1. What is your definition of family? The family is defined by the text as “two or more people who live together and are linked by financial or emotional support” (Barbour, Barbour & Scully, 2011). For my purposes family is defined as those with whom I maintain a close bond, whether or not they live with me. For example, I have a brother, who might be called “family” because we grew up in the same house, but I also have friends who I consider “family” based on the emotional support I get from their friendship.2. What is your "family of origin"? My family of origin consists of my biological father, who died when I was 19 and still a technical resident of the house (a college student), my biological mother, who is still alive, and a brother, about two and a half years younger of me.3. Make a list of ways your parents were involved in your school/childcare experience. My parents were involved in my school experience in a very direct way. Because I was raised by teachers, my family was characterized by constant learning and exploration. My parents volunteered as much as they could within the constraints of their work schedules, etc., attending conferences and participating in the PTO of whatever school I attended. My parents were the primary decision makers regarding my educational experience. I would say that their involvement in my educational journey was a combination of all of the above! Regarding parental involvement in my teaching experience, I have only taught in a Kindermusik setting once a week, and parents and caregivers have always been very involved with both the children in their care and those in the class in its Together. I had a field trip planned for a class, and the parents were all there and... middle of the paper... are also an effective way to share information with parents. If the school has an established time schedule for printing and distributing newsletters, parents can rely on this as a way to keep up to date on important dates and information about their child's growth and classroom needs. With the growth of new media, an email list can also provide effective and timely information to the entire class, but it cannot be relied upon effectively, since it cannot be assumed that all people have email addresses. email or Internet access. Works Cited Albrecht , K., & Miller, L. (2004). The complete kindergarten curriculum. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House, Inc. Barbour, C., Barbour, N. H., & Scully, P. A. (2011). Families, schools and communities: building partnerships for children's education (5th year). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.