family
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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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Joy in Everyday – For the Classroom
In Monday’s post I promised to share some ideas to incorporate my Joy in Everyday routine into the classroom. Well, here they are! When I started putting this together I had a couple of ideas, but as I worked I came up with a few more. I’m really excited about what I have to share with you! So check this out – you can find this entire set in my TPT store! This set includes monthly calendars, weekly calendars, and list sheets so that you and your students can track your everyday joys in whichever way works best for you. It also has a simple mini book that is designed…
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Thanksgiving Day Photo Challenge
I am so ready for Thanksgiving! This year my goal is to take as many pictures as possible, so I created a little photo challenge for myself. I thought I would share it because it would be so fun to print and send home with all of your families – wouldn’t you love to see pictures from their celebrations?! Download a printable version here – and have a wonderful holiday!
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Activities for Thanksgiving Day
Whether you’ve got little ones to entertain at your own Thanksgiving celebration or your looking for fun ideas for your last day of school before the holiday, I’ve got you covered. Here are some fun ways to celebrate the holiday while enjoying each other’s company: Get everyone coloring – try these cute coloring pages If you want to hear everyone laugh, you can’t beat Thanksgiving Mad Libs! Remember cootie catchers?! Here’s a printable Thanksgiving version Family members of all ages will love taking photos with these Thanksgiving photo booth props There’s nothing better than a scavenger hunt to keep everyone busy This printable Bingo game will keep everyone awake after…
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Family Recipe Book
Thanksgiving is about two things; food, and family. Encourage your families to share their favorite recipes with each other by sending home these cute recipe pages. Once each family has completed one you can compile them to create a beautiful class recipe book that is sure to be a hit! Download your free recipe pages here!
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Sharing Assessment Results with Families
Assessment in preschool is definitely a thing – it’s a huge part of what early childhood educators do every day, but most casual observers would never know that. This is because it’s not obvious. As teachers it important to be able to explain this unique assessment process to parents and family members so that they have a clear understanding of how we know what skills and concepts their child has mastered. There are two things that make preschool assessments just a little different;First, preschool assessments should be formative assessments. This simply means that you are using the results of any assessment to plan further activities and learning experiences. These assessment results help…
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Family Photo Albums for the Classroom
An easy way to help welcome families at the beginning of the year is to encourage them to share a little information about themselves. Using photo albums is popular because the albums also serve to help children separate from their parents a little easier in the morning. I’ve heard many teachers say that they’ve tried to create albums for the children but they haven’t been successful because families will not provide the photos that they need. This easy printable activity is something that you can send home with each student that might help combat this issue. I created this easy little paper bag album that you can send home for families to…
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Tips for welcoming new families
Whether you work for a year-round program or a program that follows a traditional school calendar there is a good chance that you will be welcoming some families that are new to your program in the fall. I am a huge believer in the importance of building relationships with parents, and those relationships start with first impressions. There are a few simple things that you can do to welcome families and make a positive impression that will lead to stronger relationships. Share information about yourself. It is common practice to share info about your program and classroom practices, but parents really want to know who you are. Consider sending home…
