WK 3: Observing Communication

            My observation of adult/young child communication took place in a preschool setting.  I observed the communication between a mother and young child during the arrival to school.  They were talking about an event that happened the night before and what the child was going to tell his teacher.  The mother demonstrated listening to the child by repeating and responding in a purposeful manner.  They demonstrated the purpose of the communication to be informational and extending thoughts of the child.  The mother was very respectful in her communication with her son.  The mother and son were walking so there was not much eye contact or observing body language or gestures.

            After reading Kovach and Da Ross-Voseles (2011) article Communicating with Babies, Stephenson (2009) article Conversations with a 2-year-old, and listening to Laureate Education, Inc.’s (2011) media segment Communicating with Young Children I came up with three guiding principles to communicate with young children.  Theses principle can be tied to this observation.  The first principle that I thought was important was active listening and observing body language and gestures.  This mother actively listened to her son; however, observing body language and gestures did not occur because they were walking down the hall.  The second principle that I came up with was to be mindful in your communication.  This mother was talking to her son not to someone else about her son.  She was being respectful in how she communicated and was deliberate in her style.  The third principle is to understand the purpose of your communication.  It was clear that the purpose was to extend her son’s critical thinking and to give information and feedback in a respectful manner.

            This communication would be beneficial to this child’s self-worth.  The mother was very encouraging as the child spoke and feedback was done so that the conversation could continue.  The child was motivated by his mother to continue with this conversation.  The only thing that I would change would be the amount of observing of gestures and body language though this did not affect this communication process.  I feel that I communicate effectively though I need to work on my observational skills so that I actively listen with my whole body and acquire the communication that children do through body language and gestures.

References

Kovach, B., & Da Ross-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC; Young Children, 66(2), 48-50.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011a). EDUC 6357-6 Diversity, Development, and Learning [Webcast]. Communicating with Young Children. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2819834_1%26url%3D

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95.

Creating Affirming Environment

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. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2819834_1%26url%3D