Thank you

To all of my classmates,

we are getting so much closer to the finish line and we are doing it together. I always enjoy all of the comments, personal stories and experiences and intellectual insights. I have been able to take what I have not only learned from the course but also from my colleagues and apply it to my career. I am very appreciative and can't wait to continue this journey with you all. See you soon.

Adjourning

I remember being apart of many groups during my undergrad studies. Some groups it was hard to adjourn and other groups it was a rejoice and wished it had come sooner. One group that I can remember in college was the black student delegates. I was the president of this group and I worked with two other guy colleagues. We had a blast organizing events fundraisers. As our group was growing our team was also slipping through the cracks. One of my colleagues started having issues with his family and then mentally. It was like he completely faded away. He was my back bone. The other guy stuck around briefly but the group became weak and eventually died off. I did not know what to do so I stopped worrying about it.

I used to think I wouldn't miss a group of colleagues that I have not met with. I just saw it as we are all taking classes for the same degree. I was wrong. I will adjourn from the group of colleagues in this program. The past two years we have grown to know one another and exchange thoughts and ideas. It felt like we were sitting next to one another in a classroom.

Closure is important in groups so adjourning has to be evident for a successful ending. Aajourning will open doors for opportunities in the future or simple make friends.

disagreements, Conflicts...

I am currently having a disagreement or conflict at work with my boss. I put in my two week notice to start a new position elsewhere. When I told my boss, she was quite upset and told me she was happy for me but sad to see me go. During the week she called me into her office questioning me about why I am leaving even though we had talked about this several months ago. She has been trying to convince the other teachers to convince me to stay behind my back. The closer and closer to my end day the more negative she is becoming. Or should I say discouraging? I understand her because of the position she is in but she is starting to get rude and saying things like “The grass is not always greener on the other side” and “your gonna come begging for your job back” and “how is this going to help you in your career and education” and last just making sarcastic remarks. I know she appreciates me and hate that I am leaving. It is almost like she is trying to be understanding but she does not want to. I do not know what to say to her to make it better.

I have suggested a compromise with my boss. I asked her that if she keeps me in the system, I will come back as a sub so that I can come back around the holidays and summer to help. She accepted that. Even though my boss accepted that, I am unsure if this will help her ease off of me a bit. Another strategy I used was trying to be understanding of her comments, her side view of why I should stay and her frustration. I listened to her to see if my thoughts or ideas would change. My boss even tried compromising with me by making suggestions of different positions within the company, but I had already sought other positions.

Myself as a communicator

This week I evaluated my self as communicator in ways I would evaluate others. Some of the ways I evaluated myself :

1. Sending a clear message. Everyone has to be on the same page of understanding.
2. Making sure I am hearing and understanding- interpreting the situation
3. making sure my facial expressions and gestures does not come off ass offensive

I had realized that while taking the assessment of verbal aggressiveness I was rated as a significant aggressor. My score was pretty high. I was definitely surprised because I did not know I came off that way. It is never my intentions to be that aggressive. Now that i look back at the the way I communicate with my children and families and in my personal relationships, I have a lot of work to be done.

Others think of me as a communicator as:

1. Thoughtful
2. My movements of intimidation
3. Non verbal communication

I have to say that I was surprised by my movements of intimidation. Just like sometimes I do not intentionally give off a bad gesture, I did not know that when I am intimidated, it changed my body language. When I took the assessment of the listening styles, it said that I was empathetic. I was not surprised by the results.

I have l;earned this week that it is hard to understand an individual if we do not communicate with them. We can easily pick up a book or magazine and read about someone and think we know them when really we know much of nothing at all because not all facts or information is going to be true unless we talk to them.

Three strategies

I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures. Not everyone is on the same level of thinking, not everyone shares the same religion, not everyone lives in the same community to adapt to the same needs necessary. I find myself communicating appropriate to the matter, but that does not show the way I react. I act the same around everyone but i communicate differently.

To help me communicate more effectively:

1. Consider asking more questions than you normally would, in order to clarify meaning and messages (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond,2011).
2. Learn as I interact with others and adjust my behavior as I learn (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).
3. Be inside of someone else shoes and understand their perspective before I make judgement.

