4.3: Partnerships with Families
In addition to strengthening relationships with children, sharing observations with children’s families strengthens the home–program connection. Families must be “provided opportunities to increase their child observation skills and to share assessments with staff that will help plan the learning experiences.” [47]
Families are with their child in all kinds of places and doing all sorts of activities. Their view of their child is even bigger than the teacher's. How can families and teachers share their observations, their assessment information, with each other? They can share through brief informal conversations, maybe at drop-off or pickup time, or when parents volunteer or visit the classroom. families and teachers also share their observations during longer and more formal times. Home visits and conferences are opportunities to chat a little longer and spend time talking about what the child is learning, what happens at home as well as what happens at school, how much progress the child is making, perhaps to problem solve if the child is struggling and figure out the best ways to support the child's continued learning. [48] Partnering with families will be discussed more in Chapter 8.