Welcoming Latino Children and Families to Preschool Programs

All parents can be helpful in their children’s literacy development, regardless of their language, education, or literacy level. Parents who speak little or no English can contribute to their children’s education in valuable ways. This resource shows how English language learners may benefit when they develop solid literacy skills in their first language before learning to read in a second one.

This resource highlights strategies discussed in the Head Start Science Teacher’s Guide that teaching teams may use to help children learn their home language in addition to English.

Educators can learn how to create a welcoming classroom environment for their English language learners (ELLs) and immigrant students — and understand why it matters.

This resource developed by Colorin Colorado lists ways to reach out to Hispanic parents to get them involved in their child’s preschool. It includes video clips.

This explains how to create a welcoming environment, especially for diverse families. Learning some of their language, even if it’s just a few words and phrases, is a start.

This preschool library website contains activities and booklists in Spanish that can be shared with parents.

This article encourages teachers to ask the “experts”: parents and families, about home language, language development, reading at home, and family questions or concerns.