Reference

Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J., & Redmond, M.V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Communication styles tv show

So one of the shows I absolutely hate is Bad Girls Club. I can not stand reality shows.

In this show a group of women are put into a house together to see their moderate behavior. This is a perfect show that shows lack of communication skills. There is so much rolling of the neck, eyes, head, snapping of the fingers and most of all physically fighting. Most of the time the women are not even talking, it seems they are yelling at one another and they are all doing it at the same time. They are not talking to one another they are talking at one another and over one another. It seems like physically fighting and doing mean things is the only way to solve anything. The only time I saw descent conversations was when they talked to their loved ones on the phone. Some were crying so I assumed they missed their loved one's or they don't want to be in that mansion full of women anymore.

I watched this show on mute and could tell what was clearly going on. Women are very sneaky and I feel some of them need drama in their lives to make it interesting. I noticed that there were some cliques, sideline girls and some just really minding there on business. I noticed that you could be minding your on business and the girls will pull something out of you to see your other side and to get you to join their team. Everyone seemed to be competing or something with one another. these women really need to treat themselves better.

I was very accurate about the communication skills in this show, there weren't any. The women were very disrespectful. No one listened to one another. To my colleagues, this a perfect example of what not to do.

Demonstrating competent communication

I believe that communication goes a long way in this world. Words has so may meaning by the ways its being presented.

I have a friend who was in this relationship for a while.She assumed the communication was great but her partner knew it was a ticking bomb waiting to happen. All those years of assuming damaged her communication skills today but she is doing much better. She has become a much better effective communicator by listening, trying to understand, trying to reason and console her partner when he needed her instead of being his mother she became his best friend.

They do not argue much anymore or say hurtful words. They both had to change the presentation of their words so they wouldn't come off as hurtful or intentional. I can learn from my friend by being more patient to my associates and to be more understanding.

Professional hopes and goals

There is one hope I have when working with children an families from diverse backgrounds and that is to learn different styles of teaching so I can incorporate those into different learning styles for my children and families so that we all are on the same page of education for their children and for themselves.

One goal I would set for my families in this this field is to get them to understand that we are early educational advocates for one another and not just our self's and families.

I want to give a warm thanks to all my colleagues and professor that made comments on my post and questions. You guys have helped me learn many views of culture, diversity, and equity through your eyes and through personal experiences. Thanks so much and I will see most of you in the next class.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country I have chosen is Zambia. It is a country in South Africa. In this scenario, I chose to be a family host. Five ways I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:
1.      Learning what they eat- I’m curious because most of African food is very rich in natural and fresh ingredients.
2.       Learning their language- I would like to welcome them in hello in their language and say goodbye when they part their ways. This way they see I took time out to learn a little bit of their language and so they will feel comfortable.
3.       Learning their norms
4.       What they do for entertainment- Maybe some games, or outings, family nights that I could use within my family as well to incorporate other cultures in my family.
5.       Learning about their education

These preparations we help benefit my family because it will help us see our own culture from a new perspective. To be able to connect to a new culture through advocating, hosting, social media and conversations will show lots of fun and pleasure. There could be joy in also having them learn a little bit about my culture as well. A new world of connections and understanding will open up our eyes to many opportunities and connections.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have witnessed a coworker being teased because of her accent. She is Spanish speaking and from Puerto Rico. My coworker has been in the states for 20 years but still has a very strong accent and can’t pronounce some things in English so she and another teacher speak Spanish a lot at work to help her speak English better. A lot of people assume she doesn’t know much, an air head because of her Spanish background but she’s very smart. My coworker has 3 children and is married, but they were born here so not a strong accent. My coworker also experienced an issue with getting back into school. She needed help feeling out her FASFA and she was given the run around as if no one wanted to help her. People would get frustrated because they could not understand her.

This situation was not presented as fair because no one tried to help my co worker. I think it is so much easier to help than to ridicule. We are all the same but different. Instead of giving her the run around with FASFA they someone could have sent her a guide on what to do or took ten minutes out of their time to help.

The feelings I got from this was heartbreaking. I felt in a way I knew where she was coming from because my race is considered a minority and we still experience prejudice, racism and discrimination because of our race.

