I have been in Family Child Care since 1998 and my space has always been a little of both” separate” but yet a bit integrated. Because of the way my home is structured the area where my family child care is housed there is also a small section where my family gather to just lounge or watch a movie when the day care is not in service. Its like the Family room. Within this same area that there is an opportunity for the day care children to lounge on the soft sofa or the plush rug where they can read a book, explore with blocks etc. There are time we have even sat in that area to do circle time. I even have a rocking chair in the one corner of that area where I tend to sit and rock a infant at nap time.
The remainder of the day care is sectioned off into learning areas much like the one described in the video module and each child is free to explore daily and participate in fun but developmentally appropriate learning. I love moving things around a lot so typically every few months you will find the kitchen area set up different, block area and or the comfy cozy area moved around completely. This adds excitement and keeps the little ones engaged. Toys are switched out new ones brought in, and I’ve recently incorporated some real family photos of the children I serve this really does add quality enrichment to the environment .