Creating Affirming Environments

"The toys, materials, and equipment you put out for 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. In addition to seeing themselves in their learning environment, children also need materials that honor diversity both within and beyond their own identity groups (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

If I were to open my own family child care home, it would be a loving, caring, and happy environment. The transition would be the first room where the children can take time to say goodbye to their parents. In the learning video,Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community, (Laureate, Education 2012). the transition room is a great place for children to gather themselves emotionally before they go into the center. In the transition room,on the walls it will have pictures of colorful butterflies and flowers. On the tables, picutres of the families and children will be displaced throughout the room. Also, their will be a variety of age appropriate books to read,such as, big books for young children. In addition, there will be crayons and paper, too. Finally, in the transition room parents' information wall which will include weekly menus, monthly news letter, calendar, and sign in and out sheets.

The Learning room is where the learning will start with the walls decorated with rainbow colors all around the room. A big sign with the word Welcome hanging on the wall. Music is playing soflty in the background. In the circle area where the children will sit a rug with letters of the alphabets displayed in English and another language is a great way to help children learn letters of the alphabets in another language. The room will be divided into different areas such as, science, house, sand/table,writing, reading, blocks, computer, art, and manipulatives. I would have a table where all the children can bring something special they would like to display about their families.

The sleeping room is where I would have decorated with stars and moons on the walls and from the ceiling. Hopefully, the children will feel at home and comfortable to sleep while listening to soft music playing. Also, I will use night lights, too.

Parents are you ready for me to love and care for your children? You have found the right place!

References:

Derman-Sparks, L. & J.O.(2010), Anti-Bias Education, for Young Children and Ourselves, Washington, DC: National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC)

Laureate, Education (2012), Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community (2012),

Art Gallery- What I Have Learned

One hope that you have when think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds

I hope all children and families can learn to accept, respect, and understand each other. All children and families deserve to live in a world where we all can be as one.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice

All educators, working in the anti-bias education needs to be properly trained and this will help the families and children in the diversal family.

I want to thank all my colleagues for helping me to expand my knowledge in this class. Reading all your discussions and blogs has helped me tremendously in this class. I am looking forward to continue working and learning with all of you in the next class.

Creating Art

After reading the resources in this class, it has helped me to keep an open mind and same sex families should not be discrimnated against because of their race, religion, econominc status, gender, or ethnic backgrounds. In other other words, all families are special because of love, support, respect, and trust for each other. In the end, children just need love and support from family members. It does not have to be from a male and a female.

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

A time when you witnessed an adult (or yourself) reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different

It happen when I took my five year old niece to the grocery store. She said in a loud voice "why is that woman dressed like a man?" I grabbed my niece and quickly left the grocery store. I told her that it was not nice to say things like that because it would hurt people feelings. Next time, when she someone looks different it would be best to ask me and I will tell you. Please use your inside voice.

What messages might have been communicated to this child by the adult's response

It is not nice to scream or say things that might hurt someone's feelings because they look or act different. Now that my niece is older, she tells her younger cousin, it is not nice to say bad things about people because it will hurt their feelings.

An example of how an anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child's (or classroom's) understanding

The anti-bias educator would have took the time to address the issue in a calmer way without leaving the store in a hurry. The anti-bias educator would listen to the child and ask questions about why and how she knew the woman was dress like a man. It would be a good time to use a book about lesbians and Gays. Hopefully, this would be a positive and healthy way to introduce this child about different lifestyles of men and women.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

How would you respond to those who belive that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families?

Living in today's society, working in the early childhood center; it is important that children are taught about all families units. Using books is one of the best ways to help our children understand that all people can be included in a family. These books makes it easy to see, accept, and respect differences in families living in today's soceity. In addition, this will eliminate any bias that these young children have grew up with about gays or lesbians.

How would you respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived as homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and or interacting with their child?

I would explain to the parent or family member that the school board only hire qualified people that does not include their sexual preference. The highly qualified teachers are here to teach your children the curriculum. Also, I would explain just because your children are around teachers who are gay or lesbian are not going to influence your children to become gays or lesbians. In addition, I would give the parent or family member the option are withdrawing their children and enrolling them in another school.

In the public school where I work, one of the teachers are gay and I must say all the children have no problems with his sexual perference. In fact, all the children enjoy and learn a lot in his class. Also, This is a positive and healthy learning environment where the children and teacher respect and accept each other.

Final Communication Blog

Hello Colleagues,

For the last eight weeks, I want to thank you to everyone. Most of us have been in classes together from the beginning and I am hoping some of us will be together again in our specializations. I have learned new ideas and concepts from reading your posts and different blogs. As our journey comes near, I hope to keep in touch with all of you. Also, one thing I learned about communication is the process in which we can develop meaningful relationships with others (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2009).  In order to continue our meaningful relationships, I encourage everyone to e-mail me at:oceangolddiva@yahoo.com. I will be waiting!!

I enjoyed working with all of you!

Team Building and Collarboration, Part 1

This week, we learned about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, performing, and adjourning (Adudi, 2010).

The group that was the hardest for me to leave was the five member women group named the Classy Ladies. Our group spent a lot of happy times together where we celebrated birthdays, holidays, and cookouts together. Since we knew each other before, the forming staging stage worked well for all us. The rest of the stages: storming, performing, and adjourning stages went great together. All of us did our part to make sure our group worked toghether to make sure our parties, fundraisers and cookouts were a success. Our high performing group stayed together for ten years. As the group ended, as we got older and moved away, we cried, hugged, and exchanged e-mails. We all vowed to stay in touch and visit whenever possible.

When it is time to adjourn from my colleagues at Walden, it will be bitter sweet because we have worked together and learned  a lot through the discussion boards, blogs, and e-mails. Therefore, I hope we will decide to stay in touch as we continue our next journey in our lives. Also, I hope we will remember our happy times spent together.

The adjourning phrase is an essential stage to teamwork because it shows the team members how all their dedication and commitment were appreciate in the group. This gives them the opportunity to say good bye and wish each other well in the next step in their lives (Audi, 2010).

Reference

Abudi, G. (2010), The five stages of team development: a case study, Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html