This lesson will focus on facilities and classrooms. Share your responses with your trainer, coach, or administrator. Just like adults, children need environments that help them feel secure. But what you do for the children in your care is not everything! Try a child's-eye view. A preschooler becomes incredibly angry when a peer pushes her on the playground. A guide to setting up environments (2nd ed.). What families can do: Create and maintain safe spaces by using a home safety checklist 19 to identify possible hazards and make sure your home is safe for an active toddler. See how they move. Remember, however, that infants and toddlers are natural explorers and will likely carry toys and materials from one area of the room to another. . Regularly rotating materials is helpful. The time you spend making thoughtful and careful decisions about the environment will help you create high-quality spaces where infants, toddlers, and the adults caring for them can thrive. Exploring a variety of play surfaces, levels, and equipment, such as soft chairs, lofts, risers, and mats. Cadwell, L. B. WestEd. "Self-regulation" is your ability to manage your feelings, actions, and thoughts so you stay goal-directed and do not get derailed. Providing a Safe Environment Indoors and Outdoors, Supervision and Accountability Indoors and Outdoors, Child Abuse Prevention, Identification, and Reporting, Special Considerations for Trips Away from Your Program, https://ers.fpg.unc.edu/sites/ers.fpg.unc.edu/files/playground%20revised%2009-28-11.pdf, https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/281%281%29.pdf, https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/playgrounds/public-playground-safety-checklist. Arrange furniture so that there are clear pathways for children to easily make their way through the room. Because infants and toddlers mouth objects, all toys and materials within their reach must not be small enough to be a choking hazard. Find healthy outlets to manage your emotions. When you respond calmly to a child, the child's feelings often de-escalate. Examples of Safe Environment in a sentence. Toys and materials should meet safety regulations and be appropriate for the age and development of children using them. They include the home, outdoors, classrooms, and more. When complete, share with your trainer, coach, or administrator. Sand, water, grass, rugs and pillows, and the lap of a caregiver respond to a child's basic physical needs (Prescott, 1994). which have been produced in partnership with the Environment Agency. Safety hazards are related to a childs development. Take a walk through any home improvement store, and you are likely to see the word security over and over again. Lally, J. R., Stewart, J., & Greenwald, D. (2009). (4th ed.). For example, talk with a parent or an early intervention specialist, if there is one who works with the childs family, or other colleagues. Pay attention to your thoughts and beliefs about child development, behavior expectations, and individual children. To learn more about positive and safe child care environments that support childrens learning, check out the following eXtension Alliance for Better Child Care articles: PhotobyDiane Bales/ CC BYhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) checklist for early childhood environments. Next, think about classroom environments and the materials in those settings. It looks different at different ages, but adult support remains a critical piece of the puzzle throughout childhood. and suggest pro-social next steps (e.g., "Should we tell them how you feel?"). Another hazard for infants and toddlers can be excessively hot or cold play surfaces. Safety Tip No. Choke tubes can be helpful in quickly deciding if new toys can safely be given to children. 1. As an early childhood educator, you have the greatest commitment of shaping young minds. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Creating a Child Care Environment that Supports Children's Exploration As the teacher, you'll have students look to you for . There are three main ways you can do this: You are the most important part of the early learning environment. You should begin each day by carefully inspecting indoor and outdoor play areas and equipment. Creating a Yes! Environment: Supporting Creativity and Exploration Design spaces where infants and toddlers can freely explore and caregivers can be close by. Design an environment that displays your interest in and respect for all the families in your program. Children who spend most of their day in one environment need surfaces that respond to them, not hard surfaces that they must conform to. Think toy safety. Using a checklist to do regular health and safety assessments can help you keep track of these details. (2019). Self-regulation skills. By being aware of safety issues and taking precautions, you can be ready for these unforeseen events. ; Ensuring students are connected to their schools and families is an important protective factor that can reduce students' risk for a number of negative health . These adaptations are not complicated, but they are an important part of respectful and responsive care. To different degrees, environments affect all of us. Mobilizing collective action 2. It also supports you as a caregiver. As you complete