Engaging Your Families In Early Childhood Classroom Settings

In this episode of The Preschool Podcast, we connect with Ty’Heim Clark, founder of The Child Care Whisperer on his experience connecting with families in early childhood classroom settings and the importance for educators to focus on this area in order to build strong relationships with the families, the children, and their community.

Ty’Heim stresses that it’s so important to have parent and family involvement in early childhood settings because oftentimes, children will remember when their families weren’t there. By showing up for your child, being involved in their learning, participating in events etc, all shows that you are supporting your child in every capacity and that you’re part of the community in their upbringing.

As educators and teachers, how can we be more involved in our students’ lives? Becoming involved in the community inside and outside of the classroom is a great way! A child has a baseball game on Friday? Join the crowd and cheer them on! Ballet recital on Sunday? Show up and show your support for them! Show children and families your dedication to their child’s development by showing up for special events and moments, families will get the hint and may make more of an effort themselves!

The children and the teachers are the backbone of our business

Ty’Heim Clark

Ty’Heim explains that as a child care director, he has noticed a shift in the involvement of parents and families in early childhood settings since COVID. Now that school has been brought home, families are able to see the learning and development happen first hand. Parents are now, more than ever, invested in their child’s learning and development.

Ty’Heim’s Top Tips as a Child Care Director:

• Make sure that you’re aiding educators through the process. Right now is an incredibly difficult time for educators in the classroom. As a director or owner, assist your educators in any way you can. From helping clean up with lunchtime, covering them for 15 minutes for a break, or grabbing their favorite coffee, all of these small things speak volumes!
• Go above and beyond especially when it comes to communicating. Don’t be afraid of overcommunicating with your staff or families. Things are changing rapidly and ensuring everyone is in the know and on the same page will help create a cohesive team environment.
• Hosting regular staff meetings and parent town hall meetings. Just as you would host staff meetings to keep all of your staff on the same page and welcome feedback, offer the same to your families (perhaps virtual for now!) This not only helps with communication but also with the “community feel” to your center and ensuring families’ voices are heard!

Want to connect with Ty’Heim? Follow him on Instagram, his website or Facebook.

Running a Child Care Centre is Hard…

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Episode 251 Transcripts coming soon