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This article supports high-quality education and care by providing insight into research/facts centered around brain development in young children. This article also goes into what supporting brain development looks like (e.g child centered interactions) and approaches to trying some brain building activities

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In this brief, explore how children need extra support in their earliest days to grow a healthy brain and set a foundation for a lifetime of learning. Find the most up-to-date information to answer three prompts: "What does research say?"; "What does it look like?"; and "Try this!" There's also an accompanying resource, Connecting at Home, which includes easy-to-try tips to help families support healthy brain development.

Download the PDF

Research Notes

Our brains are like gardens that we nurture over the course of our lifetime. What we nurture and what we practice determine which connections in our brains blossom and grow strong.

In our earliest years, we need extra support to grow a healthy brain. Caring relationships, child-centered interactions, and responsive care are keys to nurturing healthy brain development.

The Take Home

1. In the first years of life, children's brains grow faster than they ever will again.

2. Children's early experiences shape brain development and set a foundation for a lifetime of learning.

3. Relationships build our brains. Responsive caregiving is key to supporting healthy brain development.

What Does the Research Say?

In the first five years of life, children's brains grow faster than they ever will again.

Every time we learn something new, our brains make new physical connections between the brain cells, or neurons, in our brains. If you learn something new as you read this, your brain will be physically different than it was when you started reading!

Children's brains are built to learn new things. Scientists estimate that between birth and age 3, children's brains make 1 million new neural connections per second. While adults can learn new things too, it may take longer or require more practice. For example, it is much harder for an adult to learn a second or third language than it is for a child.

Children learn so much so quickly that their brains make more connections than they need. Between ages 2 and 3, children's brains have twice as many connections in their brains as the brains of adults.

As children continue to grow and learn, their brains remove the extra connections that they don't need. This process is called pruning. Children's early experiences determine which connections remain and grow stronger. The more often a child has an experience, the stronger those connections become. Through this process, our earliest experiences shape the brain's physical development.

Think about experiences with a broad lens. It's not just about the books we read, it's about the people, places, languages, and traditions that surround us. These fundamental early experiences build our brains and our identities.

Relationships are the most important factors in brain development. You don't need fancy toys, gadgets, or programs. Children build their brains in the context of supportive, responsive relationships.

What Does It Look Like?

Language support. Children's brains are primed to learn different skills at different times. For example, it is easiest for children to learn new language sounds early in life. As we age, it becomes harder, and our brains aren't as good at recognizing new language sounds. Children can learn multiple languages easily and without confusion with high-quality, intentional language support. This window of opportunity is critical to supporting children who are learning more than one language. The Head Start Program Performance Standards recognize bilingualism and biliteracy as strengths. Because we know children have this window of opportunity, programs must include teaching practices that focus on developing infants' and toddlers' home languages.

Child-centered interactions. Young children's brains are particularly attuned to social interactions. Back-and-forth, child-centered interactions build neural pathways. Child-centered interactions will look different with each family, community, and culture. Some children may be expected to follow along as an adult models a task or listen attentively to a story. These verbal and non-verbal back-and-forth interactions are powerful. They communicate to children that they are part of a family or community that values their participation and presence.

Responsive caregiving. Responsive caregiving is key to supporting healthy brain development. Responsive caregiving refers to care and teaching practices that are nurturing and responsive to an individual child's temperament and needs. Responsive caregiving helps children build social and emotional skills, as well as executive functioning skills. Executive functioning skills include short term memory, the ability to focus, control impulses, and think flexibly and creatively. We build these skills over the course of childhood, but even young children can start to build these foundational skills.

Try This!

Support brain development. Following children's leads, offering choices, and encouraging their interests are keys to supporting brain development. Children learn so much by exploring their interests with a supportive adult. Talking about this concept with parents is a great way to boost children's learning at home. During home visits, work with parents to help them support, but not dominate, an activity their child is doing.

Modify spaces. Make modifications to spaces so that children are able to explore their interests as fully as possible. For children with disabilities or suspected delays, home visitors can help families modify spaces in their homes so that children can more easily participate. For example, create open floor spaces and pathways so a child can move easily throughout the home.

Focus on child-centered social interactions. Young children recognize when they are part of the conversation or activities. Make space and take time to let children respond and build on the interaction, through language or actions. Home visitors can help families include children in tasks that they do regularly.

Create predictable routines for children. Consistent, regular experiences help children feel more secure. Infants and toddlers love to do things again and again. This repetition helps them learn. Home visitors can look for opportunities to help caregivers build and improve their family routines to support consistency. For example, if a child often struggles with nap time, you might suggest signaling nap time with a favorite calming song, or a predictable cozy, quiet time that includes reading from a selection of favorite books.

Help young children regulate their emotions through responsive care. Providing extra regulatory support, like holding toddlers to help them calm down, is key. Children under 5 don't have the neural networks in place to control their impulses or fully regulate their emotions. Helping children regulate their emotions allows them to learn skills to self-soothe later. They also learn that they can depend on adults when they are feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and upset. These early relationships are fundamental to healthy brain development.

Learn More

Child Development: Brain Building
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/school-readiness/article/child-development-brain-building

Supporting Children's Early Brain Development
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/video/supporting-childrens-early-brain-development

Early Essentials Webisode 8 - Responsive Interactions
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/video/early-essentials-webisode-8-responsive-interactions

Let's Talk About Routines
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/video/lets-talk-about-routines

You're the Best Teacher! Responsive Interactions with Young Children
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/publication/youre-best-teacher-responsive-interactions-young-children

Connecting at Home

In the first five years of life, children's brains grow faster than they ever will again. Children's earliest experiences shape the brain's physical development. These early experiences build the foundation for a lifetime of learning and development.

Make It Social

You don't need fancy toys or programs to help children build their brains. Children learn best by interacting with you! Try to share as many back-and-forth interactions with infants and toddlers as you can throughout the day. Finding dedicated time can be challenging, so try to include children in as many everyday activities as you can.