lessons, you are not expected to review all the online references available. Children tend to turn up the intensity if they feel they aren't being understood. Make sure floors are clean and not slippery and offer a safe place for infants and toddlers to land if they fall. Read the Indoor Safety Checklistactivity. Regularly . New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Marcus and Leanne work together as caregivers in an infant classroom and have learned that the children in their care like to get ready for their individual naptimes in different ways. Maintaining proper surface cushioningsurrounding equipment and proper spacing of equipment will help minimize injuries, so will using the correct height of equipment. To best ensure the safety of infants and toddlers in an indoor environment, keep the following guidelines in mind as you go througout your day: Preparing and maintaining your environment, keeping it free from hazards, and providing active supervision will provide a foundation to enable the infants and toddlers in your care to be free to explore and make discoveries. Children learn best when they are in safe, well-supervised environments. Notice how she has created a space with a comfortable chair that can be physically separated from the other children with a gate. The Office of Head Starts Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC) offers videos, podcasts, and articles about preparing learning environments for children. Now Manual has several places where he can happily pull himself to a standing position and see the room from this exciting new point of view. Describe how the environment keeps infants and toddlers safe. Infants, toddlers, and caregivers: A curriculum of respectful, responsive, relationship-based care and education (9th ed.). Children from birth to three years of age live directly through their senses Please note that all programs filmed for this project are in full compliance with licensing regulations at the time of filming. Arranging your spaces with the developmental needs of children in mind will help keep them safe. High-quality infant and toddler environments support exploration and development for children with a range of energy levels, skills, interests, and abilities. Store dangerous chemicals and medicines out of children's reach. How to create a safe supportive learning environment? For infants and toddlers, child care providers typically offer a variety of toys, such as blocks, stacking or nesting cups, and simple shape sorters or puzzles designed for very young children to use. Children from birth to three years of age live directly through their senses Therefore, the environment in which infants [and toddlers] are placed has a tremendous impact. Download the article, Preparing the Environment PDF. Safety hazards are present in every child-care environment and are most commonly associated with the physical structure of a room. Encouraging safe exploration is an important job for child care providers. We all have a need to feel safe in our environment. Retrieved from https://www.northampton.edu/early-childhood-education/ece-funding/building-inclusive-child-care/clad/special-education-related-resources.htm, Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. How can your environment help you to strengthen adult-child relationships? Providing a Safe Environment Indoors and Outdoors Although it is critical to provide safe materials and a safe environment, your supervision is the most powerful tool you have to keep children safe. Singing a song with the children? Outdoor play settings offer many learning opportunities and pose many hazards. Establish predictable routines, transition strategies, and behavioral expectations appropriate to their development. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Providing a variety of materialskeepschildrenengaged,and discourages playground behaviors (inappropriate running, jumping,and climbing) indoors. Safe equipment and play spaces are important, but nothing replaces active supervision. Walk around your classroom or playground. Learning environments are everywhere. The napping area also has a rocking chair in a nearby corner and a music player with lullaby music on a shelf near the cribs. (2019). How to Create a Healthy and Safe Environment for Your Children Written by Vladimir Zivanovic CMO at MyCity-Web Bringing a child into your life is a wonderful and truly unique experience. Adopt an open-door policy that helps families feel welcome to come into the room and interact with their children and you at any time. A list of recalls can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov. Your state or territory may have additional health and safety requirements. They explore with all their senses, including taste. Routinely include strategies and activities in your lessons, such as Save the Last Word for Me, that allow students to express their thoughts and ideas, build relationships, and practice collaboration. Providing a Safe Outdoor Environment - Home | Virtual Lab School Identify your role in keeping the environment safe for infants and toddlers. Creating a Safe Learning Environment in the Classroom An enabling environment provides a rich, varied and safe space in a setting in which children can play, explore and learn. Bergen, D., Reid, R., & Torelli, L. (2009). This is the key to learning and making discoveries that support learning. It also addresses ways to maintain accountability for children's safety. (2009). Lally, Stewart, & Greenwald, 2009, pp. How have you supported their exploration? You might co-regulate when a baby is startled by a dog barking loudly. Here are some tips for keeping children in your child care program safe outdoors. . Integrating climate and environmental education into school programmes Active supervision involves moving, scanning, predicting, and adjusting. Supporting the development of positive relationships; Enhancing childrens learning through engaging and appropriate experiences; and. