Channette's Early Childhood Studies Blog

  Perspectives on Diversity and Culture I have many friends all over the world that I thought would be interested in helping me with this Blog assignment. Therefore, I posted a comment on my Facebook page reaching out to everyone to answer. The three responses I received where from Ms. Kristen, Tiffany and Monik. Everyone had a different perspective of culture and diversity. The first person that answered is a person that I believe to be in many ways culturally different from me. The first person that reached out to help me was my previous director Ms. Kristin. She is employed at another military base overseas and I still consider her a colleague. Ms. Kristin is older than me, a different race them me and economically in a different class than me. Nonetheless, I admire her achievements, respect her opinions, and adore her as the beautiful person she is. Ms. Kristen stated, “ culture is the way of life that someone is raised into as a part of their family/ancestral background. T...

  My Family Culture      I work for the United States Navy overseas in Italy. Earlier this month the base I am located at received over 5,000 refugees from Afghanistan. I saw thousands of people come here with only things they could carry. I am thankful that I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for these people to leave their country. Most people had a small suitcase or nothing in their hands but their children. If I could only grab three items that I hold dear to my culture I would grab my United States passport, my quilt that my grandmother made for me,   and my family recipe book.      In the event, that I would need to stay permanently in the host country I would still want to remain a United States citizen. By keeping my passport, I would be able to prove that I am U.S. citizen. I would explain to others that my citizenship is a part of my culture. The quilt my grandmother made for me would bring me comfort. My grandmother sho...

  When I Think of Research...   When choosing my research simulation, I wanted to pick something that I knew would benefit the children in my care. My research simulation was to conduct a research study that would determine the benefits of providing guidance related to deployments to children of military parents. It is vital that as childcare workers we provide guidance to children based on their needs. My simulation is important to the field of early childhood because it will demonstrate the importance of providing guidance to children. By providing children with guidance, they learn how to handle a variety of situations. In my research simulation children would learn how to cope with their parents’ deployments. The research simulation would help childcare workers determine which methods are most effective and which are not. The research simulation would help childcare worker in the early childhood field have better judgement of the behavior’s children display when dealin...

  Assignment 2: Research Around the World Since I am currently living overseas in Europe, the link that I have chosen to explore is European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). The EECERA link provides the reader with journals related to early childhood. The journals are referred to as European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ). The journals focus on issues that are affecting kids and families. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ) - EECERA Some of the current international research topics that can be found on the link are related to the culture of early childhood, teachers’ perspectives of early childhood, and nutrition polices. These are topics that are an issue not only in Europe but internationally. The articles related to these topics were published as recent as June 2021. A new insight that I gained from exploring the EECERJ website was from a journal article called ‘I thought all you needed for a successful ...

    Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories If I possessed the means and the knowledge to conduct a research study on any topic in the early childhood field, I would choose the topic healthy nutritional food options for childcare facilities. Providing healthy nutritious food options is important to the healthy development of children. There are many positive contributions that can occur by offering children nutritious food options at a childcare facility.             When a childcare facility provides healthy options of food for children, the children will develop the skill of choosing healthy food options outside of the facility. According to The more schools do to promote healthy eating, the healthier the dietary choices by students, “The number of actions that secondary schools have in place to promote healthy eating is significantly associated with healthy food choices made by students.” (Tow...

  Your Personal Research Journey   When a childcare professional is able to provide a child with a guidance a bond is created between the child and the adult. My chosen topic for the simulation is guidance. When a childcare professional provides positive guidance for a child, I believe the child will have more opportunities to experience learning in a safe environment. It is vital that a childcare professional be engaged with children and provide them with guidance. I believe guidance is important because without it an individual is not providing an experience that will influence the life of a child. I believe in order for an individual to provide appropriate positive guidance they must educate themselves and participate in trainings that allow them to demonstrate what they have learned. I have chosen the topic guidance, because I want to make a strong impact on the lives of the children I care for. I want to be someone they remember provided them with live long memories...

  Final Blog Assignment   Prior to taken this course I was unaware of the many issues that are affecting children outside of the United States. It is easy to live in this world and only think of those that are in your life. The first consequence of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development was how Covid-19 is affecting children and childcare in countries outside of the United States.   There are millions of children around the world who simply went without an education or childcare due to the pandemic. Not only did these children experience the death that came with the virus, but they experienced it with no support. Know one can predict when the world will return back to how it was before March 2020. I cannot help to think about all the children that are missing out on their childhood and education due to the panic, it is sad. The second consequence of learning about the international early childhood field fo...

