ECED 125 Health, Safety and Nutrition

Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education

New MexicoStateUniversity

2 credits

O’Donnell Hall, Room 130 9:30 m- 11:20 Friday

Spring, 2011

Instructor: Dr. Susan Brown

Office: O’Donnell Hall, Room 134

Office Hours: M & W 3:20-4:00 and by appointment M-F

Telephone Number: Office: 646-1397; Home: 522-1905

e-mail:

Course Description:

This course provides information related to standards and practices that promote children’s physical and mental well-being, sound nutritional practices, and maintenance of safe learning environments. It includes information for developing sound health and safety management procedures for the prevention of childhood illnesses and communicable diseases. The course examines the many nutritional factors that are important for children’s total development, health eating habits, physical activity, and rest. Students gain knowledge necessary for creating safe learning environments for decreasing risk and preventing childhood injury.

Course objectives:

This course is part of the required program of studies for the Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education. The following objectives are taken from the New Mexico State Department of Education’s Common Core Competencies for early childhood professionals (see Common Core Content manual). Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the following competencies at the established level of proficiency:

Recognize and respond to each child’s physical health, emotional well-being, nutritional and safety needs. (II.A)
Appropriately plan, maintain, and facilitate the use of the indoor and outdoor learning environments to promote each child’s physical and emotional well-being. (II.B)
Use appropriate health appraisal and management procedures and make referrals when necessary. (II.C)
Recognize signs of emotional distress, child abuse, and neglect in young children and use procedures appropriate to the situation, such as initiating discussions with families, referring to appropriate professionals, and, in cases of suspected abuse or neglect, reporting to designated authorities. (II.D)
Establish an environment that provides opportunities and reinforcement for children’s practice of healthy behaviors that promote appropriate nutrition and physical and psychological well-being. (II.E)
Provide a consistent daily schedule for rest/sleep, as developmentally appropriate. (II.F)
Implement health care and educational activities for children and families based on health and nutritional information that are responsive to diverse cultures. (II.G)
Assist young children and their families, as individually appropriate, in developing decision-making and interpersonal skills that enable them to make healthy choices and establish health-promoting behaviors. (II-H)

The following objectives are taken from the International Society for Technology in Education, National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

Promote safe and healthy use of technological resources
Use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students.

Required Readings:

Safety, Nutrition, and Health In Early Education by Cathie Robertson (4th edition)
Articles that are listed on the class schedule

Policies:

1.Students enrolled in this course are expected to conduct themselves as adults and take responsibility for their own learning. If you choose not to complete the assignments you will receive the grade that you have earned according to what you have submitted.

2.Financial Aid Notice:

You must attend classes to receive financial aid. If you stop attending or drop any course(s), you may be required to repay all or part of the financial aid received.

3. Students are expected to read the text. You will not be able to complete and pass this course without the required text book.

Students are expected to participate in all classroom activities.

Withdrawal Policy: When you withdraw from a course, a “W” grade will be assigned if you withdraw before the last day to withdraw date designated by the University each semester (see Important Dates to Remember). If you are asked to withdraw or if you decide on your own to drop the course, you are responsible for initiating the withdrawal process. Students who fail to formally withdraw may receive failing grades, in addition to being liable for all tuition and fees.

Late work –Please turn in all work on or before the due date. If there are extenuating circumstances related to absences and late work, please discuss these with me. Each situation will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

7. CELL PHONE USAGE DURING CLASS

For 90 minutes, a student should be able to not answer his/her cell phone or text. If there is an emergency situation, please inform Dr. Brown.

8. Absences: Students are allowed two absences without penalty per semester. After that

your grade will drop a letter grade for each absence unless you talk with Dr. Brown about

the circumstances of your absences. I do understand that emergencies do occur.

Academic Integrity - All work that is submitted in this course should be your own;

`violation of the NMSU rule against plagiarism or collusion will cause you to receive a failing grade for the course. Plagiarism is appropriating, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another’s work and the acknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one’s own work. Collusion is the unauthorized collaboration with another person or persons in preparing written work for fulfillment of course work. All students are expected to regard themselves as responsible citizens on campus and in the community. Policies and procedures concerning “Student Code of Conduct” including plagiarism and academic misconduct are printed in the current NMSU Student Handbook. All academic and non-academic misconduct will be reported and dealt with in accordance with the NMSU Student Code of Conduct.

Students with Disabilities.If you have or believe you have a disability, you may wish to self-identify. You can do so by providing documentation to the Office of Disabled Student Programs located at Garcia Annex (646-1921). Appropriate accommodations by them can be provided for you. If you have general questions about the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA), call the ADA Coordinator at 646-7795.

Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages can be found at:

http//safety.nmsu.edu/emergency.htm

(For inclement weather notices or handling of other emergencies).

Be sure to read the chapter in the book as well as the articles on our Blackboard site for each week!

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE***
Week One: 1/14 / Title / Textbook Chapter
Course introduction, syllabus, getting to know one another; Main goals of early childhood educators
Article: “Health and Safety in the Early Childhood Classroom: guidelines for
curriculum development” by D. Bales, C. Wallinga, and M. Coleman
Week Two: 1/21 / Creating Safe ECEE / Chapter Two
Assignment:1. In class, create an ideal indoor early childhood center with clipart, magazine pictures, drawings, etc…
2.Within your group, follow the guidelines provided in class:

description of your group of children you are representing
describe the arrangement of the inside of the setting (drawing or description)
letter to the parents about safety
checklists, injury reports, guidelines, practices, or strategies to reduce risk
Present to the class on February 4th.

