Course Resources

This list, started by our Professor, is only a beginning.  I believe this listing will be valuable throughout my journey in the field of early childhood and education.  I added two additional journals and several early childhood reference books.  My own listings are in green.  Please feel free to share your ideas and inputs to assist me in keeping this listing current... Lois
Video Programs

• Video Program: “The Resources for Early Childhood”
  Five early childhood professionals discuss their preferred and trusted resources.

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.

Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being
Articles
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 Internationalhttp://acei.org/about/
  Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

Selected Early Childhood Organizations

National Association for the Education of Young Childrenhttp://www.naeyc.org/

The Division for Early Childhood http://www.dec-sped.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Familieshttp://www.zerotothree.org/

WESTEDhttp://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

Harvard Education Letterhttp://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

FPG Child Development Institutehttp://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm

Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conferencehttp://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/

Selected Journals Available in the Walden Library
Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• Exhange (check it out... it's a favorite of mine!)
• Spotlight on Teaching Preschoolers 2 (great ideas for turning children into scientific explorers)
• 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

FANTASTIC Early Childhood Reference Books
Herr, J., & Larson, Y.L. (2009). Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.  (I reviewed this book, and I still think it's a definite essential for anyone working in the early childhood classroom.  LOTS of creative ideas.)

Powers, J. (2005). Parent-Friendly Early Learning. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

Shaw, J.M. (2005). Mathematics for Young Children: What, Why, and How.  Little Rock, AR: Southern Early Childhood Association

Tingley, S.C. How to Handle Difficult Parents: A Teacher's Survival Guide.  (2006). Fort Collings, Colorado: Cottonwood Press.

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

DR. T. BERRY BRAZELTON (Infant/Toddler, Pediatrician)
"I don't think children under 2 should be watching TV, with or without their parents."
"Parents don't make mistakes because they don't care, but because they care so deeply." 

DR. EDWARD ZIGLER (Head Start)
"I have long believed that the development of a child does not begin the day he is born - or at age three - but much earlier, during the formative years of his parents." 
"A kid's emotions and personality are just as important as I.Q."  

LOUISE DERMON-SPARKS (Professor Emeritus, Pacific Oak College, CA)
"I just always loved kids." 
"I felt that everything in me was being called on to teach." 
"It made me feel whole.  It made me feel creative."

RAYMOND HERNANDEZ, MS Ed (Executive Director, School of Early Childhood Education, University of Southern California)  
"There's more to life than just what's in their neighborhood."
"My passion comes from wanting to make a difference."
"I'm not here to save the world.  I'm here to make a difference."

A favorite quote of mine for all children by A.A. MILNE.  Every day SHOULD be their favorite!
What day is today?
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.






Jean Piaget, Developmental Psychologist and Philosopher
The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what others have done.

Abraham Maslow, Theorist and Founder of Humanistic Psychology
"All of life is education and everybody is a teacher and everybody is forever a pupil."

John Holt, founder of Unschooling & Modern Homeschooling Movement
"Children come to school curious; within a few years most of that curiosity is dead, or at least silent."

"We adults destroy most of the intellectual and creative capacity of children by the things we do to them or make them do.  We destroy this capacity above all by making them afraid."

Lev Vgotsky, Theorist & Developmental Psychologist
"The teacher must orient his work not on yesterday's development in the child but on tomorrow's"

M. Scott Peck, Psychiatrist & Author
"The more children know that you value them, that you consider them extraordinary people, the more willing they will be to listen to you and afford you the same esteem.  And the more appropriate your teaching based on your knowledge of them, the more eager your children will be to learn from you.  And the more they learn, the more extraordinary they will become."

Loris Malaguzzi, The Reggio Approach to Early Childhood
Our task, regarding creativity, is to help children climb their own mountains, as high as possible."

Personal Childhood Web

This was a very difficult posting for me.  I was brought up in an amazing family atmosphere.  I did not realize then how lucky I was.  These individuals held the glue together, and perhaps, we were not strong enough to keep the pieces together.  So much changed as I lost each one of them, especially my mom whose passing is still new to me.  This posting has taught me so much about what really is important.  It also brought out a lot of teachers, because I wonder if they understood how important they were to me and our family.  I wish that I could thank them personally.  I hope they knew and understood. 

