Preschool-aged children absorb information from the people around them and
the experiences they have. However, they cannot always make sense of it. They
may have difficulty telling the difference between what is real and what is
pretend, a good idea and a bad one, or an appropriate response and one that
brings negative consequences. Adults play a critical role as
mediator
by explaining, interpreting, or countering confusing messages that children
hear and see.
Since parents are their children's first teachers, they are also their first
mediators. Children receive a variety of messages from immediate family
and from their own daily experiences, but they also receive a constant
flow of messages from other sources, especially:
- The media, particularly television, which offers thousands of images
and words every day about what people believe, how they act, and
what they should buy, and
- Other people around the family, who bring ideas, beliefs, and points
of view, all of which may or may not support the family's beliefs and
attitudes.
Mediating can be a time-consuming role for parents to fill because it requires
constant monitoring of what children observe and hear and with
whom they spend their time. It requires parents to think of ways to:
- Point out the contrast to a message, if the contrast is a better idea.
- Reinforce messages which they accept.
- Interpret confusing concepts in a way children can understand and
use.
- Counter messages that they feel aren't appropriate for their children.
Parents act as mediators in many different ways. They answer questions.
They translate confusing ideas into language the child can understand.
They explain things that don't make sense. They provide their opinions
and judgments. The conversations that take place when parents mediate
for their children help the children develop thinking skills and communications
skills. They help the children develop concepts, vocabulary, an
understanding of the world, and a set of values by which to interpret the
world.
Supportive Parenting Styles
A supportive parenting style contributes to children's social, emotional,
and cognitive development. Elements of supportive parenting vary from family
to family and are influenced by culture and experience. This is to say that
there is no one style of supportive parenting. Every person
has a unique history that influences how he or she behaves when becoming a
parent. Whatever the style, it is "supportive" if it enables the child to
build self-confidence and feel capable of learning.
A supportive parenting style requires a knowledge of child development
and the skills to apply this knowledge in dealings with an individual child.
Attitude and values are equally important, however. It can be said that
parenting begins in the heart, not the head. For example, persons who
believe that "children should be seen and not heard" may find it difficult
to encourage conversations with their children, even if they are objectively
aware of the importance of talk to a child's language development.
A supportive parenting style by definition nurtures, protects and feeds
the child's developing sense of self. One important way that parents learn
how to nurture is through the nurturing they received as children. Parents
who were not adequately nurtured as children may have to learn how to
nurture. For all parents, it is important that they continue to nurture
themselves - to meet their own needs in order to have the energy, patience, and
strength to meet the learning needs of their children.
Another way that parents apply their style is through the expectations they
hold for their children. These can either inspire confidence and trust in
children or inhibit and discourage them. According to child development expert
T. Berry Brazleton, expectations of success or failure are formed in babies
as young as eight months old. Parents with a supportive style set expectations
based on a knowledge of what children are capable of understanding and mastering
at each stage. For example, a supportive parent, who knows that learning begins
in infancy, will talk to a baby. That parent accepts the infant's coos, smiles,
and waving arms as a form of communicating back. When this parent responds
positively to the infant's efforts to communicate, that infant is rewarded
and thus is willing to continue developing those skills.
Parents with a supportive style also set expectations based on an understanding
of the individual child. For example, a parent may realize that a
sensitive baby prefers being talked to in a soft and unexcited manner.
That parent also may realize that an outgoing baby prefers more energetic
conversation.
One way that parents apply their style is through the rules they make. All
parents make rules. They do so to keep their children safe, to protect others
and their belongings, to help their children be accepted by the community,
and sometimes simply for convenience in day-to-day living.
However, just because parents develop good rules does not mean children
will follow them. A supportive parenting style, therefore, is one that finds
ways to develop rules so that children can and will obey them.
Preschoolers can make a distinction between rules that protect them from
harm or that are very important to the parent, and rules that are for convenience.
In other words, a preschooler can understand that some rules are
not negotiable, but some are. The preschooler can understand that some
rules cannot be broken, but some - with the parent's permission -
sometimes can. Parents who realize this allow themselves to be flexible.
