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Weekly Module 6: Family Engagement in Action Applications Post (Scenarios)

By in Application, Family Engagement in Action on .

Read Practices that Engage Families.  Pick 2 practices and answer the following questions:

  1.  Which practices did you chose? Why?
  2. What is your reaction to having the practice?
  3. Does the practice engage families (including children)? How?
  4. What are the benefits to having the practice?
  5. What are the drawbacks or potential challenges to having the practice?
  6. How do the practices connect to the Koralek, Nemeth, & Ramsey (2019) reading? Make specific connections, identifying the page number.

Respond to 2 other posts.

Engaging-Practices-Scenarios

41 Comments

  1. Practice #1 I chose this practice because I really like the idea of having to check up on my child whenever I can and spend time with them. As a mother myself I like to know what is going on with my child and see exactly who he is with , what he is learning, and how everything is with the entire program. I would actually find this practice really good to have, I guess my only thing is that I would hope they do not let just anyone in assuming they are a parent when they are not. I definitely think this practice engages family and children because your entering a program to observe everything and engaging with not just the children but with the staff and other family members. One benefit I can think of is engaging with the staff and checking to see what goes on and also getting to meet other family members and talking about each others children. I guess some potential drawbacks would be when it comes time for the parents to leave, the children would think they would be going home as well when in reality they stay the rest of the day which could sometimes upset a child and depending on the child cause them to act out. This connects in the article because they speak on how the children would know that their families are welcome in the program which can allow both child and parent to feel more comfortable.

    Practice #4 I have also chosen this practice because the program consists of coming to the families home and basically getting to know each other before the program starts. As someone who has actually had a home visit before starting my child in a program I really enjoyed it, and found it to be really important for a parent and staff to get to know about the program, and the staff gets to know about the family and children which could really help them when taking care of the child, getting to know their likes and dislikes, their routines and cultures. Which from everything I had just mentioned shows how they engage with the families. I don’t know much for disadvantages but from what I can think of, a program staff member can try to have the child do an activity for them but the child could have a short attention span or be to shy to perform said activity. This practice connects to the article because on page 3 the program gets to know the families hopes and needs, allowing them to establish a relationships on how the families can be involved in the program.

    • Tiana Great job on explain why you chose each practice. I too am pro open door policy. You made a great point in the drawbacks of an open door policy such as just letting anyone in mistaking them for a parent. A possible resolution to that can maybe be keycards to identify families.

    • Tiana — Thanks for sharing your insights about the open door policy & home visiting! I agree, families feel more comfortable and confident when they see the programming & have the opportunity to interact with staff on a routine basis. It fosters relationships and builds community! If families coming in and out of the class/ center is usual, the babies see families coming and going as routine. Home visiting is another opportunity that enables families and staff to get to know each other and build relationships. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

    • Hey Tiana, I love how you can connect your personal experience as a mother with practice #1. Performing this practice in a program definitely gets the family more engaged with the staff and it creates this bond where families trust who they leave their child with.

  2. Practice 1: I value open door policies. I believe it’s a gateway to build trust. Having an open door policy is engaging families because its letting them know they’re welcome any time of the day. The benefits to an open door policy in a daycare is gaining the families trust by letting them know that they don’t have anything to hide. Potential draw backs of open door policy may be families misinterpreting something they see or hear while dropping in unannounced. The practice connects to the article because it encourages families to be involved and helping them feel welcome.

    Practice 4: I believe this shows families that the program goes over and beyond to build a strong relationship with them. Home visits is engaging families because its meeting with the families in the comfort of their own home and own schedule, to learn more about them. The benefits to home visits is learning about the families culture, habits, routines, and preferences. Drawbacks could be the family thinking the program is being too invasive. This practice relates to the article because it shows how programs can go over and beyond to learn about families on their own terms.

