Getting to Know You!
Meeting People in the Community
What is it?
There are so many wonderful opportunities to learn about the world right on our doorstep; in the local community. Children are naturally curious and often want to know what different people do; the postie, the bus driver or what different resources are used for; the bin lorry, a digger or delivery lorry. These could be people they see often or people they don’t know exist until you introduce them. What is in your area?
Why is it important?
Meeting different people introduces children to a variety of skills used in real life situations and provides opportunities to experience many if not all areas of the curriculum
How to bring it back
Meeting people can happen in various ways, if possible, with Risk Assessment etc. in place, actually getting out into the community even on foot is a great opportunity to explore and discover. You will know your community and what is available and how connections can be made. In some settings it can be difficult to get out and about, but could you bring people in to chat to the children who are interested and maybe show the children what they do? People working in the community, grandparents, parents etc. even starting with people already working in the school /nursery; cook, janitor, clerical, cleaner etc., just to start with….
Sharing with home
Talk to families about interests they have that they could share and ask them if they know of anyone who the children would benefit from having the opportunity to interact with. Encourage families to look around their local area with their children and see what they can find.
This is one of a weekly series of posts highlighting different spaces, experiences and interactions that practitioners have told us are not all easy to get back after the pandemic restrictions.
It’s all about playing, talking, and having fun together – so we hope they are useful. If there are any ideas you’d like us to highlight, just get in touch with your link EYESO.
For ideas about family engagement, you will find a “home” version of this post on bumps2bairns.com