Dear Walden Colleagues,

Two possible ways that I may communicate my policy is by using a standard form of communication such as a pamphlet/flyer because it may reach a more direct audience.  My plan is to give the pamphlet/flyer to our local school board and administrators as well as local family services such as Child Development Services, Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, Child Care Options, and Alliance for Childhood. 

This flyer may ignite others to be more aware of the common terms used in early childhood arena as well as educate parents of incoming Kindergarten children about need to align Kindergarten Standards with Early Learning Standards in public school.

Although it is not my first choice, another communication method that I could implement is social media such as YouTube or voice thread. We all know how fast social media is at bringing attention to a specific issue.  My overall concern with this is that I will not know my audience. Nonetheless,  it has the potential to connect with people of like mind because I would send a link to those who I know in education and perhaps it will build momentum throughout the state.

This area of communicating or making my ideas known to the public eye does intrigue me.  I can see how public communication, especially social media, may work to support developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood.  Nevertheless, I want to embrace social media with a team approach. I am not skilled in the area of technology, and I want those who know the field of social media to guide me. 

Anyhow, I think my first attempt at communicating my policy will be through a pamphlet/flyer. I'll stick with an area that has comfort yet sense of ambiguity. 

So... off I go to create a Flyer. I will keep you posted!

Robin

Navigating the Early Childhood System

Navigating the Early Childhood System

Last January I began the journey that has taken me out of comfort of my kindergarten classroom into the early childhood system.  Initially,  I learned that Maine has a variety of organizations in place such as Child Development Services, Head Start, Educare, Maine Children's Alliance, Maine's Children's Growth Council and a governance  Interagency Work Group between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. As I began my research, I noticed that some of the leaders in the field were people that I knew. Actually, I had taught their children in kindergarten many years ago. Aah... destiny.

I meet with Laurie Lachance who once was the CEO at Maine Development Foundation and is currently the president of Thomas College in Waterville, Maine.  She connected me with Kathy Colfer who is the director of Educare also located in Waterville, Maine.  I felt so blessed to have connected with these dedicated woman once again for it had been well over a decade since I worked with their children. This was the first door that opened on my journey of understanding that there are many systems behind young children.

I intend to create three goals to support my understanding of the system that is designed to support and protect our little ones.  The first goal I have is to better understand what systems are currently in place to support children,  and how they are or are not inter connected and how the system supports  development and learning.  My second goal is to create more dialogue and discussion about developing a stronger early childhood system  or even philosophy within my school district, and my third goal is play an active role in one of these systems as a board member, volunteer, or advocate.
Robin

Lift up your wings and FLY...

" People generally see
what they look for and 
hear what they listen for."
 -Harper Lee,  To Kill A Mockingbird

April 25, 2014

Dear Walden Colleagues,

The past 16 weeks can be compared to the process of metamorphosis. A cycle of change that starts as a tiny egg- changes into a caterpillar with any where from 0-16 legs. A caterpillar that sheds it's skin and grows and grows- that soon settles into a quiet space of contemplation- only to hatch with six legs and a pair of colorful wings. Wings to fly...

To record all that I learned would take another 16 weeks to write. Nevertheless, what I connected most to in this course is families.  The importance of family perspectives and developing a symbiotic relationship.  

Another area that I related to is biases. There are biases all around me. I am surrounded by biases. Perhaps, I thrive and survive because of these beliefs.  Nevertheless, I give myself a check up when needed. Sometimes that can be scary.  : )

I was surprised to find that I did not see biases as a barrier before this class. I like the idea of questioning my biases,  and I know that it takes time and patience to be able to share a common ground with others who see the world differently.  Yet, I am hopeful about the concept of creating a new space- that third space that has untapped potential.

As you know, I did my project on trauma and stress in children in foster care systems.  I feel that  I have gained important insight on the perspectives the children and foster care parents, but I would now be willing to investigate the foster care system it self and the parents who no longer have rights to their children.  I want to know what is going on for them.  I did not come across any research from those who work in the foster care system or whose children got removed.  I am curious about the internal navigation of child welfare system.  Additionally,  I would like to investigate the perspectives of those in educational systems. Schools can be an ultimate healing place for children exposed to trauma, especially if the teachers and administrators are open to training.

Last of all, I truly enjoyed the discussions throughout the passed 16 weeks. Before writing this blog, I decided to review some of our discussions. I was truly amazed at the collective knowledge of our group.  I feel gratitude to have been part of this group. Thank you for your perspective and your passion.

Happy Spring ~  Let's spread our wings and FLY!

Robin

~

LIVE THE QUESTIONS
      - Rainer M.Rilke


Dear  Walden Colleagues,

I have had the opportunity to interview the director of psychology at the Edmund N. Ervin Pediatric Center in Augusta Maine to gain more insight into childhood trauma experienced by children who are in the Foster Care System.  The Edmund N. Ervin Pediatric Center offers specialized services for children with a mission to "help children and families to experience their world as a better place."

