10.5: Engaging Families
Teachers can make the following suggestions to families to facilitate their support of history and social science
- Use science learning as an opportunity to involve families by inviting them to the program and by sending home suggestions for activities that they can do with their children.
- Communicate to families their important role in supporting children’s curiosity and the development of scientific knowledge.
- Share with family members your approach to science and how you support children’s development of inquiry skills.
- Invite family members to come and talk with the teacher and children about their beliefs and connections to nature
- Share the importance of active hands-on explorations of objects and materials
- Inform families about children’s explorations and experimentations with objects and materials.
- Involve family members as volunteers and rich resources in the preschool environment.
- Provide families with enrichment and follow-up activities they can do with children at home.
- Ask families about children’s previous experiences, cultural beliefs, and theories about living things.
- Share with families children’s experiences with science in the classroom.
- Remind family members of the many opportunities to engage children in life science explorations outside the preschool environment.
- Provide family members with tips to support children’s awareness and understanding of their natural environment.[1]
- The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 3 by the California Department of Education is used with permission ↵