It’s easy to feel like early childhood educators have enough on their plates as they educate young children. It’s a big job, with little downtime in the daily schedule, and no hazard pay (though there are plenty of hazards…especially during flu season…)
And as much as I hate to give busy teachers one more thing to think about, I’m passionate about making sure that we recognize the importance of educating not only the children, but their parents as well.
When parents understand where we’re coming from and why we do what we do, they are more confident and prepared to help their own children and also to recognize and appreciate what we do in the classroom. They are better able to see that we aren’t just filling the day with “cute” busy work or “wasted time” spent on play. We help them to see our work on the foundation. They can see and value what we do, because we’ve communicated with them as partners.
A strong partnership between parents and teachers not only benefits individual children, but by teaching parents in the process of teaching their children, we create advocates for larger, sytemic change as well. Parents who understand developmentally appropriate practice, expect and advocate for developmentally appropriate practice. Parents who understand the role of play in healthy development, expect and advocate for more play.
Whether we’re looking at the individual case or the big picture, getting parents and educators on the same page creates a powerful synergy.
How can educators embrace educating parents on the importance of early learning?
I recently had the chance to talk with Ron Spreeuwenberg of the Preschool Podcast about doing just that. Ron was a delight to talk with! I really think you’ll enjoy our conversation.
Check out all the details below!
The Preschool Podcast – Episode 72: How can we use approachable language to communicate the importance of early education to parents? Parents don’t always have an opportunity to explore the advantages of early learning in the business of working lives. Amanda Morgan explores how approaches in early education can also be applied to parenting. She advocates for creating simple links between teachers and parents, and ensuring that parents without a background in early education can still recognize the value of the field. How can educators can embrace educating parents on early learning? Parents can feel pressure to encourage their children to meet milestones (reading, toilet training) earlier and earlier. How can we give children space to learn and support parents in approaching early education with spaciousness? Listen and find out.
Find The Preschool Podcast Episode 72 here.
More about The Preschool Podcast:
The Preschool Podcast, brought to you by HiMama, is a platform for learning from leading professionals in early childhood education. If you work in a child care, preschool or early years setting, The Preschool Podcast will provide you with inspiring and motivational stories, as well as practical advice for managing your organization, center or classroom. The goal of the The Preschool Podcast is to provide inspiration and knowledge to the future leaders of early childhood education by speaking with experienced and insightful leaders in the world of preschool and early learning today.
Find more information about The Preschool Podcast, including additional episodes, here.
Love this! I am sharing with all my teaching staff!
Cool! Thanks for sharing Amanda!