  3. Practice #3: This practice stood out to me because it is very important to get families engaged in their Childs programs and make them feel welcomed. It would be very nice for every program to not only focus on fulfilling the children’s needs around their educational environment but also for the families. When families come to their children’s program and they have this space they will feel very welcomed and as if the schools really care about making the environment as organized as possible where families are able to be provide with all of these resources. This practice definitely engages families and children because instead of the families having to worry about how they will be able to get resources they will focus more on improving their Childs education. The benefit of having this practice in a program is families would feel much more comfortable and safe in bringing children to this program because they know that this program does everything they can to make everyone happy. I don’t think anything would be challenging in this practice however if there were maybe when children see their parents they would want to be with them and not get engaged in their classroom. This practice connects to the Koralek, Nemeth, & Ramsey (2019) reading because the families feel more safe and comfortable leaving their children in a program where they care about making the families and children happy and safe in an involvement where everything is available to families in order for them to have the best experience.

    Practice #4: This practice also stood out to me because I never heard of a program that does this practice and goes an extra step to make a visit to the student’s home in order to get to know them better. Having schools perform this practice with their students would be so much more beneficial to children and families. Children would be treated much better and the educators will have much more knowledge on the Childs background and their needs. As an educator it is really important to know the Childs needs and background because it helps us establish a way in which children would feel as if they were home and be able to learn and grow. There are so many benefits to having this practice by visiting the Childs home we can better understand what they like, dislike, and habits at home and their home activities and culture. The potential drawback that this practice could face is families not being comfortable in letting people into their homes because of a specific reason. This practice connects to the Koralek, Nemeth, & Ramsey (2019) reading because not only the teachers can get to know their children more but also their families which establish a trustful relationship between educator families and programs.

  4. #3 I like how the space for the family is created in order to make families welcomed in the centres. Having where to sit down, hang your coat or even take a cup of coffee is a great way of inclusion and shows the intention to build community from the school. Having space for families is a way to engage with them because is welcoming them as a way to let them know they want to interact with them and want to have a community. From my perspective I don’t see any throwback from having spaces for families since I’m completely in pro of creating them. This scenario connects with the article as creating spaces for families show proof of their intention to engage with the families and create a bond.

    #4 in this practice I think is clear that the school wants to do whatever takes to engage with the families. They are creating and individualized way to engage with them when they are willing to go to their houses, at the time of their convenience. Something great abut visiting homes is that you are able to get a deeper look at the surrounding of the child and hopefully get a better understanding of their background. I think having people from the school coming to the house can feel a little intrusive and that may be drawback. This practice is related to the article in a way that shows the intention from the school staff wanting to engage with the families no matter what it takes.

  5. Practice #1- I think having an open door policy is a good thing because children get to spend more time with their family for an example if the mom or dad was working late the night before and didn’t get a chance to see their child for the morning having an open door policy gives them the opportunity too.Having an open door policy is engaging to families because it gives the parents time to spend more time with their child and also get to know the teacher better. The benefits of having an open door policy is that families get to see their child more, they also get to spend a lot of time with their child and the child will also be happy. The drawbacks that may happen is the child may be too used to seeing the parent and when the parents leave the child may cry. The open door policy connects back to the Koraleck,Nemeth & Ramsey (2019 ) reading because it speaks about how comfortable the child will be when they see the families engaging in the programs.

    Practice #3- I think having spaces for families is a good idea because then the kid and families will feel welcomed. Having space for families is engaging families because this will make families feel comfortable and for the family being comfortable they would want to bring their child to the child care center. The benefits for having spaces for families are the families and child feeling safe. I dont think their will be any draw backs. This connects back to the Koraleck,Nemeth,& Ramsey (2019) reading because the story talked about how families when families are comfortable they start to feel like their child is safe around you.