They are firm about the rules that are important to safety, values, and
beliefs, and they are more relaxed about the rest. For example, a parent
might insist that a child go to bed by 8:00 p.m. in order to get a good
night's sleep for school, but allow the child to stay up a little extra on
weekends. Or, a parent can insist that a child wear clean clothes to
school, but permit the child to select those clothes.
A supportive parenting style helps children understand the purpose of
rules so that they come to understand why they must be obeyed. In turn,
this helps the children develop thinking and social skills. Specifically,
parents help their children's learning by:
- Allowing children to participate as much as possible in rule setting.
- Encouraging children to take responsibility for their actions and help
other family members do so, too.
- Allowing children the freedom to make safe mistakes (where injury or
harm won't occur) and to learn by themselves why it is important to
follow certain rules or conventions.
- Supporting children in resolving conflict among themselves.
A note of caution. In discussing supportive parenting styles, it is important
to stress that while parenting styles are culturally influenced, not all
practices are nurturing and safe for children. Whenever a staff member is
uncomfortable with the way in which parents interact with their children,
they should check out their observations with their supervisors to determine
if there is cause for concern for the child's safety.
Learning through Everyday Activities
The questions parents pose promote language, but they also encourage children's
early thinking about science, math, moral development, and how society functions.
We hear a great deal about how important early literacy experiences are to
later success in reading and writing. In fact, there are many forms of learning
that take place through everyday activities. Parents promote math
literacy when they help children make comparisons between objects, count socks,
or classify groceries ("cans go on the shelf, fruits on the counter"). Helping
children become careful observers of the world around them, asking good questions,
and responding to their questions all promote science literacy. Of course,
reading to children in active ways and monitoring what they watch on television
are also ways to promote thinking.
One of the most important things parents can do to strengthen their
children's natural curiosity in the world around them is to create learning
environments that encourage children to ask questions, explore, and want
to learn more. This is done by giving children safe places to play and
simple age-appropriate toys that stimulate their curiosity. Simply having
good toys, books, or educational videos at home are not enough to create
a good learning environment, however. The attitude parents convey about
learning, the way they talk with children about what they are doing and
watching, and the opportunities they explore for learning more about the
world set the stage for children's lifelong learning.
In conclusion, because Head Start serves families with young children, it
has a particularly important role in promoting learning within the family.
Points to remember are:
- The values which young children bring to the activity of reading are
formed before they enter elementary school. Parents are the most
important influence upon these values. Head Start provides a setting
for parents of young children to reflect upon their attitudes and values
and to learn how parenting style influences children's learning.
- For parents in the program, Head Start is an important source of information
on child development. Moreover, staff can work with parents
individually to help them apply the information in ways that work for
their particular family.
- Children are best able to develop socially, emotionally, and
cognitively when they are nurtured. Head Start provides a range of
opportunities for parents to build the self-confidence necessary to be
strong nurturers.
- Parents want to do the best they can for their children. Thus, parents
are highly motivated to take on the challenges of learning new skills
and behaviors themselves when they realize how their children benefit.
Head Start is in the position not only to provide parents with
formal learning programs, but also to direct them to the learning opportunities
that occur in everyday family activities.
| Enriching Language and Problem Solving
Purpose: In this activity, participants will contrast the use of simple commands and closed questions with descriptive language and open-ended questions, to heighten awareness of how language affects problem solving ability.
|
Materials
Handout 5: Talking
With Your Child; paper bags; common household or classroom objects.
Process
Set the stage for this activity by stressing the importance of a rich verbal
environment for children's learning. For many young children, their verbal
environment is primarily the family setting. A child's language development
is affected by how conversation takes place within the family and how the
child is included in the conversation.
One important way verbal environments affect children's language development
is through the use of questions. The value of questions rests with the process
of thinking about an answer. Some questions encourage children (or adults)
to analyze, organize ideas, and compare possibilities, thus strengthening
problem solving abilities.
In this activity, the value of two key types of questions will be examined:
- Closed questions. These questions require only a simple one-word
answer such as "yes" or "no."