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396. In center-based child care, you may need to share your reflections with your program director and work together to make plans to improve the infant and toddler setting. Also, including materials that encourage sensory exploration by using smells, sounds, sights, and textures enhances childrens learning and development. Sometimes a very young child will need equipment for positioning, such as a specialized chair or stander. Exactly what kind of support can you give young children? When the children are antsy after a week of rain? Leanne has learned that dimming the lights and securely attaching a thick blanket to the wall next to her crib to reduce sound helps her fall asleep. Children can't explore and learn, experience joy and wonder, until they feel secure. . Instead of spending your time redirecting children, think carefully about how you set up the environment. The challenge is creating an emotionally safe environment without relinquishing your role as the teacher. They could be in different stages of skill development when it comes to motor skills. Creating Nurturing Environments for Infants and Toddlers, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Proveedores de cuidado de bebs y nios pequeos, Planificacin para bebs y nios pequeos, Family Child Care Setting Supports a Nursing Mother and Her Young Infant, Proveedores de Cuidado para Bebs y Nios Pequeos. Setting up a safe place to play and providing appropriate toys can keep children interested in learning, reduce behavior problems, and save you from saying No too often. Skip to main content Menu: Top Buttons. It is also helpful to provide a few types of the same materials so that several children can play without having to take turns, which can be a source of conflict. This will help grow and maintain a feeling of emotional safety in your classroom. Does this video remind you of experiences youve had with children in your care or in your program? You probably already make changes for children on a regular basis, such as removing unstable objects when an infant is pulling up and learning to stand, or sitting quietly every morning with a toddler who has a particularly hard time saying good-bye to a parent. If you have any concerns with fall surfacing, report them to your administrator right away. Use strategies to calm yourself so you can respond to children effectively and compassionately. The practices at the foundation of the house are critical to promote early learning and development in all domains. Gonzalez-Mena, J., & Eyer, D. W. (2012). 12, This statement highlights the powerful role of the environments in which infants and toddlers spend their time. It's called co-regulation. To create an ongoing welcoming environment, parents should feel engaged in their children's care and learning. List precautions you would need to take to prevent injury. For more information about safe toys and materials refer to: https://nrckids.org/CFOC/Database/5. Caring for Our Childrensuggests looking for these issues and correcting them before children are permitted to play: In many settings, your playground may be used by the community at night, or perhaps your program shares a community park. One education organization working toward this goal is GLSEN, which aims "to create safe and affirming schools for Find ways to create safe, positive learning environments for . How are you supporting schools to teach water safety? Safe settings ensure that infants and toddlers can explore freely, which in turn supports their developing sense of self. Use thePlay SpacesActivityto record the features ofenvironmentsthat keep children safe. It builds high-quality teacher-child relationships, limits teacher intrusion, increases authentic learning experiences, and promotes independence and self-esteem. A well-arranged environment can help you meet preschool-age children's needs during play and routines. How to Create a Healthy and Safe Environment for Your Children - LifeHack A sense of belonging is essential to inclusion. Always conduct a daily safety checkbefore children arrive. Creating a truly inclusive environment means not only making appropriate adaptations to the physical space and materials but also fostering the social and emotional environment. Inclusive care benefits typically developing children and their families as well. You will learn about materials in the next lesson. https://ers.fpg.unc.edu/sites/ers.fpg.unc.edu/files/playground%20revised%2009-28-11.pdf, National Program for Playground Safety. The next lesson on Safe Toys and Materials includes more information