In The Beginning

I chose the topic of nutrition/malnutrition because I have been fortunate enough to be able to provide myself with the nutrition that I needed during my pregnancies, but unfortunately there are people all over the world that have under weight babies because they are unable to eat properly during pregnancy.


A pregnant woman should get plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. In addition to making healthy food choices, taking a daily prenatal vitamin — ideally starting three months before conception — can help ensure you're getting enough of this essential nutrient

The nutrition of a pregnant woman directly influences the course of the pregnancy and normal fetal development, and also the long-term health of the mother and child. In the first half of pregnancy, nutrition requirements mainly concern quality, while in the second half, quantity is also an issue, to ensure fetal growth. Proper nutritional habits should already be established at the start of this second life - if possible even before conception.

 India has exceptionally high rates of child malnutrition, because tradition in India requires that women eat last and least throughout their lives, even when pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle.

Quotes About India's Mothers

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.
- Jawaharlal Nehru

However much a mother may love her children, it is all but impossible for her to provide high-quality child care if she herself is poor and oppressed, illiterate and uninformed, anaemic and unhealthy, has five or six other children, lives in a slum or shanty, has neither clean water nor safe sanitation, and if she is without the necessary support either from health services, or from her society, or from the father of her children
- Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, "The Asian Enigma"



The women who participate in and lead ecology movements in countries like India are not speaking merely as victims. Their voices are the voices of liberation and transformation. . . The women's and ecology movements are therefore one, and are primarily counter-trends to a patriarchal maldevelopment.
- Vandana Shiva

8lbs3oz and 6lbs6oz

I can remember it like it was yesterday that I gave birth to my first son. He was a big baby, as a matter of fact he was the biggest baby in the nursery. I was awaken by the pains of birth around about 2:34 am. I knew that it was time, so I took a shower grabbed my bag and awoke my husband so that we could go to the hospital. The pains were unbearable so I asked for an epidural, and on August 16, 2011 at 1:34pm my son Travius was born and he weighed 8lbs3oz.

 Eight years later I found myself back at the hospital going into labor. It was different this time the baby was just lying in the birth canal awaiting me to dilate. The pains were hard to bare, I asked for an epidural and by the time the doctor arrived and positioned the epidural into my back the baby was coming, I pushed one time and he was here. Joshua was born at 7:01a.m.

These are two great moments in time that I will never forget, and I wanted to share my birth experiences with you. After you have gone through the pains of labor and hold your child for the first time you forget about the pain that you  just experienced and you begin to focus on that little bundle of joy that you are holding in your arms for the first time. That same love and warmth that I felt that day I took it along with me from the hospital and I use that love, and care to make sure that my babies were given all that they needed to develop into a strong healthy child. I am still providing that nurture to my children and I do not think that that care will ever end for a parent. Child development is key in making sure that children will have a standing chance to grow up to be a vibrant adult.

In China the annual number of births in 2009 was 18294.

China has proclaimed that it will continue its one child policy, which limits couples to having one child, through the 2006-2010 five year planning period.
China's one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit communist China's population growth. Although designated a "temporary measure," it continues a quarter-century after its establishment. The policy limits couples to one child. Fines, pressures to abort a pregnancy, and even forced sterilization accompanied second or subsequent pregnancies. It is not an all-encompassing rule because it has always been restricted to ethnic Han Chinese living in urban areas. Citizens living in rural areas and minorities living in China are not subject to the law. However, the rule has been estimated to have reduced population growth in the country of 1.3 billion by as much as 300 million people over its first twenty years.

Now that millions of sibling-less people in China are now young adults in or nearing their child-bearing years, a special provision allows millions of couples to have two children legally. If a couple is composed of two people without siblings, then they may have two children of their own, thus preventing too dramatic of a population decrease.

I really did not know there was such a law to prevent people from having children. I am glad that I live in the US because I have always wanted to have two children and I have them. I do not want anymore children, but there are other people who would like to have more than just two children. China went to drastic measure to make sure that its population did not grow out of control, but the US being the country of freedom have not implemented such a law.

CODES THAT MAKE ME WHO I AM

These codes that I have chosen are apart of who I am not only as a teacher, but as a person and a Minister.

We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value

and human potential of each child.