- Open-ended questions. These "thinking" questions require children
to compare ideas or objects, make inferences about what is happening, or
consider the characteristics of something.
Ask participants to select a partner and give one person in each pair a paper
bag containing a common everyday item (e.g., kitchen utensil, article of clothing,
child's toy). Tell the person holding the bag (person A) that they may look
inside at the object but they must keep it hidden from their partner (person
B) and others in the room.
The object of the activity is for person B to guess what is in the bag. Explain
that person B may only ask their partner three closed questions, that is,
questions requiring a one-word answer such as "yes" or "no," before trying
to guess what is in the bag. For example, is the object made of paper? Allow
3-5 minutes for the guessing.
Then ask person A to exchange their bag with that of another person. Explain
that the object of the activity is once again for person B to guess what is
in the bag. This time, person B can ask up to three open-ended questions.
Allow 3-5 minutes for this part of the activity.
When the pairs have finished, reconvene the group.
Lead a discussion using the following questions as a guide:
- What are some of the benefits of using open-ended questions for seeking
information?
- How did the use of open-ended questions affect the thinking skills of
those providing the answers (i.e., person A)?
- How might you use open-ended questions in your work? With children? With
parents? With staff?
Debriefing
Make the following points in debriefing the activity:
- Questions are a central part of everyday life. They can be a powerful tool
for strengthening important thinking skills such as problem solving.
- Learning is promoted when questions are asked in beneficial ways. Questions
that invite children (or adults) to sort through, organize, and share information
are especially helpful.
Conclude the activity by stating that one way Head Start staff can support
parents in the role of teachers is to help them become more aware of the way
in which they ask children questions. Refer participants to Handout
5: Talking With Your Child. Ask participants to consider how
they could model this information for parents or how they could incorporate
it into a parent training, home visit, or parent meeting.
|
| Listening to Ourselves
Purpose: In this activity, participants will reflect upon their own conversation patterns with children as well as practice listening and observation skills. In addition, participants will discriminate between types of questions, noting the differences in children's responses to the questions they ask.
|
Materials
Handout 5: Talking
With Your Child; Handout
6: Listening Coding Sheet; Handout
7: Journal Notes; tape recorder and audio tape; pens. If tape
recorders are not available, a friend, family member, or Head Start staff
member can act as notetaker to the conversation.
|
Coach Preparation Notes:
Encourage staff members you are coaching to do this activity with one of
their own children or with a child who frequently visits their home. Offer
parents you are coaching the choice of doing this activity with just one of
their children or several of their children together.
It is important for participants to feel at ease both in recording conversations
and in the use of the coding sheet. You may want to consider conducting one
or more "practice" taping and coding sessions to help participants become
comfortable with the activity. Or, you may want to tape a conversation between
another adult and a child to use as a demonstration.
|
Process
Begin the activity by talking about the importance of rich verbal environments
for children's development. Talk about the many things children learn from
talking with family members and listening to family conversations. Tell participants
that this activity will focus on one element in the verbal environment: the
use of "inquiry" or asking questions. The questions parents ask and the way
they ask them has been found to relate to children's thinking skills and later
school achievement.
Distribute Handout
5: Talking With Your Child and review the difference between
open-ended and closed questions. Then distribute Handout
6: Listening Coding Sheet, and review the instructions.
Provide participants with portable tape recorders and explain how to use
them to record conversations. Direct participants to record themselves for
10 minutes during which they are involved in a task with a child (getting
dressed, preparing a meal, eating, cleaning up, etc.).
Have participants listen to their tapes from beginning to end. Then have
them listen to the tapes again, this time recording the number of times they
used closed and open-ended questions. Encourage participants to listen and
observe at their own pace, stopping the tape whenever they want.
Have participants rewind their tapes and listen a third time, this time to
record the kinds of responses their children made to closed and open-ended
questions.
Debriefing
Have participants share what they learned from listening to their own conversations
with their children. Ask:
- What did you learn about how you and your child communicate?
- When does it make sense to ask a closed question? When is an open-ended
question more appropriate?
