shelter; are nurtured; and live free from violence in their home and their communities.

I chose these three ideals from the NAEYC that were meaningful to me because as a Early Childhood Professional, I would like to see that ALL young children get the best educational experience through a positive high quality environment. By this being such a critical stage in a child's development, I feel that if they get the enjoyment of learning in preschool, it will further future success in their lives. All children deserve to have a HAPPY childhood.

Course Resources

· 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://www.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

· 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.

· 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

· World Forum Foundation
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php

· World Organization for Early Childhood Education
http://www.omep-usnc.org/

· Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/about/

· 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/


Additional Resources:
· Early Childhood. Com
http://www.earlychildhood.com

· Early Childhood Link the Ultimate Childhood Resource
http://www.earlychildhoodlinks.com/

· Early Childhood Resource Center
http://www.ecresourcecenter.org/

· Education World ® Early Childhood Community
http://www.educationworld.com/a_earlychildhood/

· Environments, Inc. - Early Childhood Resources
http://www.eichild.com/r_pages.cfm?ID=92

· Kids Online Resources-Early Childhood Resources
http://www.kidsolr.com/earlychildhood/index.html

· REC-Resources for Early Childhood
http://rec.ohiorc.org/

· Preschool Link Express-Early Childhood Resource Sites
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/resources.htm