Follow Their Lead

When your child expresses interest in something or someone, follow their lead. Even if it is just for a few minutes a day, following a child's lead can support their curiosity and provide playful moments for both of you! Resist the urge to take over, even if they may not be able to do everything on their own. Exploring their interests with your support helps children learn new things.

Build Routines

Routines help children feel comfortable and secure. It is easier for children to explore, play, and learn new things when they know what is going to happen. Even if you can't do something at the same time each day, try to build in everyday rituals. Do you always sing a song while you are putting shoes on? Can you listen to calming music while you read a few books before bed?

Be A Regulator

It's no secret that children have big feelings. If we are honest with ourselves, we do too. As adults, we have learned how to regulate our feelings and impulses. Children are still building the networks in their brains that regulate those big feelings. They need our help to hold them close when they are upset, or to model what to do with angry feelings.

" Go to Connecting Research to Practice

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Supporting Early Brain Development: Building the Brain | ECLKC

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Children need extra support in their earliest days to grow a healthy brain. Caring relationships, child-centered interactions, and responsive care are keys to nurturing healthy brain development.

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BRAIN MATTERS explores the "miracle years," a critical period of our lives that no one remembers. This video emphasizes how the first few years are the greatest opportunity we have to give children the best start in life.

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Brain Matters documentary | Early Childhood Development

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This video works to provide high-quality care by going through the different research-supported methods in supporting healthy interactions and development in children.

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KSPS Documentaries | Early Learning Support Systems

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Research-tested programs provide the tools to develop healthy interactions with children.

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This article supports high-quality care by highlighting the importance of playful interactions in brain development. They also include games and activities for adults to engage in play with children of all ages, starting at 6 months children. This would be a good resource to share with families.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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View Handouts

From infancy on, play is an important part of a child's life. For babies and toddlers, simple, playful interactions with adults help develop sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience. Through games and playful activities, children can practice and strengthen important executive function skills that will help them throughout their lives, including learning to focus their attention, strengthening their working memory, and developing basic self-control. The following handout series, developed with support from the LEGO Foundation, provides suggestions for games and play-based activities based on a child's age. The activities for younger children are designed for adults to engage in with children. Activities for later ages allow the adults to step back, enabling children's independence to blossom as they transition to playing more often with peers.

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Brain-Building Through Play: Activities for Infants, Toddlers and Children - Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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View Handouts From infancy on, play is an important part of a child's life. For babies and toddlers, simple, playful interactions with adults help develop sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience. Through games and playful activities, children can practice and strengthen important executive function skills that [...]

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This article supports high-quality education and care by providing general information on trauma in infants and toddlers. It highlights what trauma is, what it can do to the brain, and provides additional resources on training programs. They also address different ways they work to offer support.

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Trauma can greatly impact the developing and vulnerable minds of young children. Here are key factors about the impact of child trauma.

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This article recognizes and addresses trauma in infants, young children, and their families while also providing identifiers of trauma signs and commonly present symptoms in young children, Birth-3.

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Trauma signs and symptoms in young children can take many forms. Understanding these signs and symptoms as trauma related depends upon sensitive information gathering from the child, family, and Early Head Start and Head Start staff. That said, the signs and symptoms listed below must always be considered in the context of a young child’s history, caregiving system, supports, etc. and with recognition that these symptoms could also be symptoms unrelated to trauma.

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This article from the NAEYC dives deep into assessment for children of all ages. It works to support high-quality care by emphasizing a holistic assessment approach, informing educators/families of different assessment purposes, and the overall ethical responsibility that does into assessing children.

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Observing, documenting, and assessing each child's development and learning are essential processes for educators and programs to plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of the experiences they provide to children. Assessment includes both formal and informal measures as tools for monitoring children's progress toward a program's desired goals. Educators can be intentional about helping children to progress when they know where each child is with respect to learning goals. Formative assessment (measuring progress toward goals) and summative assessment (measuring achievement at the end of a defined period or experience) are important. Both need to be conducted in ways that are developmentally, culturally, and linguistically responsive to authentically assess children's learning. This means that not only must the methods of assessment, both formal and informal, be developmentally, culturally, and linguistically sensitive, but also the assessor must be aware of and work against the possibility of implicit and explicit bias, for example through training, reflection, and regular reviews of collected data.

Effective assessment of young children is challenging. The complexity of children's development and learning-including the uneven nature of development and the likelihood of children fully demonstrating their knowledge and skills in different contexts-makes accurate and comprehensive assessment difficult. For example, authentic assessment takes into consideration such factors as a child's facility in each language they speak and uses assessors and settings that are familiar and comfortable for the child. When standardized assessments are used for screening or evaluative purposes, the measures should meet standards of reliability and validity based on the characteristics of the child being assessed. When these standards are not met, these limitations must be carefully considered before using the results. Using assessments in ways that do not support enhancing the child's education is not developmentally appropriate practice. Yet, decisions regarding assessment practices are often outside of the control of individual educators (also see Recommendations for research, page 31). When educators are aware of inappropriate assessment practices, they have a professional ethical responsibility to make their concerns known, to advocate for more appropriate practices, and, within their learning environment, to minimize the adverse impact of inappropriate assessments on young children and on instructional practices.

The following practices for observation, documentation, and assessment are developmentally appropriate for children from birth through the primary grades.

A. Observation, documentation, and assessment of young children's progress and achievements is ongoing, strategic, reflective, and purposeful. Educators embed assessment-related activities in the curriculum and in daily routines to facilitate authentic assessment and to make assessment an integral part of professional practice. They create and take advantage of unplanned opportunities to observe young children in play and in spontaneous conversations and interactions, in adult-structured assessment contexts as well as when children are participating in a group activity and doing an individual activity. Observations, documentations, and the results of other formal and informal assessments are used to inform the planning and implementing of daily curriculum and experiences, to communicate with the child's family, and to evaluate and improve educators' and the program's effectiveness. Especially in K-3 classrooms, care must be taken to avoid overuse of standardized assessments, which can cause stress for young children and interfere with time for learning. Educators limit the use of digitally-based assessments, especially for young children who (appropriately) should have limited exposure to screen media.

