Creating Affirming Environments

Creating Affirming Environments

Scenario:  Imagine that you want to open your own Family Child Care Home. Reflect on what your setting would look like, what elements you think you might want to include and for what reasons, and the various ways that you will strive to ensure that every child and family feels welcome and respected.

Creating an affirming environment for children involves everything from toys to how the room and learning materials are arranged (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010), thus setting up a healthy anti-bias environment takes thought and reflection.  I would begin my process of setting up a family child care home by surveying the materials available to me.  The next step would be to survey my client base to see their cultural, environmental, and family background .  Knowing the families and creating an environment that is culturally responsive for them will ensure that I am trying to create an anti-bias environment(Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  This will also ensure that the families feel like they belong in the classroom and are part of the classroom rather than an outsider.  My hope is that they will feel welcomed. 

After I have surveyed my material, I can make any additions or eliminations that need to be performed to ensure the environment is anti-bias and culturally responsive.  For example, I will make sure that I have boy and girl ethnic dolls, the play centers set up to welcome both genders and all nationalities to play, wall décor that represents healthy pictures of anti-bias behavior such as a woman and man Doctor, various representations of ethnicity and books in various languages. 

I would also like to set up a system where the families are a part of the child care system.  I could coordinate various opportunities for parents to assist and share something about their family, culture, or beliefs with the class.  I would also like to bring in various resources from the community to share cultural diversity. 

There is so much more I would like to do, but also realize that one step at a time and implementing too much at one time could back fire and prove to be overwhelming.  I think a calendar system of step by step implementation would help organize my plans and help to ensure that all is done successfully.

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