Digital Story Group 4 Jessica DuPerre, Tess Baumgartner, Callie Mattus, Shelby McKarns, Katherine Larned, Megan Zwerk, Julia Dickson

Tess’s Family ●Single mom ●Father’s involvement is unknown ●The mother’s parents live in the home as well as the sister (temporarily) ●Five cousins live in the home (children of the mother’s sister) ●The daughter (the preschool student) ●The family is Hispanic

Callie’s family ●Mom and dad, married ●Five children: boy in 8 th grade, girl in 5 th grade, girl in 3 rd grade, boy in 2 nd, girl in preschool ●Family from Mexico

Shelby’s Family ●Mom o Born in Mexico ●Dad o Born in Ohio ●2 children o Boy is 3 years old (student in my classroom) o Girl is 6 years old Mother speaks both English and Spanish, while father only speaks English. Children are spoken to in English at home and at School, but mom tries to teach them Spanish and hopes one day they will be bilingual.

Katherine’s Family ●Mom o Born and raised in Tucson o Speaks predominantly English o Stays at home ●Dad o Spent most of his life in Tucson o Speaks predominantly Spanish o Works at night ●Daughter who is three o Speaks predominantly English o Learning Spanish

Megan’s Family ●Mom o Tohono O’odham o doesn’t speak her language to kids, just to her mother as secret language o going to Pima for nursing ●Dad o Hispanic heritage o born in U.S. o his mom was from texas o has worked at discount tire for 15 years ●Son (6 years old) ●Daughter (5 years old)

Julia’s Family ● Single parent household ● Only child, 4 year old female ● Mother’s boyfriend works seasonal job and is gone for months at a time ● Mother’s boyfriend is a father figure to the child ● Child’s biological father lives in California and does not visit or spend consistent time with the child ● The child occasional stays with father’s parents where she sees her uncle and cousins

Jessica’s Family ●Mom ○Went to U of A, majored in psychology ○unemployed right now ●Dad ○works for the state, not sure exactly what he does but he has an orange vest ●Daughter (4 years old, preschool) ●Son (2 and a half) ●Living at mom’s mother’s house ●Hispanic ○both parents born in U.S. ○Their parents immigrated from Mexico

Funds of Knowledge Our families embody diverse Funds of Knowledge. We have discovered unique traits and skills that our students bring to the classroom based on their experiences and home lives. These include: ●construction work ●cooking ●knitting ●gardening ●Spanish culture ●Valuing family time ●Religion ●Vehicle Mechanics

“Educators need to be aware that all cultures, not just their own, change over time (p. 131).” -Home engagements have helped us discover cultures other than our own, and that has helped our perspective of our students in the classroom. -Each child brings skills that they have learned at home into the classroom and we need to acknowledge and celebrate them.

What we have learned ●The effectiveness on children’s education when parents are completely involved in the classroom. ●Going beyond the single story approach when teaching in the classroom. ●Teachers are not the only educators in the classroom; children and their families have so much knowledge and experiences to offer. ●Acknowledge and appreciate the unique skills that children and their families bring to the classroom, from their home lives and situations. ●We have learned to move past preconceived stereotypes about families and cultures, and to learn from each student’s unique differences. Also to incorporate those differences into our classroom community.