Welcoming Families From Around the World

I am going to imagine for a moment that I am a teacher in an early childhood program and I just learned that I will be having a new student join our classroom who recently immigrated from Iceland.  In order to prepare myself, my new student, and her family for her arrival in school, I would do the following things:

• Research the internet to learn some of the basic facts about Iceland (it’s location, weather, language, industry, animals, foods, geography, traditions and culture).
• I would make every effort to visit her and her family before she comes to school so we can meet each other for the first time and I would try to make her feel as comfortable as possible in my presence.  During this visit I might ask her if she could spell her name in English and Icelandic so we could show the other students in the classroom.  I would ask the family if they had any questions, concerns or goals for their child and let them know that I am open to communicating with them at any time.
• I would ask the child and family if they had any pictures they wanted to share with the other students that might be special to their family or might show us what Iceland is like.  Then I would be sure to share them with the other students while this new little girl has the opportunity to tell about them if she chooses to.  If the family doesn’t have pictures I would ask what they would show if they could then find some online myself, to print and share.
• I would invite the family to come to school at a time when there are no students and then the first days of school if they would like to attend with her to help easy any nervousness that might exist or satisfy any family curiosity.
• I would display a world map in the classroom showing student where we live and where Iceland is then share some of the things that are different and the same about the two places (location, weather, language, animals, etc.).
• I would invite family members to visit during class and share something about Iceland and/or a favorite children’s book or oral story.  I would also find children’s books about Iceland if they are available and/or find picture books that show pictures of Iceland.

Thinking about this possibility is exciting to me.  I would look forward to learning about this student and family so that I know how to help them learn and grow throughout the year.  Learning about a new country through one of our students will be a highlight for all the students in my class.  I would hope to share with this new student and her family, what they look forward to learning in America.  Doing things from my above list would let the child and family know that it is delightful to have them here and it will be an exciting journey of learning from each other throughout the school year.  J