A Few of My Favorite Parenting Sites That EC Smarts Might Enjoy As Well

As EC professionals, it is so important to remember our responsibilities to not only educating young children, but also families.

By educating, I mean spreading the word about the importance of early education, play, what quality programming means and developmentally appropriate practice. Helping parents understand the relationship between classroom activities and their impact on children's development will encourage parental involvement and also their engagement at home with their child.

Currently, I've had the opportunity to research several parenting blogs and many provide great ideas for activities to do with children but also integrate concepts like the arts, science and more.

Take a look at how these parents communicate with not only one another but also are actively participating in their child's development by providing awesome activities at home. For those of us without children, its good to keep insight....we aren't good teachers if we don't open ourselves up to learning something everyday!


Play Activities
The Artful Parent
5 Minutes for Special Needs
Unplug Your Kids
Not-Quite Crunchy Parent
Thinking Outside the Recipe and The Wondershop

Now, these are just a few of my favorites...I'm sure I share more later. Do you have any favorite blogs?

Blog List--Check Out the Great Resources We Have!

A couple notes:
1.) I added a Blog List. I've been addicted to Google Reader to the point where I almost can't even keep up with all the chat going on about EC online. Please check out these blogs. You might also notice that there are a few parenting sites. These are very funny and just overall great sites that I use to keep in touch with the breeder bunch. I'm also hoping that once I have a few of my own, these sites are keeping me well prepared for what is ahead.

2.) Notice the calendar? I'm not really using it right now. However, it is up for a few days while I demonstrate its use at work.

The ABC's of DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice)

Over the next few months I will be working on some support documents focusing on what the EC field calls--Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

For families and teachers alike, DAP is a hot topic and one that has been for quite some time since its formal conception by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in the 1980s. It is a standard used by teachers, administrators and families may have heard this term used in reference to the quality of programming and/or curricula being used in their child's early childhood classroom.

DAP is often misinterpreted and misunderstood and I'd like to create some support documents summarizing and analyzing the research and information on this topic for future discussions.

If you have any comments or would like to suggest a discussion on one aspect of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, please let me know!