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HiMama Blog - Resources for Daycare Centers

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A family centered early childhood program is about deepening trust
Check all episodes of The Preschool Podcast
Episode #93: Janis Keyser, Early Childhood Education Specialist and Author is here to talk about a family-centered approach to early learning. Imagine a parent who begins their journey in early childhood education with an open dialogue about how their child's care can match the values, routine and goals of their individual family.

Establishing deep trust between child care professionals and parents is about expanding the relationship of parents in the classroom. How can we bring parents into the early learning experience to create a wholesome experience?

Resources in this episode:

- Learn more about the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative.

HiMama Preschool Podcast, Episode #93 - Janis Keyser Proofread and revised by Andrew Hall - April 21, 2018
Janis KEYSER:
So day one I want to say to parents: "Tell us about your childhood. Tell us about your family. What are you hoping for your child?" That would be a family-centered approach.

Hi, I'm Ron Spreeuwenberg, co-founder and CEO of HiMama. Welcome to our podcast about all things "early-childhood education".

Janis, welcome to the Preschool Podcast!

I'm so glad to be here. Thanks for inviting me.

So Janis is here to tell us a bit more about building a family-centered early-childhood program. Janis, maybe you can start off telling us why you chose to write about this topic.
KEYSER:
Well, I started in the profession as a young person. And I had studied early-childhood education probably because I was it difficult child myself - my family would have called me really difficult. I had big feelings; I had tantrums. Nobody knew quite what to do with me. And so I think as a young adult I was really curious about children and how they grow and how they learn and where that challenging behavior comes from. So I was really drawn into learning about children and working with children, hopefully to make fewer mistakes that some of the people around me had made.

And so I just jumped into the profession so excited about working with young children. And I shortly discovered that they had parents attached to them, and I didn't quite know what to do with those parents. I think at first I wanted them to know everything I knew about young children. So I felt like kind of a crusader. My job was to tell parents all this information. And then they realized, "Wait a minute, these parents have a ton of information, goals, perspectives, values, things that they want for their children, and it's not really my place to tell them what I think they should be doing.

And so that was an evolution in my own work. And I think it reflects an evolution in the larger profession where we've come from thinking our job is parent education, maybe parent involvement, maybe they can come and be in our centers and do what we tell them to do for a little bit, all the way to what I think of as family-centered care. And I was inspired by Ellen Galinsky's work around thinking about really being partners with families in a significantly different way than we had thought about before.

And so I began that journey. And in the meantime, just to mention that I was a teacher I knew a lot about young children, and then one day I became a parent. And I was so incredibly humbled by that experience. So all that stuff I mean about young children, being a parent is really different than being a teacher and an educator. And so - not that parents aren't teachers - but in terms of the profession of being a teacher, being a parent is really different.

So I was really humbled by that experience as well, and have been on this journey trying to explore what happens when we create family-centered care where families are equal partners in a relationship where there's respect for family expertise and educator expertise, where two-way communication and shared decision making are an essential part of the relationship, where diversity is not only appreciated but invited and included and highlighted and honored.

And the other thing is that, I think also educators feel so responsible for everything in the relationship of the parent. Finding all the resources and supporting that parent in the best way they can. And when we open ourselves up to the idea that parents need community support, networks of support, then we can become facilitators of that kind of building so that parents are going to leave you, parents and children are going to leave your care. And if they leave with strong connections to a community of parents who know how to talk to each other, who have had experience of being supportive of each other, then they leave with all sorts of tools and resources that they get to continue to grow throughout their lives.

And so this is a lot of super-helpful information, I think, about distinguishing what a family-centered early-childhood program might look like. If you had to explain what it was in a nutshell, versus a non-family center early-childhood program, what would you say in explaining that in a couple of sentences?

So day one I want to say to parents: "Tell us about your childhood. Tell us about your family. What are you hoping for your child?" That would be a family-centered approach. A more traditional approach might be: "We have all these things to tell you about our program. You need to fill out these forms and you need to get this paperwork and you need to be on site at this time." And so it has a different quality to it. And family-centered care, it also provides lots of information to parents. It's not like it's just this free-flowing dialogue. But that dialogue is central to the care and education of children in a family-centered program.

So it's really, genuinely bringing them to the table and having authentic partnership and relationship with them through your work with the child as an early-childhood educator, and having that conversation with them on an ongoing basis. And so how do you go about doing that, then, as an early-childhood program? What steps should you and could you take to become more family-centered?
KEYSER:
Every family is different, just like every child is different. And so some families are going to want to come and hang out in the classroom and participate and observe and see what you're doing. And this is not only an incredible opportunity for the family to get to know your program, it's an amazing opportunity for you to get to know the family and the ways that they interact with their children, and to know, "What does this child know in terms of communication systems, nurturance, care? What is this child's life look like with his family, and how does that inform my practice with the child?"
It may be that you're doing a social media post where you let me know what's happening in the classroom, and maybe you're using software to communicate back and forth with the families daily, drop-off and pick-up, how you staffed your programs so that the educators have time to talk with the families, not only to tell families about what's been happening at school but to ask them, the families, what's been going on at home.

The families involved in the curriculum process, when you do documentation of children's work and investigation and exploration, is that documentation made visible to parents where they can reflect with you on, "What do we think children are learning? What questions are they asking? How can we extend this learning that they're doing?" And using parents as thought partners and reflective practice partners in the care and education of their child, as well as just letting us know who their family is and who their child is.

It's interesting because, as I reflect on what you're saying it almost seems to be what's really at the core of a lot of this is really wanting to bring families to the table and have that partnership, versus doing the things that you feel like you need to do to communicate information to them, for example. Is that sort of a fair statement?
KEYSER:
Absolutely. And one of the things that we start with is, what are the advantages of family-centered care for children, for educators, for parents? And when understand that when children look at their relationship between their educator and their parent and they see that collaboration and they see that mutual respect, that strongly impacts their child's sense of identity. The child doesn't feel like, "I have to choose, am I going to my parents? Am I going to be with to my teacher? They're in conflict with each other and I don't know where I stand here."

And then this family gets to enrich the program with full knowledge about who the family is and what's important in the family, and how can we include those ideas and those values in the care that we provide for children? And how do we negotiate with them when the values and ideas are really different? How do we negotiate in a way that... there's a concept called "Third Space", which is if we listen very carefully to each other we can come up with an idea that is better than each of our ideas, but an idea that we can really agreeing on that's going move the care and education of this child forward.

So I think a lot of educators are afraid of the connections with family. I think that they're afraid that they might not know the answer to a question that a family asks, that they might not agree with something that the family wants to do. And then they don't know for sure that they have the tools to really listen to that family really state that question and to find one kind of mutual agreement that then creates deeper trust in the relationship with the family.

And a child is watching that. Everybody is experiencing that. When the family more deeply trusts the program, the educator, the child thrives. And the educator feels more comfortable and has more resources available to them, as well as the family.

Yeah, so I think that's a really key point here. So I just want to touch on a little bit further, which is I also think that one of the challenges for an early-childhood educator or childcare or an early-learning program generally is, there may be a fear of sharing too much information or what happens with the information that's shared between families and childcare programs. What would you say to people working in early-childhood education that might have that fear of maybe communicating too much information, or they're not sure what information they're going to receive from families how what they might do with that information? What would your advice be to them?
KEYSER:
Well, I think it's about time, venue and skills. The time is always challenging because, by definition, the child is either with the parent or with the teacher. And so trying to find that kind of time to have those conversations, and some of them can happen right on the floor, and some of them can't happen on the floor. We need to either have a spontaneous meeting that we set up with each other, or one of our regular touch points where we have conferences, or get off the floor and talk to each other.

And I don't think it's the quantity that educators are concerned about in terms of information, except for that time constraint. But I think they're concerned about, "How do I tell a parent that their child is struggling with something? That their child is having behavior issues that we're trying to think about?" And that goes back to the core of how we define a child who's struggling. And so if we have a strong image of the child as competent and capable and self-motivated and interested and curious then we are more likely to describe that child's behavior in that context...

"So it seems like the child becomes really interested in making connections with other children, and she's trying all sorts of in the venues: she may grab a toy from somebody, today she actually bit somebody when she got really frustrated because it was clear she went to play with them and can quite figure out how to communicate that to them. So let's talk about kind of what we think she's working on and some of the strategies we're putting in place here at the center of the program to help her learn how to be successful in her social investigation."

And so if the teacher is able to convey the difficult behavior in a child development context and let the family know that there are strategies in place to support this child's growth through this fairly predictable, fairly expected developmental behavior - or if it's not developmental then we'll talk about that, too - then the family is much more receptive to the information.

I think sometimes teachers get frustrated at the end of the day - they haven't had a good break, they haven't had a good chance to put that child behaviour in a larger perspective. And so they may vent in a way when the parent comes. And they may need to vent, but the parent isn't the right place to do that venting about their own frustration.

Yes, and we've heard that from a parent on the Podcast previously, in terms of getting feedback from educators, which was really more just telling them that their child had problems. And as a parent you might know that - maybe you know or you don't know - but it's really, how can you help in providing that advice? What do we do about it as partners trying to work towards the best outcomes for the child? So I think that's really helpful advice.

What about as an early-childhood educator, what are some of the other challenges I might face when working with families? So I think as a director or administrator of childcare early learning program, your role would be very central in making sure that you are communicating to your team that the family-centered approach or philosophy is a core part of what you do in your programs. That sort of top-down messaging I think is very, very important. And I really like your example of a new parent and asking them right from the start about any information they would like to share and contribute towards how we do things in the center and about their child as an individual, versus the forms and the administrative things and why we're great as a program. That's a really good example.

And so what about as an educator myself when I'm trying to build these relationships, what are some other challenges I might face? And how would I overcome those?
KEYSER:
Well, I think that one of the things we're afraid of often as educators is having parents in a classroom, or having parents share their ideas about what they think should happen in the classroom, or having parents create an in the classroom. And we all of a sudden feel like, "Oh no, we're not in control anymore of what's happening." And if you develop those kinds of partnerships with them, say you plan together about the time in the classroom, and you support them and you also demonstrate and model some of the ways that we interact with children and engage in conversations about what our goals are or thinking is about those interactions.

But I think, classically, a parent wants to do a birthday party celebration in the school. And so there's all kinds of what an educator thinks of as red flags coming down the pike. Are they going to want to have balloons? Cupcakes and party favors that may not be appropriate for the classroom? That much sugar might not be appropriate for the classroom. And so how you have that conversation with the parent where you celebrate with them their excitement about their child's birthday and their desire to want to share that with other children in the classroom? That's the sweetest thing.

"Let's think about some of the kinds of things that your family does around birthday traditions and some of the kinds of things that we do in the classroom and see if we can find a good place to celebrate it with your child in the classroom in ways that are really significant to your family, and in ways that are going to enrich the classroom. Do you have a series of photos from when your child was a baby? Can we do a slideshow? Can we put together photos and share those with all the children in the classroom?"

And some of the things that we've done in our classroom is ask the child their favourite dinner item - not dessert, but dinner item. And then the children in the classroom make that item for the birthday child. So there's all kinds of ways to find that middle ground that's going to work for both our program and for the parents without making the parents feel wrong for what they want to do just because it's different than what our program philosophy might be.

And I think with that very specific example, it's a really good example of how having the trust and the partnership and the genuine interest in the families contributes to that, because I think it makes those conversations much easier for the educators to have with the families when they already have this authentic relationship with them, versus sort of a one-way communication thing that's happening. And I think that really sort of brings that to life.

Now if we were to step back to a little bit more macro level on all of this - and you've been working in early-childhood education for some time, you're also a mother and a grandmother - where do you feel we're sitting right now in early-childhood education with having family-centered early-childhood programs? Are we pretty far along? Do we have a long way to go? And what are the things that need to happen to get us to be more family-centered in early-childhood education?
KEYSER:
I think we're pretty far along. I think we have a long way to go. So I think one of the things is that teachers just need support and tools. And many of us came into this profession because we were just so fascinated with children. But we didn't come in because we like working with adults necessarily. And so where is the training around working with adults and seeing the partnership a different light and seeing the potential of the partnership in a different light? And certainly in infrastructure kind of way, do we incorporate that training in our early-childhood training programs and the colleges? Are there courses [on] working with families? Are there textbooks on family-centered care, building family-centered care in early-childhood programs?

And so that educators begin to not only learn about those skills but practice those skills, because practicing that kind of dialogue is difficult. And what's so exciting is that when you practice it you often discover that you come up, you grow in a relationship with parents. You know you grow in a relationship with children. You know children have so much to teach us about who they are as learners and explorers. And as we look at each individual child we learn more about children every single day.

That same work is true in our partnerships with families. When we practice engaging in collaboration with families and thinking about solutions together our work deepens and it gets better and it gets more appropriate and authentic to the children that were caring for. So part of it is, part of it is inspiration as you talk about the excitement of the potential of that relationship.

And so much of that is infrastructure. Are we both training educators to have these skills, and are we building programs in which there's time for educators to have time off the floor to communicate with parents, whether it's using technology, whether it's having sit-down conferences with them, whether it's looking at the child's portfolio together, whether it's inviting parents into the classroom to observe and then talking about those, whether it's inviting parents into our curriculum planning meetings - parents can both learn and offer in that process.

So I think there's many, many levels we need to grow and absolutely advocate for educators getting the support that they need to develop both the passion and the skill for creating those kinds of collaborations and relationships with families.

Totally. And like you said it's very exciting about what we could do with it. And for me this has been a really eye-opening conversation with you. And I think it really, to me, brought to light the changes that you could implement by changing your perception about your relationships with family. And some of the key things you talked about was having that genuine interest in families, and that "authentic" partnership, I really liked that word. And trust in the relationship - I think trust is a key part of this whole conversation. And having what you said as being thought partners and looking at your families as thought partners in your ultimate goal, which is improving developmental outcomes for the children in your classroom.

Janis, you're also the author of a couple of books, one being, From Parents to Partners: Building a Family-Centered Early-Childhood Program. And also I think very relevant to our audience, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be: A Sourcebook of Strategies For the First Five Years. A couple of really great resources for our audience there. Where can people go to find out more about those books, or perhaps get a copy for themselves?
KEYSER:
Well, you know, I always want to encourage people to go to their local bookstores, and if they don't have it they have those books they can order them for you. The From Parents to Partners was published by Redleaf Press, and it's also circulated by NAEYC, or the National Association For the Education of Young Children. So you could find it in their bookstore. Additionally Amazon; there's online booksellers that are easy to use where you can get the books as well.

Awesome. Thanks so much, Janis, very cool stuff. Janis, thank you so much for coming on the Podcast today. It's been excellent having you.
KEYSER:
I enjoyed talking to you, Ron.

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Building a Family-Centered Early Childhood Program

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Check all episodes of The Preschool Podcast Episode #93: Janis Keyser, Early Childhood Education Specialist and Author is here to talk about a family-centered approach to early learning. Imagine a parent who begins their journey in early childhood education with an open dialogue about how their child's care can match the values, routine and goals of their individual family.

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The video gives a brief description of why parent involvement is important in the classroom.

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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CHAP 12: Family-Centered Classrooms (Mychi V.)

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CHAP 12: Family-Centered Classrooms (Mychi V.)

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I picked this video because it explains some various principles on family-centered factors to educators and families that can help them gain more information to help their children. It is important to be aware on curriculums that are happening in family-centered classrooms because you can witness and observe how effective these practices are on the students. So with that, I present this video to cover some extra knowledge on the principles of dealing with family-centered classrooms with curriculums!

