Parents can be your biggest advocate and a great teammate to have. As it is, we all have the same goal, to help the kids succeed whether it be at home or at school. It’s important that as teachers we communicate the best we can with our students’ parents.
Bridge the Gap Between School and Home
To bridge this gap between school and home, I send home a weekly newsletter. This goes out on Fridays after school (or toward the end of the school day). I’ve found this to be a very successful way that I keep parents included in what their children are learning and what to expect coming up.
What I Include in my Newsletter
You can include whatever you want in your newsletter! I include various aspects of the week in school including: what we’re learning, highlighting special events and upcoming events.
What We’re Learning
Something I always include in our weekly newsletter is what we’ve learned during the week. I like to break it up into subject area but I mainly include language arts and math. I also alternate between science and social studies.
Parents enjoy reading about what their children are learning in class. I don’t know about you, but when you ask my kindergarten students what they did at school they either say “nothing” or “free play” or “recess”. And although free play and recess are important, it’s nice to send out what we’ve done in class so parents know their children are learning. They can also ask them about this learning and talk to their kids about school while they’re at home.
Highlighting Special Events
Another thing I put in my newsletter is special events that we’ve had during the week. I like to highlight events like 100th day of school, a field trip or a special art project.
Upcoming Events
Lastly, I put in some important upcoming events that I don’t want parents to forget. This is an extra reminder as I put upcoming dates and events in other places as well.
Newsletter Templates
I’ve created newsletter templates (one for every week in the year, plus more!) for kindergarten, first grade and second grade. If you’re interested in another grade, please email me and I will make it happen! My favorite thing about these templates, they’re super editable!
How do you communicate with the parents in your classroom? Comment below!
