Community Builds: Family Engagement Events
Multi-generational creative workshops stimulate parents and children to explore ideas in a facilitated large group discussion, make something together and share their contributions with their peers before taking their work or a photo of it home. Community Build workshops include the whole family, occur in the early evening and include a light supper to make participation realistic for families.
Building Doors: Following a “What’s a door” discussion contrasting outside and inside doors, large and small doors, front doors, back doors and what messages a door can convey, families build doors with blocks, legos, or recyclables, create a story about where their door leads, and share their ideas with the group. Families leave with a picture of their creation. Note: Photos of local doors are helpful to stimulate the discussion.
Gingerbread Build, a winter holiday event, includes a reading and discussion of the classic gingerbread man story and of participants’ holiday traditions before parents and children create gingerbread houses from graham crackers, frosting and candies. To celebrate their work, families create a community exhibit of their creations and explain their thoughts and strategies about the process before taking their gingerbread houses home.
Multigenerational Weekend Family Field Trips are facilitated, large group expeditions that add comfort and confidence to using a local cultural resource. Field trips start and end at the child’s school and explore a museum, park, playground or neighborhood landmark. Parents are provided some background materials on the site and a crib sheet on using “observation tools” to keep them a step ahead of their kids as they explore, discover and discuss new environments. Family Field trips end with a snack and reflection time. Children typically create a drawing to interpret the experience as the adults evaluate the expedition with the facilitator and discuss further ways to enrich and extend children’s learning. Families leave with relevant pocket guides and information that supports independent return visits to the site.
Lessons Learned
Including the whole family and providing a light supper for everyone attending end-of-the day family workshops makes participation feasible and inviting for parents.
Using school as the launch pad for family field trips and provding transportation to and from the destination creates a base of comfort for exploring unfamiliar community resources and provides an opportunity for pre and post socializing and fun.
Scheduling Community Builds two or three times a year for workshops and or family field triups is typically the limit for strong turnout and to complement Back-to-School nights and end-of-year celebrations.
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