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Family Centered Principles and How to Put Them Into Practice

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This website offers all kinds of fun activities to do as a family. You could print them out and make sure the children have the materials to complete the activities and send it home for the children to do with their families. I think happy families make students happier!!

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Use these printables, activities, and lessons about families to teach your class about social interactions and relationships. By learning about families, students will begin to understand their place in groups, communities, and the world. You'll find writing assignments, Venn diagrams, art activities, and much more for the cross-curricular study of families. These resources are appropriate for kindergarten, first, second, and third grade teachers.

Printables for Grades K-3

Use these activities to help students explore and learn more about their family history. Included are finger plays and fun poetry.

Printables for Grades 4-8

Help students learn about family genealogy, traits, and relationships with our engaging printable activities.

Printables for Grades 9-12

Discuss issues that families face such as emotional, drug use, the meaning of family, and the power of love with these thought-provoking activities.

Slideshows

Our slideshows provide lists of engaging activities to help students understand more about different family relationships. Included are templates, guides, information on adoption, and math extension activities.

Lesson Plans

Increase students knowledge of their own families through comparisons to other cultures. Activities include creating an immigrant's story, researching manners and customs of families from other countries, and creating a powerpoint presentation.

Educational Technology Resources

Use our resources to enhance students' learning about families. Activities include research for powerpoint presentations and their family tree, as well as learning about family life long ago.

Family Learning Resources

Students explore their family through printables such as a family tree wordsearch or family roles with printable activities.

Father's Day Resources

Use these resources to help students explore Father's Day. Students read a passage and fill in cross-curricular charts, as well as complete a chart using statistics they researched about Father's Day.

Mother's Day Resources

Our Mother's Day Resources offer worksheets, charts, and more to help students increase their knowledge through looking at similarities with their parents and fun wordsearches.

Family Activities for Art, Music, & Drama

Creative and fun activities enhance students' family knowledge through puppet making, creating and drawing a puzzle, and determining the logical order in their family life.

Family Resources for Health & Safety

These resources are great for students and their family to discuss and work together toward healthier, more nutritional choices as a family unit.

Families & History Connected

Choose from our literary resources and activities to help students understand how family life may be different, but also the same in different time periods throughout history.

Math Activities for Families

These printable activities help students focus on using math skills by practicing counting or filling in charts and graphs with collected information.

Families, Literature, & Language Arts Connected

Family-centered books and stories will increase students' learning by helping them understand all families travel different journeys. Included are writing activities, creating word webs, and discovering traditions passed down in families.

Science & Families Connected

Our Science and Families Connected resources highlight the differences between families. Students' learning is extended through reading about different types of human families, as well as animal families with activities included.

Community Life Resources

Students realize that families struggle with various problems through reading the books in the Community Life Resources section. Activities include worksheets and writing assignments.

Immigration & Families Resources

Choose from our resources on Families and Immigration to increase students' knowledge of different families and cultures. Included are class projects and discussions, along with cross-curricular activities.

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Family Printables, Lessons, and References for Teachers (K-12) - TeacherVision

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Use these printables, activities, and lessons about families to teach your class about social interactions and relationships. By learning about families, students will begin to understand their place in groups, communities, and the world. You'll find writing assignments, Venn diagrams, art activities, and much more for the cross-curricular study of families.

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DIRECTIONS: Share a website, image, resource, a YouTube Video, an article, or video of yourself about curriculum in a family-centered classroom to illustrate chapter 12. Click on the + sign to start! Comment on each other's! 

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DIRECTIONS: Share a website, image, resource, a YouTube Video, an article, or video of yourself about curriculum in a family-centered classroom to illustrate chapter 12. Click on the + sign to start! Comment on each other's! 

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What does 'family-centered practice' mean in an early childhood setting?

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By: Keicha Talavera

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Memphis Team Talk | Family Centered Schools as Restorative Practice

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Family centered collaboration by Maria C. Gaitan de Garcia

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Family centered collaboration by Maria C. Gaitan de Garcia

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I choose this video because explain what family centered collaboration looks like and give some examples of it

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Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium - ERLC

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Engaging families in Early Childhood Education

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Engaging families in Early Childhood Education

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This article has great information as to why it is important to involve parents in the classroom and curriculum. Parents who participate in the classroom help their children learn more and will show more educational growth than those whose parents don't.
-Maria Andrade

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Collaborative problem-solving will require that parents, educators, specialists, and administrators work together to determine appropriate resources and supports as well as specific information-sharing practices that facilitate parental engagement.

Why Engage Parents?

An ongoing challenge for every educator is to develop and enhance skills that will offer students the best possible learning experiences and opportunities, in school, at home, and in community settings. It is therefore essential that every effort be made to ensure that ongoing and effective communication and partnerships be established and maintained with parents.

Parents as Partners in Response to Intervention

Early childhood models of Response to Intervention (RTI), such as Recognition and Response (see " A Model for RTI in Pre-K" for information), are designed to help educators (in collaboration with parents) to respond effectively to the learning needs of all young children, ages 3-5, including those who are experiencing problems with early learning and those who may be at-risk for learning disabilities. At first glance, it may seem difficult to engage parents in the different components of the Recognition and Response system. With minimal additional planning and a bit of flexibility, parents can be helpful in supporting the implementation of any number of the core components of Recognition and Response such as systematic observation, screening and recording data, monitoring progress, and helping to implement effective teaching practices.

Key Findings about Parent-School Partnerships

Here are two studies that offer insight into the benefits of parent-school partnerships:

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that children whose parents participated in the Peers Early Education Partnership (a program geared towards supporting families of children ages 0-5) "made significantly greater progress in their learning than children whose parents did not participate." These strides where found in children ages 3-5, and included progress in vocabulary, language comprehension, understanding of books and print and number concepts. In addition, these children also exhibited higher self-esteem in comparison to children of non-participating parents (Evangelou & Sylva, 2003).

A study published in the Journal of Instructional Psychology reported that improving parental involvement in the classroom can also improve schools in general (Machen, Wilson & Notar, 2005). The authors describe how everyone within the school community can benefit when parents and teachers work as partners.

What Parents Want To Know

In order to effectively engage parents, it is important to know their specific questions and concerns with regard to their child's learning and transition from home or day care to other educational settings. An article written by Pianta and Kraft-Sayre (1999) titled "Parents' Observations about Their Children's Transitions to Kindergarten" offers a number of insights:

While two-thirds of the parents viewed their child's transition into kindergarten as generally smooth, nearly 35% of parents mentioned a disruption to family life" - marked by having difficulty adjusting to a new schedule and not having a playmate available for a younger sibling.

53% of parent responses contained positive feedback regarding their child's ability to adjust well, the benefits of prior experience to school setting, proactive transition planning by the school, positive qualities in the teachers, communication with the school, and the quality of the curriculum/program.

Negative feedback shared by parents reflected the child's emotional/behavioral difficulties during transition (e.g., "not handled well by the school,"), family adjustment difficulties (e.g., sleep/work schedule), reluctance or refusal of child to attend school, unrealistic expectations of the school (e.g., curriculum too advanced), and communication difficulties between parents and school personnel (e.g., lost notes, missing money, skipped meals, hygiene difficulties)

Understanding parents' concerns and being proactive in addressing them (or circumventing potential problems) is a positive way to engage parents and establish productive home-school relationships.

Engaging Parents

According to Webster's New World College Dictionary (4th ed.), to "engage" is "to draw into, involve, to attract and to hold." Most parents want to be engaged in their child's learning, and many are able to establish and maintain ongoing and productive communication with teachers on a regular basis. Some families, however, must deal with challenging circumstances (e.g. financial difficulties, separation/divorce, health issues, language/cultural difference) that complicate their ability to reach out or respond to school personnel.

"To Draw Into and, To Attract..."

Relating to parents and drawing them in as partners can be challenging. And the challenges do not always emanate from outside of the classroom!

Amy was a new teacher and was especially eager to make sure parents felt at ease about leaving their child with her on the first day of school. In an effort to show that she was "in charge" she tried to do everything herself. She greeted parents and children, helped children feel welcome and quickly engaged them in an activity, stowed back-packs and extra clothing in cubbies and wrote name tags, and answered parents' questions. Despite her best efforts, a number of children began crying, and sizeable group of parents (many visibly concerned about getting to work on time) congregated at the classroom door.

While a certain amount of tension and anxiety is to be expected at times like this, careful planning can go a long way to help everyone feel more at ease.

Tips on How Teachers Can "Draw and Attract" Parent Participation

Provide a short biography about yourself and your interests. Parents seldom have opportunities during "drop-off" and "pick-up" time to get to know their child's teacher, and conversations during these brief encounters often focus on the events of the day. Sharing some particular details about your special talents and interests can lessen any "stranger" anxiety and make parents feel more at ease.

Invite parents to complete a brief questionnaire. Not only can parents be an invaluable source of information about their own children, but they can bring special interests and talents to share with the entire school community. You may want to ask parents to fill out a questionnaire on the first day of school or invite them to take it home and return it at a later date. Some questions to ask might include:

Would you be interested in being a "guest" in our classroom? Could you be a story reader? Teach a song? Help with an art project?

Is there a special topic that you would like to see incorporated into the curriculum? (e.g., adoption, new siblings, moving to a new home)

Is there a special interest or talent you would like to share with the children? The staff?

What is the best way to reach you during the day?

What is your availability during the day?

Some additional suggestions for building productive parent partnerships are:

Don't do everything yourself! Assign specific tasks to teacher assistants/aides and volunteers and make time to share information and impressions frequently, especially after conversations with parents. Trying to do everything yourself can cause extreme exhaustion, frustration, disappointment and even resentment. Some assistants/aides have a wealth of experience (in the classroom and with parents) and asking them for advice may be a very wise thing to do. Be sure to acknowledge everyone's unique contributions as members of a "team"...parents, too!

Create a photo album of your class in action. Pictures of children involved in different activities can be a wonderful way to engage parents when they visit the classroom/school.

Check backpacks daily. Notes from parents, permission slips, money due, and supplies have a way of finding their way to the bottom of the bag! Encourage and remind parents to do the same.

Provide a "dialog notebook" or "daily diary" for each student. These notebooks, kept in children's backpacks, are an excellent way to send messages to and from school and home regarding a child's progress. For parents whose schedules do not allow for visits to the school building, this offers them a way to stay involved, avoid feelings of guilt, and share regular and timely feedback.

"To Involve, To Hold Onto"

The Recognition and Response system recognizes a number of different types of 'readiness' when it comes to transition to school. Just as schools need to be ready for children, and children need to be ready for schools, parents also need to be ready to 'hand off' their children to educators who will begin to shape their early school careers.

Sarah's father, Mr. Henry, presented himself on the first day of school with a big smile and a thousand questions! While not really 'worried' about his daughter's transition to preschool, he was very inquisitive about what happened at different times during the day, and made repeated mention of this being Sarah's first experience in a 'real school' setting. During the course of the first few days of school he made frequent appearances, called and left messages, and wrote notes to the teacher, aides, and school administrator. With plenty of reassurance (often very brief, but always with an anecdote about something Sarah did in class) from the teacher and aides, he was able to 'detach' and become less anxious about her adjustment.

Tips on How Teachers Can Maintain Parental Interest and Involvement

Here are some ideas for supporting ongoing parental interest and involvement that many early childhood educators have found to be successful:

Make the most of drop-off and pick-up activities. Even though these times can be tumultuous, don't miss out on opportunities to engage interested parents. Greet with enthusiasm and when possible, acknowledge their arrival in some special way. For example, prompt the class by saying "look who's here - let's say hello to Sarah and Mr. Henry." This serves several purposes: it makes Sarah feel welcomed, makes her dad feel more at ease about Sarah's her being there, and teaches (and models) the importance of greeting and acknowledging others.

Share a detail or two. When speaking with parents, be sure to add some specific information about their child's progress. "She's doing fine" is not nearly as satisfying to a parent as "You wouldn't believe how much fun she had creating clay animals the other day!"

Host a variety of special events. Try to plan activities such as informal breakfasts, picnics, class trips and fairs featuring educational books and toys throughout the school year. Eliciting ideas for these events from parents may encourage them to be more involved in developing and planning. Be sure to consider whether parents have preferences about when during the day or evening these activities should take place.

Communicate frequently. Whether in person (parent-teacher conferences,), through printed materials (flyers, newsletters, school bulletin boards) or online (school Web sites, group or individual e-mails) , try to make frequent contact with parents. And be sure to ask parents whether the information being shared is useful and how it can be improved, both in terms of content (e.g. about school activities, upcoming events) and format.

High expectations count. Help make parents aware of the school's high standards for achievement, learning goals, curriculum and strategies for helping every child succeed. Don't be reluctant to invite parents to become involved in decision-making and planning ways to help the school community meet these goals.

Celebrate achievements though work sampling. Create portfolios, scrap books, and/or other collections of children's experiences in the classroom for parents to look at whenever they visit the classroom.

Encourage peer networking among parents. A good way to start building parent networks is by creating a parent contact list .Be sure to include teachers, aides and other relevant school personnel. Eliciting help from a few parent volunteers may be especially helpful as this will encourage them to take ownership of this activity.

Identify and make useful resources available to parents. Some parents will need reassurance and guidance about behavior management. Some will have concerns about motor skills or language development. A few will have questions about signs of risk for learning disabilities, and others will want guidance about how to cultivate special skills and talents in their children. Try to be prepared to lead parents to these and other types of resources, either through a lending library in the school, through local agencies or via helpful resources on the Web.

Invite parents into the classroom. Extend frequent invitations for parents to visit their child's school and spend time in the classroom. Whether parents are invited to be silent observers or to help with activities, these visits can be most helpful and enjoyable. (And think about how special a parent will feel receiving a note from the class thanking them for their visit!)

Hard Conversations

There are going to be times when early childhood professionals and parents will engage in stressful conversations. Sometimes these conversations are triggered by issues that are programmatic such as scheduling extra time for a child to learn and practice skills, reminding parents to return forms, sending in extra clothes, or being on time for pick up at the end of the day. The most stressful conversations, however, are often those that have to do with a child's progress and how to respond when a child shows signs of frustration or when they evidence unexpected delays in learning.

"Doing Battle" So That Everyone Wins!

Most of the time parents and educators are reluctant to say or do things that create conflict, and when it comes to the best interest of our children (parents and teachers alike), we often see all parties ready to engage in a "good fight." Some parents feel that school personnel expect too much (or not enough) from their young child; some believe that educators are misguided in their understanding of how best to teach and encourage learning. Some teachers, on the other hand, wonder why parents are so protective of their child even when concerns are raised about their progress. However well-intentioned, sharing concerns about a child's status can be a tension-filled turning point in the parent-teacher relationship and well worth careful planning and introspection on everyone's part.

In a brief conversation at the end of the school day, Ms. Roth was told by her son Sam's teacher that his behavior at school was beginning to interfere with daily routines and that she might want to address this concern at home. Upset by this casual mention of her son's poor behavior, she replayed this brief encounter in her mind and became increasingly angry at the insinuation that behavior was also a problem at home and that she was being negligent about setting limits or parenting with proper discipline. This potentially explosive situation was quickly diffused that evening with a phone call from Sam's teacher who explained how her concerns were about his enthusiasm to share information about his new pet iguana, and offered some suggestions about sharing photos or drawings, and even having a "show and tell" experience with the class.