B. Assessment focuses on children's progress toward developmental and educational goals. Such goals should reflect families' input as well as children's background knowledge and experiences. They should be informed by developmental milestones including use of state early learning standards. Goals should be aspirational and achievable and should foster a sense of pride and accomplishment for educators, families, and children. Children, educators, and families should have opportunities to celebrate both small and large achievements, while recognizing that all children need time to build mastery on a current skill before progressing to the next challenge.

C. A system is in place to collect, make sense of, and use observations, documentation, and assessment information to guide what goes on in the early learning setting. Educators use this information in planning curriculum and learning experiences and in moment-to-moment interactions with children-that is, educators continually engage in assessment for the purpose of improving teaching and learning. Educators also encourage children to use observation and, beginning in the preschool years, documentation to reflect on their experiences and what they have learned.

D. The methods of assessment are responsive to the current developmental accomplishments, language(s), and experiences of young children. They recognize individual variation in learners and allow children to demonstrate their competencies in different ways. Methods appropriate to educators' assessment of young children, therefore, include results of their observations of children, clinical interviews, collections of children's work samples, and children's performance on authentic activities. For children who speak a language the educators do not know, native speakers of the child's language such as family or community members may need to be recruited to assist with the assessment process. A plan should be in place for employing volunteer and paid interpreters and translators as needed and providing them with information about appropriate interactions with young children and ethics and confidentiality, as well as about the features and purposes of the screening or assessment tool. Once collected, the results are explained to families and children (as appropriate) in order to extend the conversations around what is collected, analyzed, and reflected upon.

E. Assessments are used only for the populations and purposes for which they have been demonstrated to produce reliable, valid information. If required to use an assessment tool that has not been established as reliable or valid for the characteristics of a given child or for the intended use, educators recognize the limitations of the findings, strive to make sure they are not used in high-stakes decisions, and advocate for a different measure.

F. Decisions that have a major impact on children, such as enrollment or placement, are made in consultation with families. Such decisions should be based on multiple sources of relevant information, including that obtained from observations of and interactions with children by educators, family members, and specialists as needed.

G. When a screening assessment identifies a child who may have a disability or individualized learning or developmental needs, there is appropriate follow-up, evaluation, and, if needed, referral. Screening is used to identify issues needing more thorough examination by those qualified to do so; it is not used to diagnose or label children. Families are involved as essential sources of information.

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DAP: Observing, Documenting, and Assessing Children's Development and Learning

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Observing, documenting, and assessing each child's development and learning are essential processes for educators and programs to plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of the experiences they provide to children.

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This video provides high-quality care by giving an introduction to formative assessment in prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms. Viewers will learn best practices as well as some of the benefits and uses of formative assessment data at the classroom, local, and state levels.

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Using Formative Assessment to Reflect on Children’s Knowledge & Skills (REL Southwest)

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This resource supports high-quality care by providing information on developmental screenings and their importance for children, specifically the ASQ. It also provides a link for free/easy access and direction for both the ASQ-3 (general development) and ASQ-SE (social-emotional development)

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Early Childhood Screenings – Vision For Children at Risk

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This blog works to support high-quality care by first informing the importance of family engagement in the learning process. It then provides ten different family engagement activities to help foster and encourage communication between families.

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Active family participation is an important part of any successful early education program. Family participation helps to build trust and strong communication with families, which can help you increase family satisfaction, improve your retention and referrals to your center, and identify opportunities for improvement.

This article discusses ways to boost family participation at your program and simple, effective activities to increase engagement.

Ways to boost family participation

Education is often looked at as a two-way street between educators and children. Some fail to realize that child care creates an extra path where three elements-children, teachers, and families-meet in the middle.

Traditionally, family participation has been measured in attending back-to-school nights and chaperoning field trips. This system often does not work for everyone and doesn't accommodate working families. In fact, families can easily become frustrated when their only option for engaging with their child's program is to forego work. Research supports that being welcoming, responsive, and listening is the best way to engage families.

To increase family participation, childcare programs need to focus on building relationships and trust. This means taking the time to get to know every family and keeping communication open to provide updates on their child's progress.

Families want to know that their childcare provider is compassionate and receptive to their situation. For example, learn more about the cultures and customs of each family that you serve and encourage families to share their traditions with the rest of the class. When scheduling classroom events, be mindful of your families' work and childcare obligations and offer events such as back-to-school nights or new family orientations at various days and times to encourage participation.

Lastly, families want to be heard. Everyone can appreciate when their opinion is valued. Offer opportunities for parents to voice their concerns and make suggestions. They might ask for tips on keeping their child's education growing outside the classroom. Parents might even offer suggestions for events that they would like to participate in. Listen to and try to implement their suggestions if possible. It's important for families to understand the vital role they play in their child's development, which can further drive family engagement in your program.
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Family engagement activities

Effective family engagement includes f amily participation in decision-making and goal-setting for their children. Reciprocal relationships and two-way communication between the teachers and families also contribute to effective activities. Here are 10 activities you can use to increase family engagement in your program:

1. Educate families on early childhood development

Some families want to be involved in their child's education, but don't know much about child development or developmentally appropriate practices. Others may lack the confidence to ask you or your staff questions they may have.

You can help educate families by setting expectations at the beginning of the school year by outlining your learning goals through back-to-school night, new family orientation, a family handbook, or an introductory newsletter.

Explaining what learning looks like (and doesn't look like) is another way to ensure families are aligned with your center's approach to child development. It can sometimes feel like parents are overly focused on 'academic' content rather than developmental skills, and whether or not they realize it, they have expectations for what that will look like. For example, i f worksheets are not part of your curriculum, it's important to share that with parents and to explain why. Most adults just aren't familiar with the foundational skills required for future activities like reading and writing.

