Happy to be Nappy

"Happy to be Nappy"






One of my favorite books is "Happy to be Nappy". This book depicts girls of color and their beautiful hair. The word Nappy has been associated with negative connotations for far too long.  My team and I decided to teach parents how to present the word "nappy",pertaining to hair, and the meaning of it to their children with positivity!!! Below are links to view images of  the book! Enjoy!!!




https://binged.it/2IvQuA8


https://binged.it/2pnmAoX


https://binged.it/2Iy2ocE


https://binged.it/2IzDx8o

Reading is Fundamental!!!

Reading is Fundamental

Here are some posters that we give our parents to emphasize reading daily!!! I am pleased to say that it works! We are with our parents for 10 weeks and most are not reading daily when we start week 1, however by week 10 day are reading at least 4-5 times a week. Some are reading daily. I love it!

My Childhood Web

My Childhood Web

The five people that nurtured me during childhood were:

Helen Johnson -Mom – My mom was a single mom and very strong. She laid a foundation for me of an intense love for people. She taught me how to love unconditionally and to support others. She built my self-esteem by always telling me I was pretty and smart. She would dress me up and take me downtown to do special things every weekend. My mom and I visited many restaurants and she would teach me etiquette. She always introduced me to something new when we went out. She also taught me how to think critically. A memory that I have of my mom was her buying her first home when I was 13 years old. I finally got a room to myself. We had lived with different relatives all of my life up until then, so this was a big milestone for my mom. She furnished my room with two twin beds and she said, “now you can have company spend the night”.

My mom and I at her 80th birthday party!!!

 

Valerie Patton - Sister – My sister is twelve years older than me. She was my second caregiver and I was her shadow. I went everywhere with my sister. My mom was always tired from working. My sister was in charge during the week because my mom would come home from work and go straight to bed. My sister bought me a lot of things I needed, yes I was spoiled by her as well. I loved my sister, but as I got older I grew to resent her authority, because I just wanted to spend more time with my mom. I did not understand why my mom was so tired all the time. My mom worked in a factory all her life and she worked hard. It broke my heart to learn of the working conditions she endured just to put her children through catholic school; to have us live in a nice residential area and never the projects. I remember my sister as being very wise, with all the answers and someone I could never beat. Yes, I use to start fights with her and she use to end up putting me in a head lock. My sister is a gem.

 

Jefferey Johnson – Brother – My brother is nine years older than me. He was my protector. He spoiled me rotten and got me anything I wanted, mainly clothes. I remember being scared of him and never starting fights with him. I had a lot of guy friends, ten to be exact, because I didn’t get along with girls that well. I remember when he first met them, he thought they liked me. He grilled them one by one and told them that they could never date his sister!!! When he realized that we were all just really friends he apologized. However, my brother didn’t play about boys coming to the house to see his little sister. They always had to have a conversation with him first. My brother is invaluable.

 

 

My brother, Jeffery, myself (middle), my sister, Valerie, and her grandson, Shannon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rose Lee Malcoln – Grandmother  (Annie) – My Annie was sweet as sugar. She was gentle and soft spoken. She was a stay at home mom. I remember her fried chicken and chocolate cakes. Nobody could cook better than her!!! She would cook my grandfather buffalo fish every Friday. I remember a plate full of bones when he finished eating. My Annie always tried to get me to drink coffee, but I couldn’t stand the taste of it, however I love it now. I remember her telling me how she prays for me daily. I thank God that I had someone praying for me. My destiny was locked up in those prayers and they came to full fruition. I am the woman of God today because of my Annie.

  

 Minnie Turner (Auntie) –My Aunt baby sat me daily when I was a baby, until I was about ten years old. She spoiled me and got me anything that I asked her for. I remember brushing her hair at night. She taught me the importance of taking care of my hair. She also taught me how to fight “dirty”. She would tell me. “If you can’t beat them, then pick up something and knock the hell out of them”. I don’t think that was the smartest thing to tell a child because of course I took it literally. I was a fighter, so every time I felt like I was losing a fight I would pick up a bottle or brick and hit them with it. This was not good to say the least, but this is what I remember about my Aunt Minnie.

 

NAEYC Code of Ethical Condct and Statement of Commitment

NAEYC

Code of Ethical Conduct

and Statement of Commitment

 

Core Values

• Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage

of the human life cycle

 

• Base our work on knowledge of how children develop

and learn

 

• Appreciate and support the bond between the child

and family

• Recognize that children are best understood and

supported in the context of family, culture,* community,

and society

 

• Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each

individual (child, family member, and colleague)

 

• Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues

• Recognize that children and adults achieve their full

potential in the context of relationships that are based

on trust and respect

 

* The term culture includes ethnicity, racial identity, economic

level, family structure, language, and religious and political

beliefs, which profoundly influence each child’s development

and relationship to the world.

