Hey hey all!! WHEW!!! April flat out FLEW by and Angie from Lucky Little Learners and I are SO thrilled to be bringing you the MAY 2nd version of our #2GETHERWEAREBETTERLINKY!
On the 2nd of every month, Angie and I are hosting a linky on our blogs to BRING US ALL TOGETHER to brainstorm, share, vent?, and LEARN from each other about hot topics and challenges in education because TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER!!
I’m bringing you a tip, a tool, and a TRICK to use to make your parent communication the best it can be!!
One tool that I use on a weekly basis is my Homework Logs. Each Monday my kiddos get a HW log with their homework assignments, test reminders, announcements for the week, etc. This log is super simple for my 2nd graders, yet SO effective at building responsible homework doers who are ready for the challenge of all of the responsibility that THIRD GRADE brings!!
Our 2nd graders don’t get “assignment notebooks” like the older kiddos at our school do, so I use these homework logs as a way to build homework routines, keep the kiddos held accountable and to keep the parents informed of what all homework there is as well as any announcements and reminders for the week! I LOVE trying to answer questions before they’re asked! When in doubt, parents, CHECK THE HOMEWORK LOG!! Their logs are kept in their take home binder all week long, they are turned in on Mondays, and they get the NEW week’s log on Mondays too!
You can snag my Editable Monthly Homework logs HERE in my store or by clicking the image below! 🙂
A TIP that I have with you to quickly yet efficiently communicate DAILY with parents is using a behavior calendar for each child to log where their CLIP was in the classroom that day!
I use the clip chart system, which is color coded making this a SUPER easy way to communicate their behavior, HOWEVER if you have another type of behavior system, I’m sure that you can make this daily behavior calendar work to communicate your students’ daily behavior, too!!
Check out the image and VIDEO below to hear more about how I manage my behavior calendars as a daily parent communication tool in my classroom!
In my video I explain a little bit more about the QUICK and super easy way that my kiddos record their behavior on their log each and every day for their parents to see.
If you’d like a copy of the vertical calendars that I use for my kiddos’ behavior calendars and logs, you can check them out {HERE} or by clicking the image below!
And lastly, I’m bringing you a trick . . . not rocket science, but EFFECTIVE nonetheless!!!
Celebrate you say?!? YESSS!! Communicate CELEBRATIONS with your parents!! Maybe you had a kiddo who usually has a hard time staying quiet during independent work stay quiet the whole time today or maybe one of your friends who likes to be the boss of the town {we all have one, right?!} used the most kind manners EVER to patiently and politely help a friend?!? PICK UP THE PHONE!! Call or email their parents!! Or even something as simple as send home a certificate! CELEBRATE!!
Here are some certificates that I’ve used this year!!
I send these home when my kiddos make it to the top of the clip chart!!
I send these home on the VERY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! Celebrate a GREAT first day of school {as long as it’s deserved of course} and communicate that home to parents!
When you contact home or communicate home with GOOD NEWS, you WIN the parents. I promise. And they are supportive and on your side for the rest of the school year!!! . . .
. . . Which brings me to one of the tips you see in the image above….. One of the best {and perhaps trickiest?} ideas that I’ve ever gotten was from my best friend and teaching teamie for life – Emily Yerty at Polka Dots Please. She taught me to CALL HOME on the first day of school! Call home with GOOD NEWS. Tell the families how glad you are that their child is in their class this year. Does it take time? TONS. But in the long run of establishing an awesome relationship with the parents of your students, it is SO well worth it!! Establish that POSITIVE relationship with the parents in your classroom from DAY ONE and they WILL be on your side and ready to support you as challenges arise with their child throughout the year!
I’m SO hopeful that something that I’ve shared has helped you grab a new idea to help you out with successful and POSITIVE parent communication for the remainder of the school year OR hopefully a new idea that you are excited to use when you hit the ground running next school year!! {ah-em, no worries, we WILL celebrate sweet summer time FIRST!}
We would LOVE LOVE LOVE you to link up below!! Here are the link up rules and details!
You can link up you blog post below and then hop on through to grab a bag full of tricks for parent communication because TOGETHER WE ARE SO MUCH BETTER!! 🙂 🙂
Thanks for reading, friends!
I LOVE your certificates! What a fun idea to share so many great things with parents! This is something that I need to work on next year! Thank you for amazing ideas!!
Mrs. 3rd Grade
I love all your ideas! I need to remember to send good notes home on top of my behavior logs. Teacher Ms H ~ Third Is the Word
How have I not commented on this post yet? UGH! Can you tell that I have been so crazy busy?! Girl, I loved your post! Every product that I see of yours I can see using in my classroom. The quality is always so spot on and it appears that it took you HOURS to make everything you have in your store because your attention to detail is so evident! I love your parent communication tips and tricks! Very straight forward and do-able! You rock my sweet #bloggybestie
Hi Ashley. Thanks for a great linky. When I used a clip chart, the calendars were loved by parents! I also try to call within the first week of school. You're right. It starts things off on a positive note and allows you to build a relationship with parents early.
Crystal
Teaching Little Miracles
Hi Ashley! I enjoyed reading your post! So many great tips! I cannot wait to use your calendar for my behavior log! Quick question: What kind of pen do you use to write over crayon on the behavior log boxes?