Both parties involved could have turned the situation around because everyone should be treated with dignity and respect no matter their background. My coworker should not have to, but just had to work harder for people to understand her by educating herself so it will be easier for her and who ever she communicates with. In this world you have to work almost twice as hard to get what you want or deserve and that is in every category.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I experienced an interesting Micro aggression this week. I wear my hair in different styles because I get really bored, so I like to switch it up. I had a parent walk in and say “you black people always wearing a different style. Must be nice”. The way she said it was wrong but I know she meant to cause no harm. The women of my race does wear many different styles for our hair, we like to experience different colors, braids, weaves, natural styles, relaxers, and twists. That is the beauty of it.

What this parent said sounded insulting but as I mentioned, I know what she meant. People really need to think about what they say before they say it because if I was just another person on the street, a black women could take it offensive. I have a relationship with this parent so it makes a difference.

Observing my environment this week made me realize that “sometimes”, people really do not know any better. We all need to do better at thinking about what we say before we say it out loud because you could run into the wrong person someday and say the wrong thing. Some stereotypes are true and some not so true, but if we take the time out to learn about our peers, families, and children we find out more than we assume.

perspective on diversity and culture

I have a friend from the Virgin Islands who I have learned a lot from. Patricia and her family are very close. They speak English but their accent is very strong. I notice they do a lot for one another and they would be looked down upon if they did not do a particular favor for another family member. Patricia’s mother is very needy and is used to being taken care of by the father who is now deceased. Her mother lives alone and gets her bills paid by the oldest son and other needs done by her daughters. She does not work and does not drive, her children and husband took care of her. Patricia’s religion is Christian.

My second friend is my coworker and she is from Trinidad. I noticed that she only drives when she needs to but her husband or daughters go with her everywhere. Seeta’s primary language is English at well, but a strong accent. Seeta’s mother normally does all the cooking in her and her husband’s household and the mother cooks four days a week. I also notice that Seeta and her mother talk on the phone every single day at work even though she lives with them. This family has a strong family bond and connection. When Seeta goes back home, her family spends the whole week in her house instead of them going home or getting a hotel and they have an itinerary planned out for the week. Seeta’s religion is Hindu

Another coworker of mine has quite a traditional culture. Every Wednesday Shari and her daughters meet at her mother’s for dinner or they go out to eat. Every Sunday one of her daughters goes to see her father to spend quality time with him, but he does not involve himself in her life. My coworker rewards her youngest daughter every Saturday morning by taking her to her favorite breakfast place if she does well in school. There is not much difference with this family but this is all I know. This family is Lutheran.

What culture is…

S- “I think about the things that goes on my country in Trinidad. I think about carnival season and the hangout spots called the “Lime”. I think about being around my family because we are big on that.

P-“My rituals and traditions is what I would definition of culture.”

S-“My ideas on family values, religion, even down to the way I dress.

Diversity..

S-“I think different nationalities, capabilities, cultures.”

P-“How everyone is different in their own ways, how they act.”

S-“blended, coexist”

I would have to say my Coworker who is from Trinidad and my friend that is from the Virgin Islands are closest to my culture because of the race and traditions. All people of African descent whether they live in North or South America, the Caribbean, or in any part of the world are Africans and belong to the African nation.

Seeing my peers definition of culture has allowed me to see how they think and what shapes their way of thinking. I realized the environment they grow up in shapes their views and their ways.

My family culture

The three things I would take with me in a situation like this to hold on to my culture would be

1.       Family photos

2.       Two of my favorite books

3.       A favorite family game

The family photos are something dearest that could never be replaced. Some memories are forgotten until we see them again on a photo. Photos can sometimes help us remember who we came from, who we are, or what we need to work on.

Two of my favorite books. They never get old to me. I have been reading them for years and they still bring me tear, laughter and joy. These books remind me of my family and how important family is.

A favorite family game because I want to carry on the tradition of family game night. Spending time with your family keeps your family together, game night allows us to socialize and discuss our feeling or what is going on in our personal life’s.

If I were told that I had to give up two personal items and just one was allowed It would hurt but it would not be hard. I would take my family photos because that is my story, my past, my life. New memories and game nights could be created. I can write down recipes to remember, I can rewrite stories I’ve read if I really get bored. But I think it would be exciting to learn a new culture.

