Welcoming Families

Deb Curtis and Margie Carter offer these ideas on welcoming families into your program in their book, Learning Together with Young Children:

"When families first enroll their children in programs, they are usually handed a stack of forms to complete.  The provider or director goes over policies, business details, and perhaps a typical menu, curriculum plan, or assessment tool.  Teachers may, or may not, be part of this process.   In some programs, teachers do home visits, often with a questionnaire or more paperwork in hand.  But if you think of enrollment as the beginning of relationships and participation in a program culture, you might want to refocus these initial encounters.  Rather than treating them as service arrangements or business transactions, consider these first meetings with the care of welcoming someone into your home.  There are many stepping stones to consider: how to give a tour to a family, the mutuality you seek during the orientation process, the child's transition into the program, and initial family group meetings.  Making sure that each of these occasions provides listening ears, sensitive communications, and opportunities for making connections will offer more possibilities for children and their families to feel at home with you."

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