As a former Head Start teacher I have many memories of conducting Home Visits, notice I didn’t say “fond memories”. I wasn’t a brand new teacher when I came to Head Start, but I had never conducted a Home Visit before and had absolutely no idea what to expect or do. I made many mistakes and a few big blunders my first year conducting Home Visits. But you know what they say- we learn from our mistakes and as I started to learn the ins and outs of Home Visits, I gradually started to see the benefits.
It dawned on me that I was probably the only teacher that would ever visit the homes of these children during the course of their education; I had to make the best of this unique opportunity. Because I had seen firsthand where my students came from and really had a chance to get to know the families I felt a much deeper sense of commitment to my students and my job. It was while I was conducting my Home Visits I realized the importance of teaching fire safety because I saw so many blatant fire hazards in my student’s homes. If I had never visited their homes I may have just done a satisfactory job teaching this topic; it was the Home Visits that gave me the additional information I would never have known otherwise.
Based on my experience as a Head Start teacher and the many questions I have received from visitors to my website I have developed ten pages of valuable information and tools to help you conduct effective Home Visits.
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