Sharing Web Resources

1. What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

I feel that every section on the ZERO TO THREE website is relevant to my current professional development. It provides information to people like me that will help me to become a better professional. It offers many helpful resources including articles, information, and even a fun fact video. Every section of the Zero to Three website is beneficial for me as a student, and a future professional. The three parts of the website that stand out the most to me as a future teacher are: Behavior and Development, Maltreatment, and Care and Education. It has a lot of information on the website about children and the ways in which children develop.

2. Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

Since signing up for the Zero to Three newsletter, I have only received one thus far. One of the articles in the newsletter is titled "Let’s Play: Activities That Nurture Bonding and Learning" This article offers suggestions to parents as to what types of activities they can do at home that will promote fine and motor skills. It really makes you realize how important play is for children. It has so many benefits and it teaches them skills not only that they need now as young children but it helps them to gain skills they will need later on. For example: The website suggests parents buying water paint and letting the child paint anything he/she wants outside. This will get the child to move his hands/arms/wrists which will later help them write. This article made me think about play in a new way just because I was a preschool teacher for so many years and a lot of the teachers I worked with never worked with their students on learning/educational things like I did. All they did was babysit the students while they played in centers. Although I feel that play time should be limited throughout the day and other things need to be done, I now realize that these children were not only playing but they were learning while they played.

3. What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

The website adds to my understanding of how economists, scientists, and politicians support the early childhood field because it adds information that points out just how important is for lots of different people to work together to make the early childhood field safe, successful, and effective.

4.  What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

When it comes to the Early Childhood field, there are always so many new things to learn. I feel that it's important for professionals to keep up with research because there are always new laws, new information, new policies, and so much good news and even bad news that we need to be aware of. Knowing what is going on in our world can help us gain knowledge and it can allow us to be most effective teachers. One issue that is mentioned on the Zero to Three website that caught my attention was "Parenting from A Distance." More often then we realize, children are separated from their parents (Sometimes just one parent) and there are several reasons as to why parent and child separation may occur. I feel that this is an important issue that happens quite often and it's something that children are affected by so we need to learn about it, study it, and find ways to help contribute to these children in a positive way.