Week 3- Observing Communication

Observation Setting: Preschool

            I observed the interaction between a mother and 4-year-old daughter at my preschool that I work at.

I noticed that the daughter often calls the shots and the mother has very little authority over her daughter. Upon the mother picking up her daughter from school, I notice the daughter does not acknowledges that her mother is there to pick her up despite her mother, myself, and her friends telling her that her mother is there. Even after the mother had signed her daughter out and grabbed all of her daugher’s belongings, the daughter still did not acknowledge that her mother was there or ready to leave.

            From my observations, I learned that the mother had little control over her daughter. The daughter seems like she is the one in control and tells the mother what to do.

            In order to have helped the communication between the mother and daughter, I could have sat next to the 4 –year-old girl and while she was playing I could have gotten her attention and told her that her mom is here to pick her up. In addition, I will let the girl know that her mommy has had a long day and needs to go home to pick up her brother.  Maybe saying this would allow the girl to realize that if she and her mom are unable to leave the school, then her brother would be waiting for both of them.

            I think the interaction between the girl and her mother is normal. The mother was not really upset, but just kept politely asking her daughter to go. I am hoping that the parenting style between the mother and daughter improves as this could have detrimental affects on the child.

            As an educator it is important to continue my efforts in playing the authority figure, thus teaching the children that there are rules to follow and people to obey. It is important to teach children that they need to be respectful to others, and in this case they need to listen and be respectful to their parents. In the future if children are unwilling to leave school and make their parents wait, I will then ask the children the following day how come they do not want to go home. Hopefully, this will answer some questions as to why they want to stay at the school longer.

WEEK 2- Creating Affirming Environments

Week 2- Blog 6358

If I were to open a Family Child Care Home I would like to have a home with several rooms. For the childcare area I would like to have at least three rooms that have a specific purpose (i.e. separate room for snack time, naps, and play room). In addition, I want to be sure I separate my home living space from the Family Care Center. My nap room will include sleeping mats and a comfy chair, my play room will have a couch and several learning resources and toys where the children can play with on their free time. I will have toys that play music, have different textures, and a playhouse with play food, and dress up items for the children to explore.

            In the Day Care area I will have several colorful posters on the walls, some which will include an alphabet, number, and seasons posters. In addition, I want to have pictures of the children displayed on the wall. It is important to make the children and families feel welcomed and a part of this classroom/ child care center. I will also have a wall or binder dedicated to parents that include a classroom calendar, monthly lunch menu, permission slips, and weekly newsletter. In addition, I will also keep in contact with the parents about how their children are doing in the class. According to Derman & Sparks,  [it is important to] try to get around to all of your families every two weeks through phone conversations or email” (Sparks & Edwards, 2010). I will either make an initiative to email or call my students families if I am unable to talk to them face to face.

            A Family Child Care Home that I want to create will feel very welcoming and will be a second home for both the families and children I teach. I will want to focus on social skills and teach children through play rather than academically. Nowadays, children are being taught academically at such a young age and do not learn the social skills needed like how schools used to be in the past. Children at a young age should be exploring and learning by teaching themselves through play and the experiences they encounter.

References:

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