  6. Practice 3: I chose this practice because I felt that in this situation, families would feel welcomed and honored to be there in the center with their kids. Facilities like these would make them feel comfortable around the environment. As most families are in a hurry to get back to work after drooping their child off. In this situation, this wouldn’t be a problem as the centre provides services like the conference table, computers etc where parents can drop their child off in their classroom and be present doing their own thing in a separate room. As a parent, this situation would benefit me and my child as my child will not experience any stranger anxiety as he/she would know that I will be right there. Also, it will benefit me in a way that I can be focused while doing my work as I do not have to worry about what my child must be doing or feeling. This is a way of being fully present and not at the same time. This situation will give the child some space but at the same time, the child would be aware that his/her family members are there incase the child needs them. The idea about having a bulletin board with all the upcoming events is a good idea so that the family feels that they are engaged in their child’s development and would also give parents a heads up so that they could plan accordingly and make time to attend events at the center. The practice does not directly engage families but will instead make feel welcomed and give them a sense of surety that if they like, they can avail such services. The drawbacks that can take place would be lack of independence for a child. There is always a purpose of sending children to gain knowledge out of the house and in this situation, it wouldn’t be possible. The children will have no sense of their own presence as the family members would always be there around them. This practice connects to the Koralek, Nemeth, & Ramsey (2019) reading as making such an environment for families makes them feel engaged and respected in their child’s learning center. If the parents would be around then, there is a greater chance of them having a conversation with the staff during their breaks or even lunch time. This gives them a chance of providing feedback about the child and making a relationship with one another (page 16).

    Practice 4: I chose this practice because I strongly feel that it is a good idea for the caregivers or even teachers to make a home visit before the child begins the program. It helps the caregivers in a way that they get to know more about the child and their family. It also helps the family and the child as they can ask questions if they have or need to, before the child joins the center. As a parent or even the caregiver, I would appreciate if the home visit takes place as both the child and the caregiver would make themselves comfortable and familiar with one another. The practice engages both the children and families. They both get answers to question they have. The role of the caregiver is that he/she observes and talks to the child and his/her family and gets familiar with them, their needs and expectations. After getting a know them a little more, the caregiver can accordingly plan the curriculum around it. In my opinion, I do not think there will be any drawbacks as everything related to this practice is for the betterment of the child and his/her family. This practices connects to the Koralek, Nemeth, & Ramsey (2019) reading as family engagement is to be seen. Cooperating and communicating is an aspect that every family and the caregivers expect. The to-and fro communication helps in building strong relationships as well as a curriculum that best fits the needs of the family and the child.

  7. 1. I chose practices #1 and #4.
    In practice #1, the Open-door policy I think is a good idea, because it gives parent the chance to be able to see what their children do throughout the day. In this open-door policy, the parents are able to interact with their children in the program and are able to stay as long as they would like to do. Having the open-door policy it helps gain trust from the parent to the program and the parent is able to stay at ease knowing their child is in good hands. Some challenges would be that the children would want to leave with their parents if their parents leave during the middle of the day and in a way may disrupt the cycle of the program. Practice #1 connects to the reading of Koraleck, Nemeth & Ramsey (2019) in which both encourage families to engage and take action in their children’s education. The open-door policy gives parents a little push to come and see how their child is doing in the program.

    In practice #4, the program that makes home visits I feel in a way is good but also a bad idea. In a sense, it is good because the caregiver and teacher are in an environment where both the parent and child feel comfortable. But I also feel it is a bad idea because parents may not feel comfortable to have a teacher/caregiver come into their home. Having home visits is engaging because the teacher is interested in giving the best care for the child that will be in their care. Seeing how the environment at home can give an idea to the teacher how she can help the program feel welcoming to the new child going into the program. Having home visits are beneficial in that the teacher can get to the know the type of environment the child is used to, it also lets families know that the teachers are willing to go to their home where they feel the most comfortable to learn about them and their child. Its challenges would be that the family doesn’t feel comfortable having someone who is not family into their home or that the family does not have the time to have an in-home visit from the program. Practice #4 connects to the reading of Koraleck, Nemeth & Ramsey (2019) that the program wants to get to know the new family and will find a place where the family can be at ease and give the feeling that the program will go to them and not the other way.

  8. Practice 2: I agree with this practice because I think that it is important for a parent to have a say in who is teaching their child. This helps the family to be engaged because it gives them a say. It can make the parent feel like they have some sort of power and authority. Some drawbacks from this can lead to the parent getting upset if you don’t pick the person or instructor they chose or make them feel like they have enough power to tell you how to their jobs. None the less, it does encourages families to be more involved as spoken about in the article.

