Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 3

Alternative:

I explored the UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage this week in order to obtain information about issues related to international early childhood education. As I visited the site thoroughly, it is clear that there is a need for early childhood care and education for all children around the world.

The site explained the importance for children to obtain education at an early age, particularly from birth to eight years old. This period is crucial because it is the time of remarkable brain growth. These years lay the foundation for subsequent learning and development. As professionals, we must ensure that all young children develop their potential to the fullest. We have to look more in depth into children’s holistic development by attending to their health, nutrition, security, and development.

Learning begins at birth; we must guide our children in order to provide them with direction so that they will be capable of performing adequately and sufficiently in their life ahead. We must provide all children with skills and techniques so that they are developing to become whole.

High quality childcare, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, promotes motivation, confidence, good cognitive and linguistic development and school readiness. Participating countries committed themselves to “expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.” Central governments must ensure an equitable distribution of resources among different populations and especially those who live in the most disadvantaged regions.

Active involvement from parents and communities, and relevant play and learning materials ensure that early childhood services remain relevant to the needs of the children and all other stakeholders and increases sustainability.  Parent and community engagement is vital while working with young children. We must all work together for the good of children in order to reach our goal to improve the quality of care for young children.

 

 

 

Zero to Three

 

The Caring Connections podcast series focuses on the important relationships and quality interactions that support the very youngest children and their families. I have realized that not only do children deserve high quality programs in school; they also need quality living environments as well. Young children need positive messages of security and trust, comfort, belonging, and freedom to move and explore.

This site provides great resources and information in order to fully understand how everything surrounding young children may affect their development, and how we may supply great opportunities for young children as well.

Resources Referred to in this Podcast:

Book:

J. Ronald Lally & Jay Stewart, Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Setting Up Environments, (Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education, 1990), 2.

e-newsletters:

Early Head Start National Resource Center, “Learning at Home and Homelike Environments,”

News You Can Use, February 2011: http://www.ehsnrc.org/Publications/nycu_archive/nycu_environment2.htm

Early Head Start National Resource Center, “Environment as Curriculum for Infants and

Toddlers,” News You Can Use, July 2010:  http://www.ehsnrc.org/Publications/nycu_archive/nycu_environment1.htm

 

 

Getting To Know Your International Contacts- Part 2

This week I completed the alternative assignment; Harvard’s University’s “Global Children’s Initiative”

The commitment to global work is to meet the needs of all children in order to invest in the roots of economic productivity, positive health outcomes, and strong civil society in all nations.

Zambian Early Childhood Development Project

While a large number of studies have investigated the impact of early childhood experiences on children’s developmental, health, and educational outcomes in developed countries, relatively little evidence is available on early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa. To address this knowledge gap, the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project (ZECDP) was launched in 2009. It was a collaborative effort to measure the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia (Global Children’s Initiative).

The Zambian Child Assessment Test (ZamCAT) was created to review children’s development before and throughout their journey in school.

The ZECDP collaborators hope that the data collected will not only improve the understanding of child development, but to help identify key interventions towards improved outcomes in a rapidly changing developing world.

Un Buen Comienzo

Un Buen Comienzo (UBC), “A Good Start,” is a collaborative project in Santiago, Chile, to improve early childhood education through teacher professional development. The idea is to improve the quality of educational offerings for four-to-six-year-olds, particularly in the area of language development. This project is also designed to intervene in critical health areas that improve school attendance as well as socio-emotional development, and it seeks to involve the children's families in their education.

UBC also incorporates a comprehensive evaluation: a cluster-randomized experiment in all 60 schools. This type of longitudinal evaluation in early education has not been carried out in any other country in Latin America and will place Chile at the forefront of demonstrating the impact of a high-quality early education.

Applying the Science of Early Childhood in Brazil

As part of its Global Children’s Initiative, the Center is launching Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância, its first major programmatic effort outside the United States. In collaboration with local experts, this project aims to use the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit young children and their families in Brazil (Global Children’s Initiative).

Reference

Center on the Developing Child. Harvard University: Global Children’s Initiative (http://developingchild.harvard.edu./initiatives/global/initiative/

SHARING WEB RESOURCES

Sharing Web Resources

The information that seemed relevant to my current professional development is the website, The Zero to Three. I have a 17month old son and I also have a passion for working with young children, so this website seemed obvious for me to study more in depth. The information provided me with great insight in order to be able to take care of a person during the early period in life. Even though the website provided sections designed to help individuals in supporting and nurturing the health and develop of babies and toddlers, I devoted my time in reviewing the section; behavior and health, regarding to play. The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development (Zero and Three, 2012).

            There’s a lot happening during playtime. Children are busy when they’re playing. And, more than that, they are learning. They are learning key scientific concepts, such as what sinks and floats; mathematical concepts, including how to balance blocks to build a tower; and literacy skills, such as trying out new vocabulary or storytelling skills as children “act out” different roles. Play is the true work of childhood (Zero and Three, 2012). These social-emotional skills give them the self-esteem and self-confidence they need to continue building loving and supportive relationships all their lives (Zero and Three, 2012).

            The information from the website adds to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field. These voices are realizing that investing into young children is vital because this is the time were they are learning and are developing a sense of who they are. Through play, children learn problem-solving, interpersonal skills, communication, and other skills integral to success in school and life (Jacobson, 2004). These professionals are seeing that play is vital for young children’s brain development. Different types of play may be beneficial during growth as well; such as, exploring, the use of imagination, physical play, etc. Play aides a child’s thinking because they are so curious about the things around them. As a baby grows he learns to use his body to make new discoveries, transforming into learning to communicate better with gestures, sounds, and words and eventually able to process things and develop problem solving skills.

            Another great insight that I gained from exploring this website is parents are their child’s favorite toy, and perhaps nothing is more essential and rewarding than the enjoyment children experiences from time spent playing with their parents (Jacobson, 2004).

Reference

Jacobson, S. (2004). The Power of Play: Learning through play from birth to three. Zero to Three: A national nonprofit promoting the healthy development of babies and toddlers www.zerotothree.org

Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families www.zerotothree.org