Module 4: Observing and Interacting with Families of the Children in Your Setting

I have been observing in a Head Start classroom throughout this course.  This Head Start program serves families that are low income and they provide transportation for all children.  I have observed that it can be somewhat difficult to get a hold of some of the families, let alone interact with them.  It makes it difficult when they do not have to drop their child off or pick them up.  It is nearing the end of the school year and all the teachers have to do end of the year home visits and conferences with the children's families.  Some of the teachers are really struggling to make contact with some families.

I was, however, able to talk to a few parents that were participating in some of the classroom activities this week.  I asked them if they participated in classroom activities often and what prevents them from participating other times.  One of the parents is a regular visitor of the classroom and the other two do not visit too often.  The parent who is a regular visitor told me that she does not work so the least she can do is come and help out in the classroom.  The other two said that they have other children at home which prevents them from visiting more.  I also asked them if they feel that they have a good relationship with the teachers in the classroom and they all said they did.  One said that she feels very welcome in the classroom and feels that she can talk to the teachers about anything that she is concerned with.

I also talked to the parent coordinator for the program and she informed me of all of the activities she coordinates for the families of the program.  They hold monthly meetings for the parents to learn different things regarding early childhood education.  She also said that they invite parents to join the policy council which helps to make decisions regarding the program and different policies they have.  She said that joining the policy council is a great way to be involved in their child's education and to let their voices be heard.  The parent coordinator also sends home activities for the families and children to do together.  I think that it is wonderful to have someone in the program that is solely dedicated to connecting families to their children's education and program.

Module 3: Observing and Interacting With Program Director(s) and Other Administrative Staff in Your Setting

During the past two weeks I was able to talk with the director of the Head Start where I am doing my observations.  I was also able to talk to the assessment manager and the education manager.  I asked them all what they think about Developmentally Appropriate Practice and my advocacy of it.  The education manager was excited about it because she is a big proponent of children learning through play which is a developmentally appropriate practice to use when working with young children.  The director of the program was eager for me to share my insights with the program.  The assessment manager thinks that many of the teachers need to become more informed about DAP so she was glad that I was doing my research on the topic.

An insight I have gained through my observations is that some of the teachers are very concerned about letting the children have so much free choice time and not enough teacher instruction.  From my observations, I feel that the teachers want more teacher instruction and the education manager wants them to have more free choice.  I have learned that there needs to be a good balance of the two.  Adults are responsible for the children’s learning but children also benefit from making their own choices and interacting with their peers.  I believe I will have a lot to share with this program and hopefully they can find the right balance between children's self-initiated learning and adult guidance and support.