Welcoming Families From Around the World
I will be having a child from the
Ukraine join my infant classroom. It is
center policy to have an orientation meeting with part of the administrative
staff at the front and to also meet with the classroom staff to go over
policies, answer questions, see the classroom environment, and for the parents
and staff to meet and share information that will facilitate a smooth entrance
into the classroom for the child and family.
First
I will try to get background information on the family such as their home language;
if and how well they speak English prior to their orientation visit so I can
make arrangements if an interpreter will be necessary to facilitate our communication
during the meeting.
Next,
I will prepare a welcome packet for the family to go over at the orientation meeting. During the orientation meeting I will try to
make them feel welcome and comfortable by giving them time to observe us in the
classroom, look around, and ask any questions that they may have. I will invite them to bring in family photos,
is they do not have any available I will offer to take some to put up in the
classroom for their infant to see throughout the day.
Contained
in the welcome packet there are questionnaires for them to share family
information such as family members, favorite stories, songs, toys; information
pertinent to personal care routines for their infant to include: how does their infant prefer to be put to
sleep-placed in crib or does he/she prefer to be rocked and/or held to go to
sleep; feeding information such as times, amounts and what types of foods have
been introduced. During this time I will
also ask for key phrases that will help us use familiar words in the infants
home language throughout the day if not English.
I
will discuss with the parents the importance of us getting to know each other
and forming a partnership in which we care for their child. I will go over pertinent policies that are
required by the center such as back-to-sleep, signing in and out and other
policies related to health and safety practices. I will ask if they have any information at
this time to share that will facilitate a smooth transition for their infant
and them to our program. I will see if
they are familiar with the local area and if there is anything that I or the
center can do to help with their transition to our town.
I
will encourage them to visit when they can, share stories and songs with the
infants (as we encourage all parents to do) and try to make them feel
comfortable and welcome; part of our classroom.
I will ask for them to share any and all concerns so we can discuss them
if and as they arise.
I
will observe how they care for and interact with their infant while in the
classroom as well, to help me gain insight and understanding into their care
and relationship practices. I will do
some research online once I have more information on the exact part of the
Ukraine they are from, but will use it only as a point of reference for myself
since each family has their own individual ways in which they express,
celebrate, and incorporate culture into their lives and family. I will try to be respectful of the
information they share, their needs, culture, and their privacy as well. I will incorporate as much of their home
culture and routines into their child’s environment and our interactions as
possible to ensure a smooth transition for child, family, and staff.
Cindy,
ReplyDeleteYou listed great ideas for how you are going to make the family feel comfortable and welcome in the environment. I especially liked what you said about helping them transition into the town. I think this is very important because it will help them become more familiar with the resources available to them around the town and the other families who may have also come from the Ukraine.
Tara Fleishman
Do you have access to resources to translate your welcome packet into the family's home language or an interpreter for the meeting in case the family is not proficient in English? I know this was often a challenge for me as a Program Director in Head Start. We could tap into the local University for many languages, however there were times that we could not find a live interpreter so we utilized the AT&T on Demand Interpreter Service https://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/plans/plan-features/on-demand-interpreter.jsp
ReplyDelete~Lora
It sounds like your program has a good system to welcome all new families in a way that helps gather important information about their individual culture and practices while introducing them to the important policies and practices at the Center such as "back to sleep" and signing in and out. Lora's question above reminded me of my college internship with Head Start Family Services when one staff member brought me family surveys in Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Arabic. The staff member was Spanish speaking and said he had personally translated the Spanish version. When my Supervisor asked who translated the rest of them, he told her he ran it through Google Translate and printed it out. Needless to say, we shredded those and contacted the interpreter service to do the rest.
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteYou have great ideas for your infant program. I like how you incorporated the family making time to come in to share stories, sing songs, to expose children to different cultures. Thanks for sharing!
Jasmyn