There are three focus area clinics at the Edmund Ervin Center; The Developmental Evaluation Clinic (DEC) The Pediatric Behavioral Medicine clinic (PBMC), and the Pediatric Rapid Evaluation Program (PREP).

The Pediatric Rapid Evaluation Program is devoted "to meeting the medical and psychological needs of children in foster care and have designed a partnership with Department of Health and Human Services." One major learning that I have taken away from Dr. Nancy (2014) is that trauma is a family issue.

My second interview will be with a child case manager who works for an national organization called Providence Service Cooperation.  Providence offers direct services and case management to children, adolescents and adults with behavioral and medical health needs. The overall mission of Providence is to offer an alternative to traditional institutional care in order to strengthen families, build skills,  reduce out of home placements. Providence Service Cooperation is offered in 44 states with offices located in Hallowell, Brunswick, and Bangor Maine.

Although I have not completed my second interview, I have found the interview process to be eye opening and helpful.  I have automatically discovered that I have so much more to learn and more questions to ask!

Not only has the interview process opened new doors of learning, but also the literature review that I am currently taking part in. I have read over twenty research articles on trauma and the foster care system. I am finding reoccurring themes throughout the literature.

Some of the themes revolve around the theoretical framework of behaviorism, attachment, and bio ecological systems. Additional themes are evidence based interventions, tools for assessing, screening or evaluating trauma,  foster family and foster child perceptions, barriers and systematic breakdown, and teacher perceptions on overall mental health concerns in public schools.

Additionally, I have learned throughout my literature review that children who are currently in the foster care system is internationally on the rise.

I now ask myself the question; if all perspectives are heard,  is there greater chance of shifting out what is not working with the ideas and perceptions of what could work?


Robin

Dear Walden University Colleagues,

I have chosen to do a project on children who are exposed to stress and trauma with a focus on foster families.

I chose this subject because I see more and more children being diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, attention deficit disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and reactive attachment disorder.

I am wondering why our youngest population are experiencing such stress and trauma?
I do not think that only children in foster families are those with such such diagnoses, but I would suspect that children who are removed from their original homes are indeed under stress and have witnessed or experienced some type of trauma.

I was once told that trauma, simply stated, is something that is happening to you while you are saying "no" (personal communication, c. green, 2003).  Just think how many of us have experienced stress and trauma over a life time?

What makes one child more or less resilient than the other?  How do we support children who have experienced trauma in and out of the classroom setting?  Are teachers and schools prepared to support these children?  Are foster families? 

Robin

THOUGHT TO PONDER

 A THOUGHT TO PONDER AS WE BEGIN A NEW SCHOOL YEAR:


"Educators across the whole preschool-primary spectrum have perspectives and strengths to bring to a closer collaboration and ongoing dialogue. The point of bringing the two worlds together is not for children to learn primary grade skills at an earlier age: it is for their teachers to take the first steps together to enure that young children develop and learn, to be able to acquire such skills and understandings as they progress in school."   Carol Copple and Sue Bredekamp (2009)


This quote resonates with me because educators stand at the crossroads of pushing skills vs creating a space for young children to learn the skills that will be necessary for academic success down the road.

Now is the the time for early childhood educators to collaborate and work together to secure the integrity of early childhood instead of contributing to the erosion of early childhood.












Resource

Copple, C., Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. National Association of The Education of Young Children: Washington D.C.

How Nature supports literacy development

How does nature support language development?

If you ever watched a group of young children out doors, you would see the world of vocabulary development take form!

Children are questioning, classifying, and experimenting with vocabulary.
If we want children to develop better comprehension skills, then they must understand language.

Remember years ago, we had The Language Experience Approach.
Well, I think we need to incorporate that into early childhood environments again, because I  have forgotten how powerful The Language Experience Approach is to literacy development.

All you have to do is go out doors to listen to children.  Whenever I take my class on a nature walk, I am amazed to hear such rich conversation and questioning!

After our walk, we often take time to record all that happened.
I often start by having children close there eyes and tell me what color(s) they saw when outdoors. After I record the colors, we talk about the other details.
A boy said, " I could feel the wind softly on my face!"
A girl said, " I could hear the traffic going by."
Another boy said, " I could feel the sun warming my legs."

Nature walks are a great way to allow children to understand key details through direct experience.
Once we have a chance to describe what we see, feel, smell and hear out doors, we then write a class narrative together.

The children love this activity and what a great way to "experience language."

I had a discussion with the director of the Viles Aboretum last week. We took our Kindergarten class to the Aboretum for a field trip and the director mentioned how wonderful it was to work with my children. They were not afraid to explore the natural world by touching bugs and trees.  He could tell that they spent time outdoors as a class.

We discussed the importance of creating a nature journal.
This year was the first year that I followed through on natural journals with young children.
The writing and language skills of my students began to sky rocket!

I hope I have the patience and developmentally appropriate approach to start Nature Journals earlier next year because we often take nature walks during the  seasons of Fall and Spring.

Has anyone else experienced the power of nature in the area of language development?