Sharing Web Resources

The professional development information that is relevant to me is the information or involvement of the economists, neuroscientists, and politicians and how they are involve in early childhood education. The website which in which attracted me is U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute for a Competitive Workforce. (2010). Why business should support early childhood education. This website forces on the issues of children and families who live in poverty. Attention is being drawn to those children and families who live in poverty. In 2010 there were “approximately 20.3 million 6 children under age five across America, 45% of whom are minorities7 and 21% of whom live below the poverty line” (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2010 pg 13). Learning about how economist, neuroscientists, and politicians support early childhood education and their benefitshas given me new insight on how important their involvement and support is in early childhood education. Helping the families who live in low income household to succeed in their future is important for a healthy economy. References U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute for a Competitive Workforce. (2010). Why business should support early childhood education. Retrieved from http://icw.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/ICW_EarlyChildhoodReport_2010.pdf

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

My connection to a professional in another country has not yet been established so the alternative that I chose to investigate was childhood poverty in Canada; what I found was astonishing. The CBC news reported that the poverty rate for children in British Columbia is the highest and states "The number of poor children in B.C. was 153,000 —enough children to fill the [Vancouver] Canucks' stadium over eight times," it said in reference to Rogers Arena, which has 19,000 seats” (www.cbc.ca/, pp 7, 2013). The government officials are advocating making the wages to increase and or to increase the welfare rate for single mothers who seem to be the hardest affected. The insight that came form this site was the number of children that are being affected with poverty right here in our back yards. Canada is not a third world country yet it faces poverty in the same manner. This is saddens me while at the same time is very informational and shows me that I have to advocate stronger for poverty issues and support groups that are making a difference. Reference B.C. has highest child poverty rate in Canada: report - British ... - CBC www.cbc.ca/.../canada/.../b-c-has-highest-child-poverty-rate-in-canada-report -1.2440909

Sharing Web Resources

The newsletter that I found resourceful is the, National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, they have been operating since 1987. The agency’s vision is “A nation that supports the development and learning of all children” (Childcare awareness of America, pg. 2, 2014) and their mission is “To promote national policies and partnerships to advance the development and learning of all children and to provide vision, leadership and support to community Child Care Resource and Referral” (Childcare awareness of America, pg. 2, 2014). This agency also provides training, promotes national guidelines and partnerships and provides information to the families (Childcare awareness of America, pg. 2, 2014). The newsletter caught my attention on child obesity. They reported that the numbers are going down. This is a relief to me because we have been promoting physical education in our center and are training the children about healthy choices and healthy living. The site also gave more information that can help childcare providers’ insight on other issue going on in our state and globally. National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies http://www.naccrra.org/ (Newsletter: http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/ )

Establishing Professional Contacts

Macedonia Foundation for Educational and Cultural Initiatives of Macedonia (FECIM) Suzana Kirandziska Email: skiran@soros.org.mk China – Hong Kong OMEP National Committee for Hong Kong Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association Dr. Betty Chan Po-king 20 Somerset Rd. Kowloon Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong Tel: 852-23396005 Email: sannas@ycef.com These are the two contacts that I chose. I have families that are from these areas and understanding their trends and issues will help me in my profession. Part of being a quality center is having a clear view of the families and accepting their diversities. Expanding Resources The issue in which I found interesting is about brain development and how important it is to keep a child active and engaged. Parent and childcare providers need to understand how the brain functions. We need to learn how we can enhance healthy brain development. The first three years of a child’s life is important and we as educators need to reach the child at this age in order for them to succeed in the future. “The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby's development. A newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells. In this section you will learn about the many ways parents and caregivers can help children get off to a good start and establish healthy patterns for life-long learning” (Zero To Three). References The Global Alliance of NAEYC has e-mail addresses for early childhood professionals worldwide:http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/ )