Here are some tips when sharing concerns about a child's progress with parents:

Be a good listener. There is much about a child's home situation and prior educational experience that can help you make good decisions. As important is the way that you listen to what parents have to say. They often provide much more information than was asked of them, and offer cues about whether they need more information about a particular issue and whether they are prepared to hear what you need to say.

Say it again. For some parents, conversations with school personnel can be stressful, regardless of whether the discussion is about "good news" or concerns about learning. Try to deliver your message in more than one way, offering examples whenever possible. And ask the listener to confirm what they have heard and what they understand the implications of your message might be. Having parents re-tell the major points in their own words can be a very helpful strategy to engage parents as partners and to avoid misunderstandings.

Communicate strengths first. When communicating with parents about their child's academic and/or emotional needs, it is often helpful to frame the conversation about strengths and talents before dealing with areas of concern.. This will set a positive tone and help even defensive parents feel as though you appreciate the "good" in their child. In more cases than not, parents and teachers share the same impressions about strengths and weakness. The challenge is often how to initiate a conversation without pointing fingers at anyone about being overly sensitive or unnecessarily concerned.

"Camile is so much fun to have in class! She is very caring and plays well with the other children. She has a great sense of humor and usually 'gets things' other kids tend to miss at this age. I'd like you to know that I am keeping an eye on her verbal language skills. We understand her wants and needs most of the time, except when she gets excited. When this happens her words are sometimes difficult to understand."

Describe behaviors... do not diagnose, label or guess. Early childhood educators spend a lot of time with students in different settings (playtime, circle-time, meals, etc.) and have opportunities to observe behaviors that may not be apparent at home. When concerns arise about a child's learning or behavior, the last thing you want to do is give the impression that you're jumping to conclusions! Be sure not to think "diagnosis" or "label" but rather do everything you can to gather detailed information that could be helpful to parents and specialists who at some point might be called in to conduct screenings or targeted evaluations Monitoring children's progress is an essential and valuable component of the Recognition and Response system and there are many ways to incorporate this type of data collection (and sharing) into daily routines. Try to look for patterns in these anecdotal records as they can provide clues to what might be interfering with learning.

Jared loves to play with cars and often chooses this as a free-time activity. He enjoys sharing his toys with peers, but as just before lunch, he seems to get moody, sometimes preferring to play alone. At these times, when approached by other children, he tends to ignore them and on several occasions has used foul language and even pushed them away. This behavior can persist until lunchtime, but is rarely seen during rest time and in afternoon play.

Allow time for parents to process hear, feel, think and respond. Dr. Louis M. Rossetti, in his book titled Communication Intervention: Birth to Three, has referred to the delivery of difficult news to parents about their child as "a loaded gun fired at the heart." Without being dramatic, it is not unusual for communications with parents regarding struggles with learning and behavior to stir up feelings of guilt, fear, confusion, resentment, anger and helplessness. Be sure to provide opportunities for parents to process and understand your concerns. Some helpful tips include:

Try not to be defensive if parents lash out upon hearing "bad news." Try not to take their reactions personally. Remember that there may be other circumstances at work or at home that affect their reaction.

Organize your thoughts before sharing them with parents. It may be a good idea to confer or even role play with a colleague before initiating a conference with a parent.

Be clear about your availability to help. Suggests times for follow up and offer to include others in the discussion as needed.

Elicit ideas from parents about ways to provide support for their child. If possible, share a tentative plan of action and integrate parents' suggestions as appropriate. Remember that a key feature of the Recognition and Response system is not necessarily trying to change a students' behavior, but rather making modifications to the program, tailoring instructional strategies, and providing appropriate supports to meet the needs of all children, including those who struggle with learning.

Review information with parents and help them to appreciate their role as partners in gathering and sharing information, supporting skill development, monitoring progress, and ongoing decision-making.

Share informational resources. Make parents aware of helpful resource such as books, videos, DVDs, pamphlets and Web sites. Directing parents to information about "sensitive" issues can help them to increase awareness of important topics and even develop some level of acceptance, making it easier for them to partner with you and take positive action.

Ask for feedback. It's OK for educators to ask parents for feedback about their classroom program. Be prepared to hear good news and bad. And remember that child development is a moving target. Saying "I'm sorry" or having to having to make mid-course corrections in instructional style and content is part of the early childhood educational business. Your efforts and willingness to be a flexible, well-informed and enthusiastic partner will make your relationships with parents a success.

Some Helpful Resources To Engage Parents

The Child Care Partnership Project offers a number of valuable resources:

A Guide to Engaging Parents in Public-Private Child Care Partnerships

This publication offers a Parent Involvement Checklist that can help schools develop and sustain partnerships among teachers, parents and administrators It focuses attention on such important issues as:

Conducting outreach activities and regularly inviting parents to participate in school activities;

Making efforts to engage fathers, mothers and intergenerational care providers (uncles, aunts, grandparents);

The skills and training needs of adults to effectively assume partnership roles;

Establishing ways for groups of parents and individual families to offer feedback on why and how well partnership activities are meting their needs.

A Parent Talent Self-Assessment Tool

This informal quiz can help parents identify the skills/knowledge they can contribute to a partnership with the school community. It asks parents to rate their skills, interests and abilities to:

Lead (motivate, inspire, persuade, initiate, execute, persist);

Instruct (tell stories, engage in learning activities);

Organize (plan, think logically, clarify, envision, design);

Express ideas through art or music.

For information about cultural competency, visit:

References

Dockett S. & Perry, B. (2001). Starting School: Effective Transitions. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 3(2).

Evangelou, M. & Sylva, K. (2003). The Effects of the Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP) on Children's Developmental Progress. Department of Education Studies, University of Oxford.

Goodwin, A., & King, S. (2002). Culturally responsive parental involvement: concrete understandings and basic strategies. Washington , DC : AACTE Publications.

Harry, B., & Kalyanpur, S. (1999). Building reciprocity with families: Case studies in special education. Baltimore , MD : Paul H. Brookes.

Kreider, H. (2002). Getting Parents "Ready" for Kindergarten: The Role of Early Childhood Education. Harvard Family Research Project, April.

Machen, S. , Wilson, J. & Notar, C. (2005). Parental Involvement in the Classroom. Journal of Instructional Psychology 32 (1), 13-16.

McBride, S. (1999). Family-Centered Practices. National Association for the Education of Young Children, 54 (3).

Pallas, A.M., Natriello, G., & McDill, E. (1989). The changing nature of the disadvantaged population: current dimensions and future trends. Educational Researcher, 18(5), 16-22.

Piana, L.D. (2000). Still separate. Still unequal: 46 years after Brown v. Board of Education (Fact sheet on Educational Inequality). Oakland . CA: Applied Research Center .

Rieth, H.J., Sindelar, P.T., McCray-Sorrells, A. (2004). Critical Issues in Special Education. Boston : Pearson Education, Inc.

U.S. Department of Education (2002a). Twenty-third annual report to Congress on the implementation of Individuals with Disabilities Act. Washington , DC : U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Department of Education (2002b). Education statistics. Washington, DC. Author.

This article was originally published by RecognitionandResponse.org, copyright © 2007-2008 National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

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Engaging Families in Early Childhood Education

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Collaborative problem-solving will require that parents, educators, specialists, and administrators work together to determine appropriate resources and supports as well as specific information-sharing practices that facilitate parental engagement. An ongoing challenge for every educator is to develop and enhance skills that will offer students the best possible learning experiences and opportunities, in school, at home, and in community settings.

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Curriculum development - An introduction 

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Curriculum development - An introduction 

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Jennifer Guzman

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Curriculum Development - An Introduction

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Family-Centered Transition - D. Hagner, Ph.D. & A. Kurtz M.Ed.,

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Importance of family engagement in curriculum planning
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(Lisa Thompson) Building Partnerships w/Families 

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(Lisa Thompson) Building Partnerships w/Families 

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Lisa Thompson

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I chose this website because it gives examples and reasons why it is important to include families in the curriculum develop process. It offers ideas and activities for families to do at home with their children as well as fun activities to do within a program to get family involvement. This website has different categories to go through to help with family engagement such as parent conferences, interacting with parent’s home visits, miscellaneous things that may come up withing a program, etc. all with links to different sub articles or pages of information and or activities.

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Engaging families in your curriculum can help foster support for your program, improve student achievement, and improve the class environment. Find opportunities to communicate what you do in your class, why it is important, and how families can support your efforts. This can be done through class websites, newsletters, presentations, videos, social media, communication apps, and attending various school events. Here are some additional ideas:

Assign homework activities that require participation from family members. Examples include: psychomotor tasks that require another person, physical activity logs that require a guardian's signature, family history reports that details genetic risk factors, etc.

Host activities that incorporate family involvement such as a physical education showcases, "Family Fitness Nights," and field days. Family members can be involved as observers of student performances, volunteers, or through direct participation. Don't forget to thank them!

Host free clinics for family members (or charge small fees as a part of a fundraiser) based on your expertise. The more active the family members are, the more active your students will be!

Join your school's Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and become involved in the community.

Contact families to praise student behavior!

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physical education and parent conferences

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physical education and bring your parent

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Engaging families in your curriculum can help foster support for your program, improve student achievement, and improve the class environment. Find opportunities to communicate what you do in your class, why it is important, and how families can support your efforts.

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By, Laura Garrett

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Family Engagement: Strengthening Family Involvement to Improve Outcomes for Children

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Chapter 12, What a curriculum in a family-centered classroom should look like.

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I chose this specific video because this lady talks about the way her childs teacher spoke to her. The way the teacher was collecting information from her made her feel important which I love. She also was able to listen to the teacher explain to her what she wants to do and how she is going to accomplish that in the classroom. Overall great video about a family centered preschool and the relationships built.

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Teacher and parent relationships - a crucial ingredient: Cecile Carroll at TEDxWellsStreetED

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We use cookies to analyse how visitors use our website and to help us provide the best possible experience for users.

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Curriculum in a Family-Centered Classroom

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Curriculum in a Family-Centered Classroom

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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Shannon Stepleton
There are things that are in this chart that we've already talked about as well as stuff from chapter 12.

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Lucero Quiñonez

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Supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood

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Family, School & Community Partnerships: Supporting Student Success

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Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium - ERLC

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I choose this video because I think is important to get knowledge about the different cultures from the families that form part of our classroom first then we can start involving families with activities and projects.

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How can teachers engage with parents from different cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds?

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comparti este video porque me parece bien para las edades con las que yo trabajo, que son de 1 a 2 anos y aunque no usamos ningun tipo de tegnologia en el aula se pueden hacer estos mismos jusgos con materiales que nosotros mismos agamos.

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Parents and other close family members are children's first teachers. In e-clip #3, Director Jamie Klein discusses the importance of building strong, trusting relationships with families. When early childhood administrators and teachers provide a variety of opportunities for families to become involved in classrooms and in programs, parents gain an understanding of what their children are learning, and they have the ability to extend the learning at home.

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Parents and other close family members are children's first teachers. In e-clip #3, Director Jamie Klein discusses the importance of building strong, trusting relationships with families. When early childhood administrators and teachers provide a variety of opportunities for families to become involved in classrooms and in programs, parents gain an understanding of what their children are learning, and they have the ability to extend the learning at home.

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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I shared this video because is so important as a teacher respect and promote the diversity in our classroom. with respect and inclusion.

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https://youtu.be/gh1htcSYrHo
Chapter 12 Curriculum a Family-Center Classroom
I choose this video because it tell you the important that is to built a strong relationships with families

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This is a great video that gives great tips on working effectively with parents families from a different culture and ways that their difference in culture can be great opportunity to be added into the classroom curriculum.

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Practical Tips for Working Effectively with Culturally Diverse Families of Young Children

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I found this article very informative.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&context=specedfacpub

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Know

Welcoming Each Child and Family
Where do you feel welcomed? What happens in a place that makes you feel welcome?
Spend a few seconds thinking about the two questions above. Then consider all the things you do in your daily work to make preschool children and their families feel welcome in your classroom and program. How do you greet children and families in the morning and when it is time to go home? How do you ensure that preschoolers feel welcome, learn, and develop while having fun? How do you comfort them when they seem upset or miss their loved ones? How do you ensure that families feel welcome and supported?

Successful preschool teachers create positive, welcoming environments for the children and families they work with and strive for excellence in their interactions with others. The most important aspects of your work are the relationships you create and nurture with children, families, and colleagues. As highlighted in several courses throughout the Virtual Lab School, relationships form over time and require ongoing effort and commitment. Collaborating with others is a big part of your work, and whether you are a brand new or a seasoned preschool teacher, your success and effectiveness hugely depend on how well you work with others. Whether you are engaging with children, families, colleagues, or supervisors, nurturing these relationships early on is critical to your success.

Preschool children's development happens so quickly. When families and teachers work together, communicate, and share what is observed and experienced, opportunities are created for better understanding and supporting this rapid developmental growth. Asking questions, communicating, and listening with families helps support continuity of care between home and the care setting.

Understanding children and child development is absolutely essential in your role as a preschool teacher. The individual courses within the Virtual Lab School provide extensive information on each of the developmental domains (e.g., Cognitive Development, Physical Development, Social & Emotional Development) as well as strategies and practical ideas on how to promote optimum growth. You should refer to these courses for comprehensive information about preschool children's development. Along with child development, knowledge about topics such as Safe Environments, Learning Environments, Healthy Environments, Positive Guidance, Child Abuse, and Family Engagement will strengthen your competence and enable you to positively impact the lives of children and families you engage with. Optimum development is achieved when children in your care are healthy, emotionally secure, and socially connected. This development, however, cannot be achieved unless you put preschoolers' families and home cultures at the forefront of your work.

When engaging with families of preschool children with special learning needs, you should work with your T&Cs and program directors to ensure that you have the resources and supports you need. You should work collaboratively with T&Cs, program directors, and family members to be sure that a preschooler's Individualized Education Program (IEP) outcomes are addressed (if appropriate) in your classroom and program. Successful inclusion of children with disabilities requires careful planning, intentional teaching, and ongoing communication among all team members. As highlighted in Lesson Two in this course (Working as a Team), building collaborative relationships takes time and attention but has meaningful outcomes on your practice.

You should work with your T&Cs and managers to ensure that families are welcomed and supported at all times in your classroom and program. Just as you care about how preschool children in your care are welcomed, you have to pay attention to how families are included in your daily work, not only at drop-off and pick-up time, but throughout their child's day. In doing so, consider the following:

Ask family members how they want to be involved and remind them that they are important to you.

Respect each preschool child in your care and their families and acknowledge diversity and individual differences in growth, background, values, and beliefs.

Share information with families about the work you do with preschool children in your care and, if needed, explain why you do things a certain way.

Families can choose to be involved in various ways. For military families, it is critical to have flexibility in how they can participate.

When families volunteer to be in your classroom, they need to have clear directions and a purpose and to know what the expectations are for them.

Family members want to have meaningful conversations about their child. Make sure you keep them updated about their child's growth regularly. Acknowledge all the great things preschool children do on a daily basis and share those with their families often! Ongoing communication and collaboration benefits everyone.

All families have strengths and all families have challenges. Focus on each family's strengths and build on those.

Introducing Family-Centered Practice

Because families are central to their children's development, particularly when it comes to the early-childhood years, they are partners, active participants, and decision-makers in their children's education process. As a result, family-centered practice is considered one of the indicators of quality in early-childhood education, programs, and services. At the heart of family-centered practice is the belief that families are the most important decision-makers in a child's life (Sandall, Hemmeter, Smith, & McLean, 2005).

