Creating Affirming Enviornments

Years ago I owned and operated a large family home childcare. I can say that my environment was nothing compared to the family home childcare of Adriana Castillo. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to tour a portion of her childcare. She has done a very well job with the setting up and arrangement of her childcare. If I were to re-open a family home childcare, I would definitely use some of the very same ideas that Adriana has used in her business.

In my family home childcare setting, I would use the following areas of my home as my childcare. I would use my front and back yard, my patio, my living room, kitchen, my family room, and the main restroom of my home. Just as Adriana, I would clear out any personal items and furniture from the following areas that I’ve chose to utilize in my business. I would want for the children to have the appropriate amount of space to where they are comfortable and able to maneuver around in their learning environment. When I operated my family child care, I had set up my home to look just as a preschool classroom. Therefore, I would create my home to reflect an actual classroom setting with all the necessary furnishings and materials to develop a child friendly and welcoming environment.

Elements that I would like to include in my  childcare that would enhance the development of an anti-bias environment would be child size furnishings, age appropriate toys and materials, multicultural books, music, multicultural dolls, puzzles, dramatic play materials, art supplies, blocks, push cars, legos, posters, photo of children, soft pillows, puppets, bean bags, trikes, climbing structures, crawl through tunnels, and a host of other materials to help with the development and creating of an anti-bias environment. I have chosen these materials because each of them supports children’s development. For example, books as well as multicultural books help children with their language development. Books are a great way for children to develop a love for literacy and recognize the differences in people. These crucial anti-bias tools introduce children to love reading as well as to human differences and similarities (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

Just as in any other childcare setting, welcomes and greetings need to be ever present in family home childcares. I just love the idea of how Adriana uses her patio areas as a greeting area to the children and families. The area is large enough for furnishings, supplies, and learning materials. The area is neat and clean and appears to have an adequate amount of shade to where children and families are comfortable. Adriana explains that it gives both the children and parents time to separate from one another. Yeah, because most of the times the hard part for the children is the separation for the families (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). The area is furnished with activities, toys, trikes, and other play items to help the child feel comfortable when entering the family home. I would say it’s a great way to keep children’s minds off of having to separate from mommy because there are so many activities and items available to play with during this transitioning time. It also gives parents the opportunity to interact with their child in play before separating from them.

In my home childcare, to assure that parents and children feel welcome and respected, I would be sure to greet the in a warm way each morning. As for the environment, I would create an anti-bias learning environment. I would be sure to display diversity within the home through the use of posters, photos, cultural artifacts, children’s learning material such as dolls, puzzles, book, and other various materials that will help the family feel welcome and recognize their culture within the program. As for interactions between the children and families, I would make sure that all interactions are positive and professional.   

The multimedia along with the chapter reading inspired me on how to create an environment that is anti-bias. After viewing the home of Adriana, I could not help but revisit the way I had my former home daycare. On a scale from 1-10 I would say that I would have scored a 5 compared to Adriana home set up. Her home childcare was well organized, enriched with multiple items that supported diversity and individualized culture. After reading the visual and material environment portion of chapter four, I was influenced that the environment plays a key role in how children and families are influenced that the learning environment is inviting and supports their family and culture. The toys, materials, and equipment you put out for children; the posters, pictures, and art objects you hang on the wall; and the types of furniture and how you arrange them all influence what children learn (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

Resources

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