Creating Affirming Environments

For many years I have had the dream of one day wanting to open up my own child-care center. I just adore being around children and contributing to their growth and development. I love making a difference and I think having my own child care center would be the perfect opportunity to changes lives in a positive way!

 

If I was the owner/director of a child care center I would want it to be very big, have lots of room/space for children to walk around and play in. I would want it to be safe, warm and welcoming, and offer a lot of learning tools for children. My dream child care center would have a big rug with the letters of the alphabet on it. Over by the big rug would be an easel and a comfortable chair to sit in for story/reading time. It's where I would want my students to sit and listen as I read them many stories throughout the day. It would be colorful and comfortable. I would have at least two big tables for all the children for when we do curriculum. I would have a separate room which would be a lunch room where the children would eat their lunch. The room would have a built in kitchen in it. (Children would be required to bring their own lunch but I would offer snacks and juice/milk.) 

I would have many centers. Art center, science center, reading/writing center, sensory center, history center, music center, dramatic play center, block/building center, exploration center, and I would have a water/sand section. Each center would be labeled. "The use of centers in preschool is a valuable way to keep children engaged in positive and constructive activities. Centers promote independence, social skills, creativity, interests, and more." (Stewart, 2010) I would have a lot of dolls, puzzles, games, books, learning games, bulletin board displays, and learning material for the children.

My childcare center would have a lot of the children's art work on the wall, posters that promote diversity, and positive quotes."The toys, materials, and equipment you put out for your 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." (Sparks & Edwards, 2010)

My child care center would have a beautiful playground area with many things to play on. (Age appropriate) It would have two playground areas; one for the smaller children and one for the older children.

I would create an anti-bias curriculum and activities for children. Each week we would do a different theme and make it fun in the classroom"Common preschool and Kindergarten themes typically focus on self-discovery, children's families, children's neighborhoods, community helpers, transportation, work, and harvesting food." (Sparks & Edwards, 2010)

Each child would have their own cubby with their name on it. They would bring a backpack with extra clothes, necessities needed for class each day, their lunchboxes, etc. 

I would also hire experienced, loving, caring, trained individuals who were only the best! I truly feel like the people you hire at a child care center make all the difference in the world. Everything would be organized and each day would be so much fun!

I hope one day I will be able to fulfil my dream of becoming a child-care owner :-)

References:

Stewart, D. (2013, April 30). Centers in the preschool classroom. Retrieved from http://www.teachpreschool.org/2010/04/centers

Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. (p. 43). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.