Message Board
My family child care home will have a message board for the family to read when they enter the room. It will be a marker board posted close to the entry door. I saw a message board in the multimedia segment from the tour of Adriana's care home with the word "Welcome" written in English and Spanish. I believe having a message board is important because I can communicate to my parents and keep them inform of current events that is going on at the child care. The messages will be written in English and Spanish.
Family Tree
My family child care home will have a family tree displayed on the wall. I believe it is important to have a family tree so the children can see their classmate's family as well as theirs. I will have my parents to bring in a family photo to hang on the tree. I saw in the multimedia segment that Adriana had photos of family on her wall. This would show the different diversity of families in my family child care home.
All By-Yourself Area
My family child care home will have a by-yourself area. I believe having an all by-yourself is important because children can go and be by themselves if they need it. Also, it's an area if the child feels angry or just need to be away from his or her peers. The children can also use this area to quietly read books.
Print Literacy
My family child care home will promote print literacy. I believe promoting print literacy is important because it teaches children the word and the picture of each item in the classroom. The name of each item will be label in English and Spanish. My children will be able to learn almost everything in my family child care home in English and Spanish. I believe print literacy is very important in licensed child care and family home child care.
Books
My family child care home will have an anti-bias library. My library area will have a variety of books on social diversity of the children and families. Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) stated that "three good sources of suggestion are www.childpeacebook.org, www.teachingforchange.org, and the Anti-Bias section of NAECY's website: wwwnaeyc.org" (p. 46). I believe this is important because children will be listening to stories that relates to anti-bias and how to overcome these problems that they might encounter.
Music
My family child care home will have a diverse selection of music CD's "and homemade tapes incorporates and reflects children's home cultures and languages as well as the larger community, country, and world" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 52). My children will have the opportunity to listen and sing to different variety of children music from around the world. Children can also bring music CD's from home that they enjoy listening to.
Puzzles
My family child care home will have puzzles for my children that represents multicultural and different diversities of children and families. I will also have puzzles that are homemade using pictures from magazines and photos.
Wall Hangings
My family child care home will have pictures of different diversities of families and multicultural children on the walls. I will also have photographs of my children doing fun activities in the classroom and outdoors. A good idea that I read from our textbooks was to "send cameras home, and ask parents for duplicates of family" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 45). I would have to ask parents for permission for me to photograph their child and to duplicate and use their images.
Dolls and Figurines
My family child care home will have a variety of dolls and figurine of families from different diversities for my children to play. I will have dolls and figurines that have different physical abilities. Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) stated "a wide range of authentic people toys including appropriate homemade dolls featuring diversity of age, race, gender, and body type, including people with physical challenges" (p. 52). I believe this is important to children because it teaches them about different diversity of children's dolls and about children with disabilities.
References
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).
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children. Baltimore, MD:
Author
Chris,
ReplyDeleteVery creative post! I like how you included the family tree. This is a great way to include families and create a community. The message board is a nice inclusion as well. Adriana posted messages in her families home language, which I thought was an additional important touch. Your prospective center looks very inviting and affirming to any student who comes.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteLove the ideas that you have for your Child Care Center and I love the images that you added to your post, I like the “ all by yourself” area that you plan on implementing. I believe that will promote independence and it also provide a place for the children to regulate themselves on their own if they have a meltdown. The print literacy center is also an asset to your Center.
Great blog.
Angela.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI love your family tree idea. I currently have photos of my students and their families on display in my classroom and the children love it. They love walking over to the photos to see what their friends families look like and the children also love to talk about their families. It really gives them a sense of pride and you can see it on their faces that they love to share. It also adds to the welcoming factor of the space which is so important, especially to young children just going to school for the first time. We want them to feel safe. To me, displaying family photos at the level of the children was one of the greatest additions to my classroom. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. I encourage all of you to do the same, you won't be sorry!
Hi Christopher,
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!!!! Your child care center sound like a wonderful place to put my child. It's a very diverse learning center that the children will learn about the different cultures of the world.
Dominique