- Other than questioning, what else did you observe about the verbal environment
of your child at home?
- Did you learn anything from this activity that you might be able to apply
in your own family or in your work with other families?
Make a plan with the participants for how and when they might use this listening
technique to observe other conversations. Provide them with extra copies of
Handout 6.
Finally, distribute Handout
7: Journal Notes. Direct participants to use this handout to
record their reflections after each coaching activity in this module.
|
| Mediating Messages
Purpose: In this activity, participants will practice techniques for helping children interpret and evaluate the information they receive.
|
Materials
Handout 8: Mediating
Messages; chart paper; markers.
Process
Begin this activity by stating that children are influenced by
information that comes to them from a variety of people: family members, children,
and other adults. They also receive a constant flow of information from other
sources, especially:
- The media, particularly television, which offers thousands of
images and words every day about what people believe, how they act, and
what they should buy.
- Other people around the family, who bring ideas, beliefs, and
points of view (stemming from culture, religion, politics, and experiences).
The information children receive from these outside sources may or
may not be understandable by them nor does it necessarily support the
family's beliefs and attitudes. Therefore, one of the roles of parents is to
help children interpret and evaluate the information they receive to "mediate
the messages." Mediating is difficult because it requires constant monitoring
of what children watch and hear and with whom they spend their time. It also
requires adults to recognize when messages are confusing to children and find
ways to help them understand what they see and hear.
Parents and staff have the opportunity, as they clarify confusing or questionable
messages, to strengthen messages they want children to internalize about themselves
and their world. Mediating then becomes a two-pronged process: clarifying
confusing or non-supportive messages, and strengthening or reinforcing messages
that reflect the family's or community's beliefs and values.
Divide the group into small working groups and distribute Handout
8: Mediating Messages.
Ask each group to select one (or more) of the examples on Handout 8 to discuss,
using the following questions as a guide:
- What "message" might the child be receiving in this situation? How might
that message be affecting the child's view of the world around him or her?
- How do you think the adult feels about the message?
- How might the adult in the situation "mediate" the message the child
is receiving? That is, how might the adult reinforce the understanding he
or she wants the child to take from a given situation?
Reconvene the group. Have a representative from each group share a summary
of their group's discussion.
Debriefing
Summarize the activity by making the following points:
- Putting energy into becoming a good mediator is hard work, but it can
have long-term benefits for children.
- Children recognize that their parents
are protecting and nurturing them. As a consequence, children develop trust
in their parents and respect for their parents' judgments.
- Children learn
that not everything they hear is valid, that ideas do not all have equal value,
and that some information is simply incorrect.
- By imitation, children learn
how to mediate which means they learn how to evaluate and judge information
for themselves.
Conclude the activity by asking participants to consider how they can support
parents in their roles as mediator. Have them identify specific ways they
could share information about mediating to parents.
|
| Children Are "Listening" All the Time
Purpose: Participants will observe how children can be affected by outside influences, in particular, television.
|
Materials
Handout 7: Journal
Notes; Handout
9: Mixed Messages; pens or pencils.
|
Coach Preparation Notes:
Encourage staff members you are coaching to do this activity with their own
children or with a child who frequently visits their home. Offer parents you
are coaching the choice of doing this with just one of their children or several
of their children together. Also explain to participants that the purpose
of this activity is not to encourage the use of television but to provide
an example of how to mediate messages.
|
Process
Explain to participants that while parents are children's most important
teachers, children are affected by everyone with whom they come in contact.
Teachers and caregivers, other family members, friends, neighbors, family
visitors, and others all can influence how children act, speak, and think.
So too, do less personal influences such as TV characters, celebrities, popular
singers, and story characters.
Provide participants with copies of Handout
9: Mixed Messages . Ask participants to begin this
activity by identifying a "message" - a belief or value - they
hope their children will be exposed to often enough for it to become one of
their values.
For example:
- Treat others how you want to be treated.
- Violence never solves problems.
- Eating right helps to keep you healthy.