Articles: “The Fear of Play”by J. Almon
“Federal InteragencyForum on child and Family”
Week Three: 1/28 / Indoor Safety / Chapter Three
Assignment: Take 3 photos or describe 3 unsafe, unhealthy, non-nutritious activities and 3 safe, healthy, nutritious activities you witness at NMSU. Please print to share with the class. Due February 4, 2011
Articles: “Bulding Resilience to Tauma: Creating a Safe and Supportive Early Childhood Classrom”by I. Berson & J. Baggerly.
“Picture Books: Can They Help Caregivers Create an Illusion of Safety” by A. McNamee & M. Mercurio.
Week Four: 2/04 / Outdoor Safety / Chapter Four
Presentation of the group work of an ideal inside educational setting
Assignment: With a partner, visit a day care center and observe the safety measures in place for your assigned group in the outdoor area of the center. Take notes to share with the class (anonymous notes) Due: February 11, 2011
OR: In class, create an ideal outdoor center with drawings, photographs, clipart, etc…
Week Five: 2/11 / Emergency Response / Chapter Five
Presentation of the group’s outside ideal educational setting for your age group you are representing
Articles: “Safety in the Classroom: How to Communicate Policies that Ensure Children’s Health and Safety” by S. Wilford
Week Six: 2/18 / Basic Nutrition / Chapter Six
Guest Speaker: Lee Ann Loney
Assignment: In class, design a chart (clip art, pictures from magazines, etc.) for the classroom illustrating good nutritional health. Each group will be assigned a food group to teach the class about examples in that group, importance of that group, servings necessary, etc…
Week Seven: 2/25 / Protecting and Providing Good Nutrition in ECEE / Chapters Seven and Eight
Article: “Finding Your Way Back to healthy Eating”by A. Azzam
Week Eight: 3/04 / Menu planning and good safety in ECEE / Chapter Nine
Assignment: In class, prepare one week of nutritious meals for you and one week for an young child.
Article:: Making a Difference in Early Childhood Obesity by D. Huber
Week Nine: 3/11 / Promoting Good Health / Chapter Ten
Assignment: Work on your research paper and presentation for the end of the semester.
Articles: “Keeping Fit—In Body and Mind!”By M. Rivkin
“Setting the Stage for Lifetime Physical Activity in Early Childhood” by H.
Schneider and M. Lounsbery
Week Ten: 3/18 / Tools for Promoting Health / Chapter Eleven
Assignment: In pairs & in class, create a brochure for parents which will include a health checklist and guidelines for keeping children healthy.
Article: “ Integration” by B. Kalyn
Week Eleven: 3/25 / Prevention of Illness / Chapter Twelve
Spring Break – Have a relaxing week!
Week Twelve: 4/01 / Supportive Health Care / Chapter Thirteen
Assignment: With a small group, in class, create a song, rap, dance, sculpture, etc. to promote a specific healthy activity.
Article: “Safety Activities” in Early Childhood Today
Week Thirteen: 4/08 / Time for research with your partner / Many resources
Week Fourteen: 4/15 / Child Maltreatment Special Needs / Chapter Fourteen and Fifteen
Article: “Building Language Through Conflict Resolution:….” by E. Church
Week Fifteen: 4/22
Assignment: Present a fifteen minute summary of your research topic.
Week Sixteen: 4/29
Assignment: Present a fifteen minute summary of your research topic.
Week Seventeen: 5/06 Exam Week
Assignment: Present a fifteen minute summary of your research topic.

***Pleasenote that this schedule may be altered as the students and instructor decide to investigate new avenues in the world of health, safety, and nutrition in early childhood education. Of course, any changes will be shared with all class members.

Grading: All individual assignments will be graded according to the following rubric:

Content / Organization/Style / Creating an Engaging Assignment / Documentation &
Direction-following
Has the student researched his/her topic or completed the assignment thoroughly? Does the student demonstrate a depth of understanding of the topic?
Does the student reference key concepts and use them appropriately? / Is the assignment logically organized?
Do ideas flow well?
Does the thesis statement (when present) guide the entire assignment?
Does the student use standard punctuation, grammar and spelling? / Are activities/writing engaging?
Are visual aids/power point presentations well executed?
If the “audience” of your presentation is young children, are activities age-appropriate?
Are multiple intelligences, when called for in the assignment, on display? / Are requirements for the assignment (see bullets) met?
Is the bibliography complete and in APA style, if appropriate?
40 = fabulous / 20 = fabulous / 20 = fabulous / 20 = fabulous
32 = admirable / 16 = admirable / 16 = admirable / 16 = admirable
24 = good / 12 = good / 12 = good / 12 = good
16 = adequate / 8 = adequate / 8 = adequate / 8 = adequate
8 = needs improvement / 4 = needs improvement / 4 = needs improvement / 4 = needs improvement

Math time: Total possible points on the rubric is 100. Consider this a percentage.

To figure out how many points one would receive on any given assignment, multiply the percentage received on the rubric times the number of points each assignment is worth. (See right column on class schedule table).

For example, let us imagine you received a total of 85 points on the rubric. The assignment is worth 20 points. 20 x .85 = 17 points.

Grading Scale for the course: 90 – 100% = A

80 – 89% = B

70 – 79% = C

60-- 69% = D

Below 60% = F