From this assignment I have realized I do not really bring much of my past with me to a new town and their culture. I feel like we were created to adapt to our surroundings. It would be a fun journey rather it be permanent or temporary. We have our memories to keep us going.

Last week List is the same, but I would have to change “God fearing woman” to hesitation of religion or questionable faith.

·         Sensitive

·         A God fearing woman

·         Human

·         Blessed

·         Curious

·         Family oriented

·         At times insecure

·         Hesitant about my religion ( I love God but question the bible)

·         Independent

·         Developing self-love through my relationship

Some insights I have gained about research from taking this course:

• ·   Identifying and defining key components of research
• ·         Applying strategies
• ·         Applying a research design and what it consist of
• ·         Learning to use different approaches of methods

I thought I knew everything I needed to know about research, I was so wrong. Taking this course has opened my eyes to so much I was not taught in undergrad. I have benefited from understanding, evaluating and using research more effectively. I am now able to apply appropriate methods in the early childhood field. I view research more different now.

I have learned how to apply a quantitative design to a hypothesis research and evaluate implications. I have learned how to evaluate and apply validity. Research has to be backed up with valid data. Valid data comes from additional legit resources and data collected form your resources. I have been able to identify ethical issues at my center and look at policies on how we handle them and also including ethical issues in research in light of involving children with ethical considerations.

What I learned about design is that it is a matter of options and choices. The design depends on the focus of the research. I have learned first to modify and clarify the topic for a specific focus. The types of research that we use is either experimental or non-experimental. At this points as a researcher I have to control the situation and eventually formulate a hypothesis. I ended up using the mixed methods and qualitative studies in my designed researched.

Some of the challenges I have encountered I the course were applying key terms to my research and analyzing them. Another challenge I had to deal with was not adding in my personal biases to construct my research. I know a lot through experiences but I had to make sure my personal values and beliefs did not take lead or take over in my research.

My perception of an early childhood professional has been modified in this course as a result of experience the concepts in conducting my research. It has been very interesting because I had to make sure nothing was left out of my outline. I never thought about equity in my research, I never thought about dealing with potential ethical concerns in my research. This course has opened up my eyes to view research at every angle using different strategies and considering all methods. I will never look at research the same again. It is more than just facts.

Research around the world

The website I chose is Early Childhood Australia: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/


Current international research topics That were quite interesting are:

• supporting children s imaginative play
• the great outdoors for curiosity and exploration
• having fun with maths and numeracy in early childhood settings.

The most recent topic talks about Supporting effective transitions to school and school age care: Promoting continuity of learning. I think it's very exciting to have webinars and research on current issues as they affect our children right now. We can never have enough information on consistent topics.

I have learned that the Early childhood Australia is the voice and advocacy for young children.They provide quality education and care in all issues related to this field from children ages birth to eight years of age. They provide strong values, great strategic directions, advocacy and national support.

from this website I have learned that they have seven branches in Australia and that each branch " elects members to represent them at a national level, ensuring that the organisation stays informed on issues of national importance and local impacts. This provides members with the opportunity to inform and influence the direction and focus of the national body of Early Childhood Australia (EECERA,2015).

I like that they have special publications, magazines, newsletters, research series and ECA studio. They offer so many resources to ensure quality education and information for families. It makes families feel a little more at ease.

I also enjoyed reading the opportunities they have on becoming a member.

exclusive member alerts

• ECA Conference Registration discount
• ECA updates with the latest resources
• discounts to sector conferences and events
• opportunities to engage in regional and branch networks

And the list just goes on and on. I really enjoyed this website.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

Option 2

The research topic I would choose is play and learning. There has been much controversy on rather or not play should be taken out of a child;s scheduled day to bring in more science, math and reading classes. Some even thinks play is not necessary in early education. I would conduct a research on children having play in their daily schedule/routine and see what results of learning abilities they produce and how it impacts them. I would also do a test of research on other children who do not have play incorporated into their daily routine and see how it would impact their learning as well.

Of course we should never add our own biases to research but I have to agree that play plays a major role in a young child's learning. Children pick up vocabulary, problem solving skills, new emotions and healthy habits by having play in their daily routine.

Personal research journey

With the discussions of our research topic I chose to explore more about Teacher quality and how we need to prepare ourselves as professionals and what are some of the expectations and roles of being a quality teacher. I researched a few articles as sub topics to pick back off of my main topic and I have to say they are quite interesting.

