Child Development 7

 Home and school are a young child’s two most important worlds  If home and school are connected in positive and respectful ways, children feel secure  True partnership  Focus instead on developing a relationship with every family so you can work together to support children’s healthy development and learning

 If you try to relate to families in only one way, you will reach only a small percentage of the families who respond to that approach  Appreciating Differences  Family structure: start by keeping an open mind about what constitutes a family  Personality and temperament: some are easy to get to know, others shy away from school situations

 Appreciating Differences  Life experiences: education, socio-economic status, health issues, and length of time in this country  Cultural differences: Culture has been defined as the beliefs, values, and practices we have learned from our families, either by example or through explicit direction

 How did you become aware of your personal identity- nationality, culture, ethnicity?  How did you define a family?  Were girls treated differently from boys in your family?  How and when were you encouraged to express your ideas and feelings?  How was discipline handled?  Was independence encouraged?

 Initial contacts with children’s families are opportunities to get to know a little about each other  Enrollment  Gather information by speaking informally with families during enrollment  Home Visits  Families are often more comfortable in their own setting than at school

 The environment you create in your classroom and the way you introduce the program can make families feel they belong and they have a role to play  Important message families can receive when they enter the building and your classroom is that this is also a place for them  Introducing your program: booklet, tour of the classroom, open house, letter to families, display

 Building trust  To feel welcome, families need to trust you  All families come with expectations, responding in a positive manner  Greet family members by names  Uncover special skills  What topics interest parents  Reaching put to all family members

 Good communication is essential for building partnerships. Families want to know what experiences their children are having at school and what have you learned about their child  Daily exchanges: make it a point to note something the child did during the day  Formal communications: daily or weekly bulletin, telephone calls, , journals

 When parents are involved, children do better  Teachers need to think of parent participation in new ways  Involvement can take many forms-from contributions parents can make at home to classroom volunteering and sharing information on the child’s progress

 Offering ways to be involved  Discover special interest or abilities of all family members  Ask family members what they enjoy doing with their children  Parent participation in curriculum planning

 Making classroom participation meaningful  Enables them to see how you work with children and promote learning  Talk with families ahead of time  Flyer with ways how they participate  Observe and show you are interested  Follow children’s lead without taking over  Ask open-ended questions  Offer assistance when it Is needed

 Meeting with families  Families will be interested in what you learned and you in turn can learn about the child from their family  Preparing for a conference  Child’s portfolio and your ongoing observations  Summarizing report  Conducting a conference  Share work samples  Explain each work sample  Families observation

 Families under stress  Some families are coping with basic needs and experiencing ongoing stress  Community with violence  Unemployment  Demanding job  Domestic and/or substance abuse  Depression  Lack of insurance  Adapting to a new language and/or culture

 Families under stress  Do not have the emotional energy or physical resources to provide nurturing care for their children  Let them know resources are available  Community agencies and hot lines  Brochures  A list of support groups

 Dealing with misunderstanding  Understanding and respecting practices that are different from your own help you build positive relationships with families and involve them in your program  Sometimes accepting what the child does  Child’s language development