Strategies for Involving Families in Your Curriculum

Critical Thinking Question

1. Douglas describes monthly meetings as an effective collaborative strategy. What challenges might you foresee in setting up these regular meetings? How might you overcome these challenges?

If you have engaged in the kinds of activities described above, you most likely will have already formed initial relationships with the families of your students. Armed with information and motivated by a desire to include them in the curriculum and classroom culture, what can you do to encourage them to actively participate? Providing a range of options is critical, as at any given time family members’ ability and motivation to participate can vary (Hallacka-Ball, 2007). As a general rule, planning ahead and providing clear guidance, and a formal orientation about your expectations if necessary, is also good practice.

Informal visits can help you welcome families and make them feel comfortable in the classroom or care setting. Such visits do not require a tremendous amount of preplanning, but you should think about an overall approach, according to what the visit or occasion requires. For example:

• Informal visits or observationsadvance notice is helpful, but an open-door policy makes families feel welcome and lets them see curriculum in action.
• Birthdays or other special occasionsthese require advance notice and time limits; advise families of any policies relative to allergies or food restrictions.
• A visit from the family of the week or month schedule the visit and let the family know ahead of time what the routine is and what you would like them to share about their family.
• Invitations to siblings or grandparents to schoolschedule in advance and set aside time for introductions and interactions.
• Lunch visitsletting the child know ahead of time is important, as separating from the parent a second time, after lunch, can be difficult.
• Assisted/chaperoned field tripsfield trips often require additional adults. Parents need to know that sometimes children’s normal classroom behavior changes when parents are present. But parents can be very helpful with the logistics of transporting lunches, rain gear, a first aid kit, supplies, and so on, and they can provide the closer supervision that is usually needed when children leave the school or center.
• Guest reader or storytelleradvise the family member on how the choice of a book or story will be made; consider audio- or videotaping such a presentation for later use (with permission).

Another range of options centers on more intentional, volunteer-type involvement that is directly related to curriculum activities. These kinds of activities may require active recruiting, some orientation, or directions regarding the specific nature of expectations or procedures and the need for confidentiality and limits of authority. Volunteering in the classroom can provide family members with a high level of satisfaction and self-esteem (Sciarra & Dorsey, 2007).

Note: Long-term volunteers in a child-care setting, licensed preschool, or elementary school classroom who will interact with children may have to secure health and security clearances according to your state’s licensing regulations.

Volunteer opportunities are limited only by your imagination, but some of the more common examples include:

• Reading to childrenReading on a regular basis rather than the one-time visit described above. You may need to provide a reading list and some introduction to effective strategies for introducing and reading a book, such as previewing the cover, naming the author/illustrator, helping children predict what might happen, and moderating expression while reading. But family members who might want to do this are likely enthusiastic readers already. Reading to a group of children can be very different from the one-on-one reading they do at home, so establishing a comfort level with the number of children a volunteer reads to can also be wise.
• Clerical supportSome volunteers prefer to work “behind the scenes,” but they can still learn a lot about and support your curriculum by working with materials: fixing toys or mending books, cutting paper, laminating, printing announcements, assembling classroom books, making labels. Task cards that provide simple directions are helpful, especially if the helper is working when you are busy doing other things.
• Work/play facilitatorsIf a family member wants to volunteer as an “extra hand” in the classroom for instructional support, the educator must provide him or her with the same kind of orientation given to a paid assistant. Observing the classroom beforehand will help the volunteer adapt to standard procedures and routines as well as the teacher’s approach to classroom management. In the elementary school, volunteers may be asked to help with homework or even assist at the computer station. Areas of the preschool/kindergarten classroom particularly adaptable to this kind of help are dramatic play, art, cooking, and the block area. With babies and toddlers, an extra “rocker” is usually welcome, and volunteers willing to get down on the floor and play can be priceless!
• “Experts”Enlisting the help of parents or other family members with particular areas of experience, expertise, or interest that relate directly to curriculum topics. Once you know what kind of informational resources your parents can provide (via your surveys and conversations) you can intentionally include topical studies or enrichment experiences in the curriculum that relate to skills and knowledge present among your family population. Family members are an excellent resource for sharing multicultural activities, including the stories, but also for the music, food, song and dance of native cultures.

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