Sending helpful resources and pointing families toward trusted resources, such as information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), will also ensure that you're on the same page when it comes to their child's development.

Inviting local early childhood experts to come and speak to your families can also help educate parents and guardians on how they can help with their children's early childhood development. Some examples of early childhood experts and topics include:

Kindergarten teacher to talk about school readiness

Librarian to talk about effective read-aloud strategies

Speech therapists

If any of the parents at your center are experts, ask them to share their knowledge!

Don't worry about over-communicating with families or sounding condescending. You are the early education expert, and they will want to hear what you have to say. You both have their child's best interests at heart!

2. Use parent-teacher conferences to set learning goals together

Parent-teacher conferences are great ways to effectively collaborate with families and come up with learning development goals for their children. It's also important to continue the conversations discussed in your conferences throughout the year to align with families on their child's development.

Some directors and teachers might find it helpful to collect parents' questions and concerns ahead of the conference so teachers are prepared to provide information and solutions.

To help facilitate a productive parent-teacher conference, here is a sample agenda:

Start and end by sharing positive comments about the child

Discuss family concerns or questions

Work together to create learning goals for the child that you can revisit throughout the year

Share take-home resources, such as tips on how to continue the learning at home

3. Host fun and educational learning sessions for children and their families

Another way to boost family participation is to host learning sessions for children and their families. During these sessions, focus on specific developmental skills or academic topics. Focusing on specific topics or skills can help build trust, as you can demonstrate the educational value of your curriculum in a hands-on and exciting way.

Some session ideas include:

Paint pinecones using washable tempera paint and droppers/pipettes (promotes fine motor skills)

Host a nature scavenger hunt (strengthens problem-solving and social skills)

Sing children's favorite songs and have parents draw what's happening in the lyrics (exercises language skills, creativity, and storytelling)

These sessions don't have to be long events-around thirty minutes is a great amount of time to show families what their children are learning at your center. You may also consider scheduling these sessions to start right after pick-up time so it's convenient for families to attend.

For COVID safety, you can also host these events outdoors or over Zoom. If using Zoom or another online program, make sure you send a list of required items to families ahead of time, or send the children home with the items they'll need for the activity.

4. Regularly invite feedback from families

Using feedback from parents and families is a great way to increase family participation. By implementing their feedback, they'll feel that their needs are being met and their concerns are being addressed. Ideally, survey your families and ask for feedback at least once or twice throughout each school year. Regular feedback will allow you to check in and see how things are going on the family-side of your center, and will give you the chance to make improvements or changes if needed.

There are many free tools available to help you gather feedback, such as SurveyMonkey or Google Forms. Some example questions to include are:

What are your favorite things about our program?

Are there specific areas where our program could improve?

How satisfied are you with the communication between our center and home? Please explain.

How satisfied are you with our program's activities and curriculum? Please explain.

Is there anything else we should know?

After you receive their feedback, follow up with families and communicate any steps you're taking or changes you've made so they know their voices are being heard. Even if you can't implement their feedback right away, parents will appreciate that you have acknowledged their concerns.

5. Regularly showcase children's work

It's important to share children's learning on a daily basis through photos and videos-not just during parent meetings! When sending photos and videos to parents, make sure to spell out what skills their child is learning during activities-the more specific you are with explaining skills, the easier it will be for parents to help their child develop these skills at home.

Families will love to see what their child is doing in the classroom on a regular basis-whether they are exploring science activities or celebrating the 100th day of school! Including details about these daily activities in your communications to families will help them stay connected to their child's learning.

With brightwheel, you can easily send messages and photos to families so they can get insight into their child's day and skill development.

6. Leverage families' talents for volunteer opportunities

Volunteering is a great way to help families feel more invested in your program, because they're contributing to the success of it! Families are more likely to agree to volunteer opportunities if you ask them for something they're good at, sosurveying parents about their talents and how they can contribute is a great way to increase family participation.

Make sure to get creative with your volunteer requests to make parents feel included-everyone has a skill they can contribute!

Some ideas for volunteers include:

Preparing craft materials

Calling new families to welcome them

Organizing teacher appreciation activities

Donating products or services for fundraisers

Recording videos of themselves reading to use during storytime

7. Send regular newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to keep families informed with everything from changing policies to important reminders. You'll also want to add a human touch to make them enticing to read-photos of activities, special outings, or the children are always a fun addition!

Engaging topics to cover:

Recent classroom activities and how they contributed to learning objectives

Child kudos

At-home learning tips

Teacher spotlights

Family Hall of Fame-highlight families who have helped out!

New family/child alerts and how to welcome them to your center

Recipes from the classroom

What not to do in newsletters:

Make them too long-you want families to quickly get the important information they need

Use text only

Send them too infrequently-find the right cadence for you and your families

Brightwheel's newsletter feature makes sending newsletters a breeze. Administrators can build beautiful newsletters and send them to families with just a few clicks!

8. Host social events for families

Giving families a chance to meet each other and build relationships can help increase parent engagement by creating a fun, supportive atmosphere. Many centers have success with family events at the beginning of the school year, especially if there are a lot of new families joining.

Here are some ideas for family events:

Joint birthday celebrations (can be quarterly or twice a year)

Back-to-school picnics

New family meet-and-greets

Holiday events

When hosting events, monitor which families are regularly able to attend and those who cannot. Consider sending out surveys to see which days and times work best. Leverage this information to adapt your schedule to accommodate as many families as possible.

9. Help families build community with each other

A strong sense of community within your center makes for happier families, which leads to higher retention and more referrals. Community building doesn't always come naturally to people, so they'll probably need a little nudge.

Some ways to help families build community include:

Providing family directories at the beginning of the school year to encourage them to reach out and connect with each other

Encouraging families to set up playdates with each other, which can also help children continue developing important social-emotional skills outside of the classroom

Starting a private Facebook group for families so they can share parenting resources, local family-friendly activities, and questions

10. Use a tool like brightwheel to strengthen communication and engagement

The more you communicate with families about their child's education, the more they'll feel connected to your center and excited to continue their child's development at home. Using a software like brightwheel's communication feature encourages more communication and engagement between families and your center. By centralizing messaging, reminders, and alerts, brightwheel helps ensure that families never miss important updates. You can also send photo and video updates to give families a peek into their child's day and insight into what skills their child is developing.

