I sat down with a few of the parents who’s children attend the child care center that I work for and we discussed my advocacy plan on how children learn through play. Most of the parents were happy to give their insights to what their children learn and need to learn while in the classroom. One parent was under the impression that her child only played games in the class. She did not think the games had anything to do with academics and learning social skills. There was also a parent that understood that children were learning how to play with others before they were able to be successful in the elementary schools. The last parent felt she wanted to be on board with whatever the teachers were doing in the classroom to help their child be successful in the primary grades.
After talking with the parents I learned that the parents had expectations for their children that were the same as the professionals that were working with them. Many parents feel that the majority of the academic knowledge that children gain come from the school, but failed to understand that it is a joint effort to ensure that children reach their developmental goals.
One insight that I learned from the parents was when working with families it is important that there is a strong positive relationship between families and professionals to better understand the needs of the family.
