A Place Where Families Fit In

Iris Corral, M.Ed. • December 14, 2021

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

I have some very fond childhood memories of visiting Chinatown in Chicago with my family. My father would take us up and down the main avenue to look at the windows. Every time I went, I found it to be a fascinating place to visit. The windows had symbols I had never seen before. I was amazed by the large fish swimming in the tanks and the ducks for sale that hung from ropes in storefront windows. My father would buy each of us a mystery box which was always the highlight of our trip. I loved it all, taking in the colors, music, toys, and sweets. Then one day, I began to notice that my visits were no longer the same. I was still fascinated looking at the windows; however, now I wanted to know what the people around me were saying and what the symbols on the windows meant. During my young teen years, I began to feel lost during my visits. I felt out of place when I visited the street I once saw as magical. The culture mattered to me, and I had no one to explain it to me. I felt like I did not fit in.


Fast forward to many years later when I became the administrator of a fairly large preschool program in a primarily Latino community. I set a goal to provide opportunities in the program that would allow every family to fit in.


We focused on offering various opportunities during and after program hours in the preferred language of families. We offered workshops in both English and Spanish. At least one teacher in each classroom, all of the support staff, and I spoke both of the languages needed to communicate with every parent/guardian during family-teacher conferences. I thought we were doing enough until I met a colleague who challenged me to take a deeper look into how we welcomed, acknowledged, and respected each and every family. It made me ask the question, was the program making enough effort in these areas? As the program administrator, what opportunities could I offer that would be inviting to the families? How could I include every family in all aspects of our program? I suddenly realized that while we were good, we definitely had areas where we could improve. I knew we had families entering the program feeling the same way I felt when I walked through Chinatown. The difference now was that I was in a position to fix that.


I started by asking the teachers in each classroom to translate the lesson plans, as well as any applicable early learning standards, into Spanish. We wanted families to be able to read about what their children were learning and the learning objective(s) behind the weekly activities.


We then began to offer parent-child activity days two times a year that provided hands-on activities that mirrored what the children did in the classroom. Teachers explained how the activities supported children’s learning and development while children played with their parents and guardians. After each of these events, we often heard from the families that they had no idea their children were learning so much until they participated in the activities alongside them.


We added English and Spanish labels to everything we could possibly think of. We labeled the heaters, outlets, hallways, staircase, desks, printers, and windows, in addition to traditional classroom items the teachers had already labeled. In every area where we were able to add a label, we did! It wasn’t long before I heard children asking their adults what the words meant and family members taking the time to explain them.


Daily communication with every family was highly encouraged. I knew that even with all of the wonderful text printed all around the school, we had at least 10% of family members who could not read. Whenever an event was scheduled, families were given written material and informed verbally in their primary language.


Take-home family activities were available throughout the year. The final products were posted in the hallways for everyone to view and to encourage conversations. Our most popular activity was “My Hopes and Dreams for My Child.” Families wrote about what they would like their children’s future to be. They were encouraged to add pictures of their family members. The hallways were filled with their smiling faces and inspiring stories.


Now it’s my turn to encourage you. Take a look at your classrooms, offices, hallways, and other spaces. Are these areas welcoming to each and every family you serve? How could you make the space more inclusive for all? What else can you do to encourage family involvement and engagement? When families feel accepted and welcomed into a program, genuine, authentic engagement occurs. Everyone wins with this effort.

Are you interested in learning more about practices for family support and engagement? The Program Administration Scale (PAS) and the Business Administration Scale for Family Child (BAS) are great resources! Additionally, we offer a variety of professional development opportunities including:



 Contact the McCormick Center https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/contact/ for more information.

Iris Corral, M.Ed., is Leadership Training Specialist for the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. In this role, Iris assists with trainings for the Taking the Lead, Ready to Lead, and Taking Charge of Change leadership academies. Iris holds an associate degree in social service from Harold Washington College, a baccalaureate degree in integrative studies from Governors State University, and a master’s degree in early childhood administration from National Louis University. She has also earned her Illinois Director Credential-Level III and an ECE Credential-Level V. In addition to her role at the McCormick Center, Iris also serves as adjunct faculty at Morton College, where she teaches early childhood education courses. Prior to joining our team, Iris spent eight years working as a preschool director in a Preschool for All (PFA) program. Iris also worked at Erie Neighborhood House in Chicago for eleven years as a teacher assistant and the parent support/health coordinator.

