A New Beginning

I have come full circle after 30 years in early childhood. I started with a family child care setting when my son was small. Then I spent 20 years at child care centers big, and small, at the bottom, in the middle and at the top. During my years at child care centers I never felt like I was where I wanted to be or doing what I thought I should be doing. I was there for the children, yes, but still it didn't seem right. So I muddled my way through until I could come back to a family child care setting. So now after muddling my way through my seventh year back at home I finally realized that even though I was home again I had brought the child care center with me. This became very evident last Winter when my group got younger. With this epiphany came a plan to flip rooms in my house...a five week journey I could write a book about, but in the end I now am sure it was worth all the work.

To take a step back originally I used the biggest space in my home to set my environment up just like I was programed to do...in centers. A place for everything and everything in its place. I then spent several years trying to teach the children how to use this setting appropriately. In hindsight, if I had been paying attention to my observations, I would have realized sooner that it was I who was regulated to this environment not the children. So I have started retraining myself to what a home environment should look and feel like. Yes, we have tables and chairs but there are no defined centers. There are loosely defined areas. Inside there is dress-up and dramatic play materials, music and instruments, and fine motor activities. On the covered porch is the castle, the doll house the kitchen set and the wood blocks and props. Below the porch is an area for plastic blocks like mega blocks, painting easels and chalkboards. This area leads out to the upper driveway where the bikes and trikes are ridden. The children can move between these areas at will choosing quiet or active play on their own schedule. After morning snack I open the gate to the backyard which offers more opportunities for bug hunting, rolling in the grass, and playing with sticks, rocks and plant material. The last area which I am still designing will be their dirt, sand, and garden area. This area because of location will only be open when we are in the backyard. So I have thrown out most of the schedule including scheduled group times, other than snacks and meals we come together when there is a reason instead of because it is on the schedule. Mostly I do things individually and if others join that is fine and if they don't that is fine too.

I have researched many ece environments from Waldorf to Montessori to Reggio Emilia but none of them truly fit my style. I teach intentionally but without following any particular curriculum model. I have not found in a home setting any children interested in long term projects except for anything that involves nature and the natural world. So our forever long term project is to discover and explore each day as it unfolds. This includes the food we prepare and eat, the weather we are exposed to and the the living plants, animals, and bugs we come in contact with. Each day brings new adventures and new opportunities. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is the present we gleefully unwrap. ;)