Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/effective-transition-planning-with-families/5026438/
Transitioning from home to preschool is considered a milestone among educators and families, as it marks the beginning of a child’s journey into the exciting world of early education and beyond. Transition activities that involve families set the tone for communication between home and school, fostering healthy family partnerships. While the practice of partnering with families is highly encouraged in the early education field, it can often fall short in providing the frequency and types of opportunities for families to engage with school events. Current research encourages the support of the child and their family during this transition, while considering the relationships and contexts of key players in the child’s life (Kang, 2010). Transition planning with families can achieve an active, lively exchange of ideas between home and school, using multiple methods of communication, including digital media, home visits, and individualizing.
As a graduate student, I focused my research on transition planning with families, applying the evidence-based strategies to my own practice as an early educator while working with children and families. With the research in mind, I surveyed the 18 families in my pre-k classroom about their preferences for transition planning and home/school communication. Overwhelmingly, the families preferred multiple ways ...