Subscribe to FeedPositive Interactions With Parents In The Classroom: Advice From The Ashworth Career School Child Day Care Instructor
Primary caregivers’ number one question and concern about their preschooler is, “Will my child be ready for kindergarten?” If the child in your care is their oldest, the preschool experience may be their only reference point. If their own childhood education took place in programs based on scripted academic instruction, they will expect their children to be writing their ABC’s, working with math papers, and science projects. This is how they were taught, so it must be the right way. It is your job as an early childhood educator to help these parents and guardians understand the research and reasoning behind your curriculum.
Primary caregivers are so involved with their children that just sharing articles or handouts about developmentally appropriate practices may not be enough to convince them that their children are on track for learning. Some may need a more “hands-on” approach. Let me give you an example.
I once had a father who insisted that his three-year-old write his name several times daily and bring home work sheets of all sorts. I explained that this was not a developmentally appropriate practice, but this father insisted. I decided to host a night for parents and guardians in my classroom. I planned this night in a very different format from others we had offered earlier. The children did not perform, and we did not have a guest speaker. For this special evening, I prepared copies of my lesson plans for each person attending the meeting. In my classroom, I set up every learning area and posted the skills that children could learn as they played in the selected areas.
As the adults arrived, the children were excited to show what they were learning during the day. We began with circle time, and I explained the theme of the week. I then placed the grownups in the learning areas, explaining to them how I wanted them to explore and play just as their children might. It was such an energizing experience! The adults enjoyed the tasks they were doing. One mother made a wonderful collage in the creative art area. A dad and his daughter had a tea party in dramatic play. I circulated around the areas, as I do during class everyday, asking open-ended questions about the projects. This hands-on approach worked with almost everyone.
Do you know who still was not convinced? That’s right—the father of the three-year-old. Dad and child were in the creative art area when I approached him with a prepared sheet depicting an elephant. I asked a simple question, “Do you know how long an elephant’s trunk is?” The dad looked at me as if I had lost my mind and said he didn’t know. I shared with him that an adult elephant’s trunk is 8 feet long and asked if he would learn that concept by coloring a picture of an elephant. The dad shook his head, no. Then, I shared a wonderful handout with Mr. Dad which I will share with you here.
Four things you don’t learn when you color an elephant:
- How an elephant smells
- How big an elephant is
- What color an elephant is
- What an elephant likes to eat
This parent began to realize that there is no inherent learning value in the use of coloring sheets. When coloring a patterned picture, a young child learns to color between the lines. And that’s it. This dad became one of my best resources for the rest of the school year. He was still watchful as the school year progressed, but he did grow to understand hands-on learning and the benefits of this type of program for his child.
Deann Deloney
Child Care Career Skills Instructor
Ashworth University School Of Professional Services
