Course Resources

Part 1: 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, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://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, fromhttp://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.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.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://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 media segment 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/
    Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week's Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• 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/
• 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/
• Institute for Women's Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/
• 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.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the Journal option under Search & Find on the library website to find journals by title.

• 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

Personal Resources of value to me:

This book discusses relationships between children, families, and school. 

Berns, R. M. (2010). Child, Family, School, Community. California: Wadsworth.

Gives you demographics about children in various states within the United States

CWLA. (2008). Maryland's Children 2008. Retrieved 2013, from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate/Default.aspx

This article was used during one of my courses at Walden. It's a great reference for understanding poverty and its effects on children.

Fund, C. D. (2005, August). Defining Poverty and why it matters for Children. Retrieved August 2013, from https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201370_05/BS_BSCD/EDUC_1006/Week%205/Application/Week%205%20Assignment/embedded/definingpoverty.pdf

A book that discusses the various theories of development, contributions and how it relates to children/education.

Keenan, T. &. (2004). Theories of Development. In An introduction to child development (pp. 35-43).

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

Here are some inspirational and motivational quotes from educators that have made a major impact in the child development field.

“Part of being who you are has to do with feeling your feelings, which means you'll have a wide range of emotions--not just constant sunshiny happiness.” 

― Janet Gonzalez-Mena, Child, Family, and Community: Family-Centered Early Care Education

"One of the major advantages of project work is that it makes school more like real life. In real life, we don't spend several hours at a time listening to authorities who know more than we do and who tell us exactly what to do and how to do it. We need to be able to ask questions of a person we're learning from. We need to be able to link what the person is telling us with what we already know. And we need to be able to bring what we already know and experience we've had that are relevant to the topic to the front of our minds and say something about them."

-Sylvia Chard, Excerpt from writing: Why is Project Approach Important

Everyday I go into work and I look forward to it because I know that the services i"m providing to the children are to their benefit"

-Raymond Hernandez, Executive Director School of Early Childhood Education

Personal Childhood Web

My younger sister Ambre is not only amazing but she's influential to my life. Granted she was the biggest daddy's girl that ever lived (she would beat me up if I tried to give him a hug) she still played a role in my growth and development in life. She made me become a role model because she was younger than me. She really looked up to me and still seeks me to guide her to make the right decisions in life. Four years younger than me we shared a lot of the same likes and dislikes, I helped her make the right decisions about friends, school, relationships, etc. She helped me grow up to be responsible, respectful, and caring. She still encourages me to pursue my dreams and add to my collection of animals (because she doesn't want to care for them 24/7). 

My older and wiser sister Tabitha. She was the sister that I grew up wanted to be just like. She really encouraged me to be my own person and do what made me happy. She really played the big sister role when she would stick up for me in school when I was being bullied. Even though she tried to send me back to the hospital when I was born I still appreciate all she's done for me. She really pushed me into the education field because she saw my passion for children. When I saw her babysitting she sparked my interest to do the same which turn into my lifelong career as an educator. She continues to impact my life by encouraging me to go higher in my education.

My mother! What more can I say she's an amazing woman to raise a challenging child like me. She really instilled the ideas in my head of success. She wanted me to be happy in everything in life, even if she didn't agree with it. I remember growing up disliking "lecture time" but now when I think back to it I appreciate all her wisdom she flooded me with. My mother will never stop encouraging me to be everything that I can be. Sometimes her ideas for my future are things I can't even imagine. I keep her words in the back of my head with everything I do "I'm proud of you" that's what keeps me going each day knowing I made this woman proud!!!

My father! Another awesome role model in my life. I really looked up to how he made our family dynamics from the roles in the household to rules he set for "his ladies." He really helped shape my future by exposing me to many different opportunities as a child. I remember him taking trips to Dubai and Israel and having me read a book about the cultures. He would come home and I would be full of knowledge and so excited to listen to him share stories with me. This sparked my interest about multicultural awareness. He still quizzes me about geographical locations and sometimes I have to revert back and study just so I can impress him with my knowledge. 

My Grandma Williams was another influential woman in my life. She was a woman who wore many hats of distinction. Always on the move is what I called her growing up. She enjoyed travelling but always made time for her grandchildren. We would spend the summers in New York with her, this is where I learned about teaching. She would teach Sunday school to children, tutor young children during the summer for the schools. I even saw her volunteer her time to help disciple children in school. She was a second mother to a lot of people. She always encouraged me to do everything with all my effort. If it was my passion then I should always attack it with everything I have in me. That's the way she lived her life and that's the way she departed. Her memory still lives on in my heart because I hope one day to be as well traveled as her and to help as many people/children as she did.

Introduction to me!!

Hello everybody,

My name is Jazmine Mason and i'm a two year old teacher with the passion to lead and teach. Which i'm sure is the same for all of you. As you can see from my picture I think I was born to be a leader. I enjoyed playing "teacher" in the living room of my home when I was a little girl. I loved collecting extra worksheets from my teachers just to sit down and re-teach the lesson to my stuffed animals when I came home from school. Although I knew teaching was my in my blood from the beginning, I still tried to deny my true calling. I decided in high school that I would become a veterinarian! My love for the Animal Planet channel drew me to this conclusion as I watched shows about abused, injured, and healthy animals. The one thing I couldn't overcome was how squeamish I was around bugs....spiders, ticks, and fleas grossed me out so much that I decided to kick that idea to the curb and become an educator. Good thing because I love what I do!! 

My favorite book of all time would have to be Flat Stanley. This book was so innovative and intriguing. I really enjoyed how Stanley was flattened and instead of being bother by what happened he embraced his change. He was able to make a negative situation and turn it into something positive by traveling in envelopes to see his friends around the world, and helping solve crimes. This is a great book to incorporate in any classroom.  In one of my classrooms that I did student teaching we decided to read this book. After we finished reading the book the children mailed out their own Flat Stanley's to a relative that was out of state. The Flat Stanley was able to travel around with the relative and when it came back to the student they were able to read about what Flat Stanley did while with them. This was great for the children because they were able to see cultural difference among friends, along with identifying different places on the map. 

My favorite quote as an educator would have to be the one by an unknown author. "A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart." This to me is what I do each day when I teach my children. I start with reaching my hand out to guide them into the classroom, to reassure them that they are in good hands (parents too). From there I open their mind up to the endless learning possibilities which touches their heart at the end of the day.