Family-centered practice also means that you understand the important effect all family members have on each other and on the preschool child. Each family member affects the other and the ways that the family functions. All family members are interconnected. From our families, we learn skills that enable us to engage in school and the workplace.

When considering family-centered practice, you are viewing preschool children as part of a larger system; you are viewing family members as a whole. You become aware of and sensitive to the interactions and relationships taking place within the family, as well as outside interactions and supports that affect them. In an effort to maintain relationships and to work effectively together, you learn, respect and understand characteristics of each family and its support system. You can also consider the characteristics and stressors that may affect a family's involvement. What affects one family member can affect all family members. A family is a complex system in which no one member can be viewed in isolation.

Throughout the Virtual Laboratory School, we consider family-centered practice as an umbrella term that encompasses the beliefs and actions of people in your program. Consider this table:

Family-Centered Practice

Family-centered practice is a set of beliefs and actions that influence how we engage families.

Families are the most important decision-makers in a child's life.

We learn about families' ideas and preferences.

We provide choices in programming.

We involve families in program leadership.

We involve families in decision-making.

Families are unique and their differences enrich our programs.

We honor and respect diversity.

We involve all the important people in a child's life.

We engage and involve families.

We develop responsive and reciprocal relationships.

We represent families in our programs.

Families are resilient.

We learn about families' strengths, needs, and circumstances.

We connect families with resources.

We build families' strengths.

Families are central to development and learning.

We share information with families.

We listen to families.

We view families as their child's first teacher.

We respect families' expertise about their child.

Families are our partners.

We use respectful, responsive, and two-way communication.

We reach out to families.

We involve families in all aspects of our program.

Making an effort to understand preschool children and their families can create opportunities for you to better support the young children in your care.

Watch family members share how their children's programs are welcoming and supportive.

Honoring Diversity in Families

Some very important learning in the preschool years relates to culture. Preschoolers learn new words, ways of interacting with others, how to communicate, and how to play - all things influenced by culture. Culture refers to the shared experiences and history of different groups of people. Cultural differences may include differences in views of family and community, expectations of children, roles of parents, and value placed on education.

Culture is a significant factor in the ways families raise their children and how you, as a preschool teacher, provide care for young children. Examine your own cultural experiences and consider how these experiences affect your practice with preschoolers and families. Each teacher brings specific values, beliefs, and assumptions about child rearing and development to her or his work. In almost every type of child-care routine you perform, your values about it were shaped by your childhood and training. As you work with preschool children and their families, it is important to recognize your values and beliefs and the ways in which they are communicated. For example, a parent might expect a preschooler to never have a toileting accident, while you believe that toileting accidents do happen occasionally.

Sometimes, you might feel unsure about how to care for a preschool child or how to engage families who have very different experiences and cultures, including those who speak an unfamiliar language or who have unfamiliar religious customs. You can acknowledge differences and demonstrate an interest in the family in an effort to build relationships and learn ways to provide support to preschool children in your care. For example, you can learn how families view sleep habits, which may be influenced by culture and affects development. When differences are viewed through the lens of culture, respectful conversations can lead to agreement in how these practices will be supported in a group early care and learning environment.

Early care and learning settings provide an environment in which adults and children can learn about and honor differences in values, beliefs and perceptions. Learning one's culture occurs primarily within the family; however, in early care and learning environments, preschool children also learn about culture and experience relationships that influence their sense of who they are and who they will become.

To help children develop this sense of who they are and who they will become, you must honor and celebrate the diversity of families. Diversity exists in a variety of dimensions, including:

Composition (who is a member of the family)

Race and ethnicity

Language

Socioeconomic status

Sexual orientation

Ability or disability

Educational background

Values and traditions

Child-rearing practices

Being a responsive teacher means that you demonstrate sensitivity and consideration for the multiple backgrounds, experiences, values, and contexts in which children and families live.

Being a responsive teacher also means that you are always professional and ethical when working with families. In doing that, you should practice the following:

Keep information about children and their families confidential. This refers to reviewing child and family records, having conversations with other teachers in your program or in the community, or engaging in conversations with other people you know in the community.

When you know confidential information about a child or family, use that information to help them and not judge them.

If individuals ask you for confidential information about children or families in your classroom or program, refer them to your T&C or program director.

See

Watch this video to learn about embracing diversity in classrooms and programs.

In this video you will learn about working with families of children with special needs.

Do

There is a lot you can do to show that you value the families of preschool children in your program. Consider the following guidelines that reflect family-centered practice, and then think about how you can use these guidelines in your work with children and families.

Recognize the family as the constant in the child's life and that teachers and service systems may come and go.

Acknowledge that families know their children best, and learn to view them as partners and collaborators in your work. Reach out to them and invite their input.

Facilitate collaboration between families and professionals.

Encourage family-to-family support and networking.

Honor and respect family diversity in all dimensions (cultural, racial, ethnic, linguistic, spiritual, socioeconomic, or in terms of family members' sexual orientations). You may do this by:

Asking families about their home language, sharing key phrases they use at home.

Demonstrating genuine interest about each child and family you work with and making an effort to get to know them.

Having family information and children's books in the languages of each family.

Inviting families to visit your classroom and program and sing songs, tell stories, and show books or pictures that demonstrate their culture, and, for preschoolers, introduce culturally specific foods.

Observing how a family interacts with their child.

Asking families to create a family or neighborhood storybook.

Meeting regularly with families to learn about their hopes, dreams and goals for their child.

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Where do you feel welcomed? What happens in a place that makes you feel welcome? Spend a few seconds thinking about the two questions above. Then consider all the things you do in your daily work to make preschool children and their families feel welcome in your classroom and program.

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https://education.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/linc/linccurriculummodule/familycenteredpractices.pdf

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Bev Bos on child centered care. I really look up to Bev and want to promote her beliefs

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Chapter 12 video  Christine Panell

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A Family Centred Approach – A Guide for Educational Personnel

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My view on family- centered curriculum

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http://resourcesforearlylearning.org/educators/module/20/13/61/

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Build Relationships with Families

Before watching this video, read the text below. When instructed, watch the video from the beginning to end.

A child's social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development is strengthened when educators and families work together. When a child sees a positive relationship developing between educators and family, the child recognizes that the important people in his or her life are working together and trust each other, and he or she will do the same. This collaboration also provides a strong foundation for communication about children's learning. To foster family involvement, interactions between educators and families should be positive, purposeful, reciprocal, and consistent.

Communicate with families often.When there is good communication between educators and families, learning is collaborative, accomplishments are acknowledged, problems are recognized, and solutions are provided.

Communicate the positive and the negative. Families will have a better sense of their child's behaviors and accomplishments if all behaviors are reported (not only those that are negative or challenging).

Foster two-way communication. It is as important for the educator to hear from the parent or caregiver what the child is doing at home as it is for the parent or caregiver to hear what the child is doing in the early learning program. Share what children are learning and how parents and caregivers can offer support. Ask for feedback from families about the child's academic and social development outside of the program.

Use multiple modes communication. Create a constant flow of communication. Engage with families in person at drop-off and pick-up, keep a journal for each child that families can read and contribute to, set up a Parent Information Board, write regular newsletters or blog posts, and send emails or text messages.

Understand each family's expectations and views about their involvement.What parents and caregivers view as family engagement may differ from family to family. For example, in some cultures families believe that the most respectful way to treat an educator is not to question, suggest, or share information. Be explicit about the kind of involvement that you expect and welcome from families, but also honor the limits families may want to maintain.

Approach the relationship with respect. Treat the educator and family relationship the way you would treat any important relationship in your life. Work to create a respectful and reciprocal relationship-one in which families feel valued and supported.

In this video, you'll see educators use various strategies to build strong relationships with families. As you watch, look for effective strategies used by the educators in the video and jot down answers to these viewing questions in your Learning Log.

How do the educators keep families informed of their child's learning and activities?

How do the educators engage with families?

Review Why is it important for you to build relationships with families?

Families and educators each have unique knowledge about a child.

A parent or caregiver can share information with educators about how the child feels, thinks, and learns outside of the formal learning environment.

An educator can offer insight about how the child learns and behaves in group situations, as well as on his or her own.

Strong relationships between educators and families can strengthen children's emotional health. They show children that they can trust the adults in their lives because those adults trust each other.

Children's academic growth benefits from instructional coherence (when the learning in the program is supported by the learning at home and vice-versa).

Respectful relationships between educators and families provide children with models for how to create positive relationships with others.

What are some helpful ways to share information about what children are doing and learning?

Set up a Parent Information Board in the drop-off and pick-up area to post learning objectives, key vocabulary words, and explicit examples of ways parents can reinforce the learning. For example, Today we read a book about scientists. We learned how scientists look, touch, smell, listen to, and learn about the world around them. On your way home, ask your child to look, touch, smell, and listen as he or she practices being a scientist.

Use blogs, newsletters, text messages, and social media pages to keep families up-to-date on learning, provide ideas on home connections, share photos, and encourage families to share home experiences with educators.

Keep a journal for each child. Educators can write weekly entries about each child, highlighting a new project, a new learning, a new challenge, or a new development. Family members can read and contribute to the journal.

Reflect
Think about the learning environment at your own program as you answer these reflection questions in your Learning Log.

How do you build positive and collaborative relationships with families?

What did you learn that you will put into practice in your own learning environment?

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This site provides exciting, engaging media-rich learning opportunities for parents and educators of children ages 0-5. From detailed lesson plans to simple, everyday activities, you will find everything you need to help your children succeed.

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Curriculum in a family centered classroom.

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Curriculum in a family centered classroom.

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https://raisingchildren.net.au/for-professionals/working-with-parents/about-working-with-parents/professionals-a-family-centred-approach

- Both of these resources have great information and ideas on family centered curriculum. Families can provide their expertise to suit their child's needs and help make a more enriched curriculum which reflects the students and their families.

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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Creating and Implementing a Family Partnership Plan | BetterLesson Coaching

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Creating and Implementing a Family Partnership Plan

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Forming authentic, trusting relationships with your students' families is a foundational part of building an inviting learning community

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FAST program used in Wisconsin to engage families and create connections.

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FAST program used in Wisconsin to engage families and create connections.

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Step-by-Step guide of what the program has done, what they have improved and what they are trying. A guide to using the program also and presenting it to schools or programs locally to use.

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Brief Overview

FAST® is an internationally-acclaimed parent engagement program that supports the family bonding necessary for children to thrive.

Built on evidence-based practices and rigorously tested, FAST:

Empowers parents as leaders of their families,

Builds positive connections and social capital between families and schools, and

Creates a supportive community engaged in fostering children's well-being and education.

During FAST, families have an opportunity to spend time together, eat a meal, play games, and get to know other families. The FAST Team invites families to "just try it once." The result: 80% of families who attend one FAST Session will successfully complete the program - one of the highest retention rates among parent empowerment programs.

After a single FAST Cycle, children's school behavior improves and emotional problems diminish at home and at school. Parent-child bonding strengthens and family conflict declines. Academic performance improves and children get along better with their parents and with their peers. In short, FAST applies research and evidence-based family therapy practices to promote the full potential of every child. Learn more about the basics of the FAST Program.

What makes FAST special?

Several characteristics make FAST a strong choice among prevention and early intervention programs and parenting skills courses, including:

Family-to-family interaction. FAST brings multiple families together in dynamic groups to build connections. These connections support families at home, in the school, and within their larger community.

Learning by doing, not lecture. FAST is an experiential program, where families can learn and practice positive parenting and family behaviors, rooted in practices from child psychology, family therapy, and family stress theory, among others.

Parent empowerment. Throughout the program, FAST Team Members respect and support parents as the leaders and decision-makers of their families. Team Members utilize a specific technique to facilitate the session, allowing parents to give direction and instruction to their own family.

Cultural adaptation. FAST Teams reflect the local culture, ethnicity, language, gender balance, and socioeconomic status of the families served. Up to 60% of FAST can and should be adapted to fit local priorities and needs.

Pre- and post-survey assessment. FAST Parents, teachers, and youth (level-dependent) complete surveys before and after each FAST Cycle to assess program effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement. These findings are also collected and tabulated at the national level to continually evaluate and evolve FAST.

Holistic and systemic impact. By building social capital among families and within the existing social structures of schools and communities, FAST accrues benefits that extend beyond the effects of traditional categorical programs. For example, a community that implements four different programs to reduce school failure, truancy, delinquency, and drug addiction could accomplish the same outcomes with the FAST Program.

Because of these differentiating features, FAST supports systemic change in the family, school, and community to promote the full potential of every child. Learn more about the statistically-significant, positive outcomes of FAST.

FASTWORKS®

Post-FAST, families continue to meet on a monthly basis for 2 years or more through FASTWORKS, a supplemental program which is led by Parent Graduates.

FASTWORKS provides a supportive environment where families can practice the positive skills they learned during the program and have a forum for working together to reach shared goals. It is designed to:

unite families and schools to help children succeed;

empower parents, teachers, children, and families;

enhance a sense of community; and

provide a network of knowledge, skills, and understanding.

By taking responsibility for FASTWORKS, parents can act as advocates for themselves and their children, and as leaders in their community and school. FASTWORKS, according to many FAST Parent Graduates, is where they're able to work to make their hopes and dreams become realities.
Want to bring the FAST Program to your community? Get started.

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FAST® is an internationally-acclaimed parent engagement program that supports the family bonding necessary for children to thrive. Built on evidence-based practices and rigorously tested, FAST: Empowers parents as leaders of their families, Builds positive connections and social capital between families and schools, and Creates a supportive community engaged in fostering children's well-being and education.

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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Ana Frias chapter 12 in overview

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"early childhood education" ecsu cece "eastern connecticut state university" "early childhood videos" earlychildhoodvideos

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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The Center for Early Childhood Education (CECE) is a multidisciplinary research and training institute at Eastern Connecticut State University. The CECE works to enhance the quality of early care and education by conducting innovative research, providing professional development to teachers and providers, developing educational videos, and supporting teacher educators and others who prepare and train early childhood professionals.

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https://youtu.be/zoNew0jCZos

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6th grade Language Arts teacher introduces her class to their new student centered learning environment.

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I chose this website because it goes into detail about how to create a culture of collaborative family engagement.

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Educational researchers and policymakers have come to realize that family engagement should be a primary rather than peripheral part of teaching and learning. As the spotlight has shifted to the role that families can play in education, many schools are scrambling to identify a starting point for how to invite families into student learning. A key consideration for schools as they seek to increase family engagement must be how to truly connect the various stakeholders of the school community and sustain those connections over time. In order for family engagement to be meaningful and lasting, the goal must be to create a systemic culture of collaboration (rather than piecemeal or isolated efforts) that can grow and evolve with the needs of students, parents and teachers.

To build a culture of collaborative family engagement, the following are useful practices.

