Parent Involvement

Little Sunshine House CDC wants parents to be involved and knowledgeable concerning their child’s experience at the center. The following are some of the many ways parents may be involved in their child’s preschool experience.

Parents have easy access to learn about the activities that have occurred during the day as they are written on the Parent Board. In addition, samples of activities are posted with descriptions on a weekly basis.Parents may volunteer in the class working on cooking projects, reading stories or other areas of specific interest in the A.M or P.M program.

There are evening pot-lucks or picnics that allow all parents, their children and the teachers a relaxed opportunity to get together and share.

Two Saturday’s a year are dedicated to maintaining the preschool. Parents are required to fulfill 8 volunteer hours a year. Hours are completed on an individual bases.


Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences are offered twice a year. If you wish to have a conference with your child’s Teacher, simply sigh-up on the schedule on the parent board and one will be arranged for you. The conference is usually 15-20 minutes long and provides time for you and your child’s Home Teacher to discuss your child. Conferences may be schedules as needed at there request of the parent or preschool during the year to discuss your child’s progress. 

Parent Involvement 
Exchange 2008

Parent involvement in a preschool setting improves academic scores and the social emotional development of children. If this involvement is continued, it will contribute to improved academics in grade school and improved graduation rates from high school. Thus observes Joseph Henry, executive director of the Shoshone and Arapahoe Head Start Program on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. In his paper, "Academic Success and Preschool Parent Involvement," he describes the results of research conducted at his Head Start site...

"A parent involvement plan was implemented in the Head Start Program....The plan allowed parents to become involved in the education of their children.This involvement included the development of a personal relationship with the child, the completion of homework, high expectations, communication with HeadStart teachers, and the development of a partnership that included a welcoming environment for parents in the program. The hypothesis was that parent communication with the children and teachers, high expectations, a literacy-friendly environment in the home, and a welcoming school environment resulted in increased academic and social-emotional performances for children.

"The results of the research confirmed that when parents are involved in the education of the child, that child is more focused, comfortable, and trusting and excels in both academics and social behavior. The children of all parents who were exposed to parent involvement demonstrated significant improvements in all categories: How much involvement and what type of involvement are the questions. It appears from the research that the extent and type of involvement depends on the location and the audience. There is consensus on the need for parents, schools, and communities to partner in the format acceptable to that community, for the good of the child. The context is the key and what occurs on a Native American Indian reservation may not be appropriate for New York City. [But] the principles are similar in all locations: the respect, the welcoming environment, and the acceptance of all social and economic groups..." Exchange 2007 "Learning improves dramatically among young children who take the time to explain academic concepts to their mothers or who explain the logic aloud to themselves," reports Education Week (January 30, 2008; www.edweek.org).More specifically, a study conducted by a team of researchers at Vanderbilt University, found that...

"Four- and 5-year olds who explained concepts to their mothers before taking a test scored correctly on 76% of the questions on a test of reasoning,and children who explained concepts aloud to themselves prior to the test scored 72% correct. On the other hand, children who did not explain the concepts at all prior to taking the test scored only 42% correct. The study examined 54 youngsters' ability to correctly place toy insects in a certain pattern based on color and type."