POLLY ELAM TO INTRODUCE MAGDA GERBER’S EDUCARING APPROACH TO INFANT TODDLER DEVELOPMENT AND CARE IN THE CHICAGOLAND AREA

         Resources for Infant Educaring Foundations – Coming to Chicago This Summer

Partial Scholarship available

 

A unique and exciting opportunity has just come to my attention and I would like to share it with students/caregivers/parents/teachers in the Chicago/Naperville area.  In mid-July Polly Elam will be in our area.  This special nine day course is unique.  Normally to experience the teachings of Magda Gerber and Dr. Emmi Pikler it is necessary to travel to the West Coast. Polly contacted me recently and mentioned the generous scholarship available for an attendee. The group will be small, the information invaluable.  If interested in this special opportunity..check out the following information and contact Polly Elam. 

RIE Foundations Course is  offering a course in the Chicago area in July. Please see below for all the details, and feel free to share this news with anyone you know who might be interested. If you have general questions, or you’d like to inquire about bringing a RIE Foundations course to your area, please feel free to leave a comment below. If you’re not in the Chicago area, check here for other upcoming dates and locations.

 

 Details for the upcoming course being offered in July!

 

RIE FOUNDATIONS: THEORY AND OBSERVATION

 

MAGDA GERBER’S EDUCARING APPROACH TO INFANT AND
TODDLER DEVELOPMENT AND CARE
~~~SUMMER COURSE~~~

 

 

Kensington School
4512 Walton Heath Drive
Naperville, Il 60564
Nine Consecutive Days Intensive Course
(Includes weekend days)
July 19-27, 2013
8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Daily

 

RIE Course Content 

 

This nine day intensive course is for students, parents
(including expectant), and professionals who want to
develop and deepen their understanding of infant
development and care. Course content includes an
overview of Magda Gerber’s Educaring Approach -
gross motor, fine motor and social-emotional
development of the infant – designing the
environment – planning the curriculum – issues in
parenting.

 

RIE Foundations training can be applied in
settings such as the natural family, the childcare
center, and family childcare. The format for the
course includes lectures, discussions, videos and
visits to infant care centers.

 

 Your Instructor

 

 

Polly Elam, RIE Associate and Infant Specialist studied
and worked with Magda Gerber for 20 years. She
studied with Magda’s colleagues at the Emmi Pikler
Institute, Budapest in 1986 and continues advanced
training there. She is also a WestEd PITC Graduate
and a PQ Trainer. Polly has previous experience as a
Regional Child Development Program Administrator and
Community College Instructor. As an ECE Consultant,
she has worked with a variety of infant/toddler programs
and has conducted seminars and workshops in Europe,
New Zealand, Canada and throughout the United
States.

 

Fees /Registration

 

$940.00 (Due June 17, 2013)
Non-refundable deposit $100.00
Deposit must be mailed with registration.
Deposit will be applied to total tuition.
Limited partial-scholarships
available. Enrollment limited.
Register early.

 

Lodging Information

 

The hotel list is provided for the convenience
of our out-of-town students. Students should
make their individual arrangements with the
hotels.

 

Hampton Inn
165 Remington Blvd
Bolingbrook, Il 60440
866-539-0036

 

Holiday Inn Hotel
205 Remington Blvd.
Bolingbrook, IL 60440
800-315-2621

 

Chicago Marriott – Naperville
1801 North Naper Blvd.
Naperville, Il 60563
630-505-4900

 

For additional information regarding lodging
please email Lynn Korst at
Discoverparenthood@gmail.com

 

**********************************************************************************

 

Registration Form:

 

 

 

Name____________________________________

 

Address: _________________________________

 

_________________________________________

 

City:_____________________________________State: _________________

 

Zip:_________

 

Home Phone (______) ________________

 

Work Phone (______) ________________

 

Email: _____________________________

 

My $100 non-refundable deposit is enclosed.
Balance will be paid NLT June 17, 2013.

 

Make checks payable to: Polly Elam and Associates

 

Mail to: 951 Vista Cerro Drive
Paso Robles, California 93446
For more information email:
pollyelam@aol.com

 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day focuses on the lives that were lost in our wars and conflicts.  Over the course of the three day week-end, I could not help but notice the number of news clips showing the return of a soldier.  The news clips often “shares” the moment with the country as the service person surprises his child while at school or sporting event.  I know the clip was meant to share the drama with the country, but I cannot imagine the impact a surprise like this has on a child.  Whether it is the return of the parent or the deployment of the parent,  a child is impacted. If you have a moment, the following article from the American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry is extremely informative.    (http://aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/families_in_the_military).

“In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act, a law designed to give renewed emphasis to Memorial Day. The law designates the minute beginning at 3 p.m. local time as the moment for Americans to pause and remember.

In passing the law, Congress declared: “It is essential to remember and renew the legacy of Memorial Day, which was established in 1868 to pay tribute to individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the United States and their families.”