Develop and support two-way communication between teachers and parents. Developing effective two-way communication requires several layers. First, consider the best method(s) to reach families. Email, text message, or app-based communication, through a platform like SeeSaw, can create an efficient and low-pressure pathway for communicating back and forth. Then, consider ways to encourage parents and families to engage and respond to your communication. If you share a video of Guided Reading, for example, invite parents to send questions or celebrations. Many parents only hear from teachers or schools in the event of a problem or concern. Try to initiate positive or neutral communication with families. Engaging in non-judgemental forms of communication lays the foundation for strong, collaborative relationships between teachers and parents. The more connected parents feel to the teacher and school, the more likely they are to actively engage in learning with their children. Furthermore, parents are experts on their own children. When they feel comfortable communicating, teachers can gain insights into students' strengths, weaknesses, triumphs, or worries. Lastly, assess your system of communication regularly throughout the school year. Ask: Is this form of communication working for all of my families? Have I had an exchange with everyone at some point this year? Make modifications as needed.

Encourage communication among parents. While not directly "family engagement," engaging families with one another helps to strengthen a school community. As new families enter the school, parents can serve as mentors in bringing them into the fold of the collaborative culture. Consider ways to encourage families to connect with one another. Use Edmodo or a closed Facebook group to give parents an easy way to share information or connect. As a teacher, invite parents to join you at a parent-teacher association meeting early in the year and make a special effort to introduce families to one another. At an after-school event, work to introduce families new to the area. Encourage parents with experience at the school to reach out to new families.

Consider parents' perspectives. In an effort to promote inclusion of all families, and with a special consideration to the families whose children need support the most, regularly assess the impact of whole-school systems and processes on any and all families. For example, consider the cost of field trips and other school initiatives on families. How can schools ensure that all children can participate and that all families feel comfortable and welcome with the decision? Consider how to make school events available to all parents and families. Consider streaming meetings using Zoom. Utilize translators for any and all events, even PTA events not directly organized by the school. Every effort toward inclusiveness of all families creates a ripple that results in a much larger movement within the community.

Move beyond event-based engagement. Unquestionably, there is value in opening the school doors and welcoming families to participate in school events like Open House, Curriculum Night, or an Arts Showcase. These events can prove much more meaningful, however, when they are reframed as being part of broader conversations and connections between the school and families. Think about each parent-facing event as a catalyst for the development of true family engagement. When planning these events, brainstorm with other teachers about how to use this time with families to start a conversation about learning that continues after the culmination of the event. Use an event early in the year, for example, to model how families can support learning at home. Discuss how to enrich the experience of reading with your child by discussing pictures and making connections to the outside world. Utilize tools like PowerMyLearning's Playlists to connect families to the standards students are learning in your classroom. Building these skills can have positive lifelong implications that reach far greater than the impact of a special event.

Encourage families to engage with their children in ways that are integrated with the overall curriculum. Engagement tied to instruction is more impactful for student success. Utilize multimodal communication to tell families about what students are learning, and give them ideas about how to extend and enrich that learning at home. These kinds of activities can even replace traditional homework. Students learning about fractions might spend a weekend baking in the kitchen. Students learning about sorting might help organize toys or laundry. Students learning about trees might lead their family on a nature hike. By giving families ideas about how to connect home conversations and activities to the curriculum, students' instruction is enriched.

Find ways to build parents' knowledge and confidence. Take time to develop the skills of parents and families in your classroom and in your school. Teach parents by sharing ideas and modeling instruction through photographs or short video clips. Consider using a private channel on Instagram to share best practice instruction and creative ways to extend learning. Sometimes, a simple image of students practicing letters with shaving cream or searching for 90 degree angles on a walk around the school can give parents new ideas to continue learning at home. Remind parents that they are partners in their child's education and thank them for all of the ways they build up their child. Emphasize that activities like playing I Spy while running errands, pointing out the number sequence of mailboxes at the post office, and taking turns during Game Night at home all promote school readiness behaviors and encourage creativity and critical thinking. Taking time to build parents' confidence and expertise supports the effort of teachers.

Most parents want to do what is best for their children. They want their kids to succeed in school. They want to provide a supportive and enriching environment at home. Many parents, however, are uncertain how to best do this and rely on schools to take the lead in their children's educational endeavors. When schools reach out to parents as collaborators in educating students, all stakeholders benefit: Parents are empowered to take an active role and are given tools to make time at home, in the car, and anywhere else productive and meaningful. Teachers are supported, with active and committed partners working toward common educational goals, at school and at home. And students learn and grow in mutually supportive and complementary home and school environments. Though it takes effort and intention to create a systemic culture of family engagement, the results can have a tremendous impact on school communities.

For more, see:
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Creating a Culture of Collaborative Family Engagement

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As the spotlight has shifted to the role that families can play in education, many schools are scrambling to identify a starting point for how to invite families into student learning. Here are a few good considerations to keep in mind.

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Chapter 12 1/2

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Chapter 12 2/2

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Child and Family Services | VLS (virtuallabschool.org)

I chose this one because it talks a lot about making sure people feel welcomed which is most important to me.

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Know

Welcoming Each Child and Family
Where do you feel welcomed? What happens in a place that makes you feel welcome?
Spend a few seconds thinking about the two questions above. Then consider all the things you do in your daily work to make infants, toddlers, and their families feel welcome in your classroom and program. How do you greet children and families in the morning and when it is time to go home? How do you ensure that infants and toddlers feel welcome, learn, and develop while having fun? How do you comfort them when they seem upset or miss their loved ones? How do you ensure that families feel welcome and supported?

Successful infant-toddler providers create positive, welcoming environments for the children and families they work with and strive for excellence in their interactions with others. The most important aspects of your work are the relationships you create and nurture with children, families, and colleagues. As highlighted in several courses throughout the Virtual Lab School, relationships form over time and require ongoing effort and commitment. Collaborating with others is a big part of your work, and whether you are a brand new or a seasoned staff member, your success and effectiveness hugely depend on how well you work with others. Whether you are engaging with infants and toddlers, families, colleagues, or supervisors, nurturing these relationships early on is critical to your success.

Infant and toddler development happens so quickly. When families and caregivers work together, communicate, and share what is observed and experienced, opportunities are created for better understanding and supporting this rapid developmental growth. Asking questions, communicating, and listening with families helps support continuity of care between home and the care setting.

Understanding children and child development is absolutely essential in your role as an infant-toddler caregiver. The individual courses within the Virtual Lab School provide extensive information on each of the developmental domains (e.g., Cognitive Development, Physical Development, Social & Emotional Development) as well as strategies and practical ideas on how to promote optimum growth. You should refer to these courses for comprehensive information about infant-toddler development. Along with infant-toddler development, knowledge about topics such as Safe Environments, Learning Environments, Healthy Environments, Positive Guidance, Child Abuse, and Family Engagement will strengthen your competence and enable you to positively impact the lives of children and families you engage with. Optimum development is achieved when children in your care are healthy, emotionally secure, and socially connected. This development, however, cannot be achieved unless you put infants' and toddlers' families and home cultures at the forefront of your work.

When engaging with families of infants and toddlers with special learning needs, you should work with your T&Cs and program directors to ensure that you have the resources and supports you need. You should work collaboratively with T&Cs, program directors, and family members to be sure that an infant's or toddler's Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) outcomes are addressed (if appropriate) in your classroom and program. Successful inclusion of children with dis/abilities requires careful planning, intentional teaching, and ongoing communication among all team members. As highlighted in Lesson Two in this course (Working as a Team), building collaborative relationships takes time and attention but has meaningful outcomes on your practice.

You should work with your T&Cs and managers to ensure that families are welcomed and supported at all times in your classroom and program. Just as you care about how infants and toddlers in your care are welcomed, you have to pay attention to how families are included in your daily work, not only at drop-off and pick-up time, but throughout their child's day. In doing so, consider the following:

Ask family members how they want to be involved and remind them that they are important to you.

Respect each infant and toddler in your care and their families and acknowledge diversity and individual differences in growth, background, values, and beliefs.

Share information with families about the work you do with infants and toddlers in your care and, if needed, explain why you do things a certain way.

Families can choose to be involved in various ways. For military families, it is critical to have flexibility in how they can participate.

When families volunteer to be in your classroom, they need to have clear directions and a purpose and to know what the expectations are for them.

Family members want to have meaningful conversations about their infant or toddler. Make sure you keep them updated about their child's growth regularly. Acknowledge all the great things infants and toddlers do on a daily basis and share those with their families often! Ongoing communication and collaboration benefits everyone.

All families have strengths and all families have challenges. Focus on each family's strengths and build on those.

Introducing Family-Centered Practice

Because families are central to their children's development, particularly when it comes to the early-childhood years, they are partners, active participants, and decision-makers in their children's education process. As a result, family-centered practice is considered one of the indicators of quality in early-childhood education, programs, and services. At the heart of family-centered practice is the belief that families are the most important decision-makers in a child's life (Sandall, Hemmeter, Smith, & McLean, 2005).

Family-centered practice also means that you understand the important effect all family members have on each other and on the infant or toddler. Each family member affects the other and the ways that the family functions. All family members are interconnected. From our families, we learn skills that enable us to engage in school and the workplace.

When considering family-centered practice, you are viewing infants and toddlers as part of a larger system; you are viewing family members as a whole. You become aware of and sensitive to the interactions and relationships taking place within the family, as well as outside interactions and supports that affect them. In an effort to maintain relationships and to work effectively together, you learn, respect and understand characteristics of each family and its support system. You can also consider the characteristics and stressors that may affect a family's involvement. What affects one family member can affect all family members. A family is a complex system in which no one member can be viewed in isolation.

Throughout the Virtual Laboratory School, we consider family-centered practice as an umbrella term that encompasses the beliefs and actions of people in your program. Consider this table:

Family-Centered Practice

Family-centered practice is a set of beliefs and actions that influence how we engage families.

Families are the most important decision-makers in a child's life.

We learn about families' ideas and preferences.

We provide choices in programming.

We involve families in program leadership.

We involve families in decision-making.

Families are unique and their differences enrich our programs.

We honor and respect diversity.

We involve all the important people in a child's life.

We engage and involve families.

We develop responsive and reciprocal relationships.

We represent families in our programs.

Families are resilient.

We learn about families' strengths, needs, and circumstances.

We connect families with resources.

We build families' strengths.

Families are central to development and learning.

We share information with families.

We listen to families.

We view families as their child's first teacher.

We respect families' expertise about their child.

Families are our partners.

We use respectful, responsive, and two-way communication.

We reach out to families.

We involve families in all aspects of our program.

Making an effort to understand infants, toddlers, and their families can create opportunities for you to better support the infants and toddlers in your care.

Watch family members share how their children's programs are welcoming and supportive.

Honoring Diversity in Families

Some very important learning in the first three years of life relates to culture. Infants and toddlers learn new words, ways of interacting with others, how to communicate, and how to play - all things influenced by culture. Culture refers to the shared experiences and history of different groups of people. Cultural differences may include differences in views of family and community, expectations of children, roles of parents, and value placed on education.

Culture is a significant factor in the ways families raise their children and how you, as a caregiver, provide care for infants and toddlers. Examine your own cultural experiences and consider how these experiences affect your practice with infants, toddlers, and families. Each caregiver brings specific values, beliefs, and assumptions about child rearing and development to her or his work. In almost every type of child-care routine you perform, your values about it were shaped by your childhood and training. As you work with infants, toddlers and families, it is important to recognize your values and beliefs and the ways in which they are communicated. For example, a parent might expect a toddler to begin using a spoon and fork around age 3, when you might expect this behavior around 20 months.

Sometimes, you might feel unsure about how to care for an infant or toddler or how to engage families who have very different experiences and cultures, including those who speak an unfamiliar language or who have unfamiliar religious customs. You can acknowledge differences and demonstrate an interest in the family in an effort to build relationships and learn ways to provide support to infants and toddlers in your care. For example, you can learn how and when families feed their infants, which is influenced by culture and affects development. When differences are viewed through the lens of culture, respectful conversations can lead to agreement in how these practices will be supported in a group early care and learning environment.

Early care and learning settings provide an environment in which adults and children can learn about and honor differences in values, beliefs and perceptions. Learning one's culture occurs primarily within the family; however, in early care and learning environments, infants and toddlers also learn about culture and experience relationships that influence their sense of who they are and who they will become.

To help children develop this sense of who they are and who they will become, you must honor and celebrate the diversity of families. Diversity exists in a variety of dimensions, including:

Composition (who is a member of the family)

Race and ethnicity

Language

Socioeconomic status

Sexual orientation

Ability or dis/ability

Educational background

Values and traditions

Child-rearing practices

Being a responsive caregiver to infants and toddlers means that you demonstrate sensitivity and consideration for the multiple backgrounds, experiences, values, and contexts in which children and families live.

Being a responsive caregiver also means that you are always professional and ethical when working with families. In doing that, you should practice the following:

Keep information about children and their families confidential. This refers to reviewing child and family records, having conversations with other infant-toddler providers in your program or in the community, or engaging in conversations with other people you know in the community.

When you know confidential information about a child or family, use that information to help them and not judge them.

If individuals ask you for confidential information about infants, toddlers, or families in your classroom or program, refer them to your T&C or program director.

See

Watch this video to learn about embracing diversity in classrooms and programs.

In this video you will learn about working with families of children with dis/abilities.

Do

There is a lot you can do to show that you value the families of infants and toddlers in your program. Consider the following guidelines that reflect family-centered practice, and then think about how you can use these guidelines in your work with children and families.

Recognize the family as the constant in the child's life and that caregivers and service systems may come and go.

Acknowledge that families know their children best, and learn to view them as partners and collaborators in your work. Reach out to them and invite their input.

Facilitate collaboration between families and professionals.

Encourage family-to-family support and networking.

Honor and respect family diversity in all dimensions (cultural, racial, ethnic, linguistic, spiritual, socioeconomic, or in terms of family members' sexual orientations). You may do this by:

Asking families about their home language, sharing key phrases they use at home.

Demonstrating genuine interest about each child and family you work with and making an effort to get to know them.

Having family information and children's books in the languages of each family.

Inviting families to visit your classroom and program and sing songs, tell stories, and show books or pictures that demonstrate their culture, and, for toddlers, introduce culturally specific foods.

Observing how a family interacts with their infant or toddler.

Asking families to create a family or neighborhood storybook.

Meeting regularly with families to learn about their hopes, dreams and goals for their infant or toddler.

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Where do you feel welcomed? What happens in a place that makes you feel welcome? Spend a few seconds thinking about the two questions above. Then consider all the things you do in your daily work to make infants, toddlers, and their families feel welcome in your classroom and program.

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I found this website that also has a video that talks about building relationships with families and getting them involved in the classroom.

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Build Relationships with Families

Before watching this video, read the text below. When instructed, watch the video from the beginning to end.

A child's social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development is strengthened when educators and families work together. When a child sees a positive relationship developing between educators and family, the child recognizes that the important people in his or her life are working together and trust each other, and he or she will do the same. This collaboration also provides a strong foundation for communication about children's learning. To foster family involvement, interactions between educators and families should be positive, purposeful, reciprocal, and consistent.

Communicate with families often.When there is good communication between educators and families, learning is collaborative, accomplishments are acknowledged, problems are recognized, and solutions are provided.

Communicate the positive and the negative. Families will have a better sense of their child's behaviors and accomplishments if all behaviors are reported (not only those that are negative or challenging).

Foster two-way communication. It is as important for the educator to hear from the parent or caregiver what the child is doing at home as it is for the parent or caregiver to hear what the child is doing in the early learning program. Share what children are learning and how parents and caregivers can offer support. Ask for feedback from families about the child's academic and social development outside of the program.

Use multiple modes communication. Create a constant flow of communication. Engage with families in person at drop-off and pick-up, keep a journal for each child that families can read and contribute to, set up a Parent Information Board, write regular newsletters or blog posts, and send emails or text messages.