Early childhood education is a group effort

Effective early childhood education requires the collaborative effort of teachers and families to create a healthy, educational setting for children. While some would put the baton solely in the hands of educators, family participation and engagement are closely tied to the success of any program. By making families feel welcomed, valued, and heard, you can increase family involvement and promote early childhood development inside and outside the classroom.
Brightwheel is the complete solution for early education providers, enabling you to streamline your center's operations and build a stand-out reputation. Brightwheel connects the most critical aspects of running your center-including sign in and out, parent communications, tuition billing, and licensing and compliance-in one easy-to-use tool, along with providing best-in-class customer support and coaching. Brightwheel is trusted by thousands of early education centers and millions of parents. Learn more at mybrightwheel.com.

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10 Family Engagement Activities for Your Childcare Program

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Try these ten family engagement activities to increase participation in your childcare program.

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This resource works to provide high-quality care by providing insight from other early childhood professionals on why family engagement is so important. Being able to hear the responses from these educators helps to share other views/perspectives and could also inspire new methods or approaches.

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TalkingPoints - Reach all your students' families.

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Why is Family Engagement so important? (asking Early Childhood Educators)

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This article supports high-quality education by discussing the 5 R's (respect, responsiveness, relationship, reciprocity, and reflection) and how they work to develop positive partnerships between educators and families.

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Developing positive partnerships with the families of the children you teach is one of your most important tasks as a teacher. It can also be among the scariest or the most challenging tasks! I offer five Rs-respect, responsiveness and reassurance, relationship, reciprocity, and reflection-to help you build trust and promote positive family engagement in your preschool classroom.

Families Want Respect

Showing families respect is more than being polite-it is esteeming or honoring families. Family members want to feel respected as their child's first and most important teacher; they also want to see that you respect their family values, culture, and home experiences. Respect does not equate to agreeing with every decision made by families. It means being aware of your own biases and making sure that your own ideas, beliefs, and opinions don't interfere with your work to understand each families' choices and circumstances.

Respect also calls on educators to embrace a strengths-based approach to their interactions with children and families. In other words, a strengths-based approach demonstrates respect for families by recognizing, appreciating, and celebrating what they bring to a program or school. Families are viewed as contributors, creators, and participants.

Here are strategies you can utilize to develop respect:

Listen to families. First and foremost, allow enough time to truly listen to families. This confirms for families that their thoughts, suggestions, and opinions matter and are valued.

Maintain constant communication with families through apps and other means. Use an app (like Seesaw or Bloomz.com) or design a private, secure webpage that includes the classroom newsletter, weekly plans, photos of the children, a resources and upcoming events section, a forum for asking questions, and an activity for families to complete with their children each week. Activities should be meaningful and doable, such as an "all about me" questionnaire (which you might complete first to help introduce yourself to children and families). You can also share photos and videos. Include the same items on a family bulletin board inside or near your classroom.

Foster classroom community with a Family of the Week backpack. To foster cross-cultural learning and deeper relationships in an ongoing way, ask family members to complete an "all about my family" activity that you package in a backpack. Ask families to include items that are important to them in the backpack and to unpack it in class as they share information about each item and answer children's questions. If family members are not able to join in person, don't worry. They can join virtually using video conferencing (like Zoom) or share a recorded video of themselves unpacking the backpack and explaining the items they pull out. If families are unable to participate directly, the child can share the backpack while showing pictures of their family. Suggest that families include items that represent their culture, a favorite family memory, and a family interest or hobby.

Use the information and experiences shared to connect with the broader curriculum so that families' funds of knowledge are integrated into learning in meaningful and sustained ways. For example, find children's literature that mirrors cultures, languages, and experiences shared. (Check out weneeddiversebooks.org or tfcbooks.org/best-recommended/booklist to find children's books that celebrate diversity.)

Families Want Reassurance and Responsiveness

Family members need to be reassured that you care about meeting their child where they are and that you are knowledgeable about their child as an individual and as a part of social and cultural communities. They want to be reassured that their child will not be singled out, labeled, forgotten, or harmed-but will be kept safe and be engaged in activities that are suited to their child's unique strengths, interests, preferences, and needs. They also want to feel that you are responsive and that they can trust you to address their concerns and questions. For educators to be responsive, they must embrace flexibility. Educators who are flexible in their understanding, their expectations, and their responses to the families they serve will build that trust.

Here are strategies you can utilize to offer reassurance:

Take a lot of photos and videos. Keep a device nearby to take photos and video recordings (and keep in mind which families have agreed to have their children photographed and what types of sharing they are permitting). Families want to know what their child does during the day, who they play with, the activities they enjoy, and how they are progressing. Most love keeping up with these things through photos and videos. Sharing photos and videos weekly gives every family regular opportunities to peek into their child's daily school routine, which also helps to reassure them that their child is happy and is learning at their program. Make sure you gather documentation for every child on a regular basis to share with their families. (To learn more, read Experiences Can't Go Home in Cubbies: Using Digital Technology and Documentation to Connect with Families, by Stephanie Haney.)

Provide daily or mid-week talking points. Unlike more thorough weekly updates, talking points can be just a few sentences to let families know topics, concepts, or vocabulary words that their children are learning and how to expand on those things at home.

Pick up the phone. Responding to family members is the most important and easiest way to develop a trusting relationship with them and to reassure them that you are on their team. Respond to phone calls, emails, and other messages within 24 hours. Returning these in a timely manner reassures families because it shows that their questions, thoughts, and concerns are important to you.

Families Want a Relationship

Creating and maintaining partnerships with families is a critical component of developmentally appropriate practice and for good reason: families have expertise about their children, and they play a critical role in their child's growth and learning. When families do not feel that they are part of the classroom community, they might distance themselves from the school or program. This might impact their willingness to interact with you and to volunteer in classroom activities.

