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Using family photos in the classroom
The easiest way to start any family engagement effort is to begin collecting photos from each of your families. There are so many ways that these can be used in the classroom. Decorate a quiet space with the photos and children can sit there and look at their family’s photo when they are feeling sad or need a little reassurance. Use them to help the children get to know each other Talk about family structures and compare similarities and differences Look at each family member’s physical characteristics Practice naming each family member and write their names Of course the most difficult piece of this work is actually getting families to…
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Beyond the family survey
As a teacher I was a huge fan of the family survey. It helped me learn the answers to very specific questions about children and their families (who lives with you? Is your child afraid of anything? What are your child’s favorite foods?). As a parent, I just filled out one of these surveys for my daughter’s class the other day, and when I was done it felt like I hadn’t really given her teachers a lot of information. It certainly wasn’t going to help them get to know her better, and at this age the answers change so regularly that they may not even be relevant in a month…
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Family February
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ve probably noticed that I often dedicate each week to a specific topic, and when I started planning for this week the topic that I had in mind was engaging families in classroom activities. But of course, as I started thinking about that specific topic I came up with way more than a week’s worth of posts. So I’m going to try something new, I’m devoting the entire month of February to topics related to partnering with families and promoting strong families. I think the timing is perfect, so much of what we talk about in February is related to love,…
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Friday Freebie – Germs
Happy Friday, I hope you’re all staying healthy! If you’re looking for an activity to reinforce your hygiene reminders this cute mini germ book from Jen Agent is a great choice! Downloard your copy and have a wonderful weekend.
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Germs Germs Germs
I have to apologize for being MIA this week, my household is sick sick sick! I know that its a rough year for cold and flu, and I’m not complaining because we could have it much worse. I did want to take a quick minute to share a resource that might be helpful if you’re fighting the germs with your students. Please take a minute to check out my hand washing visuals to help build those healthy routines!