about safety checks. Here are some ways safety is influenced by development: Children may fall when they play. Young children are just learning how to regulate their emotions, behavior, and cognition. Discover ways to use the environment to support all children's school readiness. Build a Safe Environment A safe and supportive school climate can help prevent bullying. Committing to ongoing reflection and adaptation can enhance the quality of your infant and toddler spaces and support childrens continual exploration and learning (Bergen, Reid, & Torelli, 2009). Creating an Enabling Environment - Nursery Resources | Blog It can look like moving through the outdoor space, scanning children and the environment for hazards, predicting potential hazards, and adjusting the environment to make necessary changes. Think about the following: In these examples, the caregivers were easily able to arrange the environment to be flexible so each childs individual needs and preferences were met. The following list presents some characteristics of safe learning environments: See the Learning Environments course for more information. You can create a high-quality infant and toddler environment by planning and creating spaces that support infants and toddlers development, engagement, and overall well-being. Evaluating your environment and making appropriate changes as needed is an ongoing process that addresses infants and toddlers unique needs and values their developing skills and interests. Which of the following issues should be corrected before children are permitted to play? First, we think about our facilities. Outdoor physical play provides infants and toddlers much-needed exercise, sunshine, and the opportunity to practice motor skills in a different setting. If so, what are these experiences and how are they similar? But the most important part of a positive early learning environment is you. Check age guidelines on all materials, including art and sensory materials. (2006). Take a close look at your space, indoors and outdoors. Planning, arranging, evaluating, and rearranging is an ongoing process as caregivers strive for quality and find what works best for them and for the children as they grow and change (Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2012, p. 285). They need to trust their caregivers and know their needs will be met. The environment must be ready to be explored, and you must be ready to supervise. (2021). https://nrckids.org/CFOC, American Academy of Pediatrics. 1 Providing A Safe Indoor Environment 2 Providing a Safe Outdoor Environment 3 Promoting Safety Through Ratios and Indoor Supervision Practices 4 Promoting Safety Through Ratios and Outdoor Supervision Practices 5 Safe Sleep Practices 6 Child Abuse Prevention, Identification, and Reporting 7 Preparing for Emergencies 8 Responding to Injuries Drinking a glass of water? You can support this open communication by having a space for each child, such as a cubby, bin, or clipboard. For example, a comfortable easy chair that is roomy enough for an adult and a couple of children provides an opportunity in the environment for togetherness. 1 Providing a Safe Environment Indoors and Outdoors 2 Providing Safe Games and Learning Materials 3 Maintaining Safe Staff-to-Child Ratios 4 Supervision and Accountability Indoors and Outdoors 5 Internet Safety 6 Safe Routes to and from School 7 Child Abuse Prevention, Identification, and Reporting 8 Preparing for Emergencies 9 As you will learn in Lesson Four, outdoor environments have different safety hazards than indoor settings. At each stage of development, children have increasing risks for injury. How do you adapt your environment to support individual sleep schedules? 20 Tips for Creating a Safe Learning Environment - What Works in Education The document Playground Information to Use with the Environment Rating Scales contains safety guidelines for all children. For more information on what to expect in this course and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Infant and Toddler Safe EnvironmentsCourse Guide. For example, use words from languages that reflect the families of all children in your care on wall displays and information boards; display family photos on a family board, in a basket, or in a photo album; and incorporate items from childrens homes into your environment, such as fabrics, foods, and music that are familiar to the families. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. We look for places that allow us to recognize and respond to any danger. (4th ed.). Please note the References & Resources section at the end of each lesson outlines reference sources and resources to find additional information on the topics covered. What is nurturing care? A child learns to climb for the first time. https://nrckids.org/CFOC. Assistive technology can support a childs ability to participate actively in his or her home, childcare program, school, or other community settings. Assistive technology and adaptations should be listed in the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) if a child has one. and help children process language. However, it can be used in any early childhood program. Keeping children safe is crucial. Review your curriculum to ensure it offers appropriate social and emotional learning