Good Beginnings with Parents and Children

Preview Questions

What are some of the best ways to begin a relationship?

How can teachers support parents and children through transitions to new schools?

What do you understand about separation anxiety in adults and children?

Gestwicki, Home, School, and Community, 9th Edition. © 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Orientation (1 of 2)

Choosing a school: Parent’s first contact

First encounter—teachers and parents

Meeting without children

Questions for parents (sample questions)

Discussing separation

Gestwicki, Home, School, and Community, 9th Edition. © 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Orientation (2 of 2)

First encounter—teachers and children

Home visits

Letters and phone calls

First visits to classroom

Child’s entry into a classroom

Abbreviated schedule

Transition and easing-in

Establishing habits of communication

Gestwicki, Home, School, and Community, 9th Edition. © 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Think About It

If you were planning a good beginning for children starting in a kindergarten this year, what would be some of the strategies to implement, and explain why?

What challenges would you expect in carrying out this plan?

Gestwicki, Home, School, and Community, 9th Edition. © 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Dealing with Separation Experiences (1 of 2)

Regressive and aggressive behaviors

Sadness

Anxiety (both children and parents)

Preparing parents for separation behaviors

Welcoming parents into the classroom

Parting rituals

Helpful parent behaviors

Gestwicki, Home, School, and Community, 9th Edition. © 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Dealing with Separation Experiences (2 of 2)

Developing children’s trust in parents’ return

Discussing separation experiences with families

Providing special attention to parents and children

Transitional objects

Dependency

Gestwicki, Home, School, and Community, 9th Edition. © 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Summary

Good beginnings require a thoughtful plan, to establish a working partnership with families.

Communication must be established right from the start, to help both parents and children through the period of adjustment.

Gestwicki, Home, School, and Community, 9th Edition. © 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.