Together you may want to brainstorm several messages before each participant
selects one. Then direct participants to find a time when their children are
watching television, and to watch it with them. They should use Handout
9 to record when the television program -- including
commercials -- is supporting or opposing the message they have selected.
|
Coach Preparation Notes:
You may want to practice this activity together first. Introduce the message
to be used for this practice session, then show a videotape of a television
program. Have participants note aloud when the programming supports or opposes
the message.
|
Debriefing
Have participants describe the program they watched and how it supported
or opposed their message. Ask:
- Were there any other messages you observed that surprised you?
- Before
this activity, how did you feel about your children watching that program?
Has your opinion changed? Why?
- When your children watch that program again,
do you think you will want to mediate the messages it is sending? Why?
- What
assistance can you use from Head Start to develop your mediating skills?
Remind participants of the following points:
- Children learn from the actions
and words of people they see regularly whether or not those words and actions
are meant for them.
- One of the ways parents can affect their children's
behavior and attitudes is to monitor the influences they allow in their homes.
Lead a discussion of how this activity could be used to evaluate other influences
in and around the home besides television. Also discuss how staff could use
this mediating exercise in their work with families.
Finally, remind participants to record their thoughts about this activity
on Handout 7.
|
| Dinnertime at Rosie's
Purpose: Participants will examine how parenting style affects family harmony. They also will explore ways that Head Start staff can help parents make changes to their parenting style in order to reduce family conflict.
|
Materials
Handout 10: Dinnertime
at Rosie's; pens or pencils.
Process
Introduce the activity by noting that all families have conflicts occasionally.
However, sometimes families fall into the same kinds of conflict over and
over. Repeated "power struggles" can be negative learning experiences for
children. In many cases, however, parents can make changes to their parenting
style which enable them to turn conflicts into Debriefing
Note that, as in any family experience, children learn from conflict. They
learn:
- How important they are.
- The effect of their behavior on others.
- What to expect from others.
Tell participants that you are going to read them two stories as examples
of how children learn from conflict. Read the first story:
A mother is standing at the kitchen counter trying to find
a bill she needs to pay. Her four-year-old daughter is sitting on the floor
near her mother's feet working on a puzzle. She is getting frustrated and
calls out to her mother to help her...now! The mother continues to sort through
piles of paper but leans over and says, "Look for the edge pieces first."
The child tries again, but becomes more frustrated. The mother replies, "I'll
help you when I find this important paper, but I can't help right now." The
child angrily throws the puzzle, scattering the pieces. The mother leans down
to comfort her daughter. "That puzzle is just too hard and Mama is just too
busy," she says "We'll do it together in a few minutes. Can you help me clean
up this mess so I can find my paper?" The child nods, smiles, and begins to
help her mother.
Ask participants what this child is learning from the conflict. Write the
responses on chart paper. Responses could include learning:
- About the importance of helping and being helped.
- About cooperation.
- That she can listen and be listened to.
- That her feelings can be understood.
- That conflicts can be resolved.
Then note that parents also learn from conflict. Ask participants what this
mother is learning. Responses could include learning:
- About her child's determination.
- That her own stress affects her child.
- That she can resolve conflict.
Next, read the second story to participants:
A mother is standing at the kitchen counter trying to find
a bill she needs to pay. Her four-year-old daughter is sitting on the floor
near her mother's feet working on a puzzle. She is getting frustrated and
calls out to her mother to help her...now! "I'm too busy now, I'll help you
later," the mother replies. The child's frustration increases and she becomes
more demanding. The mother looks down and says, "That's your brother's puzzle.
It's too hard for you. Find something you can do yourself." The child wants
this puzzle, though. She tries again briefly before throwing the puzzle in
frustration, scattering the pieces all over the floor. The mother turns to
her and says in an angry voice, "You know better than to throw things. If
you can't care for toys, you can't have any. I'm going to put this puzzle
away or better yet, give it to someone who will take care of it." The child
begins to cry. The mother shouts, "If you keep crying, you can just go to
your room. I don't want to hear it!" The child screams louder, runs to her
room, and slams the door.*
Ask participants what this child is learning from the conflict. Responses
could include:
- That her needs are not important.
