Class 10 week 2

Two organizations that appeal to me are NAEYC and NYSCCRR and one community of practice is the Syracuse Regional Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS).  I am interested in NAEYC because I can stay on top of all the issues a current research in early childhood.  NYSCCRR (New York State Child Care Resource and Referral) would be an organization I would like to be included in of so I could be a part of helping solve issues in New York State.  I would also be able to know about any grants that are available.  I would also like to be involved with OCFS because I would get to network with licensors and talk about problems providers are having and how we can solve them.  I would also like to be involved in meetings where interpretation of the regulations is discussed.

I would be interested in a job as the director of a Child Care Resource and Referral agency. I would need to have supervisory experience, Master’s degree in Early Childhood, experience in training adults, knowledge of licensing regulations and the ability to network with other agencies.  I feel that after I have completed this class I will have all the qualifications required to help me obtain this job.

Week 8

I want to thank everyone for all the great discussions.  It is wonderful to learn from so many great people.  Everyone has interesting comments and it helped to have real life examples.

I wish everyone the best of luck and hopefully I will see some of you in my next class!!!

week 6 class 7

I think the hardest groups to leave are the ones were you accomplished the most.  These are usually the groups that work together the best and probably have similar goals.  The one group that I wished I could have continued with was on the focus group for our school.  I felt the board should have continued some sort of parent group that could have helped disseminate information into the community. 

My colleagues in this program have been great because they have had very insightful comments.  I feel we have had great discussions on the discussion board.  I wish everyone the best of luck with the rest of their classes and everything they do in the future!

class 7 week 5

At work there has been a disagreement between my program and another program.  It has caused problems because there are many times we both visit homes and disagree on what should be allowed when it comes to health and safety.  I think I could use strategies in the win-win approach as well as the 3R’s.  I need to make sure to look at it from their end.  They have a checklist they go by but I am looking at it from an early childhood point of view.  I have an early childhood background and they do not.

Week 4- communicator

This weeks application assignment was interesting.  It showed that my listening style is people oriented.  It also showed that I have mild communication anxiety and have low verbal aggression.

I feel these tests were very accurate.  I am a people person and am always willing to help and listen.  Both people I had take the test on me came up with the same scores.  So I see myself as others do when it comes to communicating.

class 7 week 3

I work with child care providers and legally exempt child care providers.  I have and am currently working with refugee families.  One family is from Somalia.  Her oldest son translates for us.  When I work with someone who translates for me I never know if I should look at the translator or the person. 

Another family I worked with was from Bosnia.  I created and got paperwork translated for this family.  I also bought an English/Bosnian dictionary.

Three strategies I will use:

1.  Learn about the culture and traditions of the family
2.  Active listening
3.  Pay attention to non verbal cues

Communication - Class 7 - week 1

I have a friend and former co-worker who I feel has excellent communication skills.  She is able to get her point across effectively and without upsetting anyone.  I have seen her talk with parents and she has a wonderful way of putting "bad news".  She makes people feel comfortable.  She is a good listener. 
This person is also excellent at written communication.  She has a way with words that I wish I was able to do.  I wish I could write as well as she can.