So what is #kinderchat? Read on to find out!

What is #kinderchat?

1. To facilitate discussions among Educators, Parents, Policy Makers and the Public about Best Practices in Early Childhood Education.

2. To create a collaborative space where Teachers, Administrators, Parents and Organizations can share both their knowledge and the challenges of the learning and teaching of Young Children.

3. To highlight, learn from and discuss different philosophies of teaching and learning with Young Children.

4. To promote real world and real life experiences of working daily with young children, always preserving the dignity and importance of the unique experiences of the Young Child and the critical nature of Educating within Developmentally Appropriate Practices.

5. To create a greater sense of community among those working with Young Children.

 

(From #kinderchat, the big picture)

The topic this week was - February 10, 2014 - Helping families and children in need (North America)

 

When first thinking of this topic, I wondered what kind of needs it was referring to and that this topic specifically is great because not only teachers can get involved but so can parents and families. As I continue to grow as a person and as a prospective teacher, this kind of social networking is going to be very insightful and a powerful tool to have.

 

Reading through the chat, I discovered that it could be any child with any kind of needs, and that mostly there was a great deal of discussion about support for families and having a great network of support for both the families and the teachers combined. We must first be able to understand the needs and what that means to them and how their issues are going to effect their daily lives before, we as teachers, can then be able to begin to make those small differences that can lead to a tremendous impact for the future. I always believe that if a teacher has a strong passion for what he or she does, then that passion will follow through with everything they do. Even if he or she only makes small strides in a positive direction, that will then follow through to the child and give him or her the help they truly deserve. What a great use of technology, and social networking for teachers. I can now use this resource for the future to help me with new ideas, concepts, strategies, or different opinions on topics that I may never would have thought of otherwise.