I’m please to announce that MN participants of our Beyond The Pages book study this fall may earn 7 training hours for active participation. This is approved through the MNCPD Policy Automatic Approval of Training.
The following guidelines are for MN participants seeking a certificate for active participation in the fall 2015 Beyond The Pages Early Childhood Book Study:
- Participants will email Dawn Braa (dawnbraa1@gmail.com) indicating intention of participation.
- Participants will need a copy of the chosen book- What If Everybody Understood Child Development? by Rae Pica
- Participants will read the chapters according to the timeline and review the correlating expert commentary weekly on our blog.
- Participants will participate by posting thoughtful and reflective responses (regarding book readings and expert commentaries) in the comments section of the blog post each week for the duration of the blog study. That means that participants will post 14 reflections. If participants are bloggers themselves and are blogging about this experience, including their reflections, they are able to simply post the weblink to their blog post in our blog comments section.
- Participants will keep an organized log (Word document) of all comments or blog posts (with dates and chapters) and email them to Dawn Braa (dawnbraa1@gmail.com) at the end of the study.
- Dawn will enter participant’s date of completion into Develop. Participants without a Develop account are responsible for submitting their certificate to Develop to be entered in their learning record.
*Participants must successfully complete all requirements to be eligible for a certificate.
**Duplicate certificates will not be sent.
At this time, certificates are only available for MN residents. If you live outside MN and are seeking training hours, I suggest you also document your active participation and inquire with your state about approval possibilities. We are not guaranteeing approval of any kind outside MN.
Your right, if only the parents, teachers and politicians involved in Early Childhood development would take this book study we would all be better off, especially the children! I have parents asking me all the time if I have a preschool “program”. A couple of years ago my answer would have been yes and I would have gone on about what my program entailed. Now I tell them that we play and that’s how we learn, because every child learns and develops at a different rate.
The author has called on us as early childhood educators to get more involved in a conversation on pushing and rushing the development of young children. I can not help but think of the comparison of the computer improving our ability to communicate while it also may impede a person’s ability to hold a meaningful face to face conversation.
The author also peeked my interest in observing how sleep effects behavior and a child’s ability to learn
After reading Bubble Wrapping Not Required I have taken time to evaluate how I deal with potential hazards children come in contact with. I think I do my best to evaluate the potential hazards just to have children in my care trip on their feet or run into a table. We all spend our lifetime learning from the things that go wrong in our life. If we never attempt anything we will never fail however we will will have failed to learn something new or experience something potentially exciting. I think a child benefits from the freedom they have to explore their world in a less controlled environment. The more space we give a child to do things on their own the more likely they will have the confidence to take that freedom a little bit father. If they run into a table the next time they will look to see if the table is in their way.
I am in Minnesota and would love to take this class for training hours. I am not sure how to register to do that.
I was enlightened by the author’s perspective on the physical needs of young children.
Chapter 10-The importance of considering the whole child in our early childhood curriculum. It certainly seems obvious but I will admit movement and physical activity is sometimes the last thing I consider in planning curriculum.
Chapter 14-The health risks associated with lack of movement and physical activity seems to be much clearer as adults age. I was able to consider the benefits of working to prevent these risks early in a child’s life pays off later in life.
Chapter 15- I identified with the author in remembering the embarrassment and dread I experienced in my early physical education experiences. Similar to the author I can see where the values in PE can be to young children. Providing these early opportunities can benefit children as they grow.
Chapter 16-The author changed my perspective on the value of PE and how it can be a true opportunity for children to gain social skills as well as important spacial skills and coordination.
In summarizing these chapters I am
convinced that had my early childhood experience in PE been more positive and intentional I may have more confidence in my physical ability. I would probably be more active and in better health. I plan to look for opportunities I can provide the children in my care with that will benefit them beyond their early years.