Responsive Environment

Rhona Henry Tappin

ELCC, Medicine Hat College

ELCC 214 Children In Society

Pamella MacDougal

25 February 2021

Questions about Responsive Environment inclusive curriculum

Who I will be in the early learning and child care community?

 I plan to be the educator that will apply my critical listening skills whenever I’m having

communications with family members and children within the community. It is imperative that I

listen to their concerns, opinions, and their suggestions to make them feel welcome within the

community. This will aid me to build and enhance partnerships between myself, parents, and

children and to better understand the uniqueness of children and their families. Establishing a

relationship with parents and children opens the door to building trust and a sense of belonging.

“It is the quality of the relationships between educators, children, and families that characterizes

the early childhood community experience for families and remains in their memories and the

memories of their children.” (Makovichuk, Hewes, Lirette, & Thomas, 2014, p. 50).

I plan to be the educator who will be spending time observing the children during

experiences. Also, I will ensure to document children’s work which will allow for future

revision, revisit, and reflection. The truth is, I will be the educator who wears many hats. I’ll be

the facilitator, learner, researcher, innovator, co-constructor, nurturer, and collaborator with

children and their families. I plan to create an environment that supports inclusion and not

segregation, one that is calm, consistent, safe, and secure for all children to be in touch with the

five senses which will allow them to explore, be creative, and enhances their imaginative skills.

I plan to build a variety of ways to network and maintain robust communications with families

within the community keeping them in the loop with progress and challenges that their

child/children may be going through or excelled into. I plan to provide open-ended loose parts

materials during experiences with the children which will allow for continuity as well as to foster

direct hands-on play and increase interaction, take turns, negotiate, boosts their social skills and

participation with their peers. I plan to introduce the children to lots of outdoor play times

allowing them to give birth to their dispositions and to free play for hours and making that

connection with nature and objects within their surroundings. Holistic child

How do I recognize each child and his/her family within the time, space and

materials?
 I plan to welcome and recognize each child and his/her family by allowing time for

different families to share about their cultures and to add their values to the center in the ways

that they can. Whether they are cultural meals, artifacts, cultural music or even sharing stories

about their cultures with the children. etc. I plan to have the image of each child/family observed

within my center that represents inclusion for all children. This will be done in the form of

photographs, visual aids, child-appropriate reading books, or even flags to represent each

child/family and their country. I also plan to make the material open-ended and do lots of

outdoor experiences where time and space will allow the children to continue with their
experience for days to come.

How will I help to create opportunities for families and children to participate in decisions

that concern them? How will I listen and attend to families and children when they

participate?

I plan to create opportunities for families and children by collaborating with parents about

the interest they need to show in the growth and development of their child/children. Being

respectful to families by allowing them to choose their preferred mode of communication

regarding their child. This will encourage participation from families and develop closer

connections. Have discussions with families about their child’s routines and interests. I also plan

to formulate a committee that will include parents being a part of that body to help make decisive

and critical decisions concerning the operation of the center. Also, demonstrating reciprocal,

respectful, and responsive actions by getting all children involved when putting class experiences

together. Getting the children’s inputs and ideas and turning them into real-life experiences. I

plan to listen to children and their families carefully by giving recognition to different cultures

that they celebrate within the community and will attend to them providing a curriculum that

encourages inclusion that supports all families.

How will the environment you have created nurture children as learners, risk-takers, and

citizens?
 I plan to create an environment that is responsive where the image of the child is being

observed as free, happy, playful, ready to participate as well as enhancing their social and

emotional interaction. I plan to create an environment that will help children to demonstrate

empathy with their peers to self-regulate and to be responsible. I plan to do this by looking at the

room and what could make it more inviting. I will ensure that the windows in the center will

allow the flow of natural lighting or the usage of lamps. I will ensure that all toys are

appropriate for the children’s age. I plan to use calmer colors inside the classrooms to make it

inclusive and inviting for children with special needs who may have challenges with sensory
issues. I plan to view the room through the eyes of the child by stooping to observe if there are

any hazardous objects protruding and need to be removed. I plan to take them outdoors as often

as possible and for them to understand the value of outdoor learning. I will provide them with

natural materials to explore and be creative (eg) sticks, bamboo, rocks. I plan to introduce them

to some real-life situations by taking them on a tour to the garage or a trip to the fire station to

observe and get hands-on experience and taking risks by manipulating real materials/tools and

demonstrating that they are independent thinkers and mighty citizens.

How does the environment communicate value for each family’s social and cultural

practices and traditions? In what ways are family, social and cultural practices and

traditions reflected in routines of the day?... In the child’s play and learning materials?

I plan to create a scheduled time for cultural activities each day. This will be displayed

on a timetable where parents and children can access it when it is their turn to participate. This

will bring a sense of excitement and enthusiasm for the child/family to demonstrate their culture

and tradition to the class. This will help children to embrace, understand and show respect to

other children and their culture. I plan to invite families to our circle time once per month to

teach some of their cultural music and movement songs while all children participate using the

cultural instruments, tools, and utensils from diverse cultural environments. I plan to structure

the daily menu where a cultural meal is prepared once per week with assistance from that
cultural family. I plan to make the image of the child be visible and inclusive in the learning

materials that can do so. (eg) dolls, teddy bears, dress-up clothes, and child-appropriate books

etc.

How do I recognize and value children’s and families’ personal rituals within daily

routines?

I plan to introduce a 4-5 minutes video clip of each ethnic group within the center each

day. These video clips will demonstrate each family’s rituals and lifestyle. The children will
observe the different types of clothing that each ethnic group wears, the type of food that they

eat, and how it is prepared. The children will also observe from the video how the families greet

each other and places of worship. At the end of that exercise, I will have the children

demonstrate a role-play of each video clip that they watched. This is also bringing awareness to

the children about diversity and what it is all about.

How do my decisions, participation, and communicative practices invite children,

their families, and friends to become active participants within this community?

I plan to create a curriculum where decision-making is collaboratively done with me,

teachers and parents. The curriculum will be designed where the image of all families is

observed. I have mandated myself to meet the needs of all children and to create a curriculum

and a nourishing environment that supports inclusion. I want families to understand that at my

center I cater to the needs of the whole child and emphasis is placed on the interest of the child

and that we value each child’s point of view. This is demonstrating a democratic movement to all

families and it will encourage participation and for other families to get involved. I plan to

provide all the accessible ways for us to communicate about the growth and development of your

child/children. I plan to reach out and invite other parents/families to come on board and

collaborate with us because we are a center that makes critical decisions about all children with

their families. So we will continue to spread awareness about the center as well as welcoming

new families into our community. “As an educator, I am called to listen carefully to children and
families and critically reflect on experiences of inclusion and exclusion while making curriculum

decisions.” (Makovichuk, Hewes, Lirette, & Thomas, 2014, p. 67).

Reference

Makovichuk, L., Hewes, J., Lirette, P., & Thomas, N. (2014). Play, participation, and
possibilities: An early learning and child care curriculum framework for Alberta.