Creating Affirming Environments

            For my Early childhood setting I would want it to be looked at as a place of comfort and Anti-bias.  I want it to be a place where culture is honored and respected as well as diversity.  The media segment we watched this week of exploring the early childhood educators home daycare really inspired me to think of how I would want my own setting to look like.  I would want a specific wall we dedicate to Culture and diversity on that wall we would study different countries each month and learn about them from what they wear, how they look, their own language and whatever else it is that makes them unique.  We would start with the cultures of the children and families I serve and then we will move on to Cultures outside of what they know and are familiar and accustomed to.  "An environment rich in Anti-biased materials invites exploration and discovery and supports children's play and conversations in both emergent and planned activities" (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards (2010).   
          Another area I would like to have is the play area and in this area we would have dolls and toys that were diverse, I'd want to have different races of the dolls to incorporate and show culture and so children could start seeing the diversity that is in the world Also I would want to have different costumes such as Firefighters, nurse, doctor, princess, police officer etc so that he children can begin to dress up as different professions and learn on them.  Another area would be a story time area where I would have different books that would speak to all cultures and help children to learn on cultures in the world.  I would put a world globe in this area as well as a map on the wall for us to study and begin learning the names of different countries.  This is a great way for children to begin thinking on the many different people all around and learn about countries they don't know about and even incorporate and talk about their own.  
       
          Another section would be a wall we dedicate to different careers and professions.  Not only is diversity in how we look and our cultures, but it is also in where we work and make a living from.  So it will be important to me for us to study those different professions no matter what and get the children to learning what they do and how they dress and the impact and importance they have in their field.  I want my environment to be rich in culture and be a great learning environment to diversity and explore the world.  There will be different colors and different flags that represent the countries of my own students and of countries that we learn about.  The activities we do will also incorporate Anti-bias such as drawings and paintings that I would display on the walls.  I would have pictures of the children and families in an area probably in the front of my setting so it is the first thing you see when you walk in and you get a feel of who is inside and the different children I work with.  The media segment inspired me for this because she had a wall of the children and families which is great, because it is important to incorporate the children and families so they feel more at home and welcome when they come inside.  

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