- That she is not capable.
- That her
feelings are not understood.
- That other's needs always come first.
- That
others will not help her.
- That having bad feelings lead to punishment.
Then ask participants what the mother is learning from the conflict. Responses
could include:
- That her child is not capable of playing with her brother's toys.
- That
her child has a bad temper and is uncooperative.
- That her child's strong
emotions make her (the mother) angry and resentful.
- That she cannot control
conflict.
Ask participants:
- How might you expect each mother and child to behave the next time they
have a conflict?
- What happens when we fall into patterns of behavior?
- How do these patterns affect children's behavior in relationships outside
the family?
- How can Head Start staff help families analyze their behavior
patterns and take steps to adopt more positive patterns?
Tell participants that they are going to examine these questions more deeply
using another story about a family.
Distribute Handout
10: Dinnertime at Rosie's. Divide participants into small groups.
Ask them to read the story with the following questions in mind:
- What are the children learning?
- What is Rosie learning?
- What behavior
patterns are contributing to conflict?
- How can Rosie change her behavior
or actions to reduce the conflict?
- How can Head Start staff support Rosie
in recognizing and managing stress?
Allow 20-25 minutes for groups to discuss the story.
Reconvene the group and ask representatives from each small group to share
the main points of their discussions.
Debriefing
Conclude by making the following points:
- The way that families resolve conflict affects children's later relationships.
- There is no one way to parent effectively. Parents must find their own
styles of interacting with their children that strengthen everyone's sense
of dignity and competence.
- Every family has patterns of behavior, but some are helpful and some
are not. When parents and children are stuck in no-win ways of trying to
influence each other, new approaches are needed.
- Some patterns can be changed by very simple changes to parenting behavior.
Head Start staff can help parents identify the style that works for them
and make referrals for other assistance when needed.
*Scenarios adapted from Heart Start: The Emotional Foundations
of School Readiness (1992) with permission from ZERO TO THREE: National Center
for Infants, Toddlers and Families, Washington, D.C.
|
| Observing My Parenting Style
Purpose: Participants will define their ideal parenting style and reflect on how this style is supportive of children's learning.
|
Materials
Handout 7: Journal
Notes; Handout
11: The "Ideal" Parent; markers; magazines; scissors; glue and
other craft items (glitter, stickers, etc.); crayons; pens or pencils.
|
Coach Preparation Notes:
This activity is designed to be done by a parent and a coach together. The
parent can be a Head Start parent or a Head Start staff person who is also
a parent or a volunteer with children. The role of the coach is to act as
a resource or support for the parent as they define and examine their ideal
parenting style. The coach can be either a Head Start staff person or another
parent. It is important to remember the coach plays a critical role in this
activity. It is important for a coach to be sensitive to cultural differences
that affect parenting style and be able to accept the parent's ideal parenting
style even if it differs from his or her own.
|
Process
Begin by stating that parenting is a very complex job. Parents nurture and
protect children, help them learn about their family's and society's beliefs
and values, and teach them the skills they will need to survive as adults.
A supportive parenting style is important if children are to become socially
competent. Parenting style can vary from family to family and from parent
to parent within a family. However, the style is "supportive" if it enables
the child to build self-confidence and feel capable of learning.
Provide participants with a copy of Handout
11: The "Ideal" Parent. Use the handout to help participants
reflect on their idea of an ideal parent. Direct participants to continue
this reflection on their own. Provide them with art materials to make a picture
of this vision. Set a time to meet after they have completed their picture.
When participants have completed their pictures, ask them to share their
vision of the ideal parent. If you are working with more than one participant,
ask the group to identify any similarities or differences in the participants'
visions.
Then discuss the following questions:
- After completing this activity, what would you like to share about your
parenting style?
- How can Head Start help support you in any changes you
want to make in the way you parent?
- Who else (another person, group, or
organization) can support you to become the parent you want to be?
Debriefing
Ask participants to reflect on what it feels like to talk about their parenting
style. Discuss ways of giving feedback in positive ways.
