According to the Southern California Public Radio Blog – California will receive $334 million to  pay for a universal preschool program, more than any other state.  California has the largest number of preschool children living in poverty.   The Department of Education estimates the federal money will serve 40,000 preschool children the first year.

What this means for preschool teachers, no matter where you work:  private, faith based, or state preschools is completing your degree in Early Childhood Education is important.   Astutely, President has stipulated that in order to qualify for the funding the preschool teachers must have early childhood education .  Those of us who work with young children know this is important and I applaud President Obama’s understanding of the unique needs of the early child.

Now the challenge is to see if the California legislators will approve the bill for Universal Preschool. I promise to keep you posted.  Jeanette

Lifelong Learning

I have not written an ECE blog for the past two weeks and I pride myself on making writing this blog a priority. Yet in spite of multiple efforts, I just haven’t been able to write anything I felt of real interest, to me or to anyone else.  Then, I see this article about lifelong learning and it speaks to me.  Perhaps, because I just finished my last assignment for my degree or maybe because I am wondering what class I might take next. I am passionate about early childhood and the necessity for well educated, high quality teachers in the field. I hope when you call Vanguard and inquire about the early childhood online programs and they transfer the call to me that my passion about preschool education is contagious. It is important to continue to keep learning, with an individual course, certificate or degree at Vanguard or somewhere else – the children in our care deserve our very best. Don’t you want to be the teacher that inspires a child?

Read On:
“It’s all too easy in the hustle and bustle of daily life, to simply neglect to make time to pursue new interests that will push our thinking in new directions. I believe one of the greatest gifts we can give children is to become committed to supporting our own learning. I remember my third grade teacher doing just that. She was always excited about some new idea or interest, and we were the lucky beneficiaries of her enthusiasms. One month it was her discovery of e.e. Cummings’ poetry she shared with us through animated recitations. The next it was her interest in Renoir, which she explained was sparked by a visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art….

“Even after all these years I can picture how she shared her passions with us — face aglow, overflowing with joy. I still have a postcard of a Renoir painting I bought for myself after hearing my teacher’s rapturous descriptions…. I don’t think Cummings’ poetry or Renoir’s art were part of the standard curriculum, but I remember more about them than anything else I studied that year. Most importantly, I became interested in poetry and art…. I wanted to learn more. My teacher… gave me a gift I’ve enjoyed by whole life. All children deserve teachers who do the same for them.”

Can you think of a teacher who inspired you in your early years?

Vanguard Host ACSI Conference

I just love the program cover of ACSI’s Early Education Conference hosted by Vanguard University’s ECE programs last Saturday so I wanted to include it in this Blog.  Don’t you just love the picture of the shoes?

 Christian teachers and administrators gave up their Saturday with their families’ to attend the ACSI conference as part of their professional growth as Christian teachers.  ACSI teachers play a vital role in meeting the educational needs of children with the additional challenge of leading the children towards an intimate relationship with God.   The ACSI conference last weekend provided the perfect venue for teachers to come together to learn new skills,  rejuvenate and revitalize their classrooms curricula, and meet the needs of families who are seeking a Christ honoring, Bible centered, early education program for their children.

Vanguard University was delighted to host this year’s ACSI Conference – Did you attend?

]]> http://earlychildhoodeducation.vanguard.edu/inside-vu/vanguard-host-acsi-early-education-conference-2013/feed/ 0 http://earlychildhoodeducation.vanguard.edu/blog/field-trips-arent-just-for-children/ http://earlychildhoodeducation.vanguard.edu/blog/field-trips-arent-just-for-children/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:18:22 +0000 jeanette.oehrlein http://earlychildhoodeducation.vanguard.edu/?p=1660 Read full article »

On Saturday, I attended a staff development day for early care and education professionals for the city of Irvine.  I was a presenter for one of the twenty-eight workshops.  The name of my workshop was Beyond Family Childcare. The point of my presentation was to educate family child care providers on how to take their years of valuable experience working in their homes and change it to paying jobs in the public sector in the future.

I had not presented a workshop for a while and I was surprised on how much anxiety I was feeling leading up to the day of the workshop.  Would anyone be there? Would the technology work? Would I be able to hit all my target points in the allotted time?  And as I was presenting and talking about the importance of going to college, I recalled how nervous I was going to college in my 40s – how I was afraid that I couldn’t keep up with the work, not unlike the anxiety, I experienced this week preparing my presentation.

The good news is that I am happy I did not let my anxiety detour me from my goals in either circumstance.  Going to school was difficult but like I told the audience of my workshop – it was fun being around other ECE people; it was interesting hearing their stories, and the education was invaluable to me and the children in my preschool. I am equally happy that I honored my commitment to present at the Super Saturday workshop because I had a wonderful and receptive audience who were fun and engaging.   I hope my workshop was helpful and I am delighted that I have already heard from several of the attendees who have taken me up on my offer to be their mentor.