 

Ethical Responsibilities to Children

 

Childhood is a unique and valuable stage in the

human life cycle. Our paramount responsibility is to

provide care and education in settings that are safe,

healthy, nurturing, and responsive for each child. We

are committed to supporting children’s development

and learning; respecting individual differences; and

helping children learn to live, play, and work cooperatively.

We are also committed to promoting

children’s self-awareness, competence, self-worth,

resiliency, and physical well-being.

 

DEC Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is a public statement of principles and practice guidelines supported by the mission of DEC.

Responsive Family Centered Practices

1. We shall demonstrate our respect and appreciation for all families’ beliefs, values, customs,

languages, and culture relative to their nurturance and support of their children toward achieving

meaningful and relevant priorities and outcomes families’ desire for themselves and their children.

2. We shall provide services and supports to children and families in a fair and equitable manner

while respecting families’ culture, race, language, socioeconomic status, marital status, and

sexual orientation.

 

3. We shall respect, value, promote, and encourage the active participation of ALL families by

engaging families in meaningful ways in the assessment and intervention processes.

 

4. We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers

of services for their children.

 

5. We shall collaborate with families and colleagues in setting meaningful and relevant goals and

priorities throughout the intervention process including the full disclosure of the nature, risk, and

potential outcomes of any interventions.

 

6. We shall respect families’ rights to choose or refuse early childhood special education or related

services.

 

7. We shall be responsible for protecting the confidentiality of the children and families we serve by

protecting all forms of verbal, written, and electronic communication








I chose these three ideals contained in the NAEYC and DEC codes of ethics because in my professional life, adults seem to put themselves in a different category than children. As if, children are subhuman with no feelings or personalities of their own. I have seen both parents and educational staff treat children disrespectfully and families. Respect, honor, understanding of culture, and patience towards children and families go a long way. It helps children and families to be less intimidated and feel like genuinely understood or cared about. Love for, and even passion of teaching children, helps families to reach their potential holistically. This relationship will help children succeed in not only school but life. I am a firm believer of  "it takes a village to raise a child" but the villagers all have to be on the same page and speak the same language.

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

Words of Inspiration and Motivation




Parent engagement is so important. We know from research that children who are engaged with their parents do better in school.  - Dr. Nketchy Ezeh


Engagement is about quality, not quantity. -  Dr. Nketchy Ezeh


If you're not ready for kindergarten, you're not ready for life! - Dr. Nketchy Ezeh




Why, why, why does our education system look so similar to the way it did 50 years ago? Millions of students were failing then, as they are now -- and it's because we're clinging to a business model that clearly doesn't work. - Geoffrey Canada



I dare the system to look at the data, think about the customers and make systematic shifts in order to help greater numbers of kids excel. - Geoffrey Canada

The passion that I had when I started this work is just as great now as it ever was, maybe greater.  I’ve seen the wonderful impact that using, what I call, an anti-bias approach has. Not just on the children, but on the teachers who have to kind of figure out who they are and understand themselves and uncover their own discomforts and misinformation. I see adults finding their voice as a result of doing this work. It’s like they reclaim and heal from things that happened in their childhood that maybe no one helped them work with when they were younger. So the passion to create a safer, more just world for all kids is there, and I suppose will be there until I die, maybe even after.

-Louise Derman-Sparks

My Collection of Early Childhood Education Resources

My Collection of  Resources

 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://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf 

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 

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.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

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 

World Forum Foundation
https://worldforumfoundation.org/about-us 

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. 

 

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/

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/

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.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067

Voices for America's Children
http://www.voices.org/

The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/

Here are some additional resources that I have added that keeps me equipped to service children and families in my community.

The National Black Child Development Institute

https://www.nbcdi.org/

Ready at Five

https://www.readyatfive.org/

Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life

4.0 1

by Joe Brewster, Michele Stephenson, Hilary BeardJoe Brewster

Child Development and Public Health

Child Development and Public Health

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)


Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is important to me because I lost my only daughter, Brittany, to this. She was born in 1984 and was 2 1/2 months old. She was my second child. My pediatrician instructed me to lay her on her stomach while sleeping, with no other things in her crib, because after all that is how my first baby, born in 1980, slept. I was devastated to wake up to my daughter’s tragic death, while frantically trying to revive her with infant CPR. I thought I was doing everything right as a parent, I followed all the rules. How could this happen? I had no knowledge of SIDS at the time. I blamed myself.  I called it the silent killer. Now I have a lot more education about SIDS and many rules and regulations have changed. Pediatricians are now telling parents to put their babies on their back while sleeping in their cribs and they discourage co-sleeping.

