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
Hi Luci, Here I come again always fascinated with your exquisite writing style.I can visualize your day care center with a beautiful setting and I know the children will be blessed to have a true anti-bias educational environment from the kind of materials mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
You mentioned that you would have photo albums depicting the children and their families in one of your rooms. At the beginning of every school year, I send disposable cameras home with the children in my program and instruct them to take picture of their families and anything else they would like to share with their classmates. The children are always thrilled to have a camera they're allowed to use and take pictures all over their homes. When they bring the cameras back, I put all the pictures in photo albums in the dramatic play area. The children love flipping through them and telling all their friends about their homes. This helps create a deep sense of pride in who they are.
ReplyDeleteLucinda,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your vision for a child care center would be a healthy anti-bias environment. I also like your ideas involving the family pictures on the walls. There isn't anything more inviting and respectful as a family picture of all the families. Thanks so much for your blog.