Table of Content
Another aspect of continuity is caring for babies in out-of-home care settings in ways that are as similar as possible to how their families care for them at home. In home visiting, it is important that the ideas and activities provided by the home visitor for the family are in sync with the family‘s values and goals for their child. Sasha, a child care provider in a center-based program, is setting up her new classroom. She recently visited a friend who provides child care in her home and loved the calm, cozy environment.
Lots of time and space to explore, along with developmentally appropriate, interesting, creative materials, help children focus. Boredom or having nothing to do can be the cause for unwanted behaviors, but a child happily involved in play reflects an engaging environment and in return supports peaceful environments. License-exempt family child care providers are often also called family, friend, and neighbor care. Family, friend, and neighbor care is provided in the caregiver’s home by a person who is a relative, friend, or neighbor. A family child care home may be classified as large or small, depending on how many children are cared for. The number of infants and toddlers that can be cared for in a family child care home is often limited.
The Indoor Environment: Designing and Organizing
Hallways and other circulation areas that are wider than typical corridors offer found space for play or parent-staff conversations or staff breaks. Chair rails or other types of molding can be used to define sleeping areas for infants and toddlers. Provide the knowledge and skills to help families recognize that the most important part of their children’s environment is the relationships they grow together.
However, when designing or redesigning your indoor space, it is also important to consider logistics, aesthetics, organization, and the needs of all children in the space. Our built environments, including child care settings, schools, and neighborhoods, can be sites of harmful chemical contamination. In fact, many toxic chemicals can be found in places where children spend time--home, child care, and school. As a family child care provider, you are in control of all aspects of your child care environment.
Engaging Environments
SomeDemographic and Health Surveys and other national household surveys have also collected information on early childhood development, typically with the standard, or modified, versions of the MICS questionnaire. This text has been adapted from content originally created by Child Care Aware of America Grant #90LH002 for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families , Office of Child Care .
Strategically placing books relevant to children’s current interests around the room can change how they engage in the space. For example, offering a book on robots next to a bin of recycled materials can invite the construction of creative robotic structures. Both of my kids are beyond their age level of learning and a lot of it has come from home environment child care. I love the environment of the in home child care because there is more one on one time spent with the children to help them learn. My kids were always coming back home surprising me with words they learned in Spanish they both Excel in numbers shapes and talking. Identify and cut off “runways.” Long, narrow spaces — including open hallways and long aisles in the classroom — encourage running.
Creating Homelike Environments
Display beautiful items from nature in the inside environment (especially those the children discovered!) such as sea shells, leaves, flowers, rocks, interesting sticks, and plants. The children begin to see the adult’s respect and awe for natural materials, and also show a sense of honoring and caring for something. It is also in these group times that children are instilled with a sense of responsibility to care for each other and for the environment. Have the children, along with the adults, think of rules or “living ideas” for the group.
Patterns provide visual interest on walls, floors, and other surfaces. In display areas, wall covering patterns of small, symmetrical designs help the staff align artwork and other postings. For toddlers, use a paper plate to make a "stop" sign one side and a "go" sign on the other.
WonderKids Celebrates 30 Years of ‘Home-Like Environment’ Child Care
Information about the young artist and his comments about his work recorded neatly on sentence strips mounted with the picture complete the display. Framed posters, photographs, abstracts, and reproductions of the works of the masters, along with sculpture and pottery, can be displayed elsewhere in the classroom and throughout the center. Work with community partners to provide families with safety items like outlet covers and cabinet locks. Help families of mobile infants find resources to solve safety issues. Elements from home- ask families to share their favorite books, foods, toys, and games.
Instead of spending your time redirecting children, think carefully about how you set up the environment. Giving children the chance to explore freely in a well-organized and child-safe space is a much more effective way to manage behavior and encourage learning. Many families choose family child care homes because they like the family environment and the smaller number of children. Home-based programs provide a consistent caregiver for your child and may offer flexible hours if you need care in the evenings or weekends. Families with multiple children also like that siblings are cared for together rather than separated into different age groups. Family child care homes are often less expensive than center-based child care programs, but rates within your community may vary.
A quilt hung on the wall may have been made by a child’s parent or a staff member. Artifacts in the center are akin to cherished family collectibles and heirlooms found in the home. An assortment of hand woven baskets arranged on a shelf or an array of masks hung on the wall add both beauty and opportunities for discussion by children and staff. A colorfully painted rowboat on the playground becomes a favorite site for imaginative play. From a bowl of potpourri and a framed print in the staff bathroom to a chenille floor pillowin the preschool space, touches of home promote a sense of comfort and well-being for both children and adults.
Indoor arrangement of the physical environment is an art and a science. It is an art for you to make your program feel welcoming and like a home. It is a science as you use knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice to design your program’s floor plan.
In her effort to reach for the toy she forgets how hard it is to stand and pulls right up to reach for the toy! Describe how to organize materials for independence, easy use, and learning. Warwick Post is an online news and information source covering Warwick, Rhode Island.
Break up those long, narrow spaces by rearranging furniture, or add barriers to discourage runners. Place seating areas or small tables at intervals down the hallway. Peaceful environments take time to build and take continual care in order to maintain. In the process of creating and implementing peaceful environments, we are in turn nurturing peaceful and caring children.
Article Details
When you focus on your family child care environment, you think about the needs and interests of the individual children you serve. Their interests, and family cultures and diversity, should be reflected in the materials and furnishings you provide. Creating strong relationships should be an important element of your environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment