³Ô¹ÏÍø

From Designing the Family Child Care Environment, by H.A. Osborn, 2001

When thinking about an ideal floor plan, you need to keep in mind all of the activities that occur in the space—your own family’s activities and the activities of your family child care program. Use sticky notes and paper to think carefully about the design of your spaces. Discuss your floor plan and ideas with a trainer, coach, or administrator.

1. Step 1:

   Draw a floor plan of your house, and add in doors, windows, and fixtures. Be sure to create a plan of your outdoor area, too. That is also part of your child care environment.

2. Step 2:

   Using sticky notes, make a label for each activity area you will need. An activity area is a place for something to happen (art, meals, music, etc.). Some activity areas require storage, so mark those sticky notes accordingly. See the list below for some examples of activities.

3. Step 3:

   Place your sticky notes on your floor plan. Experiment with different combinations.

4. Step 4:

   Place each activity area in the space that now seems best to you. What’s not going to work? Does each space have the right kind of light, noise level, ventilation, temperature, openness, and accessibility? Are all activity areas present? What additional storage is needed? Will traffic flow easily?

5. Step 5:

   List any materials you may need to make, buy, or otherwise acquire. Some providers like to do this all at once, and others make changes over time. Safety is critical; make sure you have clear sight lines so you can see all the children in the activity areas. 

Here is a sample activity list. Yours may look different depending on the activities you include.