Parent and family engagement can be a huge challenge for any early childhood teacher, so NAEYC has created a resource in their Teaching Young Children (TYC) publication called Message in a Backpack. Since NAEYC knows that most teachers struggle to get over 50% participation form their student's families, they created an online link so that any teacher can have access to these resources.
Each Message in a Backpack links classroom best practices to the home, with information and guidance for the parents and activities that can be completed with the children. Teachers can add items to the message and create a take home activity that assist families in learning the importance of being their child's first teacher and the need to participate in their education. Each message has specific content information that is easy for families to understand.
Many of our families do not have the ability to be a part of the classroom due to jobs and other responsibilities. If teachers use resources like Message in a Backpack, they can still assist families in engaging their child and support their physical, cognitive and social development. You can find both English and Spanish versions of the Message in the Back pack at http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/backpack.
Tara
Tara, this is such a great website..I love that this offers information that provides guidance for activities for parents to do at home, what a great way to bridge the gap from home to school.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you saw this, I found this about two years ago and fell in love. It is so simple to use these messages and create additional activities for our families. I used it to create a library of take home activities, everything needed went into a 2gallon zip lock bag. The parents really loved it!
DeleteTara S.
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ReplyDeleteThis is a great website and I am happy you have shared this. This is a great way to connect with families. I have already found some amazing at home activities I can make to send home with families. What I love about it is that it is very meaningful for the students. Sometimes parents struggle with getting their children to do homework. I like the fact that the activities are engaging and creative. Children love to play interactive games while learning.
ReplyDeleteAntoinette,
DeleteYou are right, it can be a struggle to get parents to work with their children at home. I see these as engagement support for parents, it helps them recognize what they should be doing with their children. We as teacher forget that most parents are not as equipped at working with children as we are. What comes naturally to us can be a serious struggle for them. When they know that it's just the little things that help build school readiness, they recognize their own power to support their child's cognitive, social and physical development.
Tara