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Family members are the most important people in young children’s lives, and impact how children develop and learn. To develop partnerships with families and to help create an environment that meets the needs of each child, it is important for teachers to understand families as a system and the impact parenting has on early childhood. This lesson shares perspectives for understanding families and provides an introduction to family-centered practice.

Strong family engagement and collaboration is an integral part in building a successful and high-quality early childhood practice. For this reason, it is crucial to establish positive partnerships with children’s families and to include families in the preschool setting. This lesson will help you identify ways to establish and maintain positive relationships with children’s families.

Strong relationships with families are built on successful communication. Families will communicate their needs to you, and in turn, you can communicate what resources and supports are available. Providing family and child information and knowledge is a critical piece of your work as a preschool teacher. In the same way, sharing information with families about their children and their development can improve or harm the partnership between home and preschool. This lesson will highlight appropriate ways to collect information from families, as well as the ways and opportunities to share information in a caring, easy-to-understand way.

This lesson will highlight the ways in which you can play an important role in supporting families of preschool children with special needs. You will learn recommendations for effective collaboration with families and other professionals and begin to understand the additional roles and responsibilities placed on many families of children with special needs. 

Many times, families are faced with challenges that put them and their children at risk. Specifically, military families deal with unique circumstances that can affect their functioning and well-being. This lesson will help you become aware of factors that can affect families and children in your program and will highlight effective ways to support these families.