Creating Affirming Environments

An environment that is rich in anti-bias materials, culturally consistent for the children and families it serves, accurate and non-stereotypical invites exploration and discovery and supports children’s social, physical, emotional and cognitive development. Therefore, if I would have a child care setting of my own, I would:

1. Ensure that every family feels welcomed and comfortable.  

a. I would have school/family handbook which would be translated to languages other than English to include all the families. The aim of this handbook would be to familiarize every family about our philosophy and the various activities in our program. This is important for families to feel part of the program.

b. I would have a comfortable place at the entrance with seating area and coffee, tea and biscuits made available so that parents feel comfortable to sit and chat with the teachers, where teachers would be able to understand the needs of the family and family would be able to express their area of concern and what they would like for the teacher to focus. It would also give rise to opportunities for families to interact with other parents. This would help develop relationships not just between families and teachers but between the families and thus help bring communities together. 

c. Unlike the center where I currently work where parents are not allowed to come into the classroom to pick up or leave their children and is asked to hand over their child to the assistants at the main entrance, I would make the classroom accessible to all parents so that they can come and be partner with us, be a part of our teaching environment. This would help families to know what we do, the culture of our classroom, and who the other children and families are.

2. Ensure that every child feels welcomed and comfortable.

a. I would have a place set up where children can make their transition from home to the learning place. I have realized from my learning that it is important that we do not stop the children crying, but that children must on their own make that transition. This is very important especially for a child who is new to the program. Those who are already used to the routine blend in without any effort. While for those who are new it takes the appropriate environment, attention and effort. Therefore, a bed with cushions, books, dolls, and small toys and music can make the child at ease.

b. I would also have the parent spend some time with the child in the classroom so that the child would feel comfortable and safe to explore.

3. Ensure that the visual and material environment reflects the different cultures especially of those in the center.

a. I would have wall hangings such as posters; bulletin boards and other art reflect the children’s home cultures.

b. In order to ensure that every child feel safe, nurtured and included, I would have anti-bias materials in every learning areas. Role play area, construction and art areas would have materials that would provide critical thinking and diverse learning experience like cloths and toys reflecting different children’s backgrounds, dolls and figurines with different body types, race and gender, paints and colors of all skin tones and blocks and Lego’s with nonsterotypical photos on the wall. This is important since when children play they recreate life and learn to work together.

c. I would have an area where families could share their culture. I would even like to invite families who are willing to share part of their culture with us in the classroom. Either they could bring in home cooked food item or play an instrument or showcase their photo album, and thus share their culture. This would help connect different cultures.

Relationships, interactions with children and families, together with the visual and material environment and daily curriculum would help create a learning community that truly nurtures and supports all children in my learning center.