Understand each family's expectations and views about their involvement.What parents and caregivers view as family engagement may differ from family to family. For example, in some cultures families believe that the most respectful way to treat an educator is not to question, suggest, or share information. Be explicit about the kind of involvement that you expect and welcome from families, but also honor the limits families may want to maintain.

Approach the relationship with respect. Treat the educator and family relationship the way you would treat any important relationship in your life. Work to create a respectful and reciprocal relationship-one in which families feel valued and supported.

In this video, you'll see educators use various strategies to build strong relationships with families. As you watch, look for effective strategies used by the educators in the video and jot down answers to these viewing questions in your Learning Log.

How do the educators keep families informed of their child's learning and activities?

How do the educators engage with families?

Review Why is it important for you to build relationships with families?

Families and educators each have unique knowledge about a child.

A parent or caregiver can share information with educators about how the child feels, thinks, and learns outside of the formal learning environment.

An educator can offer insight about how the child learns and behaves in group situations, as well as on his or her own.

Strong relationships between educators and families can strengthen children's emotional health. They show children that they can trust the adults in their lives because those adults trust each other.

Children's academic growth benefits from instructional coherence (when the learning in the program is supported by the learning at home and vice-versa).

Respectful relationships between educators and families provide children with models for how to create positive relationships with others.

What are some helpful ways to share information about what children are doing and learning?

Set up a Parent Information Board in the drop-off and pick-up area to post learning objectives, key vocabulary words, and explicit examples of ways parents can reinforce the learning. For example, Today we read a book about scientists. We learned how scientists look, touch, smell, listen to, and learn about the world around them. On your way home, ask your child to look, touch, smell, and listen as he or she practices being a scientist.

Use blogs, newsletters, text messages, and social media pages to keep families up-to-date on learning, provide ideas on home connections, share photos, and encourage families to share home experiences with educators.

Keep a journal for each child. Educators can write weekly entries about each child, highlighting a new project, a new learning, a new challenge, or a new development. Family members can read and contribute to the journal.

Reflect
Think about the learning environment at your own program as you answer these reflection questions in your Learning Log.

How do you build positive and collaborative relationships with families?

What did you learn that you will put into practice in your own learning environment?

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This site provides exciting, engaging media-rich learning opportunities for parents and educators of children ages 0-5. From detailed lesson plans to simple, everyday activities, you will find everything you need to help your children succeed.

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Janet H Faulk- Curriculum in a Family Centered Classroom 

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Janet H Faulk- Curriculum in a Family Centered Classroom 

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Based on a set of principles that are close to and well suited to our Kanien'kehá:ka culture, our ways and our relationship with the natural world, at Step By Step we have embraced the teachings of Reggio Emilia. One of its key principles is the knowledge that every child is a creative child, full of potential and having the desire, The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education is borne out of the natural need for the community's involvement in children's education. It is committed to the creation of learning conditions which enhance and facilitate the development of the child's thought process by encouraging self expression. Young children are encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through many "languages", or modes of expression, including Children of all ages experience the curriculum through a lot of project work. A project is an in depth investigation of a topic children find worth learning more about. The study is usually taken on by a small group of children within a class, although sometimes the whole class is involved in a variety of ways. The key feature of a project is that it is a research effort that allows children to have a sustained and deep learning experience. The objective is to find answers to questions about a topic posed either by the children or the adults working with them. Children and educators together work through what we have developed as Art is a powerful way to communicate; to convey culture, identity, values, feelings, ideas and to define beauty. The use of art as a vehicle for teaching and learning is a way to provide children with "The concept of the Atelier - our Entewaténikonrì:sake - was conceived by the founders of the Reggio Emilia movement with the intention of bringing about a revolution in teaching and learning - it all links back to our image of the child. If we believe that children are With the creation of the Entewaténikonrì:sake we hope to provide children with a means to speak to us even when they don't yet have verbal language. Art is a powerful way to communicate; to convey culture, values, identity, feelings and ideas. With the creation of the Entewaténikonrì:sake, our goal is to learn more about how to enable children to express all that is within them and to make their learning and thinking The development of the Entewaténikonrì:sake is also a way for us to deepen our understandings of the Reggio Emilia principles and to recognize that it is about creating a Information taken from the following resources: the strengths - and the right - to make meaning out of life through their experiences and their relationships.

What is Reggio Emilia?
words, movement, drawing, painting, sculpture, shadow play, collage, and music. This leads all children to surprising levels of symbolic skill and creativity.

The "Emergent" Curriculum
The curriculum is not established in advance. The child's interests are the driving force for the curriculum. As such, the curriculum is not pre-determined, but rather develops over time and becomes self evident based on the child's area of focus, concentration, and interests.

Teachers express general goals and make hypotheses about what direction activities and projects might take; consequently, they make appropriate preparations. Then, after observing children in action, they compare, discuss, and interpret together their observations and make choices that they share with the children about what to offer and how to sustain the children in their exploration and learning.

The Project Approach

The Cycle of Inquiry as they explore the topic, establish hypotheses and theories, test out their ideas and truly deepen their learning. Projects can last a day to a year.
Reggio Emilia at Step By Step
At Step By Step, we have been inspired by the teachings of Reggio Emilia and have been systematically working with all of the staff over the past several years in order to gain a better understanding of how to incorporate the Region Emilia principles into our own Kanien'kehá:ka culture and our experiences with children and their families. We have found the principles are very well suited to our Kanien'kehá:ka culture, our ways, and our relationship with the natural world and with children. And so, our choice of connecting with the work of Reggio Emilia was a natural one.

Reggio Emilia and Art

100 languages" - meaning 100 ways to express themselves. Art allows children to play and explore using different materials and then to transform the materials to make learning visible.
Entewaténikonrì:sake - "We will think and create thoughts in our own mind"

The concept of the "atelier"

As we continue our inspired journey around the principles of Reggio Emilia, the creation of our atelier is upper most on our minds. We are very excited about the development of these beautiful spaces which were completed in February 2011.

philosophers seeking the meaning of life, then our Center has to provide them with the tools to explore the world. Art is a great tool for investigating and thinking and so the language of art becomes the language of learning.

visible to us through the languages of drawing, painting, collage, sculpting, dancing, singing, acting and more.

culture of inquiry; a way of thinking. We want to encourage and provoke children to approach the world as explorers, to answer their own questions and to build knowledge.

E xploring Reggio Emilia. Interaction Magazine. Colasurdo 2010.
Linking Past to Present to Create an Image of the Child. Theory Into Practice. 2007
The Hundred Languages of Children 2nd Ed. Edwards, Gandini, and Forman, Ed. 1998
The Language of Art: Inquiry-Based Studio Practices in Early Childhood Settings. Pelo 2007.
Authentic Childhood: Experiencing Reggio Emilia in the Classroom 2nd Ed. Fraser2006
T he Power of Projects: Meeting Contemporary Challenges in Early Childhood Classrooms - Strategies and Solutions. Helm, and Beneke, Eds. 2003
First Steps Toward Teaching the Reggio Way. Hendrick 1997.

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Based on a set of principles that are close to and well suited to our Kanien'kehá:ka culture, our ways and our relationship with the natural world, at Step By Step we have embraced the teachings of Reggio Emilia.

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I thought these had some great ideas and explanations

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A family-centred approach: what is it?

A family-centred approach is a way of working in partnership with families to better understand their circumstances, and to help parents decide what strategies will best suit their children and families.

A family-centred approach has some basic principles:

Support works best when you understand each family's individual goals, expectations, values and everyday life.

Parents know their children and their family best.

All families have strengths, and we learn and grow best when we use our strengths.

Children's wellbeing and development depends on the wellbeing of all other family members and of the family as a whole.

Family wellbeing depends on the quality of informal social supports and the availability of formal support services.

This approach is an effective way to improve outcomes for families and children. And it works across a wide range of human services.

Why a family-centred approach is important for children

Children learn and develop best through everyday play and interactions with parents, carers and families. When you help families build skills, knowledge and confidence for these interactions, you also help to create the best environment for children's health, development and wellbeing.

Also, parents are experts on their children. With a family-centred approach, you can draw on parents' expertise and use it to develop the right supports and services for children.

Children are central to a family-centred approach. If you keep children in focus when making decisions about their lives, and you work in partnership with them and their families, you're safeguarding and promoting their interests, safety and wellbeing.

Using a family-centred approach

You can use a family-centred approach in the way you work with families overall, the way you support children, and the way you support parents. Here are some ideas.
Your work with families

Try to be sensitive and responsive to different kinds of families, including socioeconomically diverse families, culturally and linguistically diverse families, rainbow or same-sex families, blended families and co-parenting families. This might mean offering services that are available in different languages, are free to use and so on.

Base services on what families and children want and need. The best way to learn this is to ask. For example, if a parent says that they want more time with their child, you can suggest services with plenty of parent-child interaction.

Be flexible in how you provide services, thinking about what's most useful to each individual family. For example, some families might like face-to-face support, and others might prefer online support.

Work with families to build a network of informal or community supports and resources. For example, if you connect new parents with a new parents group, they might need less formal support.

Build your connections with other mainstream and specialist child and family services so you know where to point families.

Your support for children

Work with families to surround children with secure and loving relationships - at home and in the community. You can start with your own respectful relationship with parents. Children will learn from your interactions.

Ensure health, safety and good nutrition for children.

Look out for and respond to children's cues and clues.

Use the strengths and interests of each child as the foundation for learning. For example, if a child likes to sing, you can teach in songs.

Surround children with language. You can use books, music, storytelling and so on.

Encourage exploration and play.

raisingchildren.net.au has a comprehensive range of articles, videos and other content on children's relationships, health, safety, nutrition, learning, development, play, sleep and more.
Your support for parents

Be reliable, and follow through with your commitments to parents. For example, if you say you'll phone or visit at a certain time, make sure you do.

Try not to make assumptions about what parents 'need to know'. Talk with parents about their goals and the sort of information they're looking for.

Listen to parents carefully when they ask questions. Acknowledge that parents can feel very anxious when they don't know something, especially if it relates to their child's health or wellbeing.

Provide support without judging. For example, instead of saying 'You shouldn't yell at Tommy when he doesn't listen', you can say 'I understand that you're tired and this can make it harder to be patient. Let's look at how we can help Tommy respond'.

If there's a crisis, accept and respect parents who are confused or highly emotional. A crisis can happen to anybody. And it might help to give parents a few minutes to calm their thoughts. One way to do this is by offering to get the parent a glass of water.

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Professionals: a family-centred approach to working with parents

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A family-centred approach is a way of working in partnership with families to better understand their circumstances, and to help parents decide what strategies will best suit their children and families. A family-centred approach has some basic principles: Support works best when you understand each family's individual goals, expectations, values and everyday life.

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Parent Workshops: Strengthening the Learning Community 

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Parent Workshops: Strengthening the Learning Community 

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I chose this video because it talks about during in school workshops, parents learn what their kids are studying and how to support that learning at home.

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Parent Workshops: Strengthening the Learning Community

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FCEE: This is an a fantastic school which involves the family in every aspect of the learning process

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Family Centered Early Education (FCEE) at CSDB

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Curriculum in a family centered classroom.

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Curriculum in a family centered classroom.

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This is a great educational video that talks about a culturally responsive approach to implementing a curriculum.

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Narrator: Welcome to this presentation of the 15-minute In-service Suite on "A Culturally Responsive Approach to Implementing a Curriculum." This suite describes how education staff in all program settings can implement curriculum in a way that is responsive to children's and families' cultures. The suite also focuses on how home visitors can use a culturally responsive approach to implementing a curriculum in partnership with families.

The Framework for Effective Practice, or House Framework, helps us think about the elements needed to support children's preparation and readiness for school. The elements are the foundation, the pillars, and the roof. When connected to one another, they form a single structure that surrounds the family in the center, because as we implement each component of the house in partnership with parents and families, we foster children's learning and development. A culturally responsive approach to implementing a curriculum is an essential part of the left pillar, Implementing Research-Based Curriculum and Teaching Practices. Every individual is rooted in culture, and culture gives us a sense of belonging to a social group. When we implement curriculum in ways that respond to children's cultures, we encourage the development of children's identity and foster a sense of belonging in the learning environment.

This presentation is one in a series of modules designed to help education staff, including teachers, family child care providers, and home visitors, implement a research-based curriculum responsively, building on children's and families' cultures and on children's development and interests.

Let's start by defining "culture." Culture can be described as a set of beliefs, values, and practices shared by a group of people. It often includes specific artifacts, food, customs, music, and traditions. Cultural responsiveness requires that we begin by understanding the role of culture in our own lives. Some parts of our culture are easy to see and hear, like our clothes, food, language, and music. Others are less visible and less straightforward to describe, such as our beliefs about child rearing, health, and family relationships. People differ from each other within cultures, too. People who belong to a cultural group may share some beliefs, values, and practices. However, each family makes decisions about the values and beliefs they hold and how they behave, and each of us has choices about the extent to which we participate and pass on the beliefs, values, and practices. Our cultures contribute to our beliefs, values, and practices. For example, the ways we care for children and our goals for children's learning and development. Culture also influences how children interact with adults, manage their emotions, show respect, or engage with stories or songs. Cultural responsiveness begins with recognizing the role that culture plays in our own lives, including how it impacts our work with children and families.

Key components of a culturally responsive approach to implementing a curriculum include learning from families and then using that information to modify learning environments and experiences and to engage effectively with children and families. Learning from families is at the heart of culturally responsive practices. Learning from families helps education staff understand the families' expectations, values, languages, and ways of being. [Group talking]

Woman: For culture, I would say to be very respectful and to ask a lot of questions. So, starting with this family, I wasn't sure, but I always asked, "Is this OK?" "Would you like me to do this?" "Do you celebrate this?" "Do you talk about this?"

Narrator: Then, in partnership with families, education staff use what they've learned to enhance and modify the curriculum's learning experiences to more directly build on children's and families' cultures. Implementing a curriculum responsively means including the backgrounds and home experiences of all the children and providing children with opportunities to learn about other cultures.

Teacher: Using home language with them will help them to be more comfortable to be in the school with us, to be in the school with other children so they feel they are at home, and they feel they are welcome. [Teacher talking to child] [Child talking to teacher]

Narrator: Finally, a culturally responsive approach also means that educators provide learning environments and materials that reflect children's and families' cultures and languages. For home visitors, this means partnering with families to use materials and create environments that promote the families' culture and languages. Cultural responsiveness is an ongoing and essential aspect of implementing a curriculum. We learn from families about their culture and use what we learn as we interact with families and children. We also support learning experiences and environments that build on families' cultures. At the same time, we must be aware of how our own cultural backgrounds impact our work.

We hope you are inspired to implement your curriculum in a way that is culturally responsive to the children and families you work with. For more information and more ideas, see the complete 15-minute Suite on "A Culturally Responsive Approach to Implementing a Curriculum," and take a look at our tips and tools and helpful resources.

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A Culturally Responsive Approach to Implementing a Curriculum | ECLKC

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Narrator: Welcome to this presentation of the 15-minute In-service Suite on "A Culturally Responsive Approach to Implementing a Curriculum." This suite describes how education staff in all program settings can implement curriculum in a way that is responsive to children's and families' cultures.

