Running head: MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS Area of focus: Developing Meaningful Relationships with Children and Their Families Student’s Names Institution Date Meaningful Relationships with Children and their Families 1 MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS 2 Family engagement can be defined as a methodical inclusion of families in various programs and activities that enhance a child’s development. For instance, in early education, family engagement is vital in creating consistency between school and home environments. For this reason, various early childhood programs have been instituted in different facilities to enhance family engagement. One of the ways in which these kinds of programs achieve their sole purpose is through establishing relationships that are meaningful between children and their families. A meaningful relationship with a child and his/her family at early developmental stages is a critical cognitive stimulation to enhance a child’s brain development. Further, such relationships are vital in making the parents comfortable to leave their children with a stranger. As stated in chapter eight, “no matter what your position is in an early childhood program, you can begin to establish positive relationships with the children’s families in your group” (Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education, n.d, p.8). Christie Speck – Director of children’s programs, illustrates that one way to establish meaningful relationships with children’s families is through finding out what resources these families need. She adds that such information can be obtained from parents during family surveys and intake process. This is an ideal effort to make the parents feel much welcomed and trusted; thus, it is an essential step in establishing a good relationship with families (ECE CompSAT, 2014). Furthermore, depicting an interest that is genuine and respectfully responding to parents and children is vital in creating meaningful relationships. One way to achieve this is by showing total care towards the child and treating him/her humanely consistently. Also, making personal contact with members of the family plays a crucial role in establishing positive relationships. Such may include having verbal communication with family members when they come to pick the child (Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education, n.d). MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS 3 References ‘Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education’ (n.d). Establishing Relationships with Families. ECE CompSAT (2014). Family and Community Engagement. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/OU2F1cwXeiA Running Head: THEMATIC PLAN 1 Thematic Project Plan Student Name Institution of Affiliation Course Date THEMATIC PLAN 2 Thematic Project Plan Title: Understanding different types of foods Age/grade level: This unit will be for children in grade 3 or between the ages of 8 to 9 years. The main reason for choosing this age group is because they are at the age where they ask several questions and eager to know different things around them. Food is one of the most frequent items they come across. Standards: Learners in this grade should be able to demonstrate the desire to choose from a range of experiences, including new and accustomed experiences. Children should understand the meaning of health, nutrition, and healthy eating behaviors. Learners should be able to recognize different materials and use them responsibly without causing harm to the environment. Learners should also understand various ways of expressing themselves and communicating with others. Overview: Food is a critical element of one’s culture (Boutaud, Becuţ & Marinescu, 2016). As such, it is important to have a clear understanding of the best kinds of foods so that one can develop the most appropriate eating behavior. Learners will differentiate different types of foods and have confidence when mentioning them at any point, whether at home, in a hotel or restaurant, or at conferences. This unit will help the learner at this age to develop good habits to develop a healthy lifestyle. Besides, the unit will help them grow psychologically and socially after gaining the desired command and confidence in mentioning foods. THEMATIC PLAN 3 Philosophy: This unit clearly aligns with the teaching philosophy that experience builds confidence and understanding. The learners will be exposed to new words that they can utilize them regularly to build confidence and understanding. Objectives: Cognition: One of the objectives in this unit is to ensure that the learners can recognize different types of foods. Language: After completing this unit, the learner will pronounce vocabularies used in foods such as a recipe, menu, and ingredients without fear or hesitation. Apart from pronouncing the vocabularies, the learners will understand them and will be able to use them appropriately. Social/Emotion: The student will be able to communicate and express themselves adequately on foods. Physical: By understanding various types of foods, students will make the right decisions on foods and the appropriate eating behaviors for healthy bodies. Self-regulation: Understanding the available foods will enlighten them on the foods that can lead to health challenges and those that will help them lead a healthy lifestyle. THEMATIC PLAN 4 References Boutaud, J. J., Becuţ, A., & Marinescu, A. (2016). Food and culture. Cultural patterns and practices related to food in everyday life. Introduction. International Review of Social Research, 6(1), 1-3. 
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