Family Child Care Home
In my home I would have an indoor and outdoor
play/exploration area. The indoor would have carpet, flooring, tables, chairs, kitchen
eating area, quiet/calm down area, nap area, bathroom area, library area, and
learning/sensory centers.
I would include pictures of the families and children
from home and at the care center and a schedule for reference. Posters and toys
of various racial and ethnic groups, as
well as various jobs and careers, playing or spending time with family, various
kinds of families including heterosexual, gay/lesbian, single parent, other
caregivers are also important. Pictures and toys that show history and our
future, ie presidents, famous people, etc would show children different ways of
life then and now. I would also include games, books, puzzles, dolls,
posters/pictures and toys of feelings and emotions, and other educational toys
that help children interact and work/learn together. I really liked Adrianna’s
idea of having a share area, will children can bring something special that
tells about them or their families and it stays on the wall for the week/month
and then changes for new children to have a chance to share. I also liked
Adrianna’s idea of the communication board, where families can communicate
information to me that they feel is important for me to know about their child/family.
I think that in order to connect with families and
make them feel welcome, it’s important to have those pictures of the families
in our groups. I think it’s also important to invite the families in for special
activities and be involved in our program. Helping families to connect with
each other is important as well, so having that family time is going to make
them feel more comfortable.
As I was reading and thinking about what my family
child care home would look like, I read the statement “What children do not see in the classroom teaches
children as much as what they do see” (Derman-Sparks, &
Olsen Edwards, 2010) and that spoke volumes to me. Much of
what we learn comes from our environment and experiences, so it’s important to
create a diverse learning environment for the children in your program. I
believe that all of the setting, the structure of the program, and all of the
things included will help children to learn in a diverse setting, which will be
the first step in creating an anti-bias community.
References:
Derman-Sparks, L.,
& Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias
education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Laureate Education,
Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author
Hi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you started your blog post. I was drawn in by the term "exploration" because, that is how children learn. It reminds me of the High Scope concept "Children and adults learn best through hands-on experiences with people, materials, events, and ideas" (HighScope.org, 2014). I too thought Castillo (2011) “Share Area" was a good idea. I would extend that concept to families too! Thanks for sharing, your ideas are very welcoming.
Jan
References
DeleteHigh Scope Curriculum. Retrieved from http:// www.highscope.org/curriculum
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working
with diverse children: Building onchildren’sstrengths.Baltimore, MD
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog, thank you for sharing your wonderful insights! I feel as you do that it is important to hang pictures of the children and their families visible for them to see during the day and when they walk in in the morning. In my experience they love to go and look at their families and their parents speraticaly throughout the day. I feel it gives them a sense of safeness to see their faces and know that they are with them. I also think that having posters of other types of families as well such as homosexual families, single parent, caregiver etc,, so that they learn that there are many different families out there. Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) states that "the toys, materials, and equipment you put out for children; the posters, pictures, and art objects you hang on the wall; and the types of furniture and how you arrange them all influence what children learn". Adriana's (Laureate Education, 2011) parent communication board was a great idea to keep up to date with the parents on new things happening with their child that should be shared.
References
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author
Hi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting we used the same quote about "what children do NOT see..."! That definitely does speak volumes and I was glad our course text pointed that out. I also liked your pointing out Adriana's communication board too. That is a great tool that I had forgotten to include in my Family Home Care Center. It sounds like your center will be a wonderful place to attend!
Beth