Martha Cohen, my mom… I lost my mom about a year ago, and it’s extremely hard for me to write this.  My mom was the “perfect” mom.  She was totally involved in my life, and she always wanted what was best for me and for my sister.  She was my class mom, my Brownie leader, and my drama coach.  My mom made the best spaghetti sauce (yum, I can smell it now), read me stories, and played board games.  As a child, my mom supported everything that I tried and tried again.  She encouraged me.  She advocated for me.  I remember when I wanted to be in the choir in Kindergarten.  The small problem was that I could not carry a tune, but I loved music.  My mom went to school, and although I do not know what she said, I was initiated into the choir the next day.  Years later, I asked mom about this, and she said that I was too young to be turned away from something as wonderful as music.  Yes, although she did not have a college degree, she was one of the smartest women I ever knew.  She made me feel special, and she encouraged me to be “me.”   My mom was my best friend, and I know that she would be proud that I am going back to college.  I am who I am today because of my mom.

Alexander Cohen, my dad… I lost my dad when I was 16 years old.  I remember that he was my buddy and that he loved our family more than anything.  My dad taught me to be a hard worker and never give up.  Along with my mom, he taught me the wonder of reading.  When I look back, I remember going to a daddy/daughter dance.  It must have been in 2^nd or 3^rd grade, and I wore a white dress (I can picture this dress, and it isn’t a pretty picture today.  However, then, it was the best, I guess!).  I remember dancing with my dad, and I can see him looking down at me telling me that he had the best daughter in the world and how very much he loved me.  I remember that moment as if it were today.   I still miss him.

Irene Smith came into our family as a worker in my grandmother’s hair salon.  At times, she would babysit my sister and me.  She became a part of our family.  Irene was strict with me, and although we tried to change her thoughts, she stuck to my parent’s rules.  Although she wasn’t a blood relative, she was family.  I can remember the “fights” we got into because she didn’t let me stay out late or talk on the phone longer or… but in spite of this, I knew that she cared.  Irene taught me about an extended family.  She brought a different culture into our life by sharing. 

Sylvia Cohen was my dad’s sister-n-law, and she was the glue that held my dad’s side of the family together.  I loved my Aunt Sylvia.  She would arrange for family parties and think of  fun events to pull us all together.  I remember picking apples with her at my grandfather’s farm and then, our entire family made apple pie.  We played baseball while the pie cooked.  We spent holidays together with my dad’s entire family (he was one of 5 boys) because of my Aunt Sylvia.  When she passed away, our family split.  I hardly ever saw that side of my family, and the family gatherings seized too.  I know this would have made her unhappy.  I missed her spunk, and her sense of humor.  She taught me what family “should” be.

Esther Goldstein was a neighbor.  She was my mom’s best friend, and her husband was my father’s best friend.  To my sister and I, she was Aunt Esther, and we spent a lot of time together.   Aunt Esther taught me the meaning of friendship as I watched her interact with my mom.  They were like sisters, maybe better.  Aunt Esther cared about me, and she listened to me read stories to her that I wrote as a child.  I remember sitting on her couch reading stories together.  One day, she made me a vest.  It was made from fabric swatches that she had around the house; her daughter had a vest like that, and I loved it.  Aunt Esther explained that it took forever to make such a vest, and she just did not have the time to make another.  Then, one day, she gave me a vest like her daughter’s.  She told  me that she made the vest for me because I was like a 2^nd daughter to her.  I’ll never forget those words, and I kept the vest for a long time.  Aunt Esther taught me to go after my dreams and that my words were important. 

 

Starting Over

So, I made the switch from one on-line college to Walden, and I am THRILLED with my choice.  Although I loved the other college, early childhood courses were not offered until the end (the last 4 courses).  I already feel a part of Walden, and I feel connected to the other students in the class. AND... I met my professor at NAEYC, which was super exciting!  My biggest challenges are are differences between both schools, especially with postings and specifics... they are totally different.  But... I'm not complaining (well maybe a teeny-tiny bit)!  All I have to do now is re-arrange my thinking and re-evaluate my week so I can get everything done on time; now, that's a challenge indeed! 

Favorite Childhood Story

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See

Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

Why did I choose this story? 

• I love this book
• Teaches children to listen (1st step of phonological awareness!)
• Introduces colors, animals, rhyming, sequencing, vocabulary, math, science, rhythm, rhyming, shapes, and...
• Leads way to creative bookmaking
• Is also a song
• Has beautiful, colorful, and yet simple artwork
• Is SUPER-DOOPER fun for children to read and re-read over and over and over and over and over again

Piaget's Thoughts

"The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done."   Jean Piaget