Samantha King

Standard 2. Building Family and Community Relationships

Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs understand that successful early
childhood education depends upon partnerships with childrens families and communities. They
know about, understand, and value the importance and complex characteristics of childrens
families and communities. They use this understanding to create respectful, reciprocal
relationships that support and empower families, and to involve all families in their childrens
developmental and learning.
2a: Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics
2b: Supporting and engaging families and communities through respectful, reciprocal
relationships
2c: Involving families and communities in young childrens development and learning
Knowledge and Competence:
My understanding of promoting family diversity and community in the classroom is that
partnering with childrens families and communities have a positive effect on the teacher, the
families, and the children. Teachers and caregivers should take the time to get to know each
family to create respectful and reciprocal relationships. This means educators should
communicate with the families on a regular basis and create parent/teacher experiences that fits
the needs and schedules of the families. It is the job of the educator to involve families into the
childrens curriculum. Educators should also be mindful of each families differences and
integrate these differences in the curriculum and learning experiences. Knowing about the childs
family and community will help the teacher see the whole child and plan meaningful
experiences and curriculum.
Application:
I will apply what I know by first getting to know each family on a deeper level. This means I
would plan parent events that are fun, but very meaningful. I would also incorporate more family
diversity into the classroom. This would include a board of each childs family to celebrate all
the differences. Lastly, I would try to involve the family into the curriculum. Knowing that
parents want to be involved in their childs education, this would be a great way to benefit the
children and the families.
Growth Over Time:
I have changed my understanding of promoting family diversity and community in the classroom
because I did not understand before how important it is to involve families and community into
the childrens curriculum. I thought parents were too busy and tired to be involved in their childs
education. However, I have realized that even though they are tired and busy, they still want to be
an active member in their childrens education. For this reason, I have tried to be mindful of
parents when creating experiences with children.
Future Goals:
 Samantha King

I hope to grow and improve in this standard by being more open to diversity than ever before. I
want my classroom to represent families and communities of all kinds and not just the current
families of the children. It is my goal to make my classroom a place for families and children of
all background welcome and feel like they are represented.