By: Yenny Disla-Toone
The Thanksgiving season is upon us, and our Friendship Feast is one of our cherished parent involvement events that takes place at each Family Centers Early Childcare site. It is a time to have families join us for a craft, a meal and fellowship. This activity means so much to our children and staff, as events like these add to the richness and culture of inclusion of families that is the hallmark of our programs. Without parent involvement our program would be void of this cornerstone that makes Family Centers who we are; it is a much-needed gift to us.
In the early childhood world, parent involvement occurs when families participate in activities that take place at their child’s early care and education program. This usually means that they attend meetings, special events or help a teacher prepare materials for the children. Many parents do not realize the importance of their involvement and what it means to staff at our centers, but more importantly to their children.
According to the 2002 2nd Edition of the Handbook of Parenting, “Engagement in the early years prepares families to be engaged throughout their child’s school years. Most importantly, family engagement efforts support the parent-child relationships that are key to a child’s healthy development, school readiness, and well-being now, and in the future. Fifty years of research in early childhood development highlight the central influence that parenting attitudes and behaviors have on children’s development.” Children look to their parents as a barometer; they observe how parents feel towards a situation in order to formulate their own feelings. A parent’s body language and conversation about their child’s school conveys a message to the child about how they should feel about school in general. This is a fundamental building block and a positive message sets the tone for children on the importance of their education since children often replicate our actions, and not our words.
The many commitments our working parents grapple with often make them feel as if they may not have time to be involved in their children’s preschool experience. In truth, every bit of time counts in the life of a child. Parents can read a 10-minute story book to the class during morning drop off or join the class for lunch during a break in the day. Dads, uncles or grandfathers can join the male involvement breakfast. They can participate in parent teacher conferences, Family Council or educational/informational meetings. We also have parent showcase weeks where parents or family members could sing a song with the children, coordinate a short dance along, or conduct any other short activity. Children get such a kick out of seeing their parents in the class dancing or singing a silly song with their peers.
Any of these aforementioned activities would suffice with the added caveat of communicating with your child that you are meeting with their teacher or coming in for an activity. This lets them know that you are in communication with their school or better yet, you are an active participant. According to the 2007 Journal of School Psychology “During the preschool years, the ways that parents interact with their children and the relationships they form with their children’s caregivers and teachers play an important role in supporting a child’s social emotional, cognitive, and physical readiness for school.” Children observe how parents interact with their teachers, how comfortable they are in their classroom to gage how comfortable and safe they should feel in that environment; which goes to show that the smallest of interactions and/or activity is worth its weight in gold for child.
At Family Centers, we value the importance of parents being our partners in their child’s education and are always trying to find ways to raise opportunities for parent involvement. I know I can speak for the entire early education community when I say that we welcome ideas on how we can be better; and if you are unsure just ask. Partnering with parents is always on the top of our goal lists every year. As we enter this feel good season I remind and encourage all parents and family members to find ways to partner with your child’s school; it is truly a gift that keeps on giving in the life of a child.
