Ideas for Involving Parents

In the most popular issue of ExchangeEveryDay in 2004, we share the few ideas on parent involvement listed below and then invited readers to share their ideas ... and 61 readers responded with great ideas, which you can read when you review the January 9, 2004 issue.

Barbara Crawford
Childlife Preschool
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"It is wonderful to be able to involve dads in preschool programs. Over the years we have invited dads to share their professions or specialties with the children. A heart surgeon came in his scrubs and brought a model of a heart. A children's dentist brought his guitar and taught the children songs about brushing your teeth. A firefighter brought his equipment and talked about fire safety. These were exciting visits for all of us."

Chantal Duerinckx
Stepping Stones Children's Centre
Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia
"Upon enrollment we ask parents what special talents, interests, and stories they have and whether they would like to share those with the children in a format that is open to them."

Marie Darstein
The Sunshine House
Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States
"It is critical that parents understand the importance of learning through play. We conduct a mock class with parents where 1/2 learns about Kiwis with a field trip (to the tree in the hall): smelling, feeling, tasting kiwis. They also discuss how they can use kiwis in other areas of learning (if they were really in a class). The other 1/2 of the parents learn about kiwis with a coloring sheet and a brown and green crayon - ugh. It doesn't take long for them to understand the benefits of learning by doing and having fun at the same time."

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