The videotape includes scenes of a group socialization activity that a home visitor and parents are conducting in a community facility. This is one way to implement group experiences. This session explores this and other methods for providing group socialization activities. For additional information, refer to Chapter Three, "Planning Home Visits and Group Socialization Activities," and Chapter Four, "Conducting Home Visits and Group Socialization Activities," in The Head Start Home Visitor Handbook; Chapter Seven, "Group Socialization Activities," in A Guide for Operating the Head Start Home-Based Program Option ; Chapter Four, "Implementing the Education Component Plan," in A Guide for Education Coordinators in Head Start ; and relevant sections of the As I Am mental health curriculum.
Introduction to the Video Tape
Review the purposes of group socialization
activities: to emphasize peer group interaction for the children through
age appropriate activities and for parents to observe, participate as volunteers,
or engage in activities designed by them and specifically for them.
Emphasize that home visitors must plan and
conduct group socialization activities with parents and for parents and
children. Distribute the fact sheet, "Group Socialization Activities in
a Variety of Settings: Issues to Consider" (page 36). Note that group socialization
activities are conducted in a variety of settings, including community
facilities, a home, a Head Start classroom, or on a field trip. Note also
that the agency or home visitors can select a combination of these settings
for the families they serve. Discuss guidelines for interacting with children
and establishing and maintaining safe and healthy learning environments
for community facilities and Head Start classrooms. Ask participants to
identify these interaction and environmental factors as they view the videotape.
Follow-Up
After viewing the videotape, ask participants
to discuss the group socialization
activities they viewed. These might in dude:
- parents and the home visitor are involved in children's activities or are observing children's actions
- a parent observes her children on the climbing cube
- several parents push their children on the swings as children play in the sand, several parents talk nearby
- a parent observes as her son paints at the easel
- a home visitor talks with several children in the block area
- a parent plays with his sons in the block area
- the facility is clean and free of debris
- the play environment is arranged so that it stimulates children's interest and creativity
- materials are displayed invitingly throughout the room
- the outdoor area includes a climbing apparatus, swings, hard and soft surfaces, and sunny spaces and shade.
Following this discussion, ask participants
to note environmental and other issues that they consider in planning and
conducting group socialization activities. As appropriate, discuss use
of community facilities, homes, Head Start classrooms, and field trips.
Refer to these sections of the handout. Also discuss methods that the participants
use for completing written plans for the home visitor and parents to follow.
These plans provide for facilitating appropriate interactions between parents
and children, and for helping parents to observe their children at play
and to discuss their observations.