Teresa Goodman

Teresa Goodman

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Creating Affirming Environments


           As an early childhood professional, I know and understand the importance of ensuring that each child in my care has access to the best education possible. One of the most important aspects of providing this is to ensure the environment is welcoming and the children and their families are respected. Creating an environment that fits their needs will require strategic planning and will have to be anti-bias. Children should feel safe, nurtured, and loved and be able to develop a positive and strong concept of themselves and express empathy for others.

            As I develop my home Family Child Care Home, I want to create an environment that the children and their families can appreciate. In an effort to promote an anti-bias education I will have to include material that is diverse and anti-bias. Daily interactions and activities will be a large part of what I do, so books, dvds, puzzles, magazines, dramatic play props, and music will all represent different cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Any posters, fabrics, and pictures will represent the children’s home culture.

Families will be a major part of their child’s learning experience, so I plan to include material for families as well. They will also be allowed to provide or share as much information about their families culture. In the video segment “Strategies for working with diverse children: (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011).    Welcome to an anti-bias learning community.” Adriana shows how she has a special place set up when parents first arrive to her facility that is filled with lots of information for parents and activities for children to help with separation issues. Making children and parents feel safe and welcome is very important in any setting. Family child care becomes like a second home to the children which in turn fosters community among families (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p. 54).

            Specific strategies will be necessary to support my environment. I must first be aware of my personal feelings and not allow my beliefs to interfere with my work. My environment needs to be supportive of children being able to share and discuss any differences they may observe. I must allow them to express any emotions they have and work out conflicts they may arise. When children can express their opinions, they learn from each other (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p. 53). I have to teach children to identify different stereotypes and be sensitive to others we try to portray. Incorporating family traditions is very important and will be a critical part of my environment and learning experience.

References:

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

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author

 

           

 

 

1 comment:

  1. Teresa,
    You cited an important idea from the reading this week about how a family child care becomes a second home for the children and how it fosters community among the families. Essentially, you become a family and diversity resource center by being able to provide information and by bringing diverse families together. At first they may only see how important the setting is for their children and their development and learning but in the end it fosters their own development and learning. They communicate, interact, and work together with people that they maybe normally would not. What an amazing benefit for everyone involved.

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