Creating Affriming Environments
- Reflect on what your
setting would look like: My setting would be in a home, I feel children will feel more comfortable in a familiar setting. I would make sure to have a rooms designated for play, eating, and sleeping. I will also make sure to have handicap accessibility.
- What elements you think you might want to include and
for what reasons: I will make sure to have toys that are diverse in every way possible. I will have dolls, puzzles, cars, trains, coloring, manipulatives, books, animals, etc. I will make sure all areas are visible, such as writing, block, sensory, dramatic, kitchen, table and floor centers. I want to give my children that ability to explore what they want and feel free to be expressive as they want. In the book section I will have books on animals, feelings, friendship, culture, and differences. I have read books like these to my students and they seemed to enjoy it.
- The various ways that you will strive to ensure that every
child and family feels welcome and respected: I will make sure to post pictures and posters of different cultures and races. I will make sure every family knows they can come to me with any concern they have about my center and feel free to give suggestions. I will allow each child to express themselves and ask questions they are curious about, while teaching respect.
Hello Ayonie-
ReplyDeleteI agree in that a child’s learning environment should not only welcome our students, but our families as well. By creating an open, trustworthy and respected relationship with our families, we build consistency between home and school thus empowering each child’s learning. I particularly liked Adriana’s idea in creating a whiteboard in which families could willingly share information about their child’s routine, special events, and/or changes staff members should be aware of (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). (Executive Producer) Welcome to Anti-Bias
Learning [Video webcast].
Hi Ayonie,
ReplyDeleteI like how you made sure to add handicap accessible to your home center. I think often times people assume if their house is on one floor that it will be accessible for all children but this may or may not be the case. Children in wheelchairs might need wider doorways or children who are little people might not be able to reach light switches or may need a stool to rest their feet on while sitting in a chair.
I also like how you made sure to include exploration as that is a wonderful way for children to learn and often times exploration and learning through play are not viewed as ways for children to learn various concepts.
Hello, thank you for sharing. Yes you are correct, it is very important to have toys that represent different diversities. We need to have toys that represent different races, gender, abilities, and ages. In my current school district we use an assessment tool called ECERS. ECERS stands for Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale. I have found their recommendations to be very helpful. Are you familiar with them?
ReplyDeleteResources:
http://ers.fpg.unc.edu/