Course Resources

Reading and finding the resources to build your knowledge in Early Childhood is vital to keeping up with new research and fundamental ideas to help you better understand children.  The following are three books that I read while attending the University of Cincinnati.  I found them all very easy to read and full of information that has helped me in the classroom and with trainings that I hold. 

Jones, E., & Reynolds, G. (1992). The Play's the thing... Teachers' roles in children's play. New York, NY:Teachers College Press.

This book shows how children learn through play and how the learning environment we create for them is key to helping them learn.  The book also shows us how we are as teachers.  If we are players, mediators, stagemanager or if we interrup the play.  It is a good representation of how all teachers teach, but it also shows us how to improve our learning environment for all the children. 

Gopnik, A., Meltzoff, N., & Kuhl, P. The scientist in the crib: What early learning tells us about the      mind.New York, NY:HarperCollins Publishers. Inc.

This book is so amazing to read.  I never thought about how infants develop their minds by first using their hands, eyes, legs, and their environment.  We know that is how they learn, but really understanding how this happens and how we can help them is important. 

Paley, V., (1990). The boy who would be a helicoper: the uses of storyteling in the classroom. Cambridge, Massachusetts:Harvard University Press.

This is a wonderful book that helps you to understand how not all children relay information to others in the same way.  When we truly watch and listen to children we see that they all tell their stories differently.  This book demonstrates how one particular boy tells his story and it is a bit difficult to understand, but once you get started it becomes easier and you can't put it down. 
 
Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
  
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
  
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
  
• Websites:
  
• • World Forum Foundation
    http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
    
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP's mission.
    
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/
    Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week's Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
  
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
  
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
  
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
  
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
  
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
  
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
  
• Children's Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
  
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
  
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
  
• Institute for Women's Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/
  
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
  
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
  
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/