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Supporting Family Child Care Providers: The Role of Technical Assistance in Managing Mixed-Age Groups

By Yvonne Williams • October 7, 2025
by yvonne williams “The idea of mixed-age groups, the notion of a blended family that’s born out of a family childcare program where you are around people… you learn from the older [children], and you get to interact with younger” (Williams, 2023, pp. 75-76). Family Child Care (FCC) programs are unique in their ability to care for children of varied ages in the same learning environments. Research has noted that blending children of different ages, including siblings, and using a home-based child care supports the development of building social skills and the ability to self-regulate; together they are key for preparing for school (e.g., Porter et.al., 2010; Williams, 2023). These arrangements create environments where children naturally support and learn from one another throughout the day, enriching the overall learning atmosphere and building critical foundations for future learning. The ability to offer mixed-age group care and education offers families a number of advantages: siblings remain together in one familiar setting, parents and the provider are able to sustain a long-term partnership, and families gain a sense of extended support by developing rich relationships with other children and families in the program. Mixed-age environments naturally allow older children to take on leadership roles. Younger children benefit from this by observing and learning new skills. All children gain from interacting with peers at various developmental stages, while also experiencing continuity of care with the provider. Since the FCC provider remains both educator and caregiver for many years, they also experience important benefits: deeper relationships with children, less pressure to constantly enroll and onboard new families, and a stronger sense of community with families. The capacity to offer care to mixed age groups is anchored in the FCC environment, a cornerstone of quality in home-based care. I saw this firsthand in my own research, which identified three foundational pillars for effective FCC programs: the provider, the business, and the environment. (Williams, 2023). An intentionally structured environment that safely accommodates mixed ages is often foundational to high-quality family child care, not an afterthought. Although there are many benefits to mixed-age groups, managing mixed-age groups presents unique challenges for FCC providers. These include balancing the developmental needs of children at different stages, ensuring appropriate supervision, and creating an inclusive learning environment that caters to all age groups. Providers often report that the organizational structure of FCC settings, such as mixed-age groups and balancing multiple roles, can be perceived as challenges when implementing responsive feeding and other evidence-based practices. Technical Assistants (TA) play a vital role in supporting FCC providers by offering personalized strategies and resources to address the complexities of mixed-age group settings. The most helpful technical assistance comes when people ask many questions instead of being told what to do. This helps them learn, try things out, and grow independently. I recently returned from leading a Transformative Technical Assistance (TTA) institute in New York, where a colleague and I provided training to specialists who coach both family child care and center-based programs. At our TTA Institute , we emphasize that TAs should ask insightful questions instead of immediately giving answers. This approach nudges providers into deeper thinking and gives them ownership, allowing them to uncover strategies that truly matter to them and stick over time. Below are three broad topics related to mixed-age groups, reframed as open-ended questions to help providers think deeply, act with intention, and create solutions tailored to their own programs. When asking your questions, make sure to frame open-ended questions in ways that will help the provider reflect on their practice, explore possibilities, adapt what they do, and grow stronger rather than simply accept someone else’s fixed advice. Here are three areas that include questions that may be helpful when supporting family child care professionals: Implementing Developmentally Appropriate Practices To help a provider explore ways to support their routines and interactions to meet the diverse developmental stages of children in mixed-age groups, you might ask: In what parts of your daily schedule do you see infants’ developmental needs being limited by the group dynamics or materials used? This is especially helpful when working with a provider who cares for infants along with older children. How might you adapt daily transitions or caregiving routines (feeding, diapering/toileting, naps) so that infants’ developmental needs are better honored, while also supporting the older children in the same mixed-age group? Enhancing Classroom Management To brainstorm strategies to maintain a harmonious and productive environment that accommodates various age groups, you might ask: In what ways could you change your interactions, routines, or choice of materials so that infants experience less stress and fewer behavioral challenges, while older children remain engaged and valued every day? How might you design the physical layout or daily schedule so infants have freedom to explore safely, and older children can participate in age-appropriate activities without causing overload or disruption? Promoting Inclusive Practices To examine practices that ensure that all children, regardless of age or ability, have access to meaningful learning experiences, you might ask: How might you adapt your daily routines and caregiving interactions so that every infant, regardless of ability or background, feels included, valued, and has opportunities to explore and learn? What changes could you make to the materials, space, and interactions in your infant room so that infants at different developmental stages, with varied needs, or who speak other languages can all participate meaningfully? By embedding these strategies that lead to rich dialogue and discovery, Technical Assistants help providers create learning environments that are both engaging and responsive, ones that truly foster growth and development for all children. As the landscape of early childhood education continues to evolve, ongoing support through TA remains essential in promoting the success and sustainability of Family Child Care programs. References Porter, T., Paulsell, D., Del Grosso, P., Avellar, S., Haas, R., & Vuong, L. (2010). A review of the literature on home-based child care: Implications for future directions, Princeton, N.J.: Mathematica Policy Research Report . Williams, Y. S. (2023). Exploring attitudes of four groups of stakeholders toward family childcare and recommending best practices to promote positive experiences (Doctoral dissertation). National Louis University.
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