Did you attend Super Saturday and how was your experience?

 Since President Obama highlighted preschool in his State of the Union address, Congress has introduced several bills focused on improving and expanding high-quality early education opportunities. The Prepare All Kids Act and Ready to Learn Act have been introduced in the Senate, while the Providing Resources Early for Kids Act of 2013 (PRE-K Act) has been introduced in both the House and the Senate.

Alyson Klein at Education Week offers a quick look at the major components of each bill though all of the bills are still in committee. Laura Bornfreund and Kristin Blagg at the New America Foundation looked at these and other education bills, but warned that “most of these bills first appeared in previous Congressional sessions, and it will remain difficult for them to attract the bipartisan support they need to reach the president’s desk.”

Megan Carolan, Policy Research Coordinator for the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER ) provides further analysis of the content of these bills in a recent blog post. In the table below Carolan outlines the impact that the passing of the Bills will have on preschool teachers nationwide.

What are your thoughts on these educational bills?

Last week I attended the California Association for the Education of Young Children conference in San Jose.  Though the primary reason for attending conferences is to provide attendees the opportunity to learn about our university and our online programs, I always feel that I benefit the most from the events.

As Vanguard University’s representative for the School for Professional Studies Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs and degrees I had the opportunity to talk with many of the key leaders in the field.  I talked to a gentleman who works directly with my favorite author, Dr. Marcy Whitebrook, the leading ECE researcher from UC Berkley. Then there was Shelley, a Vanguard student who just had to stop by and tell me how much she loved the online format, and that she is looking forward to advancing from the AA degree in ECE to our Bachelor’s Degree.

There was also much talk about President Obama’s State of the Union address and his proposal for Universal Preschool.  These discussions provide me with new insight to the direction to possible changes for early education in the future.

The days were long but enriching and I can’t wait to organize my notes and write the follow up report for my director.  I am excited about the changes in Early Childhood Education.   It is well overdue but I believe that with federal leadership, early educators will see a well-deserved increase in compensation and an improvement in quality care.

 Have you attended any conferences lately?

Photo compliments of http://caeyc.org

This early childhood educator is a strong supporter of Bandura’s social learning theory which states that children learn (for better or worse) by observing the behavior of people around them. The validity of this theory was confirmed for me recently when Lee, an online classmate, wrote a wonderful tribute to his favorite role model – his grandmother Alice.

Alice continually worked to make the world a better place. In 1918 she participated in demonstrations to change the Constitution for women to be allowed to vote. She played in an orchestra trio. She volunteered as a Candy Striper, and as a remedial English teacher.

In fact, Alice never stopped growing intellectually. In 1979 she made coast to coast newspaper coverage when she was voted homecoming queen her senior year in college – she was in her 80’s! During a television interview, when asked why she went to back to school, her reply was, “I have two grandsons with master’s degrees and I’m smarter than both of them. All they have is a piece of paper (diploma) and I’m getting me one too.”

Alice graduated from Methodist College in Fayetteville, NC, and has a scholarship named in her honor. The Alice H. Pearce Scholarship is awarded annually to students on the basis of high moral character, financial need, and/or academic merit.

Her grandson Lee says, “Calling her a role model and an inspiration is an understatement. If I can do half of what she did in her life, it will be more than I have already done.  Alice H. Pearce passed away in 1984.  I miss her terribly.”

Alice proved that it is never too late to get your degree. If you or someone you know is thinking about returning to school, please contact the SPS admissions office, (714) 668.6130.

Who is your positive role model?

Nordic preschoolers snoozing in the frigid fresh air

Parent: “Excuse me,  where is my child?”

Preschool Teacher: “Napping outside, of course.”

Parent: “It’s twenty three degrees outside!”

Preschool Teacher: “And your point is…?”

If you’re in America, you can imagine what the response to this answer would be! Most likely a call to child protective services, a law suit, and a jail sentence for the offending preschool administrators. Yet in Scandinavian countries, letting children nap outside has been a standard practice for generations. Some pre-schools, in fact, are conducted entirely outdoors, naps and all.

The Internet is a-buzz with conversation on this topic, from in-country ex-pat blogs to articles from the BBC. The common byline seems to be ”There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

Talk about building a hearty constitution – no wonder the Vikings struck fear into the hearts of their enemies!

Outdoor pre-school is catching on in America, but I don’t see us including the out-door nap.  We tend to create cozy indoor nests for our young, tucking them in with comforters, snuggly blankets and cadre of stuffed animals that each require a nap-time kiss. I don’t think American parents will ever be ready to bundle up their little ones for a nap outdoors in inclement weather.

What are your thoughts on outdoor pre-school and napping? Do you know any schools who do this?