President Bill Clinton signed the legislation, saying: “While these heroes should be honored every day for their profound contribution to securing our nation’s freedom, they and their families should be especially honored on Memorial Day.”

Today’s the day. Remember.   Remember the soldier.  Remember the family.  Remember the children.

Magda Gerber’s RIE: Very First Conference

Reblogged from Little River School Online:

• 
• 

The first Resources for Infant Educarers conference, held in June 1979, presented a unique opportunity, for those 500 participants, who attended to hear Dr. Emmi Pikler.  The conference, which was held in both Los Angeles and Belmont, California on back-to-back weekends, served to introduce infant educarers to the R.I.E. philosophy of infant growth and development.
The International Infant Conference was the (as yet) largest undertaking by R.I.E.

Read more… 562 more words

A repost of an article from "Educaring Resources for Infant Educarers." Vol 1 Number 1 Winter 1979 by Rhonda Garcia. The very first Conference presented by Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler at the University of California, Los Angeles Campus thirty-four years ago. If the conference were held today, the words would hold the same importance today as it did then. Hope you enjoy revisiting the past...

How is everyone doing with the time change?

Daylight Savings Time officially begins at 2 AM Sunday, March 10, 2013.  For the majority of us, that means we lose an extra hour of sleep before starting the day.  In addition to the loss of sleep time, the loss of time often comes with a price.  I am always a little off kilter after the time change – my body is trying to adjust to the change  while rejoicing the addition of daylight.  If it affects me in this way, how does the time change affect our children?

Children generally do not use watches, but they can tell when there is a change in the behavior of the family and at the child care center.  Children thrive on schedules, which is why their behavior is linked to our schedules. When those schedules are disrupted, it can cause changes in  behavior.

Keep a close eye on your child for any changes in their behavior after the time change. If children seem to be more anxious try keeping your schedule as if the time change did not happen.  Lunch at 12 noon will really be lunch at 1:00 …so a little earlier for snack and mealtimes might take the edge off.

For parents and early childhood educators, it is important to explain to older children that the clock says one thing while our body’s clock says something else, and that it will take awhile for the brain and body to get in sync with the new time.

 At Little River School, we accommodated the change by serving meals at the old time rather than what the clock says..  Naps are scheduled at the old time and we carefully integrate the new time slowly over the course of the week.

Most importantly, is the issue of drop off and pick up time.   Most children will now be waking up when it is dark outside, while just days before they woke when it was light.  The most worrisome challenge at the child care center is around pick-up time because children are now going home an hour later than their internal time clocks are telling them.  Children are accustomed to returning home in the dark, having dinner and going to bed.  Now there might be time for a trip to the park.  Parents might have to adjust the dinner schedule as well.  Bedtimes might be adjusted as well, the body clocks will say it is 9:00 p.m. while the computer clock says 10:00 p.m.

Anxious behavior may occur during this time.  The area where you live will impact behavior as well.

An excellent resource is the Science Daily article:

Daylight Saving Time Disrupts Humans’ Natural Circadian Rhythm, “When we implement small changes into a biological system which by themselves seem trivial, their effects, when viewed in a broader context, may have a much larger impact than we had thought,”

Daylight Saving Time Disrupts Humans’ Natural Circadian Rhythm

Science Daily — When people living in many parts of the world move their clocks forward one hour in the spring in observance of daylight saving time (DST), their bodies’ internal, daily rhythms don’t adjust with them, reports a new study.* The finding suggests that this regular time change–practiced by a quarter of the human population–represents a significant seasonal disruption, raising the possibility that DST may have unintended effects on other aspects of human physiology, according to the researchers.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024123249.htm

Post by: Roseann Murphy

Dignity and respect: Lost words when it comes to parenting.

I have been walking around trying to decide how to begin a new article.  I walk from room to room.  I convince myself that the blog is not pretty enough…it does not have enough photos… the articles cannot compete with other blogs…and then I came upon this article in The Huffington Post and after reading it I was convinced to complete the post  that I have been holding on to for so long.

My article is short, to the point and as “clear as water” for those who want to see.  For some unknown reason parents and caregivers continue to post the most private and intimate of photos of their children.  The one mentioned below brought many comments of distaste and disdain for the gentleman (I use the word lightly) for posting the picture of his nearly naked daughter. Not surprisingly, the number of posts in favor of the picture far outnumbered the comments wishing he had not posted the picture.  The father sees nothing wrong with posting this photo of his innocent daughter.  He mentions the fact is “his daughter” and sees nothing wrong with sharing this moment with the world.

