Welcoming Families From Around The World

Scenario:  You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

"My" family's country of origin:  Spain

Childcare Setting:  Lower Elementary School Age Summer Classroom at a Daycare Center
 
 Ways I plan to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1.  Hold a Family Fun Day:  At some point during the summer I would organize and set up a day that could involve the entire family of this facility.  It would include a carnival-like atmosphere with games, crafts, food, face painting, and a spot for socialization.  I would ask for input from any parents/families as far as things they would like to see at the event and also add in of my own that would initiate conversation and interaction.  The point of this day is to get families involved in a fun time together.  Parents would have the opportunity to interact, help if they wanted to, and feel comfortable in the environment.

2.  Family Reports:  Each week I would pick a "Star of the Week".  This student would do a small presentation about their family or a few presentations throughout the week.  This could include anything they wanted but I would give suggestions such as: picture poster, favorite family game, foods, books, movies, etc.  We would get to know each family throughout the summer from the child's perspective.

3.  Family Interview/Conference:  Hopefully before this child started attending the program, or shortly thereafter, I would ask to meet with the family and/or parents/guardians.  I would ask questions about their background, religion, beliefs, general lifestyle, and encourage them to tell me as much about their family as they are comfortable doing so.  This would give some excellent background on the student and their family and give insight.

4.  Classroom Community Activities:  I would be very intentional about the language and activities I plan for our classroom.  I want to build a strong community of students.  I would use a lot of "we" and "our" as I talk about the room (rather than "my" or "I" as teacher).  We share ideas, the space, time, materials, food, games, and many other things.  The classroom is ours to take care of and share no matter your name, religion, background, or language.

5.  Snack:  During the family interview I would ask what some common snack items are in their country of origin.  I would let the family know that if they ever wanted to make anything (the child's favorite, etc) they may, or they can give me a recipe or give suggestions and I would get that snack sometimes.  I would do this with all families - students could take turns bringing in snacks that they like.