Guiding Intentional Family Engagement
The Neighborhood Villages toddler curriculum project is rooted in strengths-based practice and is founded on the belief that caregivers are the true experts on children’s development and needs. As a result, family engagement is an integral piece of the work. As children’s first teachers and keepers of their unique histories, traditions, and cultures, families are engaged in a manner that aims to be thoughtful and culturally sustaining.
Creating a meaningful connection between the classroom and the home is paramount. Through thoughtful design and intentional engagement strategies, our team has created a tapestry of family involvement resources that enrich the toddler classrooms that partner with us.
Family Letter
The family letter is a warm and welcoming introduction to the curriculum as a whole, with an additional letter for educators to share before starting a new area of exploration. These letters bridge the classroom and the home, offering parents and caregivers insight into upcoming learning experiences. It overviews the skills and ideas that will be explored (also known as Big Questions), includes vocabulary words to reinforce at home, and features a list of books, songs, and activities for families to share with their children.
Learning Experiences
One feature of the curriculum is the seamless integration of family engagement ideas and guidance throughout the learning experiences and sample weekly plans. Recognizing the importance of involving families in a child's educational journey, the curriculum includes practical suggestions for educators to engage with families in ways that honor and uplift each child’s culture. For example, educators might share a question or activity with caregivers when they drop their child off at school in the morning, invite a family member into the classroom to share a particular skill or tradition, or solicit information on how to say essential words in another language.
Caregiver Resources
Neighborhood Villages goes above and beyond by providing resources that provide families with meaningful ideas for engaging with their child’s education outside of the classroom. For example, the Nature All Around Us exploration includes a guide to exploring nature in and around the City of Boston, with information about affordable access to cultural resources.
Lists of Books, Vocabulary, and Music
To further enhance family engagement, the Neighborhood Villages toddler curriculum includes lists of recommended books, vocabulary words, and music to be shared with families. These resources reinforce the Big Questions in the curriculum and create opportunities for shared experiences between caregivers and their toddlers. The curated lists promote literacy, language development, and a love for music and movement, enriching the overall learning experience for children and their families.
Example of Family Letter found in one exploration
Learning Journey Books
A Learning Journey Book is a class-wide documentation notebook or binder (or digital documents) that collects short “learning stories” over time. Over several weeks, educators collect documentation such as photographs, examples of children’s work, and direct quotations. This documentation is compiled into a book displaying part of the class’ “learning journey” over that period. Educators might send this book home, share it digitally, or display it in or outside the classroom.
Neighborhood Villages takes a holistic approach to enriching early learning. Focus on Toddlers aims to be an example of how early childhood education can be a collaborative effort between educators and families. This intentional focus on family involvement and engagement strengthens the bond between parents and toddlers and lays the foundation for a lifelong love of learning. As we continue to explore innovative approaches to early childhood education, we hope our curriculum serves as an inspiration for fostering meaningful connections between educators, families, and toddlers.
