Sharing Web Resources

• Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead?

I decided to explore past the National Head Start Association website to the individual state websites. I found that the Louisiana Head Start Association office is located in Opelous, LA. I have passed it several times traveling to my families home but never knew it was the Main office. I also learned that Louisiana is apart of Region 6 with Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

• Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find?

I found that the National Head Start Association has a program called GO SMART. The GO SMART program is aimed at having high quality physical eduction programs in head starts. Families and educators learn techniques to engage children from birth up to age five in regular physical activity, inside and outside of the classroom and the home.

• If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available?

They do not have an e-newsletter. The have a printable newsletter called Family Connections. It did not have any links in it.

• Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?

The website has a Father/Son Initiative. The National Head Start Association recognizes that a majority of their children come from single mother households, but they do want to reach out to the father's of those children.

• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain this week from exploring the website and/or the e-newsletter?

I found that money was given to head start by congress in 2009 but if they don't find a way to keep it going all the extra spots and jobs would be lost due to lack of funding. We need to find better ways of keeping funding for early childhood programs.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I am in contact with Juan from UNICEF in Bolivia. Here are some Issues related to excellence and equity in the early childhood field.

Fifity per cent of children aged under 1 and 12 per cent of children aged from 0-9 years old lack a birth certificate. The causes of this lack of registry are of an economic and cultural character: the cost of obtaining a birth certificate is high, and there is a lack of information on the benefits of registering children. A child whose birth is not registered does not exist in the eyes of the state and therefore does not have access to the basic services and rights guaranteed by law.


An estimated 616,000 children and adolescents work.  These children prematurely have to assume responsibilities which do not correspond to their age, and frequently are exploited at work. Also, work impedes many children from attending school. Only 39 per cent of working children continue their schooling, while 4.3 per cent have never gone to school.

Sharing Web Resources

The National Head Start Association http://www.nhsa.org/

• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

The National Headstart Association Website has added a live newsfeed to its website for the most uptodate inofrmation on headstart programs. With this feed you know what is going on with headstart all around the country.

• Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

US House of Representatives introduced H.R. 1 which would fund the Federal government for the remaining 6 months of FY 2011 by slashing funding for many key programs. This included a drastic nearly 25 percent cut to Head Start programs that would result in more than 200,000 children losing services and more than 50,000 Head Start employees losing their jobs. .

• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

The U.S. Senate rejected HR1, the House bill that would have cut more than 218,000 children from Head Start and eliminate 55,000 jobs.

The Bad News:
An alternative Senate bill, which would have preserved funding for Head Start, was also rejected.

• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

International Contacts

In EDCU 6162 we were asked to make contact with early childhood professionals from other countries.I was able to make two contacts.I was able to make contact with a early childhood professional from Canada and one from Bolivia.

 The first contact is Robin McMillian. She is a senior consultant for Canadian Child Care Federation. From her I was able to learn that Canada's poverty rate is 9.1%. It has decreased from a few years ago when it was 11.9%.

The second contact I made was Juan Carlos. He is a social communicator from Bolivia.He works for UNICEF. Bolivia is among the five poorest countries in South America, with high maternal and infant mortality rates.59% of the population of over 8,274,325 inhabitants live in conditions of poverty and 24.4%live in conditions of extreme poverty.

I realize that all countries have really hard poverty problems. Each country deals with their problems in the same way. They all try to solve the problems the best way they can.

National Head Start Association

The organization I choose is the National Head Start Association. http://www.nhsa.org/

NHSA Mission

Our mission is to coalesce, inspire and support the Head Start field as a leader in early childhood development and education.
We are compelled to fulfill this mission by the promise of all the possible outcomes:

• one powerful, united Head Start voice;
• a collegial, collaborative Head Start field, one that is a valluable and valued partner and resource to early chiildhood development and education;
• nonpartisan support of increased Federal commitment to Head Start and, ultimately
• healthier, empowered children and families and stronger, more vibrant communities.

