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