In
my Family Child Care Home I would like to foster a center that is welcoming and
respectful to all of the children, parents, and families that I serve. Through
the center there will be diversity of posters and educational materials that reflect
diversity.
In my
Welcome center I would display pictures of the child and the family. I would display these pictures in a section “All
about Us”. Parents can bring pictures
from home and with permission pictures will be taking doing the course of the day
while child is engaged in learning experiences and transitioning time.
In
my Reading Center, I would have books that focus on diversity. These books will
convey messages that represent the culture, language, and identity of all
children. The pictures of the books will
be age appropriate that depicts familiar pictures that has representation of
the child’s family history. Books are one of the richest resources for
helping children meet the anti-bias education (Sparks-Derman & Edwards, 2010). Books give children a sense of identity and
allow them to learn new things. I would
also allow parents to bring books that are a part of their child’s and family
culture.
In
the Language center, there will be words that are spoken in different
forms. For example, there will be “hola”
for the Spanish culture, “hello” for the American culture, “ni-hao” in Chinese
culture, and yia sou in the Greek culture.
In the
Dramatic play area, I want to display dolls that represent various
cultures. I want to incorporate all
forms of working people in this area. I
want women to have on hard hats and the men to be in nurse’s uniforms. Want children to be able to identify with
all kinds of people; people who do stay at home work and those who pursue
professional careers. I would also have dolls that represent disabilities and
abilities in various cultural backgrounds.
In the kitchen area, I would have foods that
represent the culture of the children; as well as different utensils that the
child’s culture utilizes. I would also encourage
the families to collaborate and share ways to include their family’s culture of
food in the classroom setting, including how they sit and how they eat their food.
In the
Music center, the parents are encouraged to bring lullabies, songs, and music
about their culture. The parents are
also encouraged to come to center and sing songs that reflect their individual
culture.
In
the Math center, I want to be diverse in how children learn numbers. In the science center I also want the children
to be able to learn science from a different perspective through diversity.
In
the Social Studies center, I want the children to explore the world through pictures,
maps of the worlds, and learning animals and toys that are a representation of
different cultures.
In
the manipulative and block area, I want the children to recognize the different
forms of diversity through puzzles.
Children can use magazines to find diverse pictures of families and
foods.
In
the Computer area, children will be able to explore learning activities from a
diverse and educational perspective.
In
the Soft area, there will be puppets and pillows that are a representation of
different cultures. Each of the puppets
and pillows will be a part of the child.
They will make the child feel safe and basically make them feel like
they are at home. This area is a secure
play for the child to reminisce and talk about their families.
My
reason for choosing these centers and materials is that I feel that they will
meet the individual, cultural, and developmental needs of the child. I believe that the parents will feel welcomed
and valued. I believed by including the
family and child culture in the curriculum the child will feel important, safe,
and inclusive. I choose this information because I believe that it is my responsibility to create a responsive, cultural, and family oriented educational learning center so that the child can thrive to become a important community leader.
References
Sparks-Derman,
L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-Bias
Education for Young Children and Ourselves. Washington: National
Association for the Education of Young Children.