Working on the research chart has been quite helpful as well because I never had that type of guidance and I have known to screw up my papers in some ways by leaving some things out by accident. I love the breakdown of the charts and how it allows us to pay attention to detail of the research report. The second chart was also very helpful in allowing us to break down the terms and see what it means when writing a research paper. I am glad to have chapter two in my back pocket.

Goals

Learning about the programs through my international contact as inspired me to want to visit their country in Hong Kong and actually experience it for myself. This experience has allowed me to see childcare in a different way such as how much more they prepare their children for higher education and stern academic system. Their system does not allow too much play. But with their results the children are well advanced.

One of my goals is to actually teach overseas for a semester after getting more experience under my belt as an undergrad professor. My professional contact use to be my director for the public school district in MI and she invited me to teach over in Hong Kong. I am so excited about the offer and never thought about that opportunity. So I will definitely keep that in mind later on in my career.

Part 3

my mind to be open to new ideas and to broaden my horizons. Sometimes fresh ideas come from ideas heard from peers or their experiences. The professional I decided to ask questions about her professional goals was also a coworker in the same program but started a year before me.

Jasmine wants to become a district manager for a corporate center and then eventually own her own center. Right now she works for a company called tutor time and enjoys every bit of it but she feels she’s worth so much more than just a toddler teacher. She has her bachelors and now her Master’s degree in the early education field. I really admire her ambitions and commitment because she never complained about coming to work every day, the low pay grade, the challenging students and sometimes unorganized center. I guess when you have a passion for something, you continue on with it because you see that there is reward in the end.

Jasmine mentioned some of the opportunities that exist for professional development at her location:

1.   

    Partnerships with local colleges-opportunities for higher education and education assistance.

2.       National conferences

3.       Annual meetings for opportunities of growth

4.       Professional development trainings

Some of my professional hopes is to make an impact on children and families. Right now I feel as though I am doing that, but I feel I could be doing more. I hope to gain more and understand more of the core values in this field. I hope to be happy and successful. I dream of becoming a college professor teaching undergrad and my main challenge is not having enough confidence in myself to excel.

Sharing Web resources

So this week I decided to explore National black child development Institute. This organization has been around for 40 years and their goal is to provide resources to black children in need. These resources include education, healthcare, child welfare, literacy and family engagement. Their mission is to "improve and advance the quality of black children and their families through education and advocacy".

This organization supports children through the age of eight and their families through community based organizations, foundations and school systems, elected officials, government, head start, pre-k, partnerships and public schools.

I also noticed that the National Black child Development Institute has three priority areas at the state, local and federal level. The priorities are empowering parents, engaging communities, improving childcare and teacher quality, ensuring funding and resource equity.

I am glad I have checked out this web site because being an African american my self I find education very important in valuable in my race, community and culture. A long long time ago blacks were whipped for being able to read or write. They were punished for being educated and now today we have just as much opportunity as any other ethnicity.To have programs out there to support the black community say's a lot . now w have so many resources and support from policy makers.

Getting to know international contacts

So this week I learned more about the programs at the school my professional contact works at. The children learn a variety of programs through Language and interaction, mathematics, ethics and religion, environmental and natural studies, health physical and motor development.

I noticed that religion plays a major role in their education. The Bible studies curriculum teaches children everything about the bible and how it applies to their lives. The Bible studies curriculum covers the entire Bible, studying the Old Testament and New Testament. By the end of their studies, children should be well-equipped for local Christian and Catholic primary schooling.
While the students are developing their personal values they are learning to become more confident around them selves and their peers. Through activities and teaching of manners, the students will be guided towards good personal relationships and emotional health and to avoid use of violence.

I have also learned that families typically pay an average of $4,500 school in 12 month installments. School Uniforms are $85  and miscellaneous fees are about $1,800 per school term which is 6 months. The miscellaneous pays for curriculum material, books, wow cards, art crafts and so on.

Sharing Web resources

I have been reviewing the web site of Zero to Three, National center for infants, toddlers and families. The section that stood out the most to me was behavior and development, early development.

