For this blog assignment I choose the country of
Yemen. I am not familiar with this country and I would love to know how
children from Yemen are exposed to early childhood education. In the scenario, I have chosen to operate my
own licensed childcare center. I have just received news that a family will be
relocating from Yemen and I have a spot available for their child to start
right away. Now being the owner of the
child care facility. I have to prepare myself to welcome this new child by
learning all I can about her and her background.
Five ways I would begin to prepare myself to welcome
this new child to my child care center:
1) My
first step would be to create a welcome guide for the new child and her family.
I would take pictures of the classroom, and translate the words into her
particular language. I would include pictures of her new classmates and
teachers with their names. Creating this welcome packet will allow the family
to become comfortable with the school and know where everything is. In the packet
I will give all the names of the staff and do my best to provide local places
where they can get food that is close to their home cuisine.
2) I
would need to find out the history of the country of Yemen. Learning about the
history, cultures and traditions would give me a foundation of what to expect. 3 ) I
would also prepare the current students by giving them some information on
their new classmate. I would encourage them to make drawings that they can
present to their new friend as a welcome gift.
4) Learning
the languages that are spoken would help me to get familiar with keywords. I
would make some notes to myself, of how to say important phrases such as “Hello”,
“Good morning”, “how are you? “, “Welcome to your new school” and “We are excited to have you here!” Key phrases
will help this particular child feel welcome as well as her family. This
information will be passed on to the teachers, current families and children.
5) I
would purchase some supplies for the classroom, which would support this
particular child’s family culture. Books, supplies, materials that would represent
her home life because her whole environment will be different due to her
relocation.
It is important for me to complete these tasks
because I want the any new child to feel welcome and respected. It is important
to have a program that presents a culturally diverse atmosphere so families can
feel reassured that we are presenting a well-balanced program that can cater to
everyone’s individual needs. My program needs to support children and their
families by giving the basic supplies that are needed to adapt to a new
environment. Allowing myself to learn about different cultures gives me the
ability to learn and accept new things. I am always hoping to set an example to
my staff and current children that we can open our doors to all people around
the world if we open our minds. Being a part of diverse community allows me
have numerous amounts of information at my fingertip.
Natasha_
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for your post. This a great, detailed step by step approach that I would enjoy using in my child care and where I would truly feel that I was making a holistic approach to welcoming this new family. Thank you for serving children and families, I have learned from reading your posts.
Take Care- Cassie
Hello Natasha,
ReplyDeleteI have heard about Yemen on the news, but never paid any mind to it. To be more knowledgeable about these countries, I will have to do some extensive research on them.
More importantly, I like the different ways in which you are going to welcome your family. Some of these I never thought about. I have to make a note of them.
Joanne.
Great way to think outside the box Natasha. I stayed within my means and was afraid to venture out I guess. I would love to research more about Yemen. Thanks for sharing your post.
ReplyDelete