Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/beyond-the-simple-model-of-child-care-facilities-support-spaces-for-quality/5017262/
The age of child care building on a wide scale really began in the 1970s. Before that, there had been a history of day nurseries going back to the turn of the century and Lanham Act centers during World War II to provide care for “Rosie the Riveter” mothers in the work force. And a few architect-designed nursery and preschool buildings in the US and Europe, often lab schools, offered a model for part-day early education environments. But this history had little influence during the explosion of child care and the first generation of child care design that began to replace the typical subterranean standard of church basements and found spaces.Child care as a place: The simple model
The first wave of child care building exemplified the simple model of child care held by most (actually, almost all):
Good people (AKA nice women)
+ sufficient toys
+ a space that did not harm (above ground was nice, but optional)
= good enough child care.
Child care professionals expanded the definition of “good people” to include those who should be well trained and in good staff:child ratios and small groups, and a more thoughtful and detailed view of what equipment and space should be; but ...