Child Development 7
THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY
THE FAMILY’S ROLE
Home and school are a young child’s two
most important worlds
If home and school are connected in positive
and respectful ways, children feel secure
True partnership
Focus instead on developing a relationship
with every family so you can work together
to support children’s healthy development
and learning
GETTING TO KNOW FAMILIES
If you try to relate to families in only one way,
you will reach only a small percentage of the
families who respond to that approach
Appreciating Differences
Family
structure: start by keeping an open mind
about what constitutes a family
Personality and temperament: some are easy to get
to know, others shy away from school situations
GETTING TO KNOW FAMILIES
Appreciating Differences
Life
experiences: education, socio-economic status,
health issues, and length of time in this country
Cultural differences: Culture has been defined as
the beliefs, values, and practices we have learned
from our families, either by example or through
explicit direction
GAINING SELF-AWARENESS
How did you become aware of your personal
identity- nationality, culture, ethnicity?
How did you define a family?
Were girls treated differently from boys in your
family?
How and when were you encouraged to express
your ideas and feelings?
How was discipline handled?
Was independence encouraged?
USING INITIAL CONTACTS TO LEARN ABOUT
FAMILIES
Initial contacts with children’s families are
opportunities to get to know a little about each
other
Enrollment
Gather
information by speaking informally with
families during enrollment
Home Visits
Families
are often more comfortable in their own
setting than at school
MAKING FAMILIES FEEL WELCOME
The environment you create in your classroom and
the way you introduce the program can make
families feel they belong and they have a role to
play
Important message families can receive when they
enter the building and your classroom is that this
is also a place for them
Introducing your program: booklet, tour of the
classroom, open house, letter to families, display
MAKING FAMILIES FEEL WELCOME
Building trust
To
feel welcome, families need to trust you
All families come with expectations, responding in a
positive manner
Greet family members by names
Uncover special skills
What topics interest parents
Reaching put to all family members
COMMUNICATING WITH FAMILIES
Good communication is essential for building
partnerships. Families want to know what
experiences their children are having at school
and what have you learned about their child
Daily exchanges: make it a point to note
something the child did during the day
Formal communications: daily or weekly
bulletin, telephone calls, e-mail, journals
PARTNERING WITH FAMILIES ON CHILDREN’S
LEARNING
When parents are involved, children do better
Teachers need to think of parent participation
in new ways
Involvement can take many forms-from
contributions parents can make at home to
classroom volunteering and sharing
information on the child’s progress
PARTNERING WITH FAMILIES ON CHILDREN’S
LEARNING
Offering ways to be involved
Discover
special interest or abilities of all family
members
Ask family members what they enjoy doing with
their children
Parent participation in curriculum planning
PARTNERING WITH FAMILIES ON CHILDREN’S
LEARNING
Making classroom participation meaningful
Enables
them to see how you work with children
and promote learning
Talk with families ahead of time
Flyer with ways how they participate
Observe
and show you are interested
Follow children’s lead without taking over
Ask open-ended questions
Offer assistance when it Is needed
PARTNERING WITH FAMILIES ON CHILDREN’S
LEARNING
Meeting with families
Families will be interested in what you learned and you
in turn can learn about the child from their family
Preparing for a conference
Child’s portfolio and your ongoing observations
Summarizing report
Conducting a conference
Share work samples
Explain each work sample
Families observation
RESPONDING TO CHALLENGING SITUATIONS
Families under stress
Some
families are coping with basic needs and
experiencing ongoing stress
Community
with violence
Unemployment
Demanding job
Domestic and/or substance abuse
Depression
Lack of insurance
Adapting to a new language and/or culture
RESPONDING TO CHALLENGING SITUATIONS
Families under stress
Do
not have the emotional energy or physical
resources to provide nurturing care for their
children
Let them know resources are available
Community
agencies and hot lines
Brochures
A
list of support groups
RESPONDING TO CHALLENGING SITUATIONS
Dealing with misunderstanding
Understanding
and respecting practices that are
different from your own help you build positive
relationships with families and involve them in your
program
Sometimes accepting what the child does
Child’s language development
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