I ask myself if that means all stops are pulled.  We have children and we have carte blanche permission to post whatever we want?  It is our “right” to talk about the intimate details of their toilet training fetes?  It is our “right” to show them on the toilet half clothed and tell all the intimate details of the words they use, where they pooped last…how they urinated on the floor and were made to “help” clean it up?

I am all for helpful information on the web.  I have spoken with and counseled parents for over thirty years.  I never did nor will I ever cross over the line of dignified and respectful conversation regarding the child that has no say in the conversation.  Over the years we had many moments that could have been construed as cute or funny, but if it had to do with private and intimate moments we did not share them with anyone but the parents.

I would like to start a movement, one that asks for a moratorium on posting pictures of children on the toilet, nursing, and standing naked for one reason or another. These are family moments that are intimate and private. These types of photos are not cute.  They lack the dignity and respect we all wish for ourselves.  The pictures are posted in the name of “sweet and darling”.  And we wonder why our adolescents are posting sex texts and who find nothing wrong with exposing themselves to their peers.  These children are arrested, banned from schools and put in rehab…How come?…they are just doing what their folks showed them.  Maybe we can trace back and see their parents posted them naked on the toilet or breastfeeding and thought nothing of it. “Clear as water” in my opinion.  Parenting has to include dignity and respect.

Post by: Roseann Murphy

Early Introduction to Technology – Too Much Too Soon?

 I came across a number of important articles that speak to many of the concerns I have regarding the march to integrate technology into ECE curriculum.  Lisa Sunbury of Regarding Baby posted an interesting article asing  the question, print book or digital books for early readers. (http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/05/for-young-readers-print-or-digital-books/)  Comments and responses to Lisa’s FB page indicated that parents/educators are still leaning toward print book.  I was grateful to see the thoughtful responses.

A few hours later, while rereading segments  from Dr. Jane Healy’s”Endangered Minds” I came across one of her timeless passages.  This passage applies to children in the 90’s, today and in the future:   ”Nevertheless, since these electronic developers are lining up to stake out a claim in the brains of today’s children, I believe we should try to figure out a few more questions to ask before we sign the contract.  We have already witnessed clear changes in children’s habits of mind:  declining verbal skills, changing patterns of attention, a less reflective approach to problem solving.  How might they fit with our conjectures about the future?  Are human brains about to get caught in the experiential fragmentation of machine technology, or will they gain broader abilities to stand back and understand what is happening?” (Chapter 15. page 332).
After reading her work I decided to continue to search the web to find additional responses to the recent movement to integrate technology into the early early childhood curriculum.

It was my good fortune to come across Lisa Murphy’s draft/letter (
http://msooey.tumblr.com/post/24176924383/my-response-to-the-draft-naeyc-technology-use-in-ece
) to the NAEYC’s recent statement advocating a movement  to integrating more technology into our young student’s lives.

I felt invigorated and wanted to share the letter with our readers in case you haven’t had an opportunity to find it amongst the wealth of information on the Internet.

June 1, 2012
My Response to the (draft) NAEYC Technology Use in ECE Position Statement

Sent electronically as a PDF to TechandYC@naeyc.org on Thursday May 26, 2011

OF IMPORTANT NOTE: I am posting this here on tumblr for archive purposes.  Since I wrote it, NAEYC has adopted a final position which was adopted in January 2012.  Point being, I don’t have a link to the actual verbiage that this was written in response to.  If someone still knows of one, please send it along!  (I searched before posting this here on the tumblr to see if I could find a link to the draft, but to no avail)

To whom it may concern:

Discussions around the topic of technology use with children often turn into debates between the camps of “pro” and “con.”   I recently wrote an article that offered a modified definition of technology that stretched beyond consumer based electronics (TVs, computers, iPhones, etc.) attempting to show educators and parents that technology is not limited to things that get plugged in or need to be charged up.  The new NAEYC position statement, however, is not so broad.  By limiting the definition of technology to electronic and screen-based tools the divide between the camps of pro and con will continue to grow.  It has also encouraged many of us in the con camp to find our collective voice.

This being said, I am thankful for the opportunity to provide feedback on the (draft) position statement regarding technology use in early childhood programs:

