Furman – involving parents

We absolutely believe that parents are the child’s first teacher and the experts of their children, so it’s really important to involve and to continue to build our relationships with families. So it doesn’t just happen at orientation and then just, you know conversations at the end of the day. We host family events regularly so that families can be involved with their children. We host lots of different kinds of events monthly, anywhere from a holiday party to an art workshop to invite them in for our yoga classes. Families are also welcome to attend all of our music classes and other sort of specialty programs that we have throughout the program.  

We like to have a variety of different ways that families can connect because we understand and that families are really busy as well. So someone might only be able to attend a couple a year where if there’s maybe other families who can attend regularly – so whatever parents are able to do is what we want to support.   

We’re always analysing our parent manuals to make sure that they continue to be family-centred. We also have adopted a particular app that we use on our iPads. All of our rooms have several iPads and so we have this app where a parent will receive an email every single day of what their child has done throughout the day, which includes video and pictures and pictures of other children, so that they can see that they have made friendships and that they’re socializing. And that has been such a highlight to so many families. 

We offer literacy book bags in all of the classrooms, so that not only hopefully increases children’s love of learning and love for reading, but it also brings us that connection between centre and home again. So there’s a little sign out sheet. The book bags are based on either our favourite illustrators or authors, or sometimes on concepts such as, you know, math or the alphabet or colours. So families get to sign those out. It doesn’t just include the books. It will include sometimes markers or crayons and paper. Some of our books come with little stuffed animals, like Mo Willems’ Piggie and Gerald. So we had Piggie and Gerald in the book bags, and a little camera as well. So then families can document their children’s time together. And so we’ll print those up and add those to their child portfolios. 

We also have an extensive library, and being, again, within SSCY there’s a family resource centre, so we have connected families to that. We have a library card with them so we can take out books or instructional videos. Try to – other kinds of conferences that happen within SSCY. We can have our families attend those, such as the autism seminars that happen here. So many of our educators and families signed up for that as well.   

I think we have a wonderful relationship with staff and parents. We’re always looking for different ways that we can connect with them. We have these – typically they’ve been these monthly family events, so anything from yoga to music to – we’ve done lots of art workshops. We had a mindfulness evening with our families. My school age program has this parents versus dodge ball evening. And pizza parties, and so really are always looking at different ways to build that connection between home and the centre. 

And I would say finally our IPP meetings or Individual Program Plan meetings. So for children with additional support needs my inclusion support facilitator does a fantastic job of putting together a PowerPoint presentation of tons of video and pictures, our favourite pictures of the child with other children, and so that’s how the meetings always start, strength based, videos and images of what the child has done to this lovely slideshow. 

We also do every year a Survey Monkey feedback form. So we want to have ideas of how we’re doing, where we can improve.