    Practice 1: I think an open door policy is not a bad idea. It is a good way to build trust and let families know and feel welcomed. There are some drawbacks to this policy like anyone walking in saying that they are a parent, which can lead to bad things and potentially put the child in harms way. This practices relates to the article because it encourages families to feel comfortable and the child to feel comfortable as well.

    • I totally agree with you Aalyah. I think Practice 2 is important for parents. Taking part in decision making helps families trust programs and as a mother I would want to feel like my voice matters in my child’s school.

  9. Practice #1 I chose this practice because I feel that it is important as well as beneficial to have open door policy. It not only builds trust and develops relationships but you(as the parent or family member) feel welcomed. Also if I happen to be a parent I’m able to know how my child is doing, what is going on with them, what and how they’re learning and who with, and overall procedures with program.
    This kind of practice engages family and children because your coming to and entering a program to observe everything and engaging with not just the children but with the staff as well as other family members. I feel like the only drawback of open door policy may be the families misunderstanding something they see or hear due to miscommunication. This connects to the article because in the article they discuss how children would be able to tell if their families were welcome and the ability for both parent and child to feel more comfortable.

    Practice#4 I chose this practice because this is an organized way to engage with them when they are willing to go to their houses, at the time of their convenience. It also helps the family and the child as they can ask questions if they have or need to, before the child joins the center. As a parent or even the caregiver, If the home visit takes place as both the child and the caregiver would make themselves comfortable and familiar with one another, I’d feel better about it. I also feel that having home visits is engaging because the teacher is interested in giving the best care for the child that will be in their care. Ultimately it shows how the program is patient and persistent with the family that is going into their program. Benefits are that the family as well as the child feel safe and welcomed.

  10. 1.The first practice I like is scenario 1. I think having an open-door policy is important. I think it’s important for families to be able to come in and discuss their opinions ideas and thoughts. This also I feel builds trust between programs and families, while making the child feel safe and comfortable. This Scenario could also have drawbacks with children always expecting their parents to always be around. This can also create drawback with families not respecting the teachers time. I’ve seen this happen in my daughters’ school. Some families would come in and begin to talk without asking if the children were napping or if teachers were during an activity with the children in that specific moment. I think building some structure is important when it comes to the open-door policy.

    2.The second practice I like is scenario 2. I like the idea of having families apart of the hiring committee. I think families and teachers working together to pick the people to work with their children ultimately affects the child and because parents know their children the best, this would be a great idea to have them take part in who will be teaching and caring for their children. I believe this also builds trust between programs and families. Some drawbacks from this policy can lead to parents not being happy when the person they liked to work with their children wasn’t picked and also teachers who are applying can also feel concern as to why parents are a part of the interview process. They may not even want to come on board to work at the program.

    Both these scenarios connect to the Koralek, Nemeth and Ramsey article because these scenarios all discuss the importance of family engagement and ways to keep families involved in their child’s education. These scenarios give the actual actions to what programs can do to keep families involved and engage. On page 40 The Koralek, Nemeth and Ramsey article talks about how family engagement is not just a concept or policy but how it’s the actions that educators and programs put in place, that keeps families engaged.

  11. Practice #1
    I honestly really like the open door policy because it shows respect to the caregivers in a sense of being able to come whenever they can to see their child and they have the right to do so. There are many benefits to having this policy because this can teach the baby that their mommy is right there and can teach them that mommy is coming back not just leaving forever . Getting the baby used to seeing mom and not seeing mom throughout the day. This policy is engaging families because they have the freedom to come spend time with their child because most families most likely never have the time only at night at home due to working all the time so this policy is great. Some drawbacks may be the child may cry and not want to sit with the other kids but they are still learning. This connects to the reading because it shows family engagement when they have the time they want to observe their child and see them throughout the day.