For those who are interested, have participants identify one change they
would like to make in the way they parent. Work with them to develop a plan
for making that change.
Finally, remind participants to use Handout
7: Journal Notes to record what they have learned from this activity.
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| Learning All the Time
Purpose: Participants will reflect on the many opportunities in routine daily life that parents have to support their children's learning. They will explore the ways Head Start staff can assist parents to take advantage of these learning opportunities.
|
Materials
Handout 12: Learning
All the Time; pens or pencils.
Process
Introduce this activity by suggesting that whenever parents and children
are together, learning is occurring. The learning can have positive, negative,
or neutral effects on the child. Head Start staff can help parents identify
and take greater advantage of the opportunities for learning that arise in
their family life.
Divide participants into small groups of four to five people. Ask participants
to read through Handout
12: Learning All the Time and, as a group, choose one situation
to role play. Participants not playing the role of a family member should
take the part of a Head Start staff person making a home visit. The staff
person's task is to observe the home for learning opportunities: those that
were made use of and those that were missed. After the group completes the
role play, "staff" should share their observations with the "family."
Allow groups 20 minutes for the role play and sharing of the "staff" person's
observations.
Debriefing
Reconvene the whole group and pose the following questions:
- What challenges did the adults face in accomplishing the tasks they needed
to do while also creating a learning experience for their children?
- How would you describe the adult's "teaching" style? What worked to keep
the children actively engaged and learning? What did not work?
- What spoken or unspoken messages were parents giving children during
this interaction?
- How did parents turn ordinary exchanges into richer learning opportunities?
- What did you learn from this activity that you can apply in your work
with families?
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| Learning and Having Fun Together
Purpose: Participants will identify everyday family activities that can be expanded into enjoyable learning activities.
|
Materials
Handout 13: Things
We Did Together; paper; pens or pencils.
|
Coach Preparation Notes:
This activity is designed to be done by a staff person who is also a parent,
Head Start parent, or a volunteer with children. The participant should be
willing to focus on their interactions with one or more of their children.
The role of coach is to facilitate the activity by acting as a resource.
|
Process
Begin by stating that whenever parents and children are together, learning
is occurring. Through careful observation, parents and other adults responsible
for children's learning can identify and take greater advantage of the opportunities
for learning that arise in their daily family life.
To create learning opportunities, parents do not need to add to the list
of things they are already doing. Rather, they need only to remember the joy
in the little things they do together with their children and to look for
ways that these activities can be extended into more learning.
Distribute paper and pencils to participants. Direct them to list 20 things
they like to do with their child, for example, watching a certain TV show
together, eating a snack, or going on a family outing. The list can include
both trivial and significant activities. Have participants save this list
to bring to the debriefing session.
Distribute Handout
13: Things We Did Together. Instruct participants to post it
on their refrigerator or in some other convenient place. Over a set period
of time (for example, four days), have them record activities that they and
their children do together. Have them include all kinds of activities, both
routine interactions and "special" activities. Have them check off who enjoyed
the activity. If they have some activities that no one enjoyed, they should
list them anyway.
Debriefing
Have participants compare their lists on Handout 13 to their original lists,
looking for similarities and differences. Work with them to find patterns
(free or costs money, different times of day, planned or spontaneous, etc.)
within the lists of activities. Ask:
- What did this exercise tell you about the quality of your family activities?
- What would you like to change?
Next, have participants select one activity from Handout 13 that they and
their children especially enjoyed. Ask:
- What would you like your child to gain from this activity?
- How can you
broaden it to be a richer learning activity for the child?
- How can Head
Start help you turn this activity into a learning experience for your child?
Remind participants to record what they have learned from this activity on
Handout 7.
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| Putting It All Together
Purpose: In this activity, participants will summarize what they have learned about family learning environments from the four preceding coaching activities in this module. They will also celebrate their strengths as parents and prioritize any changes they would like to make.
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Materials
Handout 7: Journal
Notes, filled out for each coaching activity; ... Handout 14:
Summary of Observations; crayons, or markers; tape or glue; chart
paper; pens or pencils.
