Are you looking to start your school year off with effective parent communication like I always am?
The role and participation of parents in the life of their early childhood education student at home is crucial and precious. Empowering a family with back-to-school resources to collaborate with their special education teacher is invaluable.
Prepare for a Successful School Year.
So, every August, I download my Especially Education Daily Communication Logs from Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) and ensure they are printed and ready to go before the first day of school!
Establishing an easy system that allows open communication with your student’s family is one of the best ways to start the school year.
The Life of a Pre-K Teacher is Busy!
Especially Education’s TpT special education products simplify your days. These daily, weekly, and monthly parent communication templates are in a format that makes them easy to complete (even when teaching half-day preschool), so it’s quick and easy to maintain communication with parents!
Whether it’s learning about excellent behavior, requesting more personal hygiene supply needs, or a simple reminder about an IEP meeting, parents welcome strategies to help them understand how their child’s school day was and how to stay involved.
Appreciative families comment about how comforting it is to quickly see how their child’s day went and how easy it is to fill out their home portion of the communication logs.
Teaching in a busy preschool classroom, I’ve found that it works best to have my communication logs printed and ready for Mondays.
Organize all the Paperwork!
I staple enough for the week and put them in my students’ take-home folders so that every morning, when checking them in, I can quickly review the notes for any critical information from families.
Having regular and organized communication methods in place saves time. It helps me build better relationships with my students’ families by helping them stay up-to-date with their child’s progress.
Parents want to help their children succeed in school, but there is no one-size-fits-all regarding parent/teacher communication. Especially Education has more than 15 daily communication logs included in one TpT download. With so much variety, choosing a log that best fits each child and their needs is super easy.
Interactive Sheets Help Get Students Involved
In preschool and pre-K, we work with our students on identifying their emotions and feelings. I’ve found that some communication logs can also be interactive with the students (big bonus!!), with the children helping teachers fill them out.
When filling out their communication logs, students can help their teachers by pointing to the “how I felt images to describe their days. The students can also color in or circle the activities and/or therapies they participated in that day.
I love that the clear images and streamlined formatting allow students to participate!
Families Want to Help Their Children Succeed.
When you consistently keep up with the communication logs, families will start looking forward to seeing how their child’s day was and what they participated in.
This helps keep them in the loop with what their child has been doing at school. Families can connect with their children about their daily school experiences with the information provided on the logs.
Some families can use the information the teacher wrote to use as a conversation starter with their child. “I see you had art class today! Can you tell me about what you made?” “How did you feel this afternoon?” “It looks like you ate all your lunch today. What was your favorite part?”
There are so Many Benefits to Having Effective Parent/Teacher Communication
Parents are trusting teachers to take care of their children while they are at school. They must be aware of what happens when their children are at school by instilling a sense of community, respect, and trust through consistent communication.
When teachers open the line of communication with parents and families, it lets them know they are an essential part of their child’s education experience and helps prevent potential problems.
Keep Everyone Informed
It takes a team to help a child be successful in school. When teachers and families work together, it benefits the children. Communication logs are a great way to build a sense of community and collaboration between school and home!
In addition to the parent communication logs, the Especially Education Teachers Pay Teachers download also includes helpful handouts, which can be stapled to a log to let moms, dads, and grandparents know essential details, such as picture day, snacks needed, or important dates.
As a bonus, these handouts can also be printed on post-it notes, making it even easier to send home quickly!
Read “Planning for the First 2 Weeks of School in Your Special Education Classroom” to get more tips to get you ready for back-to-school organization.
Rahul Saxena says
Effective teacher-parent communication is crucial for a child’s education. Regular updates create a supportive partnership. Initiate open dialogues through emails, meetings, or apps. Be concise yet informative, highlighting progress and areas for improvement. Actively listen to parents’ concerns. This blog provides invaluable insights for teachers to foster strong home-school connections, enhancing student growth and success.
Especially Education says
Thank you, Rahul! We appreciate your comment.