Welcoming Families From Around the World

Imagine the following scenario:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

The name of my family’s country of origin is Asia. 

The five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family is by (1) learning familiar words in my family’s language (2) becoming familiar with and including the cultural traditions of my family in the classroom (3) adding classroom visuals reflecting my family’s culture (4) incorporating books that reflect their culture and (5) integrating their art, games, and music into the classroom activities. 

These preparations will benefit me and the family in many ways. There will be an ongoing process of learning for me and the family. Becoming familiar with and including the cultural traditions of the family will help me learn about my Asian family and their history. The family will have opportunities to participate in their child’s education and also have opportunities to share ideas and stories. These preparations will help me meet the needs of and be culturally responsive to my families and their children.