Adult-Child Communication

Throughout one’s day it is easy to find adult-child interactions in many places we go. This week I paid careful attention to these interactions when I was at the grocery store.

When I was in the produce section I noticed a woman with two young children. She was looking at various fruits and vegetables, with her children asking questions about what they were going to buy. She answered them that she was going to get some carrots, but they were free to each choose something if they did not want carrots, encouraging them to look at all the different colors and shapes of the produce around them.

I noticed that the mother encouraged healthy eating not by pushing vegetables and fruit onto her children, but letting them explore their options and giving them choices. She allowed time for questions and gave feedback about their choices (i.e. “celery is very crunchy! We can make some neat snacks with that- like ants on a log”). These interactions showed her children that she valued their thoughts and ideas about what food the family should eat and their contributions to the task of grocery shopping and being part of the family.

This mother made grocery shopping something meaningful to her children. They had input that was valued, and were allowed to make choices of their own, showing independence. Children learn more when they are interested in the topic at hand, and are able to help guide learning. The mother used the effective communication strategies of providing feedback and asking questions. I could not notice anything that needed improvement- I was pretty impressed the woman could take the time to make grocery shopping so fun!

What I observed this week mirrors much of what I do in the classroom. I do the best I can to find something that is learned in every interaction and activity throughout the day, no matter how small. Even snack time presents opportunities for free communication and a chance to learn more about each other. I give them feedback, ask questions about their interests, and validate their ideas. While I think I interact positively with my students, I think I could improve on my listening skills, particularly during the more academic periods of the day. I sometimes feel rushed to get through paced curriculum, but my students will gain more if I were to go at the pace of their curiosity rather than the pace of the teacher manual. I need to step back sometimes and really listen to what they are saying, as sometimes the answers they give to questions may not be exactly what I am looking for, but they still reflect knowledge and learning that has taken place.

Creating Affirming Environments

If I were to create my own Family Child Care Home, there are certain things I would include in the care center that would create learning environments that reflect the diversity of the children and families with whom I work.

First, I was drawn to Adriana Castillo’s idea of having places for families to communicate with staff and with their children, such as communication binders, and places to sit and read books or talk when partings are difficult. This makes families and children feel that their relationships are honored, and that the program values family connections. I would also implement some sort of sharing board where families could bring in aspects of their culture or other identities to share with other children and families, to build a sense of pride about who they are and teach others about diversity.

Play areas in this setting would include a wide variety of costumes that allow children to experience different styles of clothing and different occupation. Dolls would reflect different skin colors and physical abilities. Not only would all children of the center be depicted in the dolls, but also abilities and cultures that are outside of the child care community. The library would be stocked with childhood and family favorites, as well as literature that reflected a wide variety of family structures, socioeconomic class, cultural and ethnic differences, and “experience books”, which are photo or scrap books of the children and any special events they have done with their families or at the center. Experience books are a way for children to relive special events or daily routines, and often have captions directly quoted from the children involved. These books, toys, and clothing would reflect children’s true lives, and steer clear from anything with tokenism or tourist curriculum, as these elements create the idea that diversity is something exotic and abnormal.

Aside from physical elements of the child care center, the learning environment would also include a strengths-based philosophy of teaching that utilizes what children come into the program already knowing and what they are passionate about. Diversity and social justice would be actively taught, with conflict management centering on discussions, role-playing, and learning how to reflect on one’s own thinking. Family traditions, holiday traditions, and celebrations would be inclusive to all different cultures and religions, but would not be the only means of learning about different cultures (to avoid tourist curriculum). Families would be active participants in their child’s daily care, to the best that they have the time and/or resources to be. Through journals, conversations, sharing with the group, and family nights/weekends, they would be encouraged to share elements of their own cultures with staff and other families.

When the environment reflects the diversity of the children and families it creates a sense of pride in the child of whom he or she is, and reinforces anti-bias messages. By including aspects of diversity found outside of children’s families they learn to respect and value differences among them and among communities. What I have chosen to include in my Family Child Care Home make the invisible visible, counteracting the larger society’s message that some differences are taboo; and also fights stereotypes. It also invites children and families to feel a sense of belonging to the care center, building a true partnership between them and the program.