Insights Into Poverty

I have yet to receive a response on my correspondence, so I am going to share the insights I have learned from:


http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/


1. The effects of malnutrition can last into adulthood causing life long learning difficulties and health problems.

2. An estimated 1 in 4 children worldwide live in absolute poverty.  10 million children die each year from diseases that could be prevented.  Children are the most vulnerable when it comes to poverty.

3. Poverty can last for generations, passed on from parent to child, affecting society, the well being of families, and affecting long term health.  To erase poverty and malnutrition, it must begin with children. 

The facts were eye opening to me.  It is easy to just keep focused on what is happening in your own town, but when you see the worldwide facts, it is startling.  These insights will help me grow as a person and as a professional.  Once made aware, a problem can no longer be ignored. 

 The website -  http://www.naccrra.org/

 The link to the NACCRRA Newsletter - http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/


The site I choose to follow is the NACCRA.  The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies works with several hundred public child care agencies to ensure families can find and afford quality child care.  To achieve this, the NACCRA offers trains, resources and best practice standards to child care professionals.  The NACCRA  do research and collect data on current trends in child care, and they offer free information for parents looking for affordable childcare. 

The NACCRRA Newsletter follows any and all issues that affect childcare.  The issue that caught my eye in a recent is the issue of State Background checks for licenced child care workers.  Apparently it is not always required in all stated for child care workers to have a background check done, and the states that do require it have laws that widely vary.  The NACCRRA is lobbying congress to make it mandatory for anyone working with children to have a background check done.  I had no idea that this was still an issue in this day and age.  I was happy to read that the NACCRA is lobbying for safety in childcare. 

Website

The website I will be following is the National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies.  This site keeps professionals up to date on all matters that affect child care and early childhood education.  I think this will be an invaluable tool for me as I am usually too busy to watch the news, but I regularly check my e-mail! 

Professional Pen Pals

To contact professionals around the world, I used the the Global Alliance of NAEYC website.  I focused on English speaking countries because I do not know any other languages well enough for corespondence! 

The four people I contacted were:

NetherlandsInternational Step by Step Association
Sarah Klaus
Email: sklaus@issa.nl


Canada
Canadian Child Care Federation
Yvonne Dionne
Email: ydionne@cccf-fcsge.ca

Ireland
OMEP Irish National Committee
Nippa - the Early Childhood Organization
Siobhan Fitzpatrick
Email: siobhanf@nippa.org


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


I started this project on Wednesday, and so far I have recieved a return mail saying that Yvonne's (from Canada) e-mail was closed.  I am still hopeful that I will recieve an e-mail back from one of these professionals to further my understand international customs regardig early childhood education. 

New Supports

The daily factors that are supportive to me are my family and colleagues.  My family are a source of love and affection.  They help keep my mind off of work when I am home, and they help keep me focused at work as well; they help to remind me what I am working for. 

My colleagues are a source of support as well.  We work as a team to encourage and support each other.  We often have experiences together that we can not share with our family members because of confidentiality.  We can discuss difficult issues, and try to come to some resolution. 

These supports are essential to me.  I could not imagine doing my job without having my supports in place.  If I did not have these supports in place, I would be directionless, I would be like a sailboat without a sail, floundering in the deep seas of the educational system. 

My supports are in place so they can help me through my day.  I hope I am as supportive to my friends and family as there are to me.   

My Connections to Play

Quotes that summarize what play meant to my childhood: 

A friend of mine posted this on facebook and it really summarized my childhood as well:

My curfew was street lights on. My parents didn't call my cell, they yelled my name. I played outside with friends, not online. If I didn't eat what was made, then I didn't eat. Sanitizer didn't exist, but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap. I rode a bike without a helmet. Getting a couple scrapes and dirty was OK, and neighbors care as much as your parents did. Re-post if you drank from a garden hose

Two other quotes I enjoyed were:

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

Children find everything in nothing; men find nothing in everything.  ~Giacomo Leopardi, Zibaldone Scelto

Two essential items to have when I was growing up were:

A tether ball:



and

A bike to get you where you need to go




People supported me in play by just letting me play.  My parents wanted us outside and playing.  If we could not find something to do, they would find us something to do, and we usually would not like that alternative. 
I feel that play has changed today.  I feel that as a parent I am much more cautious with my children than my parents were with me.  I feel that when children began to be abducted off of the streets, there was a shift in the amount of freedom children had in this country. 
I play with my children in ways that my parents did not with me, perhaps that is because I had my children when I was younger.  I think parents are encouraged to be more active with their children and to be interested in their interests as well.  I think play has evolved from the time I was young and it will continue to evolve.  My hope is that parents and children never lose the love of play!

Relationship Reflections

Relationships are extremely important to me.  My family is the most precious relationship I have.  I have three sons and a husband who are my world.  I also have deep friendships with several girls.  Here is a list of a few of them and how that friendship developed:

Stephanie - Steph is my younger sister.  She and I were not always best friends, as a matter of fact we could not stand each other for many years (My theory is that we were too much alike in some ways).  Through our parents growing old and becoming elderly and becoming parents ourselves, we have come to be best friends.  We talk every day, usually about nothing in particular.  Our children love each other very much, and even though we live 8 hours away we try to see each other as much as possible.

Larissa - Larissa and I met in the 9th grade (22 years ago!) when she moved to Wyoming from Tulsa.  We went through high school, college, our professional lives, our marriages, and eventually having children together.  The support and love we have for each other has spanned decades. 

Cat - Cat married one of my best friends from college.  We were not instantly close.  My high school friends and I have a close knit group, and while we are not mean or malicious, we do not let outsiders in easily.  Cat and her husband lived far away for the first part of their marriage, but four years ago they moved back to Wyoming.  We started to see each other more, and eventually a close friendship has been forged.  We are very different woman.  Cat is has a type A personality where I am more laid back in my personal life.  I think we compliment each other well. 


These relationships have sustained me through good times and bad.  Since my parents are sick and elderly they are not able to give me the support I need, so I must find it in other areas.  I thank God everyday for my friends!

Some of my friends and me at a U2 concert this summer!