Welcoming Families from around the World

If I were expecting a child from China, I would do the following to prepare myself and class to be culturally aware and receptive.
1.     Would read up about the country and get to know its basic languages, know where China is situated on the global map, the lifestyle of the people, Celebrations etc. I would not assume that I have the information but will make an effort to know about the country better.
2.    I would also attempt to learn a few words from their language.  Greetings and courtesy words in the language of the child would make connection with child and family easier. Welcoming the Child in his/her language in the morning or saying please and thank you in the language could make child relax faster.
3.    I would develop the expectations of my class members to better understand and accommodate the culture of the child, teaching songs about being a friend/helper, about the continents and how we all belong together could be of help.
4.    I would also prepare the physical environment to show diverse cultures in the classroom including the culture of the new child. Including pictures of the families, country flags and artifacts could help make the environment more familiar and friendly to new child and family.
5.    When Child arrives, I will attempt to get to know the family by inviting family to the classroom to participate in classroom activities, could also arrange for a home visit as well, getting to know favorite toys, songs, food, other sibling etc. may help better integration of child and family in new environment.

Being culturally aware and responsive would promote positive teacher relationships with young children in preschools and could minimize challenging behavior, it would also improve learning outcomes, help teachers to learn about children and families, develop and teach expectations in other children, it will especially also help teachers to reflect on their own practices and biases towards other cultures.

Comments

  1. Christine21 October 2018 at 07:58

    Hi Anu!

    Good blog entry! About 1/3 of my children come from China so I have a lot of experience with the culture and traditions of the country. One thing I find very helpful is having an intake meeting with my families when they start. I have them right down common words in their language and have them tell us how to pronounce these words to help assimilate their children to our center!

    Christine

    ReplyDelete
  2. Naire.m21 October 2018 at 14:57

    Interesting blog post, and enjoyed reading the ways to prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family!

    ReplyDelete

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