Here are strategies you can utilize to build relationships:

Say "Hello!" It is amazing how far a simple Hello! will go toward building a positive relationship. Just by acknowledging a family member's presence, you are being welcoming. Short, inviting conversations can lead to positive relationships and family engagement.

Invite family members into your classroom community. Some families may not know whether they are allowed to be involved in their child's classroom and may not be clear about how to support their child's learning at home. This provides a great opportunity to help the family become engaged with your program's community and to share activities for extended learning. Invite families to serve as a mystery reader or a mystery guest speaker (virtually or in-person). Ask children to guess the mystery reader or speaker by providing clues. For at-home learning, provide a weekly calendar (such as the one provided at RIF.org) of activities families can do at home with their children.

Make it easy for families to ask questions. Offer opportunities at the program and online for families to communicate any questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions they may have. You could create forum space on your classroom webpage, in your newsletter, or on your family bulletin board. You could also have a comment box in your classroom for families to share more private communications.

Families Want Reciprocity

Reciprocity often involves a shift in thinking about engagement and communication because it relies on interdependence, or depending on each other to accomplish something. One member of a relationship must coordinate their thinking and actions with others to reach shared understanding and decision making. Such coordination involves being flexible with our approaches and expectations. When we do so, we can foster a supportive and trusting relationship with families and enhance their motivation to communicate and participate.

Here are strategies you can utilize to practice reciprocity:

Involve families by dialoguing and including them in making decisions. Inquire about a family's goals and expectations for their child, their child's teacher, and their child's school. Telling families about their child is a one-way form of communication. Two-way forms of communication give families opportunities to collaborate with you and to actually talk about their concerns, wants, goals, and dreams. In addition, keep them informed about upcoming plans or changes, with sufficient time to consider their options and preferences, to ask questions, and to communicate with you. As stated in NAEYC's position statement on advancing equity, educators should "uphold every family's right to make decisions for and with their children."

Consider culture, language, and literacy when communicating with families. This means knowing about the families and ensuring that accommodations are made so that every family can access and respond to the information you share. Translate documents into families' home languages and use interpreters to help strengthen the two-way engagement and communication between you and families.

Families Want Teachers to Reflect

True reflection is ongoing and an essential part of assessment and teaching. Reflecting helps teachers engage children and families intentionally instead of falling into routines. You may find it most useful to reflect daily or weekly (such as taking an extra 10 minutes before you write your weekly update for families). As long as you find time to reflect while your memories are still fresh, you'll have new insights that will positively impact your instruction and your interactions with each child and their family.

Here are strategies you can utilize to promote reflection:

Ask yourself: How well do I know each of the children and their families, and how can I learn more about them? How often do I interact with each family? What strategies do I use to ensure they know they are an important part of the learning community?

Ask family members: How would you like to be involved in the classroom? Is there a book you would like to read to the class, a cultural tradition you would like to share, or an activity related to your job or a hobby (like bird watching) you would like to lead? What do you think your child needs to have an even more enjoyable and educational experience in the classroom?

Ask your colleagues: How do you engage families? Is there something we should do together-like host a family science and art night-to get to know family members better and show ways to extend learning at home?

Conclusion

At its best, early childhood is a time when teachers, children, and families open themselves to each other, inviting joyful play, collaborative inquiry, thoughtful observation, and deep caring. Together, families and early childhood educators nurture positive social, emotional, and intellectual development.

One More R: Sharing Resources with Families

By using the five Rs, educators can build trust and foster positive family engagement. Families will know that you have their child's best interests in mind, and they may want to learn about resources they can use at home. Here are strategies you can use for sharing resources:

Include family-friendly resources on your website or family communication app and bulletin board. Free events, concerts, educational websites, local places of interest, book fairs, and more are examples of valuable resources for all families. In addition, list (and regularly update) support services and organizations, like food banks, the local United Way office locations, and clinics offering free dental care, eyeglasses, and flu shots.

Create a monthly Family Fun calendar. To support playful learning at home, you could create a monthly calendar with suggested activities that may be completed by families to supplement their child's classroom learning. Suggest easy-to-use apps along with readily available non-digital materials at home that promote learning and engagement. For example, check out:

Rif.org/literacy-central/calendars-This literacy-based website equips educators with interactive calendars. Each day on the calendar provides either information about that day, an activity to complete with an adult, or a question to ponder.

Pbskids.org-This interactive website offers resources and tips for families. In addition, the free website includes games and videos.

Readingrockets.org-This literacy website provides articles, videos, blogs, and PBS television shows related to reading.

Recommend family-oriented magazines. Highlight available magazines and articles related to child development, parenting, or early education during family conferences and back to school night. Also display them on your bulletin board, online communication platform, or in the waiting area during family conferences. Many have free subscriptions: Family Magazine, Family Fun Magazine, Working Mother, and Highlights.

Photograph: © Getty Images.
Copyright © 2022 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.

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Five Rs for Promoting Positive Family Engagement

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I offer five Rs-respect, responsiveness and reassurance, relationship, reciprocity, and reflection-to help you build trust and promote positive family engagement in your preschool classroom.

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This webinar provides high-quality care by emphasizing the importance of documentation to support reflective teaching, inviting infants and toddlers to go deeper in their research, and discovering what it truly means to teach and to learn when working with children birth to 3.

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Infants and Toddlers Making Meaning: Reflective Teaching and Learning with Children Birth through 3, by Mary Jane Maguire-Fong - Early Childhood Webinars

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This session is sponsored by the United Way Center for Excellence in Early Education Join this webinar to follow infants and toddlers on an amazing journey as they construct concepts and theories during play. Inspired by teachers in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Mary Jane Maguire-Fong will use photo documentation to observe infants and toddlers at play. In this webinar, you will: reflect on how infants[...] Full Description

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this video works to provide high-quality care by listing specific activities and materials used in messy play. This also can qualify as developmentally appropriate by using nontoxic and taste-safe materials for 9/10 activities.

