I choose to pretend that a child from Liberia is about to join my classroom. I just met a new friend from Liberia. She is married with a 4 year old daughter. We were talking about her concern for her daughter to fit into American culture. When I read this week's assignment, I began to think about what the young girl and her mother may be feeling living in American culture. Also, I tried to think of ways of helping children with strong heritages from other countries to feel welcome into American society.
In preparation for the new addition to the classroom, I would implement five ideas to help the new child feel welcome:
1) Tell the other children beforehand that a new friend is joining the group
2) Have a lesson prepared that implements diversity into the classroom
3) Ask the child, if comfortable, to talk about where he/she comes from and introduce herself
4) Schedule a day of diversity asking each child to share information on their heritage
5) Make the child feel comfortable in the classroom and label the classroom with pictures that are associated with the class schedule as well as other important information. The child may not speak English very well.
Implementing these five preparations will begin to cultivate and build a bridge between myself and the new family. Also, it will help the new child and their family acclimate to their new environment. The introduction will encourage diversity into the classroom setting and cause the present children in the classroom to become aware that everyone is different. Hopefully, the children will become more open to accepting others.
Hi Salesha,
ReplyDeleteIn my scenario, I chose to focus on making sure the family feels welcomed but you totally knocked it out the park by making sure the child felt welcomed in her classroom! It can be challenging when welcoming a new family that is foreign to the dominant culture because everyone and their emotional well-being has to be considered. The child and curriculum have to be considered in regards to the classroom. The parents and the center policies and philosophies have to be considered in regards to center's programming. I appreciate how thorough you were in your response to the scenario! :)
Monique