Sharing Web Resources

The Zero to Three website offers a variety of information regarding early childhood development that is beneficial to my professional career.  The Zero to Three website provides information by using various media tools such as newsletters, video, featured resources, brain information and downloads of the week.  This weeks "download of the week" is "Healthy Minds 24-36 months".  This article from the National Academy of Scientists shows that scientists are still studying early child development and brain development.  I found this article to be very informative about healthy development and ways to achieve this.  This article provides parents with information to support brain development and ways children grow and learn at this age.  As a parent educator, it is important to learn new ways to support parents in this area and help them better understand their child's development.  With the onset of ADD/ADHD and autism in young children, I found the section regarding challenging behaviors to be beneficial to early childhood professionals.  This section discusses different types of behaviors and how to cope with them.  It also provides handouts to parents and educators to manage and help with these behavior issues. 

International Contacts

I listened to the podcasts presented by Susan Lyon and TJ Skalski.  Susan Lyon Ed.D is founder and executive director of The Teacher Project in collaboration with the School of Education at Mills College.  Susan Lyon is an author of many articles and speaker on early childhood education topics.  Susan is one of the founders and a past co-chair of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA), which works to promote the quality of early childhood education.  Susan Lyon brought "The Hundred Languages of Children" exhibit from Reggio Emilia, Italy, to California's Bay Area. She has also implemented a pilot program using the Reggio approach at the Presidio Child Development Center.  After listening to the podcast with Susan Lyon she communicates her passion for young children and how children see and understand the world around them.  Throughout her professional career she found ways to advocate for young children through her projects and exhibits.  These projects opened the door for collaboration between public and private schools. discussion groups, round tables, and professional development. 

TJ Skalski is the principal of The Mother's Earth charter school in Canada.  This is the first indigenous charter school in Canada.  After listening to the podcast TJ Skalski discussed her calling to working with young children and the path she took to get there.  As difficult as the job is, she remains in that postition in order to make a difference in her students' lives.  She gives reasons for doing what she does and mentions that her strong family values and concern for the community as her reasons for her determination.  She believes that culture and language is priority and essential in the survival and progress of her students.  As many of her students come to her school damaged, she's committed to building dreams, hope, and inspiring students. 

TJ Skalski discusses that many of her students are damaged.  Part of that damage consists of students who are in poverty.  While neither of these podcasts discusses poverty directly, these two people represent the kind of people who are needed to help children who are in poverty.  Both of these individuals take an active role in providing education to young children.   

Sharing Web Resources

This week I chose to review the zero to three website.  This website is available at www.zerotothree.org.  Zero to three is a national non-profit organization that provides information to support the health and development of infants and toddlers.  The zero to three organization offers a variety of parenting resources and new information.  Other topics include behavior and development, maltreatment, care and education, and public policy. 

As the importance of literacy in young children is becoming more prominent, I found a video in the Zero to three website regarding language interesting.  A new resource available this week is a video “Promoting Early Language and Literacy Development”.  This video shows how a child’s success is directly related to early language and literacy.  As parent’s and caregivers play a major role in a child’s awareness and understanding of language, this video communicates the importance of providing parent’s with information and tools to encourage early language and literacy.  This video communicates the benefits of investing in early language and literacy beginning at birth and providing trainings for early childhood professionals to support language development.  By supporting language and literacy development from birth, children will need less intervention and support later in school.  I found this video to be very informative for all professionals, parents and policymakers

Expanding Resources

After reviewing early childhood organization websites, I came across two that I found interesting and provided helpful resources and supports.  I chose the Zero to Three organization as one of my resources.  This website offers a variety of information regarding current issues and research for children birth to age three.  This organization also provides an electronic newsletter that gives additional information.  I also chose the The Global Fund for Children organization as my resource.  This organization provides you with information with current issues regarding children around the world and ways to get involved. This organization provides an electronic newsletter that is published quarterly. 

Zero to Three:  http://www.zerotothree.org/

The Global Fund for Children:  http://www.globalfundforchildren.org

Establishing Professional Contacts

The steps I took to establish professional contacts was to review a variety of major early childhood organizations in different continents.  I also took into consideration the locations of these organizations.  Learning from these organizations from different parts of the world will benefit my understanding of early childhood trends and issues.  I sent emails to organizations from three different continents.  I found organizations in Ghana, Hong Kong and Mexico.  After reviewing information from these organizations, I found the contact information for the professional in that organization.  I have not received a response from any of the organizations at this time however, I am hoping to hear them soon.  If not, I will continue to contact other organizations as well reviewing the information from the World Forum.