Early Childhood Support

"This article reports on the use of video to collect dynamic visual data in education research and proposes that using visual technologies to collect data can give new insights into classroom interaction. Video data unveil how young children use the full range of material and bodily resources available to them to make and express meaning, forcing a reconsideration of Vygotskian accounts of the relationship between thought and language by producing grounded evidence for a pluralistic interpretation of the construction and negotiation of meaning. In addition to challenging language-biased approaches to classroom interaction, using video to collect data also forces a reexamination of established methodological practices. Drawing on data from ESRC-funded ethnographic video case studies of 3-year-old children communicating at home and in a preschool playgroup, this article discusses methodological and ethical dilemmas encountered in the collection and transcription, or representation, of dynamic visual data, arguing that visual data gives insights into aspects of communicative behaviour pre"

Short 6 minute video that describes Schore's basic idea.

This study looked at the relationship between a nurturing mother rat and the epigenetic expression of the stress response in the pup. They found that the nurturing mother rat, whether the biological mother or the adopted mother, changed the stress response in the pup. The nurturing mother lowered the stress response while the neglectful mother raised the stress response. Also, pups who were raised by the neglectful mother grew up to have more behavioral issues than those raised by nurturing mothers. These changes in the epigenome have major consequences for the health of the children as well as the potential for disease later on in life. I am curious as to how we can support mothers (and fathers) through services such as a year paid maternity leave among many other support systems so that mothers and fathers can provide as much nurturing as possible for their children.

If we intend to support children we need to understand the roots of poverty so we can support families. Donna Beegle can help us understand what it means and how to help families. Dr. Beegle was named a 2013 Woman of Influence by the Portland Business Journal! The annual Orchid Awards honor women who are compelling, affect change and represent their positions with strength, wisdom and grace. "Our Mission: Communication Across Barriers is dedicated to broadening and improving opportunities for people who live in the war zone of poverty Our far reaching goals: Assist communities and organizations to "fight poverty, not the people who live in it." We illuminate real and structural causes of poverty and provide life changing information that shatters common myths and stereotypes about people who live in poverty Offer research-based strategies and insider perspectives for improving relationships, communication, and opportunities across poverty barriers Develop an army of speakers and trainers who can educate and assist communities in breaking poverty barriers Provide models and programs that increase a connected, collaborative, community-wide approach to fighting poverty Educate and engage people not in poverty with tools and avenues for making a difference in their own communities"

The United Nations' International Labor Organization estimates that as many as a million children between ages 5 and 17 work in the small-scale gold mines of Africa for as little as $2 a day. In the African Sahel, a semiarid region that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea across parts of Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Niger, 30 percent to 50 percent of small-scale mine workers are children, according to ILO estimates. Child labor is against the law in Burkina Faso, where last year the government announced a plan to significantly reduce the numbers of exploited children by 2015. But enforcement is lacking.

A school that works with students identified with learning problems. They appear to be changing children's lives through the exercise, connecting parts of the brain.

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field devoted to understanding how children's minds change as they grow up, interrelations between that & how the brain is changing, and environmental and biological influences on that.

What can we con­clude from this work? Despite promis­ing ini­tial reports sug­gest­ing that CWMT is a poten­tially effec­tive treat­ment for ADHD, these stud­ies sig­nif­i­cantly under­cut this con­clu­sion. This does not mean that there is no util­ity to CWMT, how­ever, par­tic­u­larly for indi­vid­u­als with demon­strated work­ing mem­ory deficits. If one's treat­ment goal is to enhance work­ing mem­ory, CWMT may have real value. If the goal is to bring ADHD symp­toms under con­trol, how­ever, these find­ings indi­cate that for most chil­dren with ADHD, CWMT would not cur­rently be con­sid­ered a rea­son­able sub­sti­tute for med­ica­tion and/or behav­ior therapy.

"Those two dimensions of attention - locking in on what's important while ignoring distractions - predicted both how well they would speak at age 2½ as well as their phonological awareness at age 5. Parents direct their babies' attention to what's important with lots of warm, loving, face-to-face talk using that kind of singsong voice that dips and rises and stretches out vowel sounds. And parents strengthen those connections as their children grow by reading aloud to them, asking open-ended questions, and practicing serve-and-return conversations that build vocabulary and basic knowledge about the world around them. Children who have even one adult spending time with them like that can form those connections, regardless of family wealth and education, Kuhl said."

This fellow was featured on the PBS series, "This Emotional Life". He was doing some interesting work with children who had experienced trauma and separation.

"What is a Videative? The word videative [vid´-é-ã-tive]   refers to the combination of text and video segments to create an integrated viewing experience (video + narrative = videative). The text explains the video and the video exemplifies the text. Our videatives help you see what children know™ and thereby help you better support their learning."

"Who is watching? Thinking ethically about observing children Just how much of a child's life is private? Who has the right to monitor? What judgements are being formed; and what decisions are being made on their behalf? Every day, educators observe, record conversations and capture images of children for analysis and reflection, to guide their curriculum decisions and inform their understanding. While every step is taken to ensure children's confidentiality and privacy, how often is the perspective of the child considered? This article outlines the ethical tensions that arise for early childhood education and care settings, as they manage recording observations of children with multiple requests from students, researchers and visitors to engage with and observe children."

"The Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation was created through a grant from the Office of Head Start. Our target audience includes: Mental Health Consultants Head Start Program Administrators Head Start Staff Training & Technical Assistance Providers Families The Center translates research in healthy mental development into materials tailored to the needs of each of the target audiences, and makes them available on this website. In addition, the Center serves as an online "Community of Learners:" a clearinghouse for the exchange of ideas through traditional and new media. "

"Social and Emotional Development abc's of child development for parents for early care providers Social and emotional milestones are often harder to pinpoint than signs of physical development. This area emphasizes many skills that increase self-awareness and self-regulation. Research shows that social skills and emotional development (reflected in the ability to pay attention, make transitions from one activity to another, and cooperate with others) are a very important part of school readiness"

"We are an exciting startup in the San Francisco Bay area (Santa Clara, CA) providing iPhone apps and web admin tools to Child care centers and preschools. Our apps enable smooth communication between preschools and parents through exchange of photos, email and notifications. Our single touch signin/sigout app allows parents to signin and signout their children from the daycare. We are currently in private beta. Kinderlime improves a preschool operators bottomline by getting the word of mouth through your exisiting families and real time ratio tracking. "