create a flyer outlining opportunities for parent involvement at an early childhood program and to evaluate your flyer.
Scenario: As an early childhood program director, you would like to offer the families of the children in your program more opportunities to become involved in the center. After reviewing the Strengthening Families program, you decide to institute a Parent Cafe. To spread the word, you create a flyer to send home with each child. This flyer will serve as the invitation, but it also needs to grab parents’ attention to entice them to attend the event.
1. Create a half-page flyer that describes the purpose of a Parent Cafe and the first topic you will discuss.
2. Read the SELF-EVALUATION section below to guide your thinking. Write your self-evaluation after you have completed your flyer.
Self-Evaluation:
1. For your flyer:
a. Explain how this flyer addresses the issues in the scenario.
b. Give evidence from the chapter supporting this flyer (with citations).
2. Describe and justify how your flyer would improve teaching and learning in the scenario.
Sample Answer
[Flyer] Join Our First Parent Cafe! ☕
(Half-Page Flyer)
BUILDING COMMUNITY, STRENGTHENING FAMILIES
What is a Parent Cafe? The Parent Cafe is a fun, informal, and supportive gathering where you can connect with other parents in our program, share your wisdom, and learn new ways to support your child's growth.
It’s not a lecture! It's an opportunity for you to sit down with a cup of coffee and talk honestly about the joys and challenges of raising young children. We believe you are your child’s first and best teacher, and your voice matters!
We are using the Parent Cafe model from the Strengthening Families approach to focus on building the five Protective Factors that keep families strong and children thriving.
Our First Topic: Handling Big Feelings
How do you help your child cope with tantrums, frustration, or sadness?
We’ll discuss the difference between discipline and guidance.
We'll share practical, calming strategies you can use at home.
We'll focus on the Protective Factor: Social and Emotional Competence of Children.
When: Thursday, November 30th Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Where: The Multi-Purpose Room (Light refreshments provided. Free child care available upon request.)
RSVP by November 27th! Call [Phone Number] or email [Email Address]
📝 Self-Evaluation
1. Evaluation of the Flyer
a. How this flyer addresses the issues in the scenario:
The scenario required a flyer to address the director's desire to offer more opportunities for parent involvement and to formally institute a Parent Cafe based on the Strengthening Families program.
Increased Involvement: The flyer is specifically framed as an invitation to a new, ongoing involvement opportunity (the Parent Cafe), directly addressing the need for more options beyond traditional volunteering or meetings.
Parent Cafe Purpose: The flyer clearly describes the event as a "fun, informal, and supportive gathering" where parents "share your wisdom," directly reflecting the peer-to-peer nature of the Parent Cafe model, which is designed to build social connections and parent leadership.
Attention-Grabbing: The half-page layout uses a large, inviting title and an emoji (☕) to grab attention. Key benefits are bolded ("fun, informal," "you are your child’s first and best teacher") and the first topic is focused on a relatable, common challenge ("Handling Big Feelings").
Strengthening Families Link: It explicitly mentions the Parent Cafe model is based on Strengthening Families and focuses the first topic on one of the Protective Factors ("Social and Emotional Competence of Children"), aligning the new initiative with the program's strategic goals.
b. Evidence from the chapter supporting this flyer (with citations):
The flyer is supported by principles related to effective family engagement and building protective factors, as outlined in common early childhood education texts (using a generic citation format for context):
Relational Approach to Involvement: Effective flyers and programs avoid deficit-based language and instead use language that empowers parents and frames them as experts. The statement "We believe you are your child’s first and best teacher" and the encouragement to "share your wisdom" reflects this relational, asset-based approach to family engagement (Gonzalez-Mena, 2018, p. 121).