opportunities. Bethlehem, PA: Building Inclusive Child Care (BICC) Project, Northampton Community College, Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council. Are there places in your child care space where you find yourself saying no and redirecting children again and again? Your workplace has been designed with safety in mind. Feeling safe opens the door for children to build relationships, become confident, and meet their potential (Maslow, 1943, 1945). Build a Safe Environment | StopBullying.gov What ideas do you have that are not listed that you might share with other child care providers? For infants and toddlers to take full advantage of these experiences, they must be safe to explore and make discoveries. Experiment and discover which strategies work for you. What challenges do you face when supporting this freedom of movement? Your program was designed with safety in mind. Infants and toddlers are true explorers. It is best not to try to repair, sincerepaired pieces can easily come undone. Public playground safety checklist https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/playgrounds/public-playground-safety-checklist, Observe safety features in outdoor spaces, Identify potential safety hazards in your classroom, Required: Complete and review this document with your trainer, supervisor, or administrator. Are there settings where you feel more relaxed or more stressed? Being responsive to childrens individual needs. Teachers and family child care providersall the education staff working with the children are what matter most. There are many rules and regulations for equipment, spacing, and materials. This way children have a balance of familiar materials and new materials, which helps them maintain their interest and provides age-appropriate challenges. Looking around the room, she realizes that there arent many things for Manuel to grab onto and pull himself up. Your self-regulation skills are at work every day, in so many ways. This allows you to pay more attention to engaging in responsive interactions with children. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/281%281%29.pdf, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (n.d.). This lesson focuses on ways to provide appropriate supervision both indoors and outdoors. Safe equipment and play space is important, but nothing replaces active supervision. Community Build All Year Long. Creating safe and supportive environments in schools includes emphasizing aspects of the school environment that encourage students to be more engaged in their school life and feel connected to important adults at school and at home. Also, work with children to establish class guidelines for how tall structures may be. You can design settings to support relationship-building between children and caregivers, families and children, caregivers and families, caregivers and their colleagues, and children and their peers. Consider these examples: Manuel has just started to crawl and is happy to be moving around the room. Smaller group sizes and lower child-to-adult ratios help you create and maintain an environment that promotes health and safety for all infants and toddlers in your care. A safe learning environment goes beyond the classroom; it's the intangible space that supports your students in the pursuit of knowledge, that inspires curiosity, and that makes them feel empowered to participate in class discussions. Describe how the environment keeps infants and toddlers safe outdoors. When individual children need help to explore the environment, teachers can make modifications to support their participation. She decides to take some sturdy bins, which have been previously used for book storage, flip them upside down, and move them to various places around the room. How do the setting and furnishings support interactions and togetherness? Spaces are clearly defined for play materials: Clearly mark areas where children may build with blocks or spread out dramatic play props. Then use this this checklist as a resource to identify safety hazards in your classroom. How do you adapt your environment to support how infants and toddlers in your care like to go to sleep? How are individual childrens strengths and interests reflected in daily routines, materials for exploration, and learning experiences. American Academy of Pediatrics. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. It is important to continually assess how your child care environment supports the infants and toddlers in your care. Children depend on adults to meet their basic needs for food, water, shelter, and clothing. These are just a few simple and inexpensive strategies to ensure that all children can use materials successfully. Young children gather, spread, dump, and rearrange materials as they explore and learn. how To Create A Welcoming Environment In Childcare | iCare Infant/Toddler environment rating scale revised edition. Creating a Safe Classroom Environment | Education World Dividing the room into areas helps you create an organized and meaningful environment. Partnering with and learning from parents is also an important part of this planning process because it supports individualizing your setting to meet the needs of infants and toddlers in your care.
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