Share your story: Share your experience of integrating your skills, talents, cultures, and language in your school or classroom setting. How do you use them to connect with families you serve? by Hui Lian

hlian6 — 2025-09-12 00:44:36 UTC

When I was a Chinese Immersion Teacher, I created an assignment to ask students to teach their parents Chinese lesson they had learned in my class. In this way, not only do children engage in learning, but also families anticipate their children's learning.

2025-09-14 20:19:39 UTC

Hello again!

2025-09-14 20:20:27 UTC

hi everyone

2025-09-24 23:09:10 UTC

Working with preschool children, I use a lot of singing and music in instruction and group lessons. I love to sing, so it is fun for me too!

2025-09-24 23:09:28 UTC

One way I have integrated my skills and background in the classroom is through an All about me activity, where students shared their cultures and families. This activity not only allowed students to feel proud of who they are but also gave me an opportunity to learn more about their identities and values.

2025-09-24 23:09:29 UTC

I have created a social story to help one of my students to adjust to working in a group.

edaw3 — 2025-09-24 23:10:16 UTC

Every year, I ask families to share a tradition or holiday their family celebrates. When it comes around, I invite them to speak to our class or read about it, so students can see their cultures reflected in our learning. I also connect with families by asking about their child’s interests such as attending church, choir, Girl Scouts, or sports and I try to support students outside of school in those areas whenever I can. This helps build strong relationships and shows families that I value their child’s whole life, not just what happens in the classroom.

2025-09-24 23:10:19 UTC

I can play guitar, so I brought my guitar to my preschool classroom to play for the children. I also use my (beginner) knowledge of American Sign Language to help put signs to the songs

2025-09-24 23:10:21 UTC

I had a student last year who used to speak Urdu only and whenever used to do math with him, I always has to explain him in Urdu, and always sent Urdu instruction at home to so parents can do the practice with him as well. So that was my experience.

2025-09-24 23:10:25 UTC

Until recently, I was a private music teacher working primarily with groups of children aged 0-6 and their caregivers. I consider myself to be quite capable of engaging an audience as a musician and performer and I was able to use those skills to lead groups of children in music and movement activities with kids' instruments, scarves, shakers, and accompaniment on my guitar. Families can take some of these activities to do at home, and the kids will be able to build their gross/fine motor skills and interpersonal development by following along with the activities and participating with each other and their parents.

2025-09-24 23:10:28 UTC

I don't have experience but I would use my language skills to greet families in their home language and make them feel welcome. I would share parts of my culture, like stories or traditions, and invite families to share theirs too. I would also use my teaching skills to clearly communicate and provide helpful resources for families. This would help build trust and stronger connections with the families I meet.

2025-09-24 23:10:28 UTC

Hello! I moved back to my hometown and I actually teach at my old elementary school. So it's nice to be back! My school is mostly Hispanic/Latino and I identify the same, and I speak Spanish as well, so communicating with most of my families is fairly easy. It's always nice when I see students and families when I walk my dog as well.

2025-09-24 23:10:44 UTC

I went to film school and when I was working with some kids (around 12) in a camp I used that skill to make a lesson where the kids create an assignment where they filmed their own commercial to go over some of the subjects we had gone over in class.

2025-09-24 23:10:49 UTC

Hello everyone ways in which I am able to use my skill or language in my school and classroom setting is translating when speaking to families. Also using Spanish to prevent language barriers when speaking to students which seem to look confused or lost.

2025-09-24 23:10:57 UTC

When I was in 2nd grade, we completed an ancestry assignment that required us to draw a picture of ourselves with our culture's flag, write down facts about our culture, and have the option to bring in dishes from our culture and share with the class

melissa_la — 2025-09-24 23:11:14 UTC

I was teacher in a 3 year old classroom the majority of the families speak Spanish. I like creating a family engagement activity where they share where they come from and things about their kids.

2025-09-24 23:11:51 UTC

At a school that I did a field placement with did something where each classroom got assigned a country and had to do research into that country. There were some students who were from, or had family from, that country so they got really excited and shared their stories/photos/memories of the country.

2025-09-24 23:12:56 UTC

When I was in highschool, we'd have heritage nights where everyone had the opportunity to share their cultures on stage in the form of dances, singing, and playing instruments while also dressing in traditional clothing.

2025-09-24 23:12:58 UTC

I invited parents in class from different cultures to share their special event like any holidays. Parents come and read story related to their holiday and celebrated their holiday with us. They talked about what language they talk and what they eat specially on their holiday like one of the parent celebrated Rosh Hashanah with us in class and kids enjoyed it. We ate apples with honey and enjoyed listening story.

2025-09-24 23:13:17 UTC

The pre-k class I work with enjoys singing and dancing. When we are learning a new theme we find a song and come up with a dance for the theme.

2025-09-24 23:13:40 UTC

when I teach I ask parents to send me write how to say hello in all languages in classroom and this is something we do in the morning for circle time.

2025-09-24 23:18:43 UTC

I really like to integrate arts into my teachings/activities because I feel like art is a very universal thing for children to understand even if they aren't from the same area or speak the same language.