Issue
The National Head Start Association puts out a montly newsletter called Family Connection. This newsletter is intended for the parents of the families in headstart. Each newsletter focues on one topic at a time. The Feburary newsletter talked about how important it is to get out and move. It gave parents different activites they could do with their children to get them more active. The newsletter also told why parents should get their children active. The top three reasons why your children should be more active:
1) Children who are physically active are better behaved.
2) Children who are more active sleep better at night.
3) A young child's phyical development is tied to helping their reading and math skills

FYI

Head Start actually consists of two programs: Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS). HS is a comprehensive early childhood development program primarily serving at-risk preschool-age children and their families. Established during the 1994 Reauthorization of HS, EHS is a comprehensive early childhood program serving primarily at-risk children prenatal to age three, pregnant women, and their families.

1,117,687 children and pregnant women were served in HS and EHS programs during the 2009-2010 program year: 2
* 983,809 in HS and 133,878 in EHS

Establishing Professional Contacts

As you grow as a professional you need to start making contacts with other professionals. This week in EDCU 6162 we were asked to make contact with Early Childhood professionals from around the world. I used the websites that were given and went through and found some organizations to contact. I have received no replies yet from any of the organization that I contacted. To choose me organizations I tried to find ones that I felt may know English. I feel that it is very difficult to send emails in English to countries that speak different languages. I believe

The organization I choose to study is the National Head Start Association. I choose this organization beacause I am big believer in what they do. This organization helps to proivde an education to young children whose families may otherwise not be able to afford it. I have been an advoacate for them without even realizing it. I am constantly telling people who have children who are of age about the program. I don't believe in excusses when it comes  to a child's education. I look forward to gong more indepth into this organization.

My Supports

Every person needs support to get through life. Support to me is the help you get from the people who understand you. In my daily life I receive support from almost everyone around me.


My sister






My sister and I have grown together so much since getting older. She helps my with son when my husband has to work and just lets me talk. We laugh and have fun and she is just there for me. She supports me in anyway she can.










My bestfriend



I have known my bestfriend since the 6th grade.  

She keeps my grounded. She advises me and helps me. When I need someone to talk some since into me she is the one I go to. She gives emotional support.




 

 My husband is my ulitmate best friend. He makes me laugh. I stepout of my confort zone with him. He supports me with sharing housework and taking care of our son. He helps me emotionally talking with me and bringing me to earth.

 My son gives me physical support. He hugs me and kisses on me and makes me feel like a wonderful mommy. He also mentally supports me with all the wonderful questions he ask. I like to tell the real reason things happen and answer his questions truthfully so I am always doing research.


My brother-in-law



My brother-in-law gives me support with my son. He is 15 and is usually with us on the weekend. He helps entertain my son so that I can get things done.









My calendar is my monteray support. They keep me together. I have three one in my purse. One in my kitchen and the other on my desk at work. They keep me together and organized.

LOSSING MY SUPPORT



 If I lost some or all of my supports I would lose it. I think I would have quit my job by now if I didn't have emotional support. I love my job but some days I just get so frustrated. If I no longer had my son I don't think all the other things would matter anymore. He is my heart and a body can't function without a heart. Losing the physical support of shared housework would be devastating. My house would look a mess until the weekend. I leave home early and get home in time to make dinner. Don't think my house could take it. Oh my gosh! I lost my day planner in my purse once and I almost lost it. i was not able to set up a new appointment because I didn't know if I had something already there. I did not have my password to my account. I tore my house apart until I found it. I would not have made it very long. (I have three calendars. One in my purse. One on the wall of my kitchen and one on my desk at work) If I did not have my brother-in-law my house would fall apart. I know this from last weekend when I was washing dishes and my son walked in covered in baby powder. He covered his room in baby powder. SO I had to stop what I was doing, clean it up, and make him take a nap. Then I was able to clean.



My son covered in baby powder.



 

MIGHT NEED SUPPORT

My husband and I are trying to have a second child. I know that when that child gets here I will need some new support. I will need my husband to help me with the middle of the night feedings.(He is a sound sleeper and hears nothing.) I will need the support of my mom to guide me on the right things to do. In a perfect world I would have a nanny to help me with my children. I would also have a personal trainer come to my house to get me back to pre-baby weight. I am going to need emotional support for the sleep deprivation.

Thank You to those people who show my support eveyday!