Creating Affirming Environments

Creating Affirming Environments

            This week I have been exploring ways in which to create a learning environment that reflects the diversity of the children and families with whom I work, expand and deepen understanding and respect for diversity, and promote strong family-teacher relationships. For this blog assignment, I have the amazing opportunity to bring these ideas to life by conceptualizing what this might look like in an authentic early childhood setting.

In this scenario, I will be establishing a Family Child Care Home.  The look and sounds of the environment needs to reflect the family cultures and daily lives of the children and families that will be served (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  It needs to include toys, material, equipment, posters, pictures, books, activities, and furniture that create an inviting, anti-bias learning environment to encourage students to explore, discover, and communicate on different levels (Derman-Sparks & Edwards).

I was very impressed and inspired by Adriana’s childcare center that she established in her home.  It was so thoughtfully arranged to welcome the students and their families.  I would love to work with 10 children in the three and four-year old range.  As you enter the home, children and their families would be greeted with a bright, welcoming bulletin board.  This would contain a calendar, schedule of daily events, important news for the parents, and pictures of the children participating in various activities.  There would be an area for the children to keep their personal belongings.  In this cubby, each child would have a small framed picture of their family.  I loved the idea of information wall and the family culture shelf described by Adriana’s home care (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).  For privacy issues, I would have an information notebook for each individual child.  The parent would be able to leave me notes about health issues, concerns, problems, or any information pertaining to that child.  These notebooks would be reviewed while the children were engaged in the cozy corner.  This room would have a comfy couch, rocking chair, large floor pillows, some small stuffed toys, and books.  What a great place for children to transition from their parents and begin their day!  Once all the children had arrived and were calm, we would head for the kitchen for breakfast time.  This gives the teachers and the children a time to visit, relax, and fill their little tummies.  I would have several other rooms or areas that would support:  art activities, reading nooks, dramatic play area complete with a kitchen, mini-store, and dress-up clothes.  I love the idea of the persona dolls (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2011).  There would be a basket full of dolls that provided a wide-range of diversity.  In the sunroom and outdoor covered patio, I would include areas for water and sand exploration.  There would be raised gardens for planting and digging.  There would be a special section of a wall with a table for the children to display pictures of themselves and family items to share with their peers.  I would encourage each family to schedule a time to visit the center and discuss the items displayed with all the children.  On a monthly basis, the students would learn about a different culture.  They would hear stories, see pictures, complete art projects, taste foods, would meet people from a variety of cultures.  In addition, this childcare center would provide displayed pictures, books, activities, and videos that depicted different culture and areas of diversity; especially, the cultures of the children attending the center.  Finally, I would also incorporate a curriculum that taught and exposed the students to the basic skills needed to advance to a kindergarten program.

In conclusion, I think this would be an amazing opportunity for the future.  In a home setting, an educator would have many more opportunities to work with the children on issues of diversity, social interactions, academic, personal, and spiritual needs.  I would love for this center to be Christian based.  I believe a strong belief system becomes essential in all of our lives.

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010).  Anti-bias education for young children and

ourselves.  Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011).  Welcome to the anti-bias learning community.  Media segment

with Adriana Castillo.