Welcoming Families From Around the World

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

Scenario: The new family entering into my program has come to the United States from Haiti.  I do not know anything about Haiti other than what I heard about from the devastation of the earthquakes.  I want to avoid assuming any information I heard on the news and therefore I will do the following activities to learn more about this family:

• Conduct a home visit with this family and do an initial education visit.  Not only is this an opportunity to discuss school info with the family, but also an opportunity for the family to share information about them with me. 
• Give the family a Culture Questionnaire.  This is an opportunity for the family to address many questions such as:
• What languages do you and your family speak?
• Tell me about your family's culture?
• How can we best represent and include you and your family within our classroom and school?
• Tell me about your family's traditions, values, beliefs, etc.
• Open the lines of communication.  Be honest.  Let the family know that you are not familiar with their country but you want to learn. 
• Share upcoming events and ask for their input.  They may have ways to bring cultural diversity to many activities and events.
• Look around the classroom.  Research.  How can you represent the culture in the classroom?  Do your dolls, block people, posters, books represent this child's culture?

Being honest with your family will let them know that you genuinely care.  Being open will help make the family feel welcomed and comfortable in the classroom.  By pretending you know about their culture when you really don't, can give an impression that you do not care or disrespect if you act in a way that is disrespectful in their country, even if it is unintentional. 

The Classroom as a First Lesson in Social Studies
Social studies is the study of how people relate to one another, their environment and to the world they live in. When a child enters his preschool classroom, it is generally the first time he is interacting inside a community that is outside his family unit and home.
Social studies learning takes place in the classroom in many ways including:

• The formation of friendship and bonds with other children
• Learning how the decision making process works in a group setting
• Development of social skills and personal responsibility
• Learning to share and deal with their emotions
• Accepting the differences between people
• Learning community responsibility and a sense of community pride

http://kids.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Preschool_Social_Studies