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!





My Connections to Play

"A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm."  ~Bill Vaughan

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing.  What!  Is it nothing to be happy?  Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long?  Never in his life will he be so busy again."  ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

Play is an essential part of childhood. Growing up I was pushed to go outside and interact with other children. You would see children every where. A child could turn anything into a toy. You never had to have the newest or most expensive anything, you were just happy to be outside playing. One toy that I loved as a child was a teddy bear my daddy gave me. My father brought him home in Army fatigues like the ones he wore. The bear went everywhere with me. It was a prized possession. My other prized position is a sock doll my grandmother made me. I still have her and my grandmother made me a new one as I got older. She hand made the dolls, the dresses, the socks, and shoes. I didn't know it then, but I know now how much love went into the doll.

  (These are my sock dolls)

The children of today don't do outside anymore. You always see children inside playing video games. Parents don't push there children to go outside and play. The reason I believe all children are inside is the safety of the neighborhoods. So often you hear of children being innocent bystanders when adults are doing wrong. To help the children learn about when I was younger, I try to teach the children hand games and other games that I played when I was young. I love the idea of play. I thank my family for forcing me out to play. I make sure my child has the opportunities I had. I let him go out and play as much as I can. He doesn't go outside without me, but I still want him to play. I hope parents realize children need to run and have fun. Parents need to realize "play contribites to cognitive growth, aids social and emotional development, and is essential to physical development. Many of the abilities required to succed in school settings are gained through play experiences." (Brewer, 2004)

Refernces
Brewer, J.A. (2004) Introduction to Early Childhood Education: Preschool through Primary Grades. Person: New York, New York.

Child Development and Public Health

According to www.mumsweb.com Breast milk is perfectly suited to the baby it's made for. If a baby is born prematurely, that mother's milk will be higher in iron than it would have been had the baby gone to full term. As each baby grows, mother's breasts produce milk which changes in volume and composition to meet the baby's changing needs.
Breastfeeding is meaningful me because I breastfeed my son for the first 4 months. I felt that it was a bonding experience. I feel closer to my son because of it. I have also noticed that he does not get sick as much as other children. I found that people in the United States do not breastfeed as much as people in the other countries. In India breastfeeding is a necessity for the poor people who live in the slums, but in the middle and upper class breastfeeding is becoming less common because the women are being consumed by being working mothers. I find that more women need to breastfeed. I will use this knowledge to tell more women about breastfeeding. I will do my part by breastfeeding any future children I have. I want more women to protect their children like I did against illness.