Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

The Division of Early Childhood or DEC has a strong foundation that care about the development of children faced with special needs. They are the largest corporation that assists with the development of children with special needs or gifts and they assist with the child's growth.

Their mission statement: "The Division for Early Childhood promotes policies and advances evidence-based practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of young children who have, or are at risk for, developmental delays and disabilities." (DEC).

Retrieved from: http://www.dec-sped.org/about

Outreach Resources

There are several countries and childhood resource organizations that I attempted to contact. 

The listed resources that I have contacted are:

Philippines
OMEP Philippines National Committee

Center for Early Childhood Care & Development
Blesilda Rios
Email: child_ceccd@yahoo.com

Myanmar
The Myanmar Council of Churches Ecumenical Sharing Centre
Mr Lin SEIN
Email: CSSDD@mptmail.net.mm

China – Hong Kong

OMEP National Committee for Hong Kong

Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association
Dr. Betty Chan Po-king
20 Somerset Rd. Kowloon Tong, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel: 852-23396005
Email: sannas@ycef.com

Of the listed resources, I haven't heard anything back from anyone. I am actively waiting for responses to be received. The overseas research is definitely something that I would like to know more about, considering how different their programs can be from American ones.  

As a teenager I was so insecure. I was the type of guy that never fitted in because he never dared to choose. I was convinced I had absolutely no talent at all. For nothing. And that thought took away all my ambition too.

Johnny Depp

Play

I can recall the different environments of play growing up and the most pleasant that I remember, was at the daycare center. It was fond memories because of the toys, the environment and the caregivers. I remember playing with the log cabin blocks and dress up clothes. Then there was my grandmothers house, she didn’t have toys, but we would play outside, she had pigs, cows, chickens and a lot of fruit trees. My cousins and I would climb trees, feed the animals; back then feeding the animals was play time because we were able to play afterwards and we would get a treat from an aunt or uncle. Then there was my parents, we didn’t play inside, my siblings and I would play outside, like riding our bikes, playing basketball or volleyball, we were quite active outdoors.  The providers/teachers were good role models for me back then, it was always fun and we got to play it seems all the time.

Today, play would be similar in regards to role models that the providers/teachers are to my kids and at work, toys and activities are age appropriate and is something that is expected in schools/daycare centers. I try to do the same at home only because I see the frustrations of my kids when they aren’t able to comprehend something, especially when it should be fun. For the young kids today regarding play, its knowing their developments and interests that would help the kids with play. For school age kids, it would be incorporating their interests into other areas of play that they don’t normally go into.

My thoughts on play is that it is extremely important for kids to play and learn through play to help them become the adults they are destined to be. When a child is unable to play, there is something missed for that person that will affect them as they grow older.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are defined as "the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected," (Webster). 

They are extremely important to the function of the life. There are relationships that are built every day and they grow over time with everyone; friends, family, co-workers, etc. 

Relationships with my family are the most important. It is vital that those relationships are the ones that last because I've been raised to always believe that family is of the utmost importance and there is nothing more rewarding. The strongest relationships I have are with my kids. The older they are, the more involved I get and the more we begin to interact. There have been times when it was more difficult to deal with one another, but the result has been rewarding in every aspect. 

Maintaining all relationships, especially with friends can be difficult. With family, you're basically stuck with one another, so no matter what happens, they are always there. Friends are more difficult because there is a fine line between friends and the friends that are considered family. These relationships take time and effort to build because you're taking a complete stranger and completely opening up to them in hopes that you can be yourself around this person; it can be difficult to deal with.