I appreciate that in the new position statement NAEYC calls on teachers to have a solid understanding of child development and DAP which would allow them to “make good choices” when it comes to technology use, but the reality is that too many states allow 18 year olds with only a high school diploma to be responsible for the daily care and development of our children; as sad as it is to admit, NAEYC cannot assume that all early childhood educators ARE grounded in solid theories of child development or DAP.

This position statement relies heavily on the importance of the role of the teacher in choosing DAP tech materials when the reality is that many materials are purchased by someone else and teachers are simply told to use them.  We cannot assume that ece teachers will “know better” because the embarrassing reality is that due to inconsistent (often substandard) initial employment qualifications and (lack of) ongoing training requirements, in many instances, they unfortunately don’t.

This position statement appears disconnected from the reality of how technology IS being used in many ece environments.  It often IS being used in such a way that decreases the prevalence of real, hands-on experiences.   Touch screens DO replace crayons and markers; in some places because they are “cleaner” and not as messy.

More of a question than a comment, I would like to ask what prompted the decision for a revision to the original position statement?  I remain curious as to the potential influence of the “Rationale Statement” authored by Donohue and Schomberg, which was included in the references.

Additionally, when a “Center for Children’s Media” is co-authoring a position statement on technology use it can be perceived as being a bit biased.  I was left wondering as to the nature of the relationship between NAEYC, the Fred Rogers Center and the various authors of the document (who all appear to be affiliated with tech-based institutions).

It is rather unsettling that the appropriate age for  “technology use” has been expanded to include infants and toddlers; flying smack in the face of the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The position statement indicates that children without early exposure to tech will be at a disadvantage and their ability to compete in a 21st century workplace will be impeded.  This argument is completely asinine.  The tech tools currently being used by three year olds will be obsolete by the time they are old enough to be hunting for a job and “competing in the workforce.”  Additionally, the jobs they will be hunting for have not even been invented yet.  The “at a disadvantage myth” preys on consumer guilt, is not grounded in any research and does nothing but increase sales of tech driven products.

This position statement grants permission to tech manufacturers and sales staff to ramp up their already relentless and aggressive marketing techniques.  The vendor halls at most conferences already border on inappropriate, it is only going to get worse with the ability to now pitch products as being, “In line with NAEYC’s position statement.”

In true developmentally appropriate early childhood programs you will witness children busy creating, moving their bodies, running, climbing, singing, problem solving, discussing, using their hands, observing, reading and playing; and quite frankly, we don’t have the time, desire or need for flat, solitary, sterile, passive, tech-based media experiences that keep children sitting still and getting fat.

I will remind all who are involved with the creation of this document that no screen can replace the feel of water dripping down your arm as you pour it and measure it in the sensory table, no program or app can capture the tickle of a caterpillar crawling across your hand, no software can transmit the coldness of the ice and snow as you work with peers to make a winter shelter and nothing you plug in can replicate the experience of molding and squeezing clay with your fingers.

“If you want it in their head, it must first be in their hands.”  Why we would ever take a position that states otherwise, thus appearing to undermine the importance of children touching and manipulating real objects in the crucial years of early childhood, is beyond me.

Respectfully,

Lisa Murphy

B.S., CEO, Founder

Ooey Gooey, Inc.

http://www.ooeygooey.com

Author, lecturer, and current NAEYC, New York AEYC and Rochester (NY) AEYC member, former student member of Chicago Metro (student) AEYC, and former member of both California and San Diego AEYC

Filed under naeyc technology position statement response draft”

As a parent, child advocate, early childhood educator and clear thinking individual, I believe we must think long and hard before we make the decision to use even more technology in early childhood centers.   Theodore White eloquently said:  “To go against the dominant  thinking of most of the people you are in contact with everyday  is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.”  In the case of early introduction to technology I think we need a bit of heroism when it come to saving our youth from too much too soon.

Post by Roseann Murphy

Mister Rogers Says…

“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you many never even dream of.  there is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person” 

From The World According to Mister Rogers

As teachers of very young children it is easy to dismiss  the impact we have on the parents and children we come in contact with.  When working with young children the relationship can end very abruptly, jobs change, situations change and there may be little chance to say goodbye.  If you  that is the case, a note or a photo sent directly to the child might be a lovely way to say farewell…

Post by: Roseann Murphy