  Blog Assignment: Professional Goals, Hopes and Dreams   What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? An issue regarding quality and early childhood professionals that is being discussed where I live, and work is accessibility. I currently work for 3 childcare facilities on a military base in Sigonella, Italy. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the only families able to receive care are children that have parents that both work mandatory jobs. Families of that have at least one parent at home are unable to receive care. There are currently over 50 children that are on a waiting list to receive childcare services. The 50 plus children that are unable to receive services have at least one parent that is not a mandatory worker. In addition, due to low staffing 2 of the facilities can no longer accept more children. Also, the Youth Complex that provides care for youth between the ages of 11 to 18 is closed ...

  Blog Assignment: Sharing Web Resources- Week 6 The website that I have chosen to explore throughout this course is Savethechildren.org. There are several links throughout the website. The link that I have chosen to explore this week of the course are the links associated with the donate subpage. These links lead to information regarding the finances of Save the Children. On the donate subpage there are links to Forbes, Charity Watch and Great Nonprofits. Forbes provides financial information from the top charities in the United States. According to Forbes, Save the Children organization received “$424 million” in private donations in 2019 and a total revenue of $864 million”. Charity Watch is an organization that looks out for donors of a charity. It reports any abuse of funds and keeps an out on an organization. The organization conducts in depth analysis of the financial records of nonprofit organizations, such as Save the Children. They provide the organizations with a grade...

  Global Children’s Initiative   To help children around the world reach their full potential the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University collaborates with organizations around the world to provide ground-breaking information in regard to how science is connected to child development. The information is shared with policy makers. I find it fascinating that there is a global effort to improve the lives of children. According to Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website , “The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University was established in 2006 by Center director  Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D.  Our founding mission was to generate, translate, and apply scientific knowledge that would close the gap between what we know and what we do to improve the lives of children facing adversity.” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010 ). The scientific knowledge that is discovered or gathered at the center is taught to orga...

                        Sharing Web Resources- Week 4                The website that I have chosen to study is Save the Children. I chose this website because during my search for a website I became aware that this organization does more than feed children. The Save the Children organization helps children with receive an education, proper health, and protection. The section on the website that seems particularly relevant to my current professional development   is the one regarding protection. As a childcare professional I am a mandated reporter. As a mandated reporter I am responsible for reporting any type of violence made towards children. Even if those children are not in my direct care. It is crucial that   I am aware of the protection that is needed by children. In the last year and half the children in my care have needed pro...

                 Poverty is affecting the lives of children all over the world. There are many organizations that are helping and advocating for children that live in poverty. One of the organizations is United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The original name of the organization was United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. The organization was created in 1946 but changed the name in 1953. The organization was created by United Nations. The organization supports the efforts of nations to improve the well-being, education, nourishment, and general welfare of children around the world. The UNICEF website offers information about the efforts the organization makes to improve the lives of children. The website provides information on the affects of poverty in many different countries. In addition, the website provides those individuals that would like to help with volunteer and donation opportunities. Current stories of po...

  Blog Assignment: Sharing Web Resources     The name of the organization that I choose related to early childhood education is Save The Children. The website link for Save The Children is https://savethechildren.org. The organization's focus is on providing children worldwide with a healthiness, education, and safety. I like that the organization's purpose is to reach as many children as possible around the world. The organization also focuses on collecting donations to fund efforts to help children all over the world.                One current issue from the website that caught my attention was Save the Children Statement on Cease fire Announced in Gaza and Israel. This article caught my attention because I have seen a lot of discussions and pictures about the topic on social media and the news. In addition, a dear friend of mine is Palestinian, and I wanted to know if any information in the article would be of int...

  Getting Ready—Expanding Horizons and Expanding Resources   One of the reasons why I wanted to pursue my master’s in early childhood studies was to have the opportunity to learn more about children and the resources available to them. I always wanted to become more aware of issues that are affecting children around the world. I believe it is important to not just focus on the issues that are occurring within my facility, but to be aware of all the issues that could be affecting children. The early childhood organization website that I have chosen to explore more is Save the Children. I have chosen to explore this organization, because it is one that I have heard of since I was child. However, I do not know a lot about the organization. I only know what I have seen from the commercials I saw growing up. According to Save the Children, “We know the world’s children deserve better. As the world’s leading expert on childhood, we have the expertise and the global presence to...