Communities of Practice

Both local and state organization in Early Childhood Education are important CoPs within our field. I myself find that I am part of several communities of practice. I am part of my companies community of practice among the other directors in my corporate district. This is a group of individuals who hold the same position at other area schools, allowing for a sounding board with other questions.

Other local CoPs are the local Director's Network through our local Child Care Council, local resource agency; I have attended several meetings discussing important changes to our licensing requirements for the state. Another CoP that I have become a part of in the past is NAEYC, I am a member, along with our state and local chapters. Each of these communities offers assistance and unlimited resources of support.

Although, I am very happy in my current role, I do not see myself as a director of a school for the rest of my career. I will continue to look for positions within the state agencies, and local resource organizations. There are limited roles available in Accreditation organizations, I would like to become an event organizer for the training events held nationwide. My true passion is in curriculum and training the adults who teach our young children. Another opportunity that I may explore in the future is with our local college communities, teaching young adults who are emerging into the field.
These roles require more time within the field to understand the importance of training others.

Word it Out!!! PLAY

Play. One of the best times as a child is now known as one of the most important times during a child's academic schooling.

Wordle It Out!

Wordle it Out! Issues and trends in Early Childhood Education. We must all be advocates for our young students and their families. These are the issues I find most working in the field: poverty, hunger, bias, collaboration, worthy wages, and teacher prepartion/career ladders.

Our Future in Early Childhood

As I look ahead, eight weeks from today...we will be accomplishing no minor feat. A Masters in Early Childhood, only those who work in the field and understand the importance of education pursue this degree. Most of the people I have met outside our field, think it odd I love working in the environment I do. The fast paced and sometimes stressful responsibility of caring and educating upwards of 65 young child (in our small center).

I am fortunate to work with a strong group of women, managing my sister schools and ensuring I understand the company policies. What I bring to the table is the knowledge and excitement gained throughout this program.

Three years ago, I began this program under a different specialty, I thought I would be a teacher. After 18 months of courses, I decided I wanted to be an educator and administrator. I am encouraged by our professors and others within the field, hoping to one day educate other adults to guide young children.

I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts and feelings about early childhood education over the next eight weeks. I hope you enjoy my thoughts, as well.

Family Child Care Home Center

A Family Child Care Home is not far from what I have always dreamed. I had high hopes of opening my own at one point. My focus is now on opening my own Child Care Center, out of home. While thinking back on my center and how I would change it, many ideas come to mind. 

We live in a fairly rural area I would include many aspects of our overall culture. Agricultural is common among families, home gardens and farms are not unfamiliar. A large portion of our outdoor education would revolve around this aspect of people's lives and educating young children how to properly care for crops. In addition I would make sure there were books, music, dolls, dramatic play props, puzzles, drawing materials, blocks, and wall hangings that express different cultures. 

Anti-Bias education would be a priority of mine, as this is a reflection of my teaching style and my home. Some of the strategies I would use would be:

Encouraging children to express their emotions and work out conflicts

Support discussion and activities about people's attributes

Help children try ALL activities

Incorporate children's family traditions

Partner with my families to ensure acceptance

These strategies and a loving environment would allow children to thrive and learn in a judgment free space. 

THANK YOU!

I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your time and effort throughout this course. This last year has been a whirlwind for me and these course have helped me steady each week. Your experiences and comments have brought to light new ideas and insights to consider during my professional career. I wish the best for each one of your and I hope to hear from you soon.

Team Development

This week while discussing team development and working in groups I started to reminsce about my time as a group leader for an overnight summer camp. This was an interesting group of women (it was a girl scout camp) working together to provide fun experiences for girls 6 to 16 years old. This group of co-workers and myself began working in 2004. We lost some members the summer of 2005 but that group ended up being one of the best groups I have ever had the pleasure of being a participant.

We went through all the stages of team development and became and extremely productive group. After two summers and living together our training week turned into a week of fun and preparing, not learning new skills or teaching others. This group was particularly difficult to leave but we handled the stage of adjourning through communication during the year and reunions throughout the years. As graduate students the adjourning stage is graduation and commencement. This is how we come together and celebrate the success of our class.

Adjourning allows a team to reflect on the good and the bad.