Welcoming Families From Around the World

Growing up in a small town in the Midwest, I was not too familiar with other cultures and I never knew any immigrants. Then I moved to southern California and was amazed how little I was exposed to when growing up in my small town. I met so many new people from various countries and cultures. Many of the people I have met are immigrants from Mexico. We have a lot of Mexican children in our child care programs. In order to be culturally responsive to these families I had to be able to relate to them and understand their culture.

Iprepared to make all participants in my programs feel welcomed by first speaking to one if my really good friends who is also from Mexico. She told me about the different cities in Mexico and how different each city is. She told me about different beliefs and family traditions as well. Secondly, I took the time to research the areas in Mexico, the different traditions, beliefs and cultures. Third, I hired staff who spoke Spanish and English so that they could relate to the children. I also hired a couple people who were from Mexico as well. Next, I had my staff make sure to set the classroom up so that all children would feel welcome. The staff posted signs that were written in both Spanish and English. They created newsletters and snack calendars in both languages. They incorporated aspects of their culture into their curriculum and snack options. My staff spoke with the children often asking them for suggestions on what they would like to incorporate into the programs as well. After all that I had a big family event. We had a potluck where each family brought a food item that represented their culture and traditions. The parents and children loved it. We now have monthly family potlucks.