Mariam Abubakar

Philosophy: As I learned about different schools and theories, I liked something about every approach. Which led me to come up with my own approach. I decided to name it The Rainbow Approach. The Rainbow Approach Philosophy:  Balancing between child centered and teacher centered activities  Using Play based education  Preparing a rich environment with a lot to discover and letting children explore is the best practice to maximize children's learning  Designing the program to maximize each child’s strengths (ramps, wide paths, and Braille signs) to give all children’s opportunities to participate  Scaffolding by asking questions that expand children’s thinking process

My overall goal is to close educational gab between children from different level of society, support children’s development and learning, and to lay foundation for later learning by increasing children’s thinking

The Rainbow Approach will open its doors for every child (3months - 8years of age) regardless of background and disability situation, as long as child doesn’t have a sever disability that prevent him/her from benefiting from the program Diversity is The Rainbow Approach's goal. It can be reached by using advertising method that can reach different population, seeking funds from organization and agencies to help support eligible families with tuition, using technology such as educational sites and software for Dual Language Learners to promote children’s education, preparing center to serve disabled children, and hiring knowledgeable educators and specialist to help with IDP.

Children will be grouped by multiage grouping practice so peer scaffolding can take place. Child’s readiness to function with older children will be carefully examined.

The Rainbow Approach will hire high quality teachers who will guide children’s learning.  From Head Start: Supporting children’s development by taking children’s family and community into consideration through individualized services.  From the High scope: Teachers will be active partners in children’s play experiences and take advantages from teachable moments by asking questions and making comments to expand children’s thinking, promote peer interactions, and scaffold as needed. Teachers will observe children and listen to children’s conversations to learn children’s needs and interest, plan activities, and assess children’s progress.  From The Project Approach: The use of three distinct phases to please children’s curiosity: planning, investigation, and culmination. The use of Documentation Panels such as poster boards to display children’s work, webs, graphic representations, and teachers’ notes to be able to share with families, help children feel proud of their work, and most importantly collect data about children’s learning process.  From Reggio Emilia Approach: Believe that each child is uniquely capable and have individualized strengths, welcoming children of different ability levels, and the value of beauty as the foundation of the educational environment.  From Montessori: The concept of Absorbent Mind which will impact the decisions of designing children’s space and make selecting manipulative materials essential.  From Waldorf: Providing open ended materials, integrating arts through all subject, and teachers modeling appropriate behaviors.

 Selecting curriculum based on Constructivism which believes that children engage in their world-people, experiences, materials through interaction and internal process.  Working on incorporating developmentally appropriate methods that support children’s learning and development.  Using curriculum that emerge from children’s interest and lives “Emergent Curriculum” to ensure keeping children active and engaged.  Planning curriculum which builds on children’s prior learning and experiences.  Choosing quality curriculum that will benefit children and serve their developmental needs appropriately.

 Seeking families support by collecting data about children to better understand children.  Seeking family input in program policies.  Using Multicultural Education approach by integrating children’s home cultures into the classroom program or school setting.  Communicating with families in preferred ways such as seeking help from interpreters.  Supporting family involvement in the program  Supporting families by working on family goals for their children.  Providing parents with information of services as needed such as economic assistance program this can be achieved by familiarizing educators with such services and agencies.  Sharing children’s progress with parents.

The Rainbow Approach recognizes the value of involving family in the education of their children because parents are great resource of children’s personalities. Also, there is a huge connection between home culture and cognition and emotion of children.

Regulation: The Rainbow Approach will expect teachers to:  Be highly trained and have a Bachelor degree  Use individualized instruction by adapting activities to suit particular children’s abilities. Teachers need to adjust to children’s learning styles and take theories such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence into consideration when planning lessons  Appropriately challenge children and give every child the opportunity to explore and learn  Stimulate children’s creativity and expand learning  Partner with families  Integrating learning experiences by fostering competency in more than one area  Use evidence based practices such as using a flow- chart approach in decision making process  Collaborate as a team and be able to work together  Go through ongoing improvement by researching and evaluating knowledge

 I will seek licensing according to the state which my program is located in  I will work with licensing specialist to ensure meeting all the requirements  I will seek accreditation through reputable organization such as National Association of Child Care Professionals (NACCP) and National Early Childhood Program Accreditation Commission (NECEPA) to ensure quality service  Families will be welcome to give feedback on the program in varies ways ( program's Facebook or Tweeter account)

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale is one of the tools which can be used to evaluate the program. This scale covers seven areas which are personal care routines, furnishings and displays for children, language-reasoning experiences, fine and gross motor activities, creative activities, social development, and adult needs. Educators and curriculum evaluation tools can be used in addition to the rating scale.

As I learn more about Child development, I am sure my philosophy will continue to mature and better develop, but this is my dream for now.

 This assignment relates To NAEYC’s Professional Standard 6: Becoming a Professional. I was able to put together a philosophy and compare programs. This assignment helped my practice becoming an advocate for children and make them my first priority. I also was able to identify an evaluating method to evaluate my program.