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How to setup MESSY PLAY for babies & toddlers using 10 Sensory play materials

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This resource works toward high-quality care by providing an annotated, wide-range list of policies, tools, fact sheets, etc, to help inform more people of the importance and need.

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Infants and toddlers need access to affordable, quality child care. This annotated resource list includes a range of materials, such as policy briefs, fact sheets, websites and tools, to help stakeholders learn about the issue.

ZERO TO THREE Resources

National Infant-Toddler Child Care Initiative, ZERO TO THREE - This project of the federal Child Care Bureau, housed at ZERO TO THREE, was designed to support Child Care Development Fund administrators in their efforts to effect systems-wide improvements in infant and toddler child care. Archived resources on a range of child care policy topics are available online.

State Initiative articles discussing child care - ZERO TO THREE's State Initiatives is a collection of articles highlighting innovative actions states have taken to improve well-being for infants and toddlers.

Think Babies National Partner Resources

As of April 2019, nearly 60 national organizations with diverse missions, memberships and expertise have joined the Think Babies campaign. Learn more about how they are supporting the campaign through written products, joint events and advocacy .

Additional Resources

Child Care Aware of America - This campaign website includes child care advocacy resources for parents and child care providers.

National Women's Law Center's website - NWLC's Child Care Now national campaign provides advocacy tools and a child care policy agenda, with a focus on federal policy and funding. The NWLC also includes fact sheets and resources on child care assistance policy, child care tax strategies, and the child care workforce.

Resources about Supports and Systems for Improving the Quality of Family Child Care, National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2017 - These resources are designed to help states to improve access to high-quality family child care. This includes: a policy assessment tool, a resource on engaging family child care providers, and several resources focused on implementing staffed family child care networks.

Child Care State Capacity Building Center, updated 2017 - This policy brief provides guidance to states on how to develop a statewide network of infant-toddler specialists focused on quality improvement in child care.

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Think Babies™ High-Quality and Affordable Child Care Resource List

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Infants and toddlers need access to affordable, quality child care. This annotated resource list includes a range of materials, such as policy briefs, fact sheets, websites and tools, to help stakeholders learn about the issue.

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This article informs caregivers of high-quality program qualities and what it looks like specifically for infants. It also highlights the importance of DAP, 4 main areas of children's development, and ways to work with families and other caregivers to ensure children are receiving the best quality learning and support.

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What Does a High-Quality Program for Infants Look Like?

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What Does a High-Quality Program for Infants Look Like?

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This video highlights all components of the MELS and serves as a tool for high-quality care by easy access to information.

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Missouri Early Learning Standards (MELS)

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This article from ZerotoThree works to provide information surrounding reflective practice like its true meaning and value, how it impacts practices, and promotes ways to initiate reflective practices.

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Reflective practice in early childhood professionals allows them to become aware of thoughts, feelings and reactions that arise in everyday interactions.

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This resource provides high-quality care by suggesting appropriate supplemental supplies from DESE for infant-toddler settings/environments. It offers different materials listed in other sections for areas like general storage, sensory, dramatic play, mealtime, manipulatives, etc.

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Suggested Materials and Supplies Infant-Toddler | Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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205 Jefferson St.
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Map(link is external)

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This resource encourages high-quality care by explaining the many benefits in reflective practices and how to continuously foster improvement and quality in early childhood settings overall. This resource would be a nice tool for reflecting further or in beginning the process.

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Digging Deeper: Reflective Practice in Early Childhood Settings (Part 1 of vodcast)

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This article helps to promote high-quality practices by encouraging reflection as a priority and consistent routine. Some of the ways they suggest this is by journaling, dedicated reflection times, utilizing PLC's, and other resources.

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Reflecting on teaching practices and classroom events is valuable, but it can be tough to regularly make the time for it. These tips can help.

John Dewey once stated, "We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience." Ongoing reflection is essential for our growth as educators. Consistent reflection on our experiences, and setting clear and meaningful goals for our own progress as teachers, should be a part of each day.

Finding the time to engage in regular personal reflection can be a challenge, with demands such as lesson planning, grading, and other responsibilities. However, reflection and goal setting helps us better understand our professional needs and plan the next steps in our learning journey. Through reflection, we focus on the continued development of essential SEL skills such as self-awareness and self-management and also focus on decision-making in our practice.

With daily reflection, we will grow and consistently improve our skills, while better processing complex or challenging experiences. When we take time to focus on some key questions such as "What went well today in our lessons?" "What is something that could have gone better?" it also helps us with our well-being. Reflecting gives us an opportunity to pause and recognize the impact of our work each day, which promotes more satisfaction and can decrease feelings of burnout that educators may experience.

teacher reflection Tips

Each day, take a few minutes to jot down thoughts about a class you taught, a conversation you had, or a tool you explored. This can help you be more intentional about and supported in your reflective practice.

1. Establish a dedicated reflection time: Being consistent with reflection is key. Consider setting aside a specific time each day or times during the week to reflect. Whether you start your day thinking about goals, focus on reflection during your lunch break or a planning period, or reflect on your teaching at the end of the day, find a time that works best for you. Make this time non-negotiable in your day.

I've been using Focusable this year to take time to focus, think, and reflect without distraction. Focusable is a fitness tracking app for your mind that helps you to pause in the day and reflect. It will help you to gain a better understanding of yourself and what is important to you and how that can impact your work.

2. Journaling and reflection tools: Capturing your thoughts throughout the day is important. At times, we may think about our experiences and consider new ideas but then lack the ability to capture these ideas. Consider getting a reflection journal or writing space to make notes of your thoughts and observations on a daily basis. Journals do not need to be anything fancy: You can use a notebook or even digital options like Google Docs or a tool like Evernote.

You can also get creative-grab a stack of note cards or make a digital reflection board using something like Google Jamboard or Padlet to post ideas. Write down at least two things you noticed that day, and then review your thoughts. Is there something you would change? How might you improve from the prior day?

