PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS

This week our assignment was to establish professional contacts with individuals outside of the United States.  However, I emailed many professionals from various parts of the world that were listed in the resource list, and I have not received a response from any of them at this time.  Also, many of my emails were returned because of failed notification or email address not valid. I will be thrilled when one of them emails me back so that I can learn about Early Childhood Education from their perspective.  I feel that this is an opportunity for me to expand my horizons from other people who represent other cultures and countries. When I receive a response from one of the individuals that I emailed I will update it in my blog post.

The website that I choose to explore was the National Association for the Education of the Young Child. This is an organization that focuses primarily on the well-being of the child, including, individual, cultural, diversity, and ethnicity.  It provides many resources, policies, and standards for early childhood professionals to follow as guidelines to better serve the child, family, and the community, as well as guidelines to enhance your own professional development.  The NAEYC also provides information on curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation (National Association for the Education of Young Children).   The goal of the NAEYC is to provide effective programs and practices for the child in a safe, nurturing, and learning environment.

 In NAEYC news they are headlining the Week of the Young Child which is April 22-28.  Last year my son was excited during the week of the Young Child.  Each day they had an opportunity to explore literacy, language, and role play, physical and social skills through the eyes of Dr. Seuss, community leaders, various occupations and super-heroes.  I thought the way that the center implemented different ideas into the curriculum was a way to show each child that they are unique and special.  The entire week was focused on the child, giving the parents and communities a chance to see how much their child had progressed over the past several months.

Reference:

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). Where we stand on curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation. Retreived from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/StandCurrAss.pdf