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The importance of Curriculm in a Family Centered Classroom

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The importance of Curriculm in a Family Centered Classroom

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https://www.accesscurriculum.com/emergentnegotiated.html

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-Children's interests

-Teachers interests

-Developmental tasks

-Things in the physical environment

-People in the social environment

-Curriculum resource materials

-Serendipity-unexpected events

-Living together: conflict resolution, caregiving, and routines

-Values held in the school and community, family, and culture

Developmentally appropriate curriculum is both socially relevant and personally meaningful for children in the classroom. Creating a curriculum that represents an understanding of the children, their family culture, and their region provides learning experiences that are meaningful and relevant.

Through ongoing interactions and observations, teachers become aware of the topics that interest children the most. This awareness helps them identify topics that are worthy of study.

Technology is used to add investigations or to add to expertise of a subject matter or to simply record the results of an experiment. Children are not encouraged to use the internet or technology to simply find the answer, but rather to enhance and gather more information to continue their investigation work.

The family is an important source of information and inspiration for possible topics of study.

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Children's interests -Teachers interests -Developmental tasks -Things in the physical environment -People in the social environment -Curriculum resource materials -Serendipity-unexpected events -Living together: conflict resolution, caregiving, and routines -Values held in the school and community, family, and culture Developmentally appropriate curriculum is both socially relevant and personally meaningful for children in the classroom.

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Youtube
Jasmine Weisenberger

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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Curriculum in a Family Centered Classroom.

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Curriculum in a Family Centered Classroom.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDwKTiPXIgA

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Jaspreet Kaur. (curriculum in a family-centered classroom )

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Jaspreet Kaur. (curriculum in a family-centered classroom )

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Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
Setting up a kindergarten classroom at the beginning of the year can be an exciting, yet overwhelming. Whether you are a student teacher, or this is your last year teaching elementary school, I'm here to share with you things I've found helpful over the years.

Beginning of the Year

As a teacher, you probably know the importance of creating a classroom setting to increase academic performance. The best way to prepare for the little kids is to think about familiarize yourself with the kindergarten curriculum, choose engaging early childhood academic activities, integrate some of your favorite things that will make you a happier teacher, and learn as much as you can about kindergarten classroom management.

Creating positive experiences for kindergarten students doesn't have to be hard - just well thought out. Any K teacher will tell you there is a central goal - for the sake of early child development, keep learning fun in the early years.

The first kindergarten day will be all about learning routines. You will be teaching transitions, social skills, teaching them about the designated areas for carpet time, small groups, independent work, play areas, and building classroom community. First, and foremost, don't stress yourself out. I promise even if your classroom isn't perfect on the first day of school, your young students will still have fun learning.

The beginning of the year, regardless of grade level, is exciting, scary, and overwhelming. If you are a new kindergarten teacher, take a deep breath. Build relationships with the kids, their families, and your coworkers.

20 Basics for Academic Performance in a Kindergarten Classroom

1. Calendar

Usually held as a large group activity at the start of the day, calendar time gives the kids an understanding of time - reviewing the date, day of the week, month of the year, yesterday/today/tomorrow. Use this time to integrate your daily schedule, as well. When the kids have a clear visual of the daily schedule, they are not surprised at transitional time, which will lead to less disruptions and melt downs. There are tons of cute calendar displays for you to choose from, or you can create your own. This superhero calendar set was one of my students favorites!

2. Counting the Days of School

Also during morning meetings, we count the days of school. Celebrating the 100th day of school is a BIG deal in kindergarten, and you have to be ready for it!

Get your Counting the Days of School Tens-Frame chart, HERE.

3. Kindergarten Math Talks

This is it, friends...this is one of my favorite Kindergarten must-haves!

Daily number talks will build mental math, computation, and student discourse. With these Daily Math Talk Cards, you will present open-ended questions, tasks, problems, and questions that the kids will LOVE!

Get your Kindergarten Math Talks for the entire year (Digital and Printable) HERE.

4. Educational Apps

Most likely your kids will have access to tablets or computers. Choosing the right educational apps is just as important as planning for weekly lessons. One of my favorite FREE math apps for kids is Boddle.

Transforming math with engagement, Boddle is a K-6 math game that makes learning fun and personalized. Their goal is to help students unlock their confidence to learn through fun games that support their academic growth. Boddle uses AI to adapt and tailor practice and learning content to the right level for each student using gamification. Teachers and parents can create a free account. Boddle is available on the web, iOS app store, and the Google Play Store.

5. Nursery Rhymes for Kids

Nursery Rhymes for kids lay the foundation to early language and reading skills. In the book, Check out these Reading Magic, the brilliant Australian author, Mem Fox, states "Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that Popular Nursery Rhymes for Kids. if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they're four years old, they're usually among the best readers by the time they're eight."

6. 100's Chart

Everyday, you will be counting aloud with the kiddos. Rote counting is an important kindergarten math standard, and can be easily implemented in your daily routine.

Along with recording their rote counting skills, I did daily activities using the 100's pocket chart in my kindergarten classroom. I created the printable 100's charts and rote counting assessment to help build number sense and record the students growth throughout the year.

7. Question of the Day

The question of the day activity builds expressive and receptive language skills, serves as kindergarten journal writing prompts, and can be easily integrated into a math lesson.

8. I Can Statements (Kindergarten Standards)

Typically, elementary school administrators will expect teachers to post the kindergarten standards in a way that little kids can understand. In other words, you will rewrite, and post, the common core academic standards of your lesson plans in an "I can" format. For example, on a colorful sentence strip, you will write "I can say the letter sounds." District officials will appreciate your effort to relay the expectations of the kids' academic performance.

9. Alphabet Posters and Number Posters

When setting up a kindergarten classroom, you will want both alphabet and number posters. Be sure to hang sets at the kids' eye level.

You will want to display number cards to 20, as well as a 100's pocket chart or number line. I have created math bulletin board number cards that display the numeral, number word, and a tens-frame to represent the set of objects. These Superhero Number Posters are a class favorite!

These Superhero Number posters are included in the Kindergarten Bundle, HERE.

10. Songs and Movement

There wasn't a single day that went by that we didn't sing a song or incorporate music and movement in our kindergarten classroom. "Studies have shown that music produces several positive effects on a human's body and brain. Music activates both the left and right brain at the same time, and the activation of both hemispheres can maximize learning and improve memory." Here are 18 transition songs for the classroom.

11. Counting Jar

To get started, place a small collection of objects in a clear container. Throughout the week, each student will visit the counting jar. They will count how many are in the jar, then record their answer.

I laminated name cards for each student (they are post-it-notes), and put a velcro dot on the back of each card. The name cards are where the kids write a number, or draw dots, to represent how many they counted. The same set of objects would remain in the jar throughout the week. On Friday, we open the jar together, count them, and compare the numbers that were recorded.

Items to Put in the Counting Jar:

12. Sight Words and CVC Word Family Resources

Depending on your curriculum, sight words can be taught as early as the first quarter in kindergarten. You'll want several sets of Sight Words cards to keep throughout your room. Check to see if you are using Dolch Sight Words or Fry Sight Words.

As a kindergarten teacher, I focused heavily on cvc words, phoneme segmentation, and word families during second half of the school year. I created CVC word family printable resources, and CVC word games, as a supplemental to our weekly word family instruction and assessments.

13. Writing Center

Teaching kindergarten students how to write isn't always as easy as you'd think. The best advice I can give is to make "writing" fun by creating a writing center that inspires them to write and/or draw from day one!

This area is a great way to encourage positive experiences with writing - not for correcting their mistakes.

Supplies for a Fun Writing Center:

14. Classroom Library

Classroom libraries can be extensive, or kept simple. My simplified classroom library entailed a front-facing bookshelf with approximately 15-30 books related to the theme we were currently learning about. That's it. A couple bean bag chairs, a small carpet, throw pillows, and stuffed animals made it a cozy place for them to want to hang out and read books.

15. Anchor Charts

As much as you would love to think the kids will have their eyes on you while teaching...they won't. They are 5-year olds and six-year olds, and their little minds and eyes wonder all over the place.

As they drift off, it's important to have visuals around the room to help them connect the learning. This is why I love having anchor charts, of all sizes, hung around the room.

I created these story element posters as a visual support for early reading skills. The posters include problem and solution, author and illustrator, characters and setting, and fiction and non-fiction.

16. Alphabet and Number Flashcards

There are endless opportunities to use alphabet cards in a kindergarten classroom.

letter identification

letter and sound assessments

writing centers

building sight words

making words

name building activities

matching lowercase to uppercase

filling in a 100's chart

sequential order

missing number

beginning sounds activities

Number flashcards are great for number identification, number assessments, counting sets and matching numbers, ordering or sequencing numbers, missing number games on a pocket chart, a number line, 100's chart, in a math center, or to put on a small binder ring and keep on the board for parent volunteers to review with the kids.

Alphabet Flashcards and Number Cards

17. Dramatic Play

I can't stress this enough! Play is a natural part of childhood development. Kids learn through play. As kindergarten teachers, can't take that away from them. Set up a dramatic play area that promotes imagination and social skills.

A great way to get started at the beginning of the year is to put out a dress-up box.

Favorite Dress-Up Sets for Kindergarten:

18. Family Photo Display

At the start of the year, I send home a parent letter requesting a family photo. Photos trickle in over the following week, and I quickly have an adorable family photo display for the classroom.

The kids love talking about their family, and explaining who everyone is in the photo. It's a great ice breaker activity for kindergarten.

Get your parent letter requesting a family photo, HERE.

19. Poem of the Day

Poems for kids lay the foundation to early language and reading skills. Children who are frequently read and sang to early on, are much more likely to develop strong reading skills. Poems, and Build a Poems for small groups, are some of my absolute favorite resources, along with Math Talks for Kindergarten. Check out these 115 Best Poem of the Day choices for kids.

Poems for kids help with:

memory skills

cognitive development

increase vocabulary

capacity to engage socially

imagination

rhyming skills

receptive and expressive language skills

20. Sensory Bins

When setting up your kindergarten classroom, be sure to designate an area for sensory bins!

Some teachers have sensory tables, while other create sensory bins using buckets with lids. Whichever you choose, you can keep it simple with seasonal filler and skill cards.

Classroom Environment

The classroom environment is, in my opinion, just as important as the full-day kindergarten curriculum. You will want to create an environment that is warm and welcoming, like home. This is where the students will be spending the majority of the time throughout the day.

As you consider the classroom setting, you will need to think about where your going to store classroom supplies, setting up a classroom library, the layout for student tables, a teacher desk, large group time, and areas for small groups. When you look around the room, imagine a place to display student work, kindergarten "I Can Statement", and where you can display a collection of family photos. I call this area the "classroom family" spot.

During the first week of school, I send home a parent letter asking parents to send in a family photo. As they come in, the kids get an opportunity to tell the class about their family photo, then we hang it up in a designated area.

Favorite Things for Your Teacher Desk

You may be wondering how a teacher desk is related to the education of young children. But, trust me, easy access to your favorite things will make your days smoother than those who are not organized and prepared. Even if you don't have a teacher desk, you will want to create an area for the basics.

I recently (2021) polled thousands of teachers inside FB groups, such as Teachers on a Budget, asking what their desk must-haves are.

Here are some of the favorite things to keep in/on your teacher desk:

Lotion (it can often be the miracle cure for those kids who have excessive mystery "boo-boos". You know, the 5 and 6-year olds that come to you all day long with "this hurts".

Band-aids (I stock up at the Dollar Tree)

Colorful Flair Pens

Frixion Erasable Pens

Blank note cards to send thank you notes

Desktop calendar

Clear packing tape

Change of clothes (throw up happens)

Lined post-it note pads (These are bigger than the traditional sizes, and are lined, which makes writing those quick last minute notes home a breeze)

Chocolate or snack stash for the days when you have little time but need a pick-me-up.

3 Drawer container: to copy, to file, to pass out

Stickers, stamps and stamp-pad

Personal items for back-up (floss, advil, deodorant, hair bands)

Tape dispenser

Stapler

Lesson Plan book

Extra name tags

Umbrella for dismissal

Flavored Chapstick (You can read my blog post, Using Chapstick for Positive Behavior, to learn more)

Kindergarten Classroom Bundle

From alphabet posters and student bins, to daily math talks and Build-a-Poems, there are many important factors to consider when setting up your kindergarten classroom.

If you are interested in getting all of the printable resources listed above (plus additional printables, such as classroom labels, birthday tags, and table numbers) at a discounted rate, then you can check out my Basics of a Kindergarten Classroom Bundle, HERE.

Before you go, here are a few blog posts you may enjoy:
130 Kindergarten Journal Prompts 15 Awesome Teacher Discounts Question of the Day Kids Love 115 Top Picks for Poem of the Day 20 Tips for Teaching Concepts of Print 128 I Can Statements
Kindergarten Classroom

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20 Basics for Any Kindergarten Classroom - Little Learning Corner

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Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own. Setting up a kindergarten classroom at the beginning of the year can be an exciting, yet overwhelming.

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Family-Centered Approach to Helping Children with Anxiety

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https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/10-ideas-engaging-parents

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Susan TerLouw takes a proactive approach to fostering collaboration with her students' parents.

"I have found texting to be an amazing way to get connected with parents," says the high school special education teacher. "After not having calls returned, I tried texting and got immediate responses."

Texting parents allows TerLouw to update them on their child's progress before waiting for an issue to arise. It's quick and easy, and TerLouw says the constant flow of contact with parents has done wonders for her own parent-teacher relationships.

"I have been able to move past it to actual conversations, face-to-face meetings, and a trusting relationship."

It's that communication and trust that are key to fostering student success, yet connecting with parents still remains a challenge for many educators. Fortunately, savvy teachers are always discovering ways of creating meaningful parent-teacher relationships, from opening a clear channel of communication with their household to drawing parents into the school community through events and programs. Here are some other ideas gathered from your colleagues about how they engage parents.

Focus on the Positive

Middle school teacher Maxine Taylor says that a great way to build a successful parent-teacher relationship is to contact parents before there's a problem.

"I call or email parents whenever a student does a particularly nice job or has been exceptionally helpful in class," she says.

The extra effort only takes her a few minutes and does wonders for her relationship with parents. By focusing on their child's successes, Taylor is able to equate parental interaction with positive news, ensuring that parents will be more willing to hear her out when there's an issue.

"It helps the parents not cringe when we come into contact because they don't just expect to hear bad things."

Jenna Bower, a middle school teacher who's in her first year teaching, also stresses the positives with the negatives when it comes to contacting parents.

"As a new teacher I've begun sending out 'HI-LO' notes on my students' homework packets," Bower says. "The weekly note begins with 'Your Student's Success,' and I include two things in this section. The next section is 'Still Working On,' and one item goes here."

By emphasizing successes, Bower is able to get students to willingly share their school experiences with their parents.

"The best part is I have the students read to their parents, so they get to share their successes with parents," says Bower. "Many times the parents send it back with a thank you note attached. I send out 30 notes a week and it only adds 20 minutes to my Tuesday evenings."

Share School Experiences

"How was school today?"

"Fine."

Too often, this is the extent of the conversation students have with their parents about school, so parents love it when teachers go out of their way to fill in the missing experiences.

"In order to keep parents current on classroom milestones, activities and events, and to meet the technology goals of my students, I have my students create a classroom newspaper," says high school special education teacher Heather Vanover says. "It consists of topics such as sports schedules, upcoming events like picture day and prom, school news, and classroom topics."

And, because students write the columns and help produce the newspaper, Vanover doesn't have to spend much time working on it outside the classroom. The end result is a successful product for parents that shows off their children's skills while keeping them up-to-date on school happenings.

