Building an Early Childhood Program Quality Environments
Building an Early Childhood Program Quality Environments
Submit a 6- to 8-page paper following the guidelines and instructions in the “Building Your Early Childhood Program—Part 5: Quality Environments” document. Your paper should include a summary of your observation and recommendations, your floor plan or narrative description of your indoor Course Project: Building Your Early Childhood Program
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Part 5: Quality Environments
For your Course Project this week, you will observe in an early childhood setting and then write up your observation according to the directions below.
Before Your Observation
Read through the entire Assignment, so that you will be prepared to meet the requirements before, during, and after your observation.
Review the following required resources:
- Darragh, J. (2008). The view from the door: Entryways as an essential aspect of environmental design. Exchange, (184), 22–24.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Duncan, S. (2011). Breaking the code: Changing our thinking about children’s environments. Exchange, (200), 13–16.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Greenman, J. (2007a). The child’s job: Talking to parents about child development. Exchange, (174), 66–69.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Greenman, J. (2007b). Places to live: Important dimensions of child care settings. Exchange, (178), 21–24.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - McManis, L. D., & Gunnewig, S. B. (2012). Finding the education in educational technology with early learners. YC: Young Children, 67(3), 14–24.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Walsh, P. (2008). Planning for play in a playground. Exchange, (183), 88–92.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
- Refer to the Document:
NAEYC Early Learning Program Accreditation Standards and Assessment Items pp. 105 – 116
During Your Observation
Note the name of the program, the age level of the children in the room where you are observing, the number of adults and their roles. Then note you responses to the following:
After you have met the teacher, get down to children’s eye levels: What do you see when you go through the door?
In what ways are the entryways designed to support:
- Classroom community
- Family/child/staff interactions
- Transitioning
In what ways does the indoor environment offer children:
- Comfort and softness
- Privacy and semi-seclusion
- Inclusive opportunities for a variety of developmental strengths and challenges
- Autonomy
- Opportunities to explore and discover
- Opportunities to use their imaginations
- Opportunities to move freely
- Opportunities to take safe risks
In what ways does the outdoor play space offer children:
- Quiet space
- Open space
- Active space
- Inclusive opportunities for a variety of developmental strengths and challenges
- Opportunities to explore and discover
- Opportunities to use their imaginations
- Opportunities to feel and be close to nature
- Opportunities to take safe risks
In what ways do the indoor and outdoor environments align with the Materials Guide from your text?
After Your Observation—Evaluation and Reflection
To complete this Assignment:
- Summarize, in 2–3 pages, your observation, including at least three recommendations for ways to improve the program environment. Provide a rationale for your recommendations.
- Create or describe a floor plan of the indoor environment and a plan for the outdoor play environment for your early childhood program. Also, describe aspects of the environment that make it distinctive, and incorporate such components as comfort, softness, autonomy, discovery, etc. (Note: You may choose to represent your floor plan in any method you would like, e.g., illustrate by hand, use drawing tools in Word, take photographs,write a detailed description.)
- Imagine you are giving a tour of your program to a family member who is thinking of enrolling his or her child. Write a description of the tour, detailing the way you would explain how your indoor and outdoor environments foster healthy development and learning for young children. Also, explain how your environment reflects your vision for your program and your mission statement. Cite resources to substantiate your thinking.
Assignment length: 2–3 pages for the summary of your observation and your recommendations, at least 2 pages for your floor plans or narrative description of your indoor and outdoor environment, and 2–3 pages for the tour of your environment and program.
Total page length for this Assignment: approximately 6–8 pages.