I was listening to a podcast about how emotional develop unfolds starting at birth. A doctor from the University of California has great insights on infant emotions. Babies’ facial expressions tell it all. Research is paying attention to the babies’ reactions and how they respond to certain situations and people. One of the examples Dr. Ross used is an infant can become depressed at ten months olds and show signs of withdrawal because the parent is depressed.

Listening to this podcasts made me thing about the infants in my classroom. It makes me think if something is really wrong with them. I have an infant who has a disturbing father but caring mother and arouse curiosity about the infant due to his rude acts to his wife and children in front of other children and staff. I also have an infant who is not a colicky baby, but cries hysterically often. This is actually a new thing that just started. He will hardly eat and now sleeps less and cannot figure out why he’s always crying. It makes me wonder if I am trying to understand the causes.

Dr. Ross says “, it really requires that we shift our mindset a little bit to understand that as much as we are striving as parents to remain sensitive to what’s going on inside our infants and young children, that they too could also be extremely attentive to and sensitive to the feelings of the adults who they’re attached to” ( Thompson R, 2014).

Some parents and teachers can become impatient when dealing with other children, but since we cannot understand everything, it is imperative that we are patient and the older they get, more understanding. I have learned with research to back me up that children tend to understand more when they are talked to more. Even as infants, when talking becomes repetitive, they began to understand more. It helps them with transitions in their life. So I have learned that parents should allow children the experience of learning to cope where there are limitations to how a child can react and get away with and how we are better able to deal with it.

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Getting to know international contacts

I was so glad to get into contact with my old director from when I worked for the school district. Her name is Esther Chong and I had forgotten about her until I ran into her on Facebook. Esther actual moved back to Hong Kong to be with her family. Esther has been in the child care field for over 20 years and she has hers Master’s degree in early education.

The early childhood education system in Hong Kong they follow the preprimary guidelines. They have also adopted the IB, pyp education framework. The IB stands for International Baccalaureate and pyp is the primary year’s program. I have been learning more about their program and how it works. I found it interesting that the children attend for three hours of the day five days a week. This center is an interactive curriculum based program. The first two lessons are conducted in English and taught by a native English teacher. Chinese is introduces for one hour at the end of the day.  It would be taught to cater to the needs of children from expatriate families and those who want to go to international primary schools. The children are learning to read and write in Chinese on a level that is equivalent to public schools.

I would love to tell so much more about what this program offers but that would be pages long and I just got into contact with Esther this past Sunday and I did not want to bombard her with too many questions in one night so stay tuned. I have mentioned questions to her about their being poverty in their local community but has yet to get a response yet.

sharing Web resources

The name of the web site I chose was zero to Three, National center for infants, toddlers and families. The Web address ishttp://www.zerotothree.org/. The purpose of this web site is to provide information for parents, educators, and policy makers the knowledge to nurture early childhood education. This web site provide ways and ensures a strong start in life for infants and toddlers.

I was reading an article about play and ran across some interesting thoughts. I am a firm believer on children playing as part of curriculum and children’s development and growth. I know that children learn best through play, but what I did not know is what they were actually learning. The article mentions that children are learning mathematical concepts, literacy skills and story telling skills. These skills are building on brain development in so many ways. I also thought children learning confidence and self- esteem was an interesting thought as well because children do not know they are doing this.

As an infant toddler teacher am now more aware of the importance of play than I ever was. We are structured on following curriculum. I will be placing more play in my curriculum. I just need to find a balance.

Establishing professional contacts

I chose Asia- Armenia

email address-ruzanna@sbsbf.am
Ruzanna Tsarukyan 


Haiti

Dominique Hudicourt
email address- tipatipa@hainet.net


I introduced my self to both organizations and explained who I am, where I am from, what I hope to gain, what my goals are and the the program I am in. When I hear a response I will then proceed to ask questions in detail after the first reply.

I decided to choose the global alliance web site to choose my professional contacts.I did have issues with a couple of the emails and countries I have selected, but continued on to other countries until I reach a response. My first email will not be in the office until the 12th of January. I will keep you guys posted on my information. Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

for part two of this assignment I decided to follow zero to three, national center for infants, toddlers and families and the national association of education for young children. These sites spikes my interest because I enjoy working with families and children. My bachelors is in family systems concentration and I work in the child care field so I hope to gain so much more than I know.