Help children settle into their new setting by giving them the opportunity to talk about something familiar and meaningful to them — the people they live with at home.

Children are encouraged to draw a picture of who lives in their house and then talk to an adult about their picture. The adult can use the writing lines to scribe the child’s words, capturing their ideas, vocabulary and experiences.

This simple activity provides a lovely opportunity to:

• Encourage children to talk about familiar people and experiences.
• Develop listening and conversational skills.
• Introduce and model new vocabulary linked to families and homes.
• Help practitioners learn more about each child and their home life.
• Support relationships and connections during the settling-in period.
• Model the purpose of writing by recording children’s spoken language.

Adult prompt:
“Tell me about your picture. Who lives in your house?”

There is no right or wrong family structure — children can talk about the people who are important to them and who they consider part of their home and family. This makes the resource inclusive of the many different family structures children may experience.