The Ideal Child Care Center - Essay Example

Running head: CE 114 THE IDEAL CHILD CARE FACILITY Your Kaplan and section The Ideal Child Care Facility Introduction Few, if any, of the parents among us will dispute that our most valuable treasures are our children. As such, the care and proper development of our children is unequivocally the highest priority matter among the multitude of concerns we attend to each day, especially during the toddler years when a child’s brain is developing at its fastest rate (Enterprise Community Parents, 2006). Finding good child care is no easy task as attested to by a survey of some 1,470 parents working in a communications company. Of those polled, 39% found it “difficult” or “very difficult” to acquire reliable information about available quality regular child care, and even moreso for specialized child care; and 94% say that they were not content with visiting just one child-care center before deciding on placing their children (Booth, 1992, p.162). In the national debate on child care policy, three important consideration have been identified: accessibility, affordability, and quality (Connelly, 1991, p. 87). The Environment The first two attributes mentioned, accessibility and affordability, are largely dependent upon the parent’s circumstances and preferences. Assuming that one did find a place both accessible and affordable, how now does one assess quality? The first and most immediately apparent criterion would be the environment of the facility. It is thus important to personally visit the place one will be sending her children to before deciding to send them there; contracting over the telephone, for instance, is out of the question. Architect Brian Lee described the spatial requirements for child care centers (Hannen, 2009). The play environment must specifically be addressed to the physical capabilities of young children, providing the greatest possible safety and protection while allowing for active play and lively physical exertion. Spaces should be scaled down such that everything that the child needs – toys, coloring books and crayons, story books – are easily accessible to him. These include lower counters, toddler-size shelves, and window sills that are low and safe. It is important that a residential feel should permeate the place, so that the children could feel that they are in a place both familiar and friendly. Likewise, the building materials used for the interiors should be able to withstand serious wear and tear, as well as be susceptible to easy maintenance without resort of the use of noxious chemicals that may inadvertently harm the children. The color scheme of the interiors should be similar to those found in nature, but it, together with the décor, should be slightly enhanced to create either a stimulating or calming effect, depending upon the use of the particular room. Most importantly, however, child care facilities must be compliant with regulatory specifications particularly as to safety; thus, there should be more than one way that provides ingress or egress to and from the room, proper ventilation, fire safety measures such as sprinklers or fire extinguishers, and appropriately sufficient floor space for the number of children to conduct their activities conveniently. Class Procedures The place sufficiently appointed, the students are now ready to undertake the day’s activities. Certainly a certain order is imposed in order that learning can be structured in the best way possible. Algozzine (2006) advises dividing behavior instruction into the following: Content (what is to be taught), Monitoring (how to determine how well students are learning the content being taught them), and Modification (if student’s are not learning as planned, how and what changes should be taken in order to support and help the students learn better). Content should contain a good measure of pro-social behaviors or “friendly skills”, but likewise also the students’ expected behavior according to the school and classroom rules and procedures. School procedures are the routines that students are expected to follow while they are in the building. The procedures could differ from school to school – for instance, “Walking in the Hall” for some preschools would mean walking quietly, arms folded in front, in single file, while other schools would allow a more liberal atmosphere and walking with a partner in two straight lines. On the other hand, classroom procedures pertain to expected behavior within the classroom and varies greatly from teacher to teacher. For some this would mean sitting in one’s seat facing the teacher as the monitor for the day handed out the books from the shelves. For others, it means gathering around the teacher as she read them a storybook and showed the, the pictures. Developmentally Appropriate Expectations The class procedures are not just random activities thought up to occupy the child’s time, but should be consistent with developmentally appropriate practices. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 2009), developmentally appropriate practice is the instructional framework that promotes excellence in early childhood education through the use of best practices. In effect since 1986, developmentally appropriate practices are grounded in both research on child development and learning, and in the knowledge based on educational effectiveness. As can be deduced from its definition and intention, developmentally appropriate practices is more than just a set of practices, but an evolving outlook that constantly seeks out best practices as they become relevant within the present time duration. In all instances, however, increased and consistent communication and collaboration are essential, not only between the teacher/caregiver and child, but also with the child’s parents. Furthermore, it is necessary that allocations be made for physically handicapped children who are otherwise able to join a regular preschool class, or in certain cases where inclusion is allowed, also children with special needs where the proper support measures are in place. The Curriculum The use of developmentally appropriate practices is but a tool in the preschool teacher’s toolkit. Such tools, however, are only effective if there is a comprehensive and integrated plan pursued – in the case of an instructional setting, this refers to the curriculum. The ideal preschool abides by a curriculum that allows for the free expression of a child’s unique energy and creativity, while instilling a sense of mental and moral discipline. The ideal curriculum balances teacher-guided and independent center activities, allows for activity ideas, artistic creativity and music appreciation. It should also allow children to dissipate their abundant physical energy, and provide a quiet time of rest if not sleep. Good inclusions would be songs, poems, finger plays, and field trips, while being allowed to absorb through ingenious ways the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics. Conclusion It is impossible to find an ideal child care center, but with today’s innovative and dedicated preschool teachers, it is not impossible to find centers that come close to approximating it. This paper undertook to describe the ideal child care center, pursuant to the principle articulated by Gill, Dembosky and Caulkins, that “high-quality ECE [early care and education] services would improve a variety of long-term developmental, educational, and social outcomes for the children served and, ultimately, for the children’s communities and the society at large” (2002, p. 7). Child care, particularly in the very early stages, is similar to planting a tree that would someday provide solid roots for the society of tomorrow. It should therefore be undertaken with deliberate concern for the future of the child today. References Algozzine, K (2006) Teaching Procedures to Preschool Children, Behavior and Reading Improvement Center & the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Retrieved 18 May 2010 Booth, A. (1992) Child Care in the 1990s: Trends and Consequences. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Connelly, R (1991) “The Importance of Child Care Costs to Women’s Decision Making”, in Blau, D.M., ed., The Economics of Child Care. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (2006) The Importance of Early Care and Education. Retrieved 17 May 2010 from Gill, B.P.; Dembosky, J.W.; & Caulkins, J.P. (2002) A ‘Noble Bet’ in Early Care and Education. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Education Hannen, A (2009) “Creating the Ideal Environment for Children: Why You Need an Architect and How to Choose One”, Childcare Today, Fall, 2009. Ontario, Canada National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009) Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8. Position paper. Retrieved 18 May 2010 from Read More