Traditionally, most middle-class U.S. Infants slept in cribs in their own rooms; it was feared that they would be traumatized if their parents had sex. By contrast, most infants in Asia, Africa, and Latin America slept near their parents, a practice called co-sleeping, and sometimes in their parents ‘bed, called bed-sharing. In those cultures, nighttime parent-child separation was considered cruel. Even today, at baby’s bedtime, Asian and African mothers worry more about separation, whereas European and North American mothers worry more about privacy. (Berger, 2006, p. 140) Many ethnic groups co-sleep with their babies as a cultural practice. Instead of arguing against it, experts sought ways to make it safe. (Ball & Volpe, 2013) One thing that was created was the “co-sleeper” an attachment to the parents’ bed that avoids soft quilts or rollover danger. (Berger, 2006, p. 141)

Susan Beal, a young scientist with four children studied SIDS deaths in Australia for four years responding to phone call, after phone call from mothers who babies have died. She realized that parents tended to blame themselves and each other, so she sought to get them to talk to each other. One thing they all had in common. Their babies were asleep on their stomachs. She concluded that sleeping position mattered. Beal convinced a large group of parents to put their newborns to sleep on their backs and almost none of them died suddenly. After several years of gathering data she drew a conclusion of : Back-sleeping protected against SIDS. Her published reports (Beal, 1988) caught the attention of doctors in the Netherlands where they were telling parents to put their babies to sleep on their stomachs. Needless to say doctors stopped giving that advice and SIDS was reduced in Holland by 40 percent in one year. In the United States in 1984 SIDS killed 5,245 babies and sadly, my daughter was part of that statistic. Since then the number of SIDS deaths have been steadily decreasing. (Berger, 2006, p. 163)

Currently, parents are given a lot more information about SIDS before leaving the hospital after childbirth and the dangers of children sleeping on their stomachs and co-sleeping. The promoting campaign is called Safe Sleep here in Michigan. My job is to inform my parents of safe sleeping techniques and the dangers of co-sleeping. I also express the importance of having a crib or play pen for babies to sleep separately. We have resources for families who cannot afford a crib; they are provided with a play pen. We give our families pamphlets to read and also explain to families what happens when you fall asleep at night when you think you would never roll over on your baby. I am passionate about this subject even though I am saddened by the death of my daughter; I love having the opportunity to potentially save someone else’s child.

Reference

Berger, K. S. (2016). The developing person through childhood (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers










I am very grateful that God blessed me with three healthy boys! Rest in Paradise Brittany! Until we meet again...

Childbirth in my life and around the world

This is my granddaughter Ophelia!!! She was born at 35 1/2 weeks which caused her to be labeled as premature; but you couldn't tell once she entered into this world. Doctors were concerned that she would have underdeveloped lungs and be behind in milestones. They were prepared to take her to the NICU once she was born, standing by with all the necessary equipment. As you can see in this pic, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, immediately dispelling any fears of weak lungs. She weighed 5lbs. and 5ozs. and as she lay skin to skin with her mama she was content. Afterwards, she latched perfectly on her mama breasts which was a beautiful sight. No NICU for her. She is feisty and sassy already, I thought! I call her Doll Baby.  Oh how I love her so...

This was a special birth to me because it is my first granddaughter, as I have two grandsons as well. Tyler (Ophelia's mom) had multiple hospital visits throughout the pregnancy because she started having contractions very early in the pregnancy. I prayed that God would lay His hand on Tyler and keep Ophelia in her womb until she was viable. My prayers were answered and I was so grateful to God.


 I was privileged to watch the birthing experience of Ophelia and because Tyler's doula didn't show up, I was able to step in and support. My job was to hold Tyler's right leg in the birthing position and count to ten as she pushed through contractions. Tyler's mom (Colette) held her other leg.  I know Tyler was tired because after a while I was tired, but I dared not show my weariness because after all, I was NOT doing the hard work. Tyler was insistent about having Ophelia naturally, so she did not have an epidural. My son, Nick, was by Tyler's head comforting her as he whispered into her ear, while Colette and I supported her as she pushed. This was the first time that I actually played a part in supporting someone through a birthing process and it was awesome!












Caribbean Childbirth


Unfortunately, giving birth in the Caribbean is not as pleasant. Women spouses or family members are not encouraged to support them from prenatal or during child birth. Fathers are denied the right to be at the start of their children lives which h is devastating. Women do not give birth in a position of their choice or even an upright position. Matter of fact, women do not deliver their own babies; a midwife or obstetrician does all of the work with some type of intervention or management to get the job done. There is no skin to skin contact and no breast milk within the hour of birth. This is mind blowing and sad!


Four midwives collaborated to start a center and movement to advocate for the Caribbean women.
Mamatoto, the Swahili word for mother & baby, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with the overall goal of empowering women and their families to make and exercise informed choices with respect to their reproductive health. Our mission is to facilitate women to have a safe, natural childbirth experience. 




Reference
Mamatoto Research and Child Center, Childbirth in the Caribbean,  Blog retrieved from
http://mamatoto.net/childbirth-in-the-caribbean/