    Practice #4
    Home visits are very important to me because the child sees you in their home and that gives the baby the heads up that they can be trusted because mom let them in your home. This policy shows how much a teacher cares to learn more about the family and the baby more. Just that 30 mins to 1 hour often can help because the baby is getting that one on one with their teacher. That also gives the teacher time to connect with the parents alone. I tried to think of drawbacks but one may be that tier used of being alone and doing activities vs with the other kids. This relates to the articles because the teacher gets to know the families needs and this establishes a great relationship and communication.

  13. Practice #1: I chose practice number 1 because I feel like it’s an important part of the child and families routine. Having and open door policy is relevant. I think its relevant because allowing a child to see their family or for their family members to see their child is important. This practice definitely engages with families because it allows them to interact with the children and staff members. It also allows the child to have a better understanding of seeing their loved ones leave them. the benefits of this practice is being able to let a child comprehend that just because their mom or dad is saying goodbye to them and they leave the room it doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to see them again. A potential challenge to having this practice is for the child to expect someone from their family to show up to see them when that may not be the case. This practice connects to the 2019 reading because it shows the engagement within the child.

    Practice #4: I chose number 4 because I feel like home visits are just as important as open door policies. My reaction to home visits is that it is a good idea. Home visits are engaging to families because it allows them to get to know exactly who their child is going to be around. They get to see the personality and how their child is going to react to their new caregiver. A benefit of having a home visit is getting to know how the child acts tot certain things and getting to know the routine and the things that the child likes. A potential challenge to having a home visit is the Gaudian not liking the upcoming caregiver that is going to around their child later on. This practice connect to the 2019 reading because it helps the teacher create a better bond between the family and the child

  14. Scenario #1- I think an open door policy is a good thing to have in a program because it helps both the parents and the children to be able to connect with each other outside of their home in a new environment. It shows the children that their parents do have the time to spend with them even though they have to leave and work.
    2- Yes I do think having an open door policy is engaging families because it gives the family the chance to see their young ones anytime they need to.
    3- The benefits of having this open door policy is that the child has trust in the program to see their family members. The parents are happy because their children are well taken care of and safe while they are at work.
    4- The potential drawbacks and challenges of open door policy that may present themselves are having many parents all at once seeing their kids and crowding the place where the program takes place. The appearance of parents can alter the program/routine they may have already created. Also the children may become very attached to their parents that when they have to leave the children stay crying the entire day until they get picked up by their parents.
    5- How this scenario connects to Koraleck, Nemeth & Ramsey (2019)is that the children know they will be able to see their family members whenever they want. That the program won’t tell the kids NO! you are not allowed to see your family, or tell the parents they will not be able to see their kids.
    6- My reaction to the practice is good because it is good to see your parents as much as you want in a day and so can the parents with their children.
    Scenario # 4- Having home visits I think is a good to get to know the child and the family to have a closer connection so that it doesn’t just feel like a service but like a friendship a community.
    2- Yes having home visits do engage families because it helps them connect with you and express themselves about anything they want you to know or what may concern them about child care for their kids.
    3- My reaction to home visits is good. I think it’s a good experience to connect and bond with family and children to have more of a caregiver -parent relationship.
    4- The benefits of home visits is seeing how comfortable the family is being home and trying to create that say environment in the daycare for them feel comfortable.
    5- Some drawbacks or challenges of having home visits may be that some people don’t like having “stranger” over or they just don’t like people to come to their lives house or ask questions about their privacy.
    6- The home visits connect to Koraleck, Nemeth & Ramsey (2019)readings because it shows that the program can do more than just take care of the children at a difference place. But they can visit the home and connect and bond with the family.

  16. Practice #1: Having an open door policy is a good thing. allowing a child to see their family or for their family members to see their child is important. This practice definitely engages with families because it allows them to interact with the children and staff members. A problem having this practice has is someone can pretend to be family and be harmful. This practice connects to the 2019 reading because it shows the family interaction in the school and child.

    Practice #4: Home visits are engaging to families because they get to know who their child is going to be around. A plus of having a home visit is getting to know the childs likes and dislikes also their routine. A challenge to having a home visit is the parent not like the teacher. This practice connect to the 2019 reading because it helps the teacher create a bond between the family and the child

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