The country that I chose is the Netherlands. I chose this country because my ancestors are from there. I do not know anything about this country and I am curious about their lifestyles.
To prepare for this family I would:
1. Research the cultures from this country to help prepare the classroom to meet the child’s needs and to help with interactions.
2. Research the different languages and dialects that they may have. This will help me in preparing materials and labels, notes, and any and all interactions that happens in the school.
3. Prepare books that have pictures of people and scenes from the Netherlands. This will help the child feel like he/she belongs and is important to our class. Hopefully I could also get pictures of the family to include.
4. Prepare or purchase music that depicts the family’s cultures. Music can be soothing and will help the family feel like they belong. I would try to incorporate the music into the class traditions so that the other children could become a custom to it.
5. I would talk to the children in the class about the new family, about what it might feel like to move away from home leaving friends behind. I would show them pictures of the Netherlands so that they are aware of where this family is coming from. I would have the children help me to setup the classroom to invite our new friend and help him/her to become accustom to the class routines.
Doing research and becoming aware of the different cultures that this family has will hep with meetings, visits, and classroom setups. I think that if they could see something similar to their home it might help them feel more comfortable. I also think that it is important that children are involved in the learning process. You cannot just throw a new culture at them and say deal with it. Everyone gets hurt if you do. Having the children help will also help them to understand some of the differences and some of the things that are similar. They will also listen and learn about different ways of life.
I agree that having things that are familiar in the classroom will help the child transition a bit easier. I can imagine that as the child enters the room, they will scan the area looking for something that they recognize. Asking the family to visit the classroom and spending time with all the kids would be great too. Everyone can learn about the culture at the same time, and help the family feel more involved.
ReplyDeleteLea
That is a really great idea to prepare books related to the country/culture of the child’s background. I thought to gather pictures but I did not initially think of the book gathering. This would help the child feel accustomed to the classroom as well as the other children learning about the culture so that they understand their new classmate and where he/she is from.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post; thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt would be so neat for a child to not only see pictures of their home country, but books, as well. That is a fantastic idea! That would certainly help the child feel at ease and welcomed.
Susan
I loved your idea about preparing books. I have a few classrooms with children from other countries and I think it would be helpful to have the teachers and parents prepare a book displaying items representing the culture..ie. foods, clothing, geographical pieces
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of great points. I also agree that having things that are farmiliar for children really helps. Children do better and can relax and become part of the classroom when engaged in things they dont understand instead of just ignoring it.
ReplyDeleteHi Lucinda, I especially liked your idea about using music to make the family feel welcome - I did not think of that! I think it is also a good idea to prepare the other children in the class for the new student. You have come up with some great ideas to help make this a smooth transition for all involved! Delores
ReplyDeleteResearching the music of the country origin you choose is a great idea!! I did not think about this component when choosing the items to prepare my classroom from a new family. Music and movement is huge part of development. For children to have their own culture’s music represented in the learning environment will encourage them to engage in music and movement activities as well as provide them opportunity to share with their peers about their culture’s music.
ReplyDelete