Codes of Ethics

               Three ideals contained in the NAEYC and DEC Code of Ethics that are meaningful to me and its significance to my professional life are:
     I-1.11--To provide all children with experiences in a language that they know, as well as support children in maintaining the use of their home language and in learning English.  It's significance to my professional life is that I can foster each child's development by learning key words from the child's home language while supporting the continued development of English, model respect and help children demonstrate appreciation of others and provide books and materials that reflect families' home languages and culture, as well as that of others in the community.
     I-2.3--To welcome all family members and encourage them to participate in the program.  It's significance to my professional life is I can develop positive relationships with families, reach out to all family members and collaborate with local community services that are available to support children and families.
     II.  Professional Development and Preparation (DEC Code of Ethics)
        #4.  We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.  It's significance to my professional life is that I can ensure that new staff within my program are able to receive an initial orientation prior to being placed in a classroom.  My Head Start/Early Head Start program provides a New Teacher Support Group to new staff monthly where they pair up with a mentor who guides them through their development.  They can address any issues or concerns that they may have and also offer suggestions to enhance the classroom or the program during their group meeting.  

My Collection of Resources

                 My Course Resources for this week are as follows:
*Association for Childhood Educational International  http://acei.org/about/
*NAEYC  http://www.naeyc.org/
*Zero to Three  http://www.zerotothree.org/
*World Forum Foundation  http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
*Video Program:  "The Resources of Early Childhood"
*FPG Child Development Institute  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
*Walden Library
*Early Childhood Educational Journal
*The Division for Early Childhood  http://www.dec-sped.org/
*National Child Care Association  http://www.nccanet.org 
*HighScope  http://www.highscope.org/
*Voices for America's Children  http://www.voices.org
*World Organization for Early Childhood Education  http://www.omep-usnc.org/
*Children's Defense Fund  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
*Center for Child Care Workforce  http://www.ccw.org/
*Journal of Child & Family Studies
*Childhood
*Multicultural Education
*Journal of Early Childhood Research
*International Journal of Early Childhood

            My additional resources are:
*National Head Start Association
*early-childhood-resources.com
*Qubo
*A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum by Claudia Eliason & Loa Jenkins
*Book Flix
*earlychildhood.com

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

              These are the quotes that I chose from Lyndon B. Johnson:
"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose."
"Every night before I turn out the lights to sleep, I ask myself this question: Have I done everything I can...Have I done enough?"

               Quote from Lilian Katz:
 "As you consider whether to move a child into formal academic training, remember that we want our children to do more than just learn how to read and write; we want them to learn in such a way that they become lifelong readers and writers. If we push our children to start learning these skills too far ahead of their own spontaneous interest and their capacity, we may sacrifice the long-range goal of having them enjoy such pursuits." 

                Quotes about Passion, Motivation and Wisdom from the Video Segment:
"We have the opportunity to shape children's lives"  Sandy Escobio
"My passion comes from wanting to make a difference...Helping one child to sparkle in knowing that I made a difference."  Raymond Hernandez

My Personal Childhood Web

    The person who nurtured and cared about me when I was a child is my mother, Sandra Hardy (shown in the photo).  I have the best mother in the world.  She is my best friend.  I can talk to her about anything that may be affecting my life.  I visit and talk to my mother every day.  We enjoy going shopping, out to eat, watching movies, going to the hair salon and going to church together.  My mother has been very supportive of me throughout my life; through the good and bad times.  My mother raised me as a single parent.  She worked very hard and made many sacrifices to give me the best that she could.  She always made time for me after she would come home from work.  She showed lots of love towards me by giving me hugs, reading me bedtime stories, attending my extracurricular activities and telling me how proud she was of me.  There has never been a time that she wasn't there for me. 
    She continues to impact my life today by supporting and encouraging my personal goals of obtaining my Masters in Early Childhood and giving me her unconditional love.  She always remind me that "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." 

My Favorite Children's Quote

 The children's quote that is especially meaningful to me is the African proverb which states:  "It takes a village to raise a child."  It not only takes a teacher to be the child's first learner, but it takes the parents, family and community as a whole to give a child the best education possible.  By everyone giving the child the support and encouragement that he/she needs, makes the child become that more successful and motivated throughout life.

My Favorite Children's Book

     The children's book that I love is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" by Eric Carle.  I love this book because it teaches rhyme, repetition, colors and different types of animals.  When I was a teacher in a preschool classroom, my children loved for me to read this book.  They were able to read the pictures of the book through repetition while learning how to rhyme as well.  This book is a very good way to teach children vocabulary and sounds.