Setting up a Family
Child Care Home
To set up my child care home I need to think about what I need
that will reflect every family in my care (Derman-Sparks & Edwards,
2012). I like the way that Ms. Castillo
had a greeting room for parents to come in and spend time helping children
transition into her home, therefore I will have a greeting room that has the
daily schedule, plans for the day, sign in sheet for the parents and one for
the children. My greeting room will have
a pillow area for those children that need a quiet comfortable area before they
are ready to start their day. I will
also have favorite books as well as teacher made books that depict what the
children have been doing throughout their day.
I will have books that are written in the languages of my families. I will have a classroom photo album depicting
all the families. It has been my
experience that children love exploring everyone’s family.
I will have a room that is set up
for infants and toddlers exploration.
This room will have materials that are at the levels of each infant and
toddler. It will have soft and cardboard
books, I will adapt the teacher made books and cardboard books so that children
can manipulate each page. The books that
I choose will encourage critical thinking (Derman-Sparks & Edwards,
2012). There will be soft furniture for
relaxing and an area that is more sensory orientated that would include
climbing, jumping, a crash pad, and a swing.
There will be multicultural manipulatives, props for dramatic play, and
block play. There will be mirror on the
lower wall so that children can explore their selves, and pictures of their
families.
The preschool room will be similar
to the infant/toddler room; however, it will have higher functioning
manipulatives and tools for exploration.
The preschool room will have a sensory area, dramatic play area, block
play area, and a discovery area. There
will be a book area in every room. The
walls will have a variety of pictures that depict the families that are in my
care.
Ms. Castillo has a nap room in her
center that I feel is needed (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Children need a nice calm area that they can
wind down and rest. This room will be a
nice calm area that will have soft furniture, blankets, books, and soft toys to
cuddle with. Soft calm music will be
playing in the background.
My center will have a writing
room. This room will have child size
tables and chairs. It will also have
desks for those children that want to write a private note. This room will have a chalkboard, whiteboard
and easels in it. There will be a
variety of writing tools, paper in multiple colors, and paint. The walls will have multicultural pictures
and poems as well as the alphabet on it.
I will have magnetic letters and numbers. This room will also have a variety of
favorite books to read and explore. The
room will also have a mailbox for each family, student, and staff member so
that children can deliver letters.
Envelopes will also be available.
Families will be encouraged to
explore the center with their child/children.
They are encouraged to read the stories that the children will be
exploring and the teacher made books about what the children have been doing throughout
the day. I will send home a personalized
daily journal, a monthly newsletter that will tell about what happened last
month and what is planned for the month.
There will be monthly homework assignments that families can choose to
participate with their child. These
homework assignments will help me learn more about each family.
My hopes are that my Family Child
Care Home will be open and comfortable for all children and their family. Through exploration the children will learn
about and respect similarities and differences.
There will be pictures that demonstrate different feelings around the
center to help children understand and respect their feelings and the feelings
of others.
References
Derman-Sparks,
L. & Edwards, J. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and
ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Laureate
Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). EDUC 6357-6 Diversity,
Development, and Learning [Webcast]. Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning
Community. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of a class photo album! What a great way for children to feel visible in their early learning environment! It can also serve as a great comfort tool when children are missing their families throughout the day. Sometimes we have limited space in our environments and we cannot include every element that we would like to. I love posting pictures of my students and their families but feel that if I was unable to do this, a photo album would serve the same purpose! Thanks for sharing!
Sandra
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas on creating a classroom that is diverse, provides age appropriate materials, as well as family photos for children to share where they come from. “ 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” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p. 43).
Reference:
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).
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of having personalized daily journals for each child. This is a great venue to be able to communicate to families what their child did, said, felt, communicated, or learned on a daily basis. This would also be a wonderful way to help form a partnership with parents by including them on a personal level in their child's day.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You had so many wonderful ideas to create an affirming environment for children and families. I specifically loved your idea of a class photo album for children to look through. Kids love looking at pictures, especially of themselves and the people they know. It creates a sense of community and pride in their group. I also really love your idea of a writing room where children can write letters to their classmates, families, or teachers. It encourages children to think of others and helps them build strong relationships. Thanks for your ideas!
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI love your ideas for your classrooms. I love the idea of having a mailbox. This is a great way to have children explore their feelings by writing to family or friends. Additionally, photo albums are great to give students the opportunity to bring in pictures of their families to share with their classmates. Children can learn about each other's traditons and cultures this way as well. Great post