Observing Communication

This week we were requested to observe an adult and young child communicating in a real world setting. I observed my son's toddler teacher communicating with a small group of children one afternoon when I picked him up from his childcare center. She was attempting to engage the children in a sensory activity using water, tissue paper, and sea animals. During the interaction, she sat on the floor next to the sensory table. She asked the children to describe how the wet tissue paper felt. She was met with much babbling, (these are very young toddlers), and responded by saying, Yes, I noticed that the tissue paper felt wet and squishy too!

I noticed that during this brief interaction the teacher utilized some methods that we learned were effective communication strategies. She attempted to engage children in conversation by acknowledging each child by name (Kovach & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011) and getting down to the child's eye level. I also noticed she attempted to challenge children's cognitive response by asking them to describe what they were feeling (Rainer Dangel & Durden, 2010).

I noticed many similarities between the way my son's toddler teacher and I interact with young children. We both get down to children's eye level, we both attempt to challenge children's cognitive responses, we both acknowledge children by name, and we both try to include our observation of the child's response in our conversation.

Based on our readings this week, I learned the importance of listening, really listening, to children and stepping back from my own expectations and agenda (Stephenson, 2010).

 

References

Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66(2), 48-50

Rainer Dangel, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95.

 

Creating Affirming Environments

"What children do not see in the classroom teaches children as much as what they do see."

                                (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 2010, p. 43)

This week we have been asked to describe what our own Family Child Care Home would look like, ensuring that the environment we create allows every child and family to feel welcome and respected.

In the family child care home I envision, children and families would  see their family structure and culture reflected within the school environment, through the languages spoken within the program, the artwork on display, the art materials offered, and the variety of books, toys, games and activities available for children's and families use.  If I am unfamiliar with the home language of a family, I will make every effort to properly learn key words and phrases from the family's home language, and hire staff that speak that language if possible.  If that is not possible, inviting family and other community members who speak this language into the program for regular visits will be crucial to supporting the child's development of language skills in their home language and to show value to this language in the child's life.

Children and families would enter my home through the front door and directly into the living room, which would be set up with comfortable armchairs and a couch with plenty of pillows and (depending on the weather) blankets. Since children are often tired in the morning, (as Adrianna Castillo mentioned, Laureate Education Inc., 2011), children would be welcome to rest on the couch or in a chair until they are ready to begin their day. A portable crib would be available for younger children who arrive sleeping (Laureate Education  Inc., 2011). Children ready for the day or not wanting to rest would be encouraged to choose a book, puzzle, or other toy to play with from a collection of materials reflective of the variety of children and families enrolled in the program and present in the community.  Books would be available in the languages spoken  at home by children and families both at the program and within the community.  Parents would be encouraged to stay and help their child engage in an activity if they have time before leaving for work to do so. If the parent was unable to stay and  the child was having difficulty separating from the parent, the child would be comforted in a way that allows the child to express his or her feelings in a safe way.

A display of family photos would be displayed at children's eye level for children to view at any time. Families would also be encouraged to bring any items from home that offer their child comfort, such as a special blanket, toy, music, etc. Similar to the culture share described by Adriana Castillo (Laureate Education Inc., 2011), each child and family would have a space to display items that represent their family. Parents would be free to change these items as often as they wish and to share with the staff and children in the program what makes each item special to their family. Children and families would be encouraged to share family traditions through these objects or through other media (songs, stories, books, games, etc.). If these traditions are connected to a holiday or other celebration, children and families would be encouraged to share this at the time of the year when the holiday or celebration occurs.

A schedule of the day's activities would be posted in a conspicuous place for families to view, with space available for families to write about their child's specific needs for the day or things the family would like to work on. This would be in the same notebook as the sign in log. The daily schedule would also be posted in picture and word form at the children's eye level so children would know what to anticipate for the day. The schedule would remain as consistent as possible from day to day to promote children's feelings of safety and security in knowing what to expect for the day.

At snack and meal times, foods offered would be varied and  be reflective of the varied cultures of children and families within the program and community.

Other things you would see within the environment are pictures, posters, and wall hangings reflective of the cultures and family structures of the children in the program. Pictures of children, families and staff engaging in daily activities would also be displayed and would be changed  as children's activities change. Art materials would be reflective of the children's cultures, and all use of all colors of paper, crayons, paint, markers would be encouraged. Sensory materials would never include food, since food is a resource and should not be wasted. Dolls and other people props would be multicultural and would reflect varying abilities. Books (purchased and homemade) would reflect the daily lives of children, families and staff members. I especially liked the section in Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) that gave anti bias homework ideas for families. Making a book report about the family's favorite book shows the many different books children and families enjoy. Writing a story about when a child or family member sees something unfair and does something to make it fair shows children that everyone can make a difference. Sharing the many different games children's adult family members played as a child can also be interesting and show diversity.  I would also be open to incorporating other elements as requested by the children and families in the program.

 

References

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

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author