3. Quick class closers: Try to take a few minutes at the end of each class or lesson to reflect on what went well and what you could improve upon. You can talk with students as they leave class and find out what helped and what they need for the next class. These quick interactions can spark reflective practice.

You can also use Google or Microsoft Forms occasionally to gather feedback from students about how the class is going. This can be a quick and efficient way to gather some information to guide your reflection and make adjustments in class as needed.

4. Voice memos and podcasts: When I started podcasting, it was simply a way to reflect on the methods and tools I was using in my classroom. Every Monday for the past three years, I've sat down during my lunch break and recorded an episode of the podcast. Even if you don't publish the podcast, listening to your thoughts helps to promote deeper reflection.

Tools like Voxer, Anchor, and Flip can help you record your thoughts. Voxer is a walkie-talkie app that can be used to have group conversations or to store your own audio notes. You can even message and share links. Anchor is a podcasting tool that is easy to get started with, whether you record on your phone or your computer, and for your own use or to share with others. Flip can be used to record short clips of your thoughts that you can then go back and review, or you can even set up a group with colleagues to share your reflections and provide feedback to each other.

5. Professional learning communities (PLC): Teachers can reflect with their colleagues in a PLC by sharing their teaching experiences and discussing ways to improve their practice. Observations by administrators or colleagues can help us to include more reflection in our practice. With options like social media networks such as Slack, it is easy to have quick asynchronous conversations that can help you and your colleagues reflect and provide feedback to each other.

If time constraints make those observations difficult to schedule, there are virtual options as well. I've used Edthena, a virtual coaching platform. I record myself teaching or upload a video presentation and then use it to guide my reflections as my virtual AI coach asks me to think about my instructional methods. It is helpful to have guiding questions and interactions that give teachers access to their own coach to help them continue to reflect and build professional skills and have access to helpful resources.

6. Avoiding isolation: As you're reflecting, self-care is important. You can try to make time to take a walk during the day. Be intentional about checking in with colleagues and exchanging ideas. Grabbing a cup of coffee with a teacher friend once a week can make a big difference to your well-being. These are opportunities to share ideas, ask questions, and connect with our colleagues. It's important to avoid isolation in our days so that we can keep learning and growing together.

Taking time to reflect on your teaching practice can be a powerful way to grow and improve as a teacher. It can also help teachers to stay motivated and engaged in their work, as they can see the progress they are making and the impact they are having on their students.

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6 Tips for Making Reflection a Consistent Habit

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Reflecting on teaching practices and classroom events is valuable, but it can be tough to regularly make the time for it. These tips can help.

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This video works to provide high-quality care by discussing some of the effects that trauma can have on behavior. This is an important resource to reference when observing or trying to identify signs of trauma in children through their different ages and stages.

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Effects of Trauma on Behavior through Ages and Stages

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This webinar works to provide high-quality care by explaining to watchers the different ways to recognize and respond to the effects of trauma in infants and young children, while also promoting and fostering their wellbeing.

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AIFS resources for the child and family sector

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Emerging Minds webinar: How to recognise complex trauma in infants and children to promote wellbeing

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This video supplements high-quality care by going through DRDP, which is an observation-based assessment tool. This is one of the assessment resources we discussed in class and is one that I want to include due to it being beneficial and inclusive to all children.

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DRDP Observation and Documentation for Infant/Toddler View

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This textbook supports high-quality care by informing caregivers of the limitless opportunities and possibilities of learning through loose parts. Working with loose parts this semester was one of the most impactful materials and I have fostered a love for them ever since.

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A beautiful collection of stories coupled with stunning photographs inspire Loose Parts play in your infant and toddler learning environments.

This follow-up to the wildly popular Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children brings the fun of found objects to infants and toddlers. A variety of new and innovative loose parts ideas are paired with beautiful photography to inspire safe loose parts play in your infant toddler environment. Learn about the safety considerations of each age group and how to appropriately select materials for your children. Captivating classroom stories and proven science, provide the context for how this style of play supports children's development and learning. Because the possibilities are endless, each child can use the materials appropriate for their developmental level and safely explore their world. 272 pages

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Loose Parts 2: Inspiring Play with Infants and Toddlers

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This follow-up to the wildly popular Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children brings the fun of found objects to infants and toddlers. A variety of new and innovative loose parts ideas are paired with beautiful photography to inspire safe loose parts play in your infant toddler environment.

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This article works to provide high-quality care by acting as a resource for educators on working with families and incorporating these ideas into their practices. This article is structured in a see-do format further encouraging action after discussing the details.

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Promoting Family Engagement | Virtual Lab School

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What are your feelings about working with families as a whole? What do you enjoy about it? What seems difficult or challenging? While you may feel motivated to develop relationships with families and to support family engagement, it is common to feel more success and effectiveness in focusing on your teaching practices and your direct care of infants and toddlers. It may not seem simple or intuitive to combine these practices.

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This resource provides high-quality care by sharing 7 types of books to use with children birth- 1 year, during the first and most important year developmentally. This was an important resource to include as it touches high contrast, interactive, textural, and other supplemental types of books.

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Once Upon a Time - Storytime by Pragati Poddar

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7 Best Type of Books for Newborns to 2 year olds

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Barriers to High Quality Child Care & Services

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This video works toward high-quality care by addressing the multiple barriers that can affect and limit quality potential in children's learning. These factors include financial, transportation, and other barriers.

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This resource works to support high-quality care by ensuring families and caregivers receive high quality through different supports/organizations.

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About the Initiative Children and families in Missouri are facing a crisis. Child care and early education is unaffordable or unavailable for too many families, leaving children unprepared for school and parents unable to work. Employers are struggling to find workers, a problem exacerbated by the lack of access to affordable child care.

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This resource slide deck works to provide high-quality care by crossing the Missouri Early Learning Standards with DAP to ensure practices are supplemental and intentional to support whole learning experiences.