Write the answers to these questions to help you reflect on your family child care environment. Share your responses with your trainer, coach or family child care administrator. Are there aspects of your environment that you would like to change?

Arrival Time

  1. What is the first thing children and their families see or hear when they enter your home?
  2. Is there at least one place for each child’s personal belongings?
  3. Is this space accessible for the child’s use without an adult?
  4. Can children find and return their belongings without adult assistance?
  5. What behaviors do the children display when they leave their families and start their day with you?
  6. What areas do children go to when they arrive?

Playtime

  1. Is the environment in your home supportive of children as independent learners?
  2. Are there traffic jams as children go from place to place?
  3. Do the pathways disrupt play areas?
  4. Are the play areas too big or too small for the number of children in them?
  5. What areas are used most? Least? Not at all?

Meal and Snack Time

  1. Is the mealtime environment relaxed and enjoyable?
  2. Is there enough space for everyone (including you) to sit comfortably and promote conversation during meals?
  3. Is the room or eating space bright and attractive?
  4. Have you selected and arranged food in ways that make meals interesting and fun?

Quiet Time

  1. Are there places for children to be alone?
  2. Are there places where children can be with only one or two other children?
  3. Can you change the mood of an area by changing the amount of light or rearranging furniture?

Activity Time

  1. Is there an open area large enough for all the children to sit, dance, or play together?
  2. Are materials readily available and easy for the children to find and return?

Outdoor Time

  1. Does your outdoor environment connect children with nature through natural elements?
  2. Are there places outdoors where children can be involved in a variety of sensory experiences, such as smelling flowers, touching textural things, or hearing animal sounds?
  3. Does the outdoor environment support both children’s quiet or passive play and their active play?

(From Family Child Care Homes: Creative Spaces for Children to Learn, by Linda J. Armstrong, 2012. Published by Redleaf Press.)