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Establishing Personal Connections

• Share information about yourself with families in a letter.

  This is a great way to introduce yourself to the families of children in your care and to show them that you are willing to share information about yourself in the same way you anticipate them sharing information about themselves. This is an opportunity to express your personality by telling families about your own family, hobbies, or pets, while at the same time sharing your goals for the year.

• Organize a family night.

  This is a great way to get to know the families of the children in your program in a relaxed and informal environment. This also helps families get to know and network with each other. A family night can also be a great place to share information with families about your work in family child care.

• Send home weekly or monthly newsletters.

  This will ensure that families of children in your program are informed about the content, activities and materials you and their children are engaging with each week or month.

• Consider using a variety of methods to get to know families better.

  For some families, a conference at the beginning of the year may be the best way to get to know them, whereas for others a preferred way may be a phone call, survey sent home, or electronic communication.

Acknowledging Families in your Routine

• Ask questions about children’s families during your routines (e.g., circle time).
• Involve children in projects about families.
• Ask children to bring special photos or family objects to share.
• Greet family members by name when you see them. 
• Talk about children’s family members by name during the day.
• Learn the correct spelling and pronunciation of children’s and family members’ names.
• Display photographs of children and their families in your program where children and families can see them.
• Include books about families in your program library.