We have to remember and realize that all children are unique and that they all come from different background of life. We should treat them all the same, and love and care for them just as we would expect a teacher to love and care for our own children. We also have to remember that there will be challenges and that we still have to maintain our respect for those children that gives us those challenges.

We shall honor and respect our responsibilities to colleagues while upholding the dignity and

autonomy of colleagues and maintaining collegial interprofessional and intraprofessional

relationships

"A divided house can not stand." "How can two walk together except they agree."
These bible quotes demonstrates the importace of mutual respect. We should all respect each others opinions and eventhough there will be disagreements diagree in love.

We shall recognize our responsibility to improve the developmental outcomes of children and to

provide services and supports in a fair and equitable manner to all families and children.

This is my purpose, my destiny, the thing that pushes and drives me. This is the reason why I am enrolled in the Early Childhood Studies program.

 

Course Resources

LEARNING 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://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/63694/CRS-CW-5364585/educ6005_readings/naeyc_dap_position_statement.pdf
• 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://www.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

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://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video 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/about/
    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/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/index.cfm
• 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/

Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education





Out of Our Mouth Proceeds Wisdom

Words of Wisdom from Dr. Lilian Katz

"We are doing earlier and earlier to children what we shouldn't do later."


Dr. Edward Zigler

"From the son of two immigrants growing up in poverty, I'm a Sterling Professor at Yale University and fairly well known."

"The story of Head Start is one of impact," he said. "Twenty-five million poor children and their families have now been through this program. I am the only member of the planning committee that stayed with Head Start through its entire 45-year life. But perhaps the bigger impact over the long haul was the change in our thinking about preschool education."

Personal Childhood Web

If there was one thing that I can say that I really had as a child was the love and support of my family.

My mom Mary Holloman is the best mom a girl could ask for. I remember those hot summer days when she would make me and my niece and my nephews homemade ice cream. She was always cooking up something in the kitchen and I would pull up a chair and watch her as she would cook and she would talk to me and tell me how to mix up the ingredients and how to make a certain meal. My mom read books to me and helped me with my homework when I was a young child.

My Dad, Melvin Holloman is a farmer and he has been farming every since he was a child. There was one thing that he said he regretted and that was the fact that he had to drop out of school in the twelfth grade to support him self. Both of his parents died when he was a young boy and he had to do what he had to do to support himself. My dad was really tough on me when it came to school and even college. He was tough because he wanted me to get an education and to make something of my self. He wanted to me to be successful and he worked hard to provide for our family and to make sure that all was well. The relationship that I have with my Dad today is unmeasurable. I can go to him and talk to him about anything and he will listen and give me advice. He supports me fully and I know that I have made him proud.

My Sister, Bernice Johnson Martin has always loved and cared for me. I remember those time when she babysat me. She would put me in my red radio flyer wagon and pull me to the store. She would aways buy me something out of the store. Every since I have been old enough to know what a roll model is, Bernice has been one of my role models. She is a very intelligent lady and she wanted to make sure that I followed behind her. I remember her encouraging words telling me that I really needed to study hard and to make good grades. Even now she still encourages me to do the best that I can possibly do at anything that I set fourth my hands to do. She is there when I need her and if there is anything that I need she will give it to me if possible.

I can really say that I love that cousin of mine. Step and we call her is the best girl cousin that I had. I remember all of those days when we would  play out in the yard for hours and hours at a time. She would come to my house and I would go to her house. We played together and had the best fun two cousins could have. As we grew up so did the love that we had for each other. She really is the best cousin a girl could ask for and I love her for being my friend and loving me regardless.

                                                                             

It is great to have a loving family, but it is even greater to have loving teachers. I remember my favorite teacher. Her name was Ms. Biggers and she was the best teacher that I ever had. She taught me in second grade, and I can still remember some of the  work that we had to complete in her classroom. I remember cutting out pictures and doing work out of the work books that I had. She gave is spelling tests on Fridays. She really was a loving and caring teacher and she was always nice to me. I can not ever remember her being mean or getting upset.

I would just like to say thanks to everyone who loved and cared for me. I still remember all that you guys have done for me. I am so grateful that I have your support while I am pursuing this masters. Thanks,

Love Mel.

Remember These Words

Quotes For The Soul

"Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate."

Unknown Author

" Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven."

Henry Ward Beecher

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6