Creating Affirming Environments
I
have always wanted to open up my own Family Child Care Home center in the rural
delta of Mississippi. There are so many
children that rely on an older brother or sister to babysit them after school
and during the spring/summer break. I
love to see children strive and develop through the help of a nurturing
educator.
If I was to open up a family child
care home it would be important for it to be safe and welcoming. I would offer many tools for children to
learn from and also space for them to play.
After touring Adriana Castillo’s home, I believe I would also display
images (family pictures or drawings) of my children, along with their family
bringing in cultural items to share in the classroom while promoting diversity
(Laureate Education, 2010). This will
give the children/parents a way to connect to the other families that come to my
family child care.
Each month I would create a different anti-bias
curriculum that allows children to learn about different foods, cultures, and
languages. As stated in the media
segment, Adriana also focuses on children’s interests and this month was
emotions, you have so many different emotions that come into a care center every
day (Laureate Education, 2010). One day
Jane might be nice and the next day she might be angry, everyone has different
emotions and that’s one of the main focus of a child.
With
this environment, I want to provide enough space for them to learn and also
have fun at the same time. There is so
much for a child to learn and explore about themselves; so as we learn
together, we will also grow together. As
stated in the text, in many cultures, a teacher is someone to be
respected. We have some families that
wouldn’t even consider raising issues of concern. It’s our job to listen and learn as we talk,
and initiate solutions to specific differences (Derman-Sparks & Edwards
2010).
Derman-Sparks,
L. & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and
Ourselves. NAEYC, Washington, DC.
Laureate
Education (2010). “Welcoming children in the home.” Retrieved from http://www.waldenu.edu/
I think it is very important for the children to be able to have time to play, but have fun at the same time. Most kids do not realize that when they are playing, they are still learning at the same time. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of your anti-bias curriculum and teaching children about food and life in other cultures. I would have loved to have someone teach me those things as a child. You could even have people come in and talk to them or cook authentic food for them!
ReplyDeleteHi Janet!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and agree with everything that you would include in your child care center. It would be wonderful to create an environment in which children can learn and grow along side the adults that care for them, while including the families in the process at the same time. I also feel that it is important to let families know their voices should be heard, and give them opportunities to express their feelings or concerns if there is an issue. We all want what is best for the children at the end of the day so we should strive to work together. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Janet,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post and the ideas you have for your center. I like your idea of including the learning of different cultures in your curriculum. I also like the idea of the bulletin board to help with communication. It's important to build the type environment where families feel comfortable talking and feel included in their child's learning.