Know

Take a walk through any home improvement store, and you are likely to see the word “security” over and over again. You can find security lights, fences, doors, locks, windows, cameras, alarms, and even mailboxes. Why is security so important to us? We all have a need to feel safe in our environment. We prefer well-lit parking lots. We like parks with clearly marked trails. We look for places that allow us to recognize and respond to any danger.

Just like adults, children need environments that help them feel secure. Children depend on adults to meet their basic needs for food, water, shelter, and clothing. They also depend on us to protect them from harm. Feeling safe allows children to build relationships, become confident, and meet their potential (Maslow, 1943, 1945). We cannot expect children to learn if they do not feel safe.

As staff members, safety is our first priority. The Virtual Lab School offers a variety of learning experiences to help you think about and reflect on safety. This course will help you understand what safety is about in preschool, the significance of providing safe indoor and outdoor environments for children’s development and learning, and the ways in which you can design safe environments and experiences for children and families in your classroom and program. Upcoming lessons will also cover topics such as:

• Providing safe toys and materials
• Maintaining safe adult-to-child ratios
• 室内外监督问责
• Teaching safety rules
• Safe sleep for preschool age children
• 儿童虐待预防、鉴定和报告
• 应急准备
• Responding to injuries
• Special considerations for trips away from your program
• Vehicle safety

See

What do safe environments look like for young children? We can think about this question in three ways. We can think about our facilities. We can think about how we arrange and organize our classrooms within the facilities. And we can think about the condition of the materials in the environment. This lesson will focus on facilities and classrooms. You will learn about materials in the next lesson.

首先，我们为儿童提供安全设施。您的儿童发展中心的设计考虑到了安全性。

Watch this video to learn more about facilities that keep children and staff safe.

Next, we think about the ways we organize our materials. Much of your work as a preschool teacher involves keeping children safe indoors and outdoors. Arranging your spaces with the developmental needs of children in mind will help keep them safe.

Watch this video to learn important ways to promote safety in your classroom.

Arranging Your Environment

The following list presents some characteristics of safe learning environments:

• Low, open shelving will promote independence and prevent toys from falling on children.
• Labeled shelves will encourage children to clean up after themselves, which will in turn prevent abandoned toys from becoming tripping hazards.
• Clearly defined interest areas will promote engagement and create clear traffic patterns that prevent running and collisions.
• 各种各样的材料可以让孩子们保持专注，而不是花时间在不适当的跑步、跳跃或攀爬上。

See Learning Environments course for more information.

Finally, we must consider the condition of the materials in the environment indoors and outdoors. “Caring for Our Children” suggests looking for these issues and correcting them before children are permitted to play:

1. Missing or broken parts
2. Protrusion of nuts and bolts
3. 油漆生锈、剥落或剥落
4. 锋利的边缘、碎片和粗糙的表面
5. Stability of handholds
6. Visible cracks
7. Stability of non-anchored large play equipment (e.g., playhouses)
8. Wear and deterioration
9. Broken or worn electrical fixtures or cords

In many settings, your playground may be used by the community at night, or perhaps your program shares a community park. Even if your playground is protected by a fence, it is still possible that hazardous materials could find their way onto the playground. Before you take children outside, you must be vigilant about inspecting the playground each day. Look for:

1. 玻璃碎片，烟头，垃圾，建筑用品
2. Animal excrement and other foreign material
3. Mulch that is spread too thin
4. Standing water, ice, or snow
5. Surfaces that are too hot or cold for children to touch safely
6. Natural objects that might cause harm: sharp rocks, stumps, roots, branches
7. 不安全的昆虫：蚁丘、蜂巢或黄蜂巢
8. Ditches, holes, wells, traps
9. Exposed power lines or utility equipment

记得检查运动表面的温度。金属或塑料滑梯、工作台和浇注混凝土表面可能会变得非常热和非常冷。检查表面是否因温度变化或水损坏而产生裂缝。

Do

Understanding the importance of keeping children safe and knowing what safe environments look like are the first steps to creating a safe space for children to learn. It is up to you to make sure your environmentissafe. There are several things you can do to keep children safe before they arrive and while they are present.

孩子们到达之前

你应该通过仔细检查开始每一天indoor and outdoor play areas and equipment. This will help you prevent injuries and accidents. The next lesson on Safe Toys and Materials includes more information about safety checks.

当孩子们在场时

持续的监督是防止伤害的最好工具。学龄前儿童很活跃，也很好奇，但情况很快就会变得不安全。积极的监督是保证儿童安全的关键。主动亚慱彩票监督包括扫描、预测和评估。这包括穿过室内或室外空间，扫描儿童和环境中的危险，预测潜在的危险，并对环境进行必要的改变。安全的装备和游戏空间很重要，但没有什么能取代主动监督。作为负责任的护理者，您应确保：

• Spills are cleaned up immediately: Store towels near the art and water play areas to facilitate clean up.
• Children are encouraged to clean up after themselves: Before moving onto a new area, teach children to clean up the toys they were playing with. This will prevent falls and tripping hazards.
• Spaces are clearly defined for play materials: Clearly mark areas where children may build with blocks or spread out dramatic play props. Teach children to respect these boundaries. Also, work with children to establish class guidelines for how tall structures may be.

Although you can never prevent all accidents, taking these simple steps will help minimize serious risks to children.

Completing this Course

For more information on what to expect in this course and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Preschool Safe Environments课程指南.

请注意，每节课结束时的参考资料和资源部分概述了参考资料和资源，以查找有关所涵盖主题的其他信息。当你完成课程时，你不需要复习所有的在线参考资料。但是，如果您有兴趣，或应培训师、教练或管理员的要求，欢迎您进一步探索这些资源。