Process
Remind participants that through the[se] coaching activities ... they
have had an opportunity to explore four aspects of family learning: family
conversations, specifically asking good questions; mediating messages; parenting
style; and learning through everyday activities. Have them envision these
four aspects of family learning as parts of a whole puzzle. These coaching
activities provided an opportunity to look at each of these parts separately.
In real life, however, these parts overlap and often happen at the same time.
Provide participants with Handout
14: Summary of Observations and writing materials. Ask them to
begin by reviewing the journal notes they recorded on Handout 7 after completing
Activity 2-2. Then ask them to think about the questions on the first page
of Handout 14. Have them cut out one of the puzzle pieces from Handout 14
and record their responses to the questions on the puzzle piece. Suggest they
do this by writing key phrases or complete sentences or by drawing a picture.
When they have finished with the first puzzle piece, have them take a second
puzzle piece and summarize their findings from Activity 2-4. They should use
a third puzzle piece for findings from Activity 2-6 and the fourth puzzle
piece for Activity 2-8.
When they have completed all four puzzle pieces, have them put the puzzle
together and tape it to a large sheet of chart paper. Direct participants
to look at the completed puzzle and consider the following:
- What do you like about your family learning environment?
- Are there any
things you would like to change or do differently?
- How can Head Start support
you in making these changes?
Work with each participant to develop a plan for making changes. Have them
consider how they might use the information they've gathered (for example,
in a parent-teacher conference, in planning home visits, or in developing
a family partnership agreement).
Debriefing
In summarizing the activity, make the following points:
- Children are active contributors to their own knowledge and skills. When
adults encourage children through their questions to build upon what they
already know, they foster learning.
- Parents influence children's learning
directly through what they say and do, and indirectly through the influences
they allow into their homes (media, visitors, printed materials, etc.).
-
Parents are the organizers of family learning environments. Each parent brings
unique strengths to this role. Head Start staff can play an important role
in helping parents identify their own strengths and support parents as they
define goals for change.
Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice
- Review the Head Start publication Emerging Literacy: Linking Social
Competence and Learning to learn more about the importance of reading
to children. Select/adapt one or more activities to use with staff and/or
parents who are completing [these] activities.
- Visit several Head Start classrooms and observe adults' use of questions
(inquiry) with children and with each other. Use these observations
to improve your own use of inquiry with children and adults.
- Provide opportunities for parents to have fun together. Many parents
never learned to play and if they are to play with their children, they
will need safe, supportive environments in which to learn.
- Review the ERIC digests related to television viewing included in the
appendix as a discussion tool. Hold a parent or community forum to
discuss ways to mediate messages about the violence children hear
and see in the community and on TV. Create a planning team of staff,
parents, and community representatives to take the ideas and suggestions
that come from this meeting and develop them into activities or
materials.
- Develop a committee of parents, staff, and community members to
learn from each other about how to talk with children about difficult
issues in ways children can understand. The topic of the committee
will vary from community to community. For some communities, the
issue may be violence or AIDS while in another it may be divorce or
racism, areas in which children ask questions and adults struggle to
answer honestly but appropriately to the developmental levels of
children's understanding.
- Select one or more coaching activities from other guides in the Training
Guides for the Head Start Learning Community to build your skills in
communicating with parents. Communicating with Parents and A
Design for Family Support are two guides with helpful activities.
- Use the information from Handouts 7 and 14 when working with parents
to develop a family partnership agreement. Since the[se] coaching
activities ... are starting points, not stand-alone activities,
consider repeating the activities later in the program year and make
note of the changes. Use this information to refine family goals
through the family partnership agreement process.
- Create opportunities for families to bring activities from home into
classrooms. For example, if baking bread or playing card games were
activities parents listed as being enjoyable, teaching staff can provide
such materials in the classroom when parents visit or volunteer.
Teaching staff can also use such activities as examples of learning
encounters in newsletters or discussions, highlighting all that is
learned through participating in that activity.
- Host a discussion with parents and staff about the use of television
with young children. Use the parent guide from Our Stories Keep Us Connected
to introduce activities parents can do together.
