The country I have chosen for my family to have migrated from is Russia. There are several different things that I would do to make myself more culturally responsive to my family. One of the first things that I will do is to reflect, acknowledge, and let go of any biases or stereotypes that I may have about the Russia Family. The next thing I will do is to get background information on Russia’s culture, language, and proper Russian etiquette. Adding specific items such as Lacquer boxes, ballet costumes, Matrioska dolls and or photos of these items in various centers will begin my process of adding Russia’s culture to the classroom. This will be an on-going process and I hope to include the new family on this endeavor. I will ask my director about the primary and secondary language that the family uses. If the family is not fluent in English than I will see what I can do about a translator. Weather the family is fluent in English or not I will make it my business to learn greeting and other simple phrases of communication in Russian or whatever language they use other than English. The last thing that I will do is to set up a meeting where I can meet the family before the child formally begins daycare and make them fill welcome by letting them know that we are glad to have them in the center, answer any questions that they may have, get to know their expectations,show them that their culture is respected and we look forward to getting to working as a team to make sure that their child has the best early education experience .
Weather a family is from Russia, China, or right here in the United States it is our responsibility as early childhood professionals to make sure that they feel respected, valued, and comfortable in their new environment. Just for the little bit of information that I researched for this assignment I found out how amazing and rich Russia’s culture is. I look forward to sharing this information with everyone. I think it will be exciting to plan activities supporting some of Russia’s holidays such Christmas which is celebrated on January 7 ,International Women’s Day and Cosmaunant Day which celebrates Russia’s immense contribution to space. I hope the time and effort that I spent adding Russia’s culture to the classroom will make the family feel welcome but also show other families, and the children in the class that we can all learn special things from one another. The translator if needed will decreases communication issues between the family and myself which will enhance our partnership. While I believe bringing the Russia culture into the classroom and the translator is important, the meeting with the family prior to the child starting daycare is also vital. This meeting is the best way to make sure that the family and I , the teacher get off on a good start. I hope from the meeting the family will learn that I am sincere about making sure that their child gets the best early childhood education which includes their Russian heritage. The meeting will help me to prepare for a great year of learning about a different family and culture and will also help me to become more comfortable with welcoming families from around the world altogether.
Shirley I love your ideas about adding things from Russia into the classroom. As educators it is important to create a diverse classroom by adding cultural appropriate materials into the classroom. It is important to add materials that represents all the cultures in the classroom adding books is also important that reflect real life situations. I also think that it is very important to build a relationship with the parents in order to gain trust. I know that in my classroom I had a culture corner and in the dramatic play area I added clothes that represented most of the cultures in the classroom and provided cooking experiences by allowing my parents to come in to share a dish or a talent. I know that children had allergies to certain foods or craft materials so I had to get permission from my parents. I had a child that could not do paint. I enjoyed reading your post.
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