"Each edition has my contact information and a current report of any classroom issues or rewards," Vanover says. "It's a fun way to communicate with parents and publish students' writing."

Kindergarten teacher Martha Richardson uses disposable cameras (yes, they still exist!) to share experiences with parents.

"I have my kids bring in a disposable camera with their school supplies," Richardson says. "I snap special moments that happen during the school year (things that parents miss). When it's filled, I send it home. Parents can have it developed and send in another if they wish. It's a great way to capture school experiences."

Find Common Ground

If you show a willingness to learn more about your students from their parents, then they'll be more willing to work with you throughout the school year. To accomplish this, you need to be ready to open up to parents and listen to what they have to say. Show an interest in them, and they'll return the favor.

Mellanay Auman, a middle school language arts teacher, uses the beginning of the year as a time to get to know both parent and student better.

"The first week of school, I send home a fill-in-the-blank letter in English and Spanish for the parents to write to me about their son/daughter," says Auman. "They get a chance to tell me about what they want their child to accomplish in my class, and about their child's strengths, hobbies and interests."

Since you're asking the parents for input about their children-treating them as partners-they'll be more willing to communicate with you throughout the year.

"The parents love bragging about their child, and this letter opens the lines of communication for the rest of the year."

Many educators also find it helpful to include students in parent conferences.

L. Cavel Wilson, a middle school geography teacher, says that parents often bring their child with them to school conferences, so Wilson uses the opportunity to have the student discuss their class behavior and performance.

"During the conference, I ask the student direct questions, leading him to explain to his own parents what he is doing in the class," Wilson says. "This takes the focus off teaching styles, content, or even communication issues and puts it squarely on the shoulders of the student, who has ultimate responsibility for his own success."

And, more often than not, Wilson says the approach allows him to find some common ground with the parents.

"Unless there is a major behavioral problem or a moral issue at stake, you should be able to find common ground with parents - if nothing else, there is always your concern and caring for their child and your desire to help him succeed in your class and in life."

Entice Parents into School

Retired teacher Karen Clark works as a Parent Educator in one of the Atlantic City School District's 9 Parent Resource Centers, where she helps organize a number of district-wide programs designed to draw in and support the entire family unit.

"The goal is to try and provide a link between the school and home," Clark says. "We really want to provide parents a place where they can feel comfortable going. We have workshops and classes for the parents, computers and fax machines they can use to apply to jobs or check their email, resources for families who have lost their homes or are in danger or losing them, and a whole bunch of other programs to support families."

While the Parent Resource Centers are funded through Title-1 funding, there are many ways teachers can use the same basic principle in their own schools. Delynn McCash uses an informal after-school ESL course to bring students and parents into the classroom.

"Every Tuesday Night, I invite my students and their parents into my room," McCash says. "To prepare, I borrow all the iPads I can. Students sit on one end of the room using iPads and parents are on the other side learning English on the Smartboard. They have increased PTO attendance and the students are participating in more school functions. I am out a few hours of personal time, but I gain an immensely rewarding true teaching experience and personal satisfaction."

Visit Parents Directly

If all else fails, sometimes the best approach is to offer parents the option of meeting with you in their home. Not only will most parents appreciate the effort, but you might even learn a bit more about the lives of your students and their families.

"Home visits are the best thing I ever did," says elementary school teacher Kathy Dowd. "I am humbled by how hard our families work, and how little they have to show for it. It makes me realize why involvement is so hard for so many of them."

When it comes to interacting and working with parents, always consider how you would respond in their situation. Understanding is one of the keys to unlocking a successful relationship with your students' parents.

"Think of every kid as if they were your own child," teacher Tanya Wilson-Smith says. "What would you want for your child if he or she were facing a particular situation? Every parent loves their child, but not every parent knows how to be a parent. Be gentle, be caring, be honest, but do what you do best and educate the parent too."

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Educators share their best ideas for communicating and partnering with parents.

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Curriculum in a Family-Centered Classroom

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Curriculum in a Family-Centered Classroom

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This link says child-centered education, but it definitely emphasizes the importance of connections with families as well!

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Student-Centered World: A Student-Centered Learning Resource

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Though we know our administrators constantly mention its importance, there are often gaping holes in their explanations regarding the importance of child centered education. There is a multitude of reasons why this teaching methodology is not only important but extremely effective. However, often the importance of child centered education is overlooked as soon as a teacher tries to figure out how to navigate this method on their own, without any true guidance on how to "get it done".

So how do you "get it done" in your classroom? How do I make my lessons child-centered? How does focusing on the importance of child centered education look like inside the walls of my classroom? These are all valid questions to ask, and hopefully, this blog post can help you navigate through the abundance of information out there about child-centered learning.

First, you must realize what child-centered learning is. It is, simply put, a style of teaching that focuses on the needs of the student, rather than trying to get them to conform to your own standards of expectations and achievement. Child-centered education gains its roots from Jean Piaget, who believed that children learn best by doing things. He said, "Learning is not achieved by teaching, but teaching is useful only as it contributes to the natural process of learning."

Building Relationships

One of the first steps you are going to have to take in transitioning your classroom into a child-centered environment is building positive relationships with your students. This is the key to success in any effective and meaningful learning environment, whether it is child-centered or not. As educators, we must learn to understand our students on a personal level so that we can meet their individual needs and fulfill the importance of child centered education. With this understanding, we aim to build relationships with our students that foster positive communication and allow us as teachers to better serve them.

Second, it is important that parents are involved in their child's education at home. This will help create a strong support system for the student when they are in school. If students feel supported by their family members, they are more likely to be motivated and work harder in class. Understanding your students on a personal level and building relationships with them is a key to creating this support system.

One of the most important things to understand about child-centered education is that it does not stem from traditional learning methods, such as textbooks or lectures. Often, in the effort of wanting students to be "engaged" in their own learning, many teachers turn towards the use of technology and other "fun" methods of teaching.

While these methods are great for motivating students, child-centered education must stem from a deep understanding of your students as people, not from the way you want them to learn or be motivated. Some ways that teachers try to motivate through fun activities may actually be working against this deeper understanding of the child. Activities used to motivate students may be misused by teachers who do not fully understand their students or how to best teach them.

Student Interest

Another key aspect of creating a positive learning environment and the importance of child centered education is that the curriculum, activities, and lessons are driven by the students' interests. It is important that your lessons center around what your students want to learn about rather than what you want to teach them.

In this sense, a child-centered class is not necessarily a loud and chaotic one. Rather, it is a place where children feel safe enough to explore themselves and the world around them without fear of judgment or ridicule. It is a safe and nurturing environment for children to grow and learn, and it is an environment where they feel valued as unique individuals with something unique to offer the world around them.

One of the most cited examples of the importance of child centered education is the Sudbury Valley School. This is a school where students are in control of their own paths to learning. They choose what they want to study when they want to study it, and for how long. The school environment provides everything that students need for self-directed exploration, and the school itself does not interfere with this relationship between students and the environment.

You don't have to teach at a niche school like this one to have the same effects in your classroom though. It is completely manageable to do this without the larger picture of an entire school dedicated to this method.

The important thing is to make sure that your students are interested in what they are learning and you understand the importance of child centered education.

This means that you should be willing to change the curriculum, activities, and lessons accordingly if your students aren't interested in them for some reason. It could be something as simple as forcing children to repeat task after task until they become proficient at it while never giving them a chance to explore on their own. It could be something as complicated as not having enough resources available, or it could even be a matter of simply not knowing how to teach a particular material.

These are problems that can be overcome with the right approach. The first thing you need to do is give your students a chance to explore and learn about their interests on their own. This means that you should allow them enough space and time within your lessons, or else provide more material for them to work on outside of class if they finish something.

Another option is to split up your class into two groups: those who are finished and those who wish to continue with the material. The latter group can work on more activities or lessons related to their interests while the former can have fun with other games, toys, or materials that are available in the classroom or do something else entirely.

Why the Importance of Child Centered Education

The importance of child centered education develops for many different reasons, such as:

1. Students ask questions more often in a child-centered classroom because they are exploring their own minds and interests rather than answering questions just to please teachers. At the end of the day, it is important for teachers to remember that children are not little adults - they do things in their own time.

It is then up to us as educators to create lessons and activities that hold their attention despite this slow pace. Sometimes this will be achieved through fun and engaging activities, but other times it will require that we build students up and encourage them to do their best even when it doesn't seem fun.

2. Students will explore different methods of learning more effectively and the importance of child centered education when they are the ones in control. They may choose to write out their thoughts, draw pictures of their thoughts, type out their thoughts using a computer program, or even create a video presentation. The more that students feel ownership for their own learning and the methods they use to express that learning, the higher likelihood there is that they will continue to use those methods in the future.

3. If teachers are more open to different learning styles and techniques by using them themselves, they may better understand students who struggle with traditional teaching methods. Sometimes it is easy for teachers to think that because something worked for them or their mentors that it will work for everyone else too. However, it is important to remember that not all students learn in the same way.

4. Students who feel like they are constantly being judged or evaluated by their teachers tend to shut down and avoid taking risks when exploring new things. If teachers create an environment where mistakes are allowed, children can take more risks knowing that they will be safe no matter what happens. This can lead to a greater sense of self-esteem and academic growth for students.

Students with a lower sense of self-esteem or social anxiety may flourish better in a child-centered environment, as these children will not be pushed into feeling uncomfortable by teachers who have their own agenda.

There are still going to be students who have the same needs in a child-centered classroom as they would in a teacher-led class. These include students with varying social and learning abilities, students with disabilities, and students whose first language is not English. All of these factors play an important role when exploring new ideas or additional accommodations for children.

5. Teachers who feel more comfortable in a child-centered classroom tend to be happier teachers overall because they are less stressed about constantly meeting arbitrary deadlines or sticking to the curriculum so rigidly that it doesn't allow time for creativity, fun, or self-growth.

These are just a few reasons for the importance of child centered education when teaching. In order for these methods to be successful, it is important that teachers don't simply give up their authority as educators and turn over all decisions to students who have no prior experience being in charge. Rather, this should be a transition of power and decision-making that is taken one step at a time.

Teacher Buy-In and the Importance of Child Centered Education

Child-centered education today is not just something teachers have jumped on because it sounds cool. It is the result of decades of research, learning, and growth. There are many benefits to having a child-centered classroom that not only benefit students but also the teachers who teach them.

Remember, by allowing children to explore their own interests at their own pace, they will have more ownership over what they learn and how they learn it. This will lead to a greater sense of self-esteem and a deeper understanding of the material they are covering.

The importance of child centered education also shines because it gives students an opportunity to learn not just from their teachers, but from each other as well. This is an important part of growing up and learning how to become a productive member of society. By having the freedom to explore the different ways children learn, teachers are able to see which strategies are most effective for their students. This can help them better guide their students through new information and make learning more accessible rather than restrictive.

A child-centered classroom is not something that should be done haphazardly or halfheartedly, but instead with full dedication from teachers and students alike. Only when caregivers, educators, and children are all brave enough to explore new possibilities in education will the child-centered classroom flourish.

The importance of child centered education is clear: children are more likely to have better self-esteem, a deeper understanding of the material they are learning, and will be able to take information away from their peers as well as teachers. Without these things, children run the risk of being less engaged in their education which will ultimately lead to poor academic performance through school.

Child-centered education is not just a fad that has been created by teachers looking for something to do. It is the result of decades of research, learning, and growth. There are many benefits to having a child-centered classroom that not only benefit students but also the teachers who teach them.

Teachers are just people who care enough about their students to make sure they get the best education possible, even if that means changing the way they've always done things. I hope this has helped some of you gain more insight into the importance of child centered education and why it is so important in today's ever-changing world.

The Importance of Child Centered Education and the 4 Keys

Implementing child-centered methods in the classroom isn't difficult, it just needs to ebb and flow with the students and where they are (physically, mentally, and emotionally). Being flexible is the key to making all of this work. The key is engagement. There are four keys to student engagement that I discuss in my video training challenge called "Finding Your Student Engagement Formula" and it walks you through those four keys and how to implement them in the classroom.

If you are interested in registering (it's totally free), visit the Finding Your Student Engagement Formula Challenge registration page and you will be notified the next time the series is available.

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The Importance of Child Centered Education in the 21st Century Classroom

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Though we know our administrators constantly mention its importance, there are often gaping holes in their explanations regarding the importance of child centered education. There is a multitude of reasons why this teaching methodology is not only important but extremely effective.

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The Research on Parent Involvement and Why It Matters

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Nov 4, 2015 - Parent involvement matters. In this post, the benefits of having parent support are shared. Parent handouts for teachers are included.

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This is my link on the ideas of family centered practices: https://www.nd.gov/dhs/services/disabilities/earlyintervention/professional/docs/Famliy-Centered-Practices-PowerPoint-Presentation.pdf

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Family-Centred Practice  - A conversation with Dr Tim Moore

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Child Welfare Information Gateway (.gov)

https://www.childwelfare.gov › topics › famcentered

-Lalaeh Correa

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Chapter 12: Curriculum in a Family-Centered Classroom 

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Chapter 12: Curriculum in a Family-Centered Classroom 

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What I liked about this video is that it gives people an understating about curriculum-based learning.  This video talks about the many ways curriculum-based learning can teach their children using different methods. The video also talks about how their intention is to support every child to develop in 4 important areas. I love how the video talks about when your child enters our centers they will be celebrated. Not only for who they are now but who they might become. Another thing I liked about this video is that it talks about other teaching models and gives a brief description.

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The Lifelong Learning Curriculum - a guide for families

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Curriculum in a Family center classroom 

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Curriculum in a Family center classroom 

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The Lifelong Learning Curriculum - a guide for families

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Curriculum in a family-centered classroom

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Structure of curriculum-centered classrooms
In a curriculum-centered class, single subjects dictate explicit courses of study to the exclusion of most others. Integration of content areas is by coincidence. Curricula are compartmentalized to the extent that good writing practices, if used at all during mathematics, are not emphasized while working with numbers. Because there is so much material to cover in a year, not much time is allotted for each area studied. Progression to the next topic is determined by how much time is spent doing math or reading or writing.

Teachers designing curriculum-centered classrooms tend to favor distinct time periods set aside for each subject area, generally at the same time of each day. Because this pattern is easy to follow many children can progress through the system in an orderly fashion.

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Read about what a curriculum-centered classroom looks like in this description.

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This video talks about family centered coaching and how to meet parents where they are. It's important that we show parents that we value their input.

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Family-Centered Coaching: Meeting Families Where They Are

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This video explains what family centered practice is, and how we as educators can use it throughout the classroom!

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What does 'family-centered practice' mean in an early childhood setting?

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Chapter 12-FAMILIES AS TEACHING PARTNERS AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL

Elegi este video por que habla de la importancia de cuando los padres y maestros trabajan juntos para poder ayudar a los estudiantes en este video podemos escuchar la historias de varios maestros de como trabajaron juntos teniendo comunicasion y ambos apoyando a los estudiantes para que pudiran mejorar.

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The Power of Family-Teacher Partnerships

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In this video, Dr, Tanya explains that it is important to know something about family culture that makes the family more comfortable.

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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In the video, the creator talk a lot about how curriculum should be represented. She also shows the materials she's using which is very helpful. I chose this video because I want to mainly focus on teaching kindergarteners.

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KINDERGARTEN HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM PICKS 2023/24! | MINIMAL & SIMPLE