Parental Involvement

Some parents might feel like they don't need to be involved in their child's school life. However, that is not the case. Parental involvement is actually highly encouraged. Being an involved parent in your child's school does not only benefit you the parent, but the child too. It has been discovered, that students who have involved parents are more likely to attend school regularly, show improved behavior, have better social skills, and higher grades. Supporting your child's education helps set them up for success. I know sometimes it is hard to juggle working full time and also being active in your child's school! However, there are many ways to get involved that take away little of your time. One way to get involved is to attend the open house or parents night. This shows your child that you are interested in their classroom, meeting their teacher, and seeing where they spend most of their time away from home. Another way to get involved is to bring in items when a teacher asks for them. You would not imagine the joy children have when they get to say "my mom brought that for our class!" Sign-up for the parent teacher conference. Teachers love to tell the parents how their child is growing in their development throughout the school year. It's also helpful to the teachers for parents to ask how they can help at home. Helping at home is an effective way to really be involved in your child's school. You can ask them how their day went, what they learned, and even sit down and work with them on their homework. Showing them you are interested in their work and learning sets your child up for success. 

A mom celebrating her child's work. 

In my classroom, we use an app called Procare (mentioned in my classroom management post) where I can share my daily lesson plans with the parents. The parents then get to talk with their children over breakfast or on the way to school about what they are going to do that day. This parent involvement not only lets the parents know what we are doing, but sets the children up for success for the day. Another way we involve parents is by having them bring in supplies we need for a certain theme or just for a certain activity. For example, we needed toilet paper rolls for an activity we did this week and the parents brought in tons! The kids were so excited that their parents helped them supply a need for the classroom and in return, were deeply engaged and interactive during the activity. We then got to share with the parents pictures of the beanstalks (Jack and the Beanstalk lesson) all the children built with the toilet paper rolls they helped provide. When the child goes home, the parents can then discuss with them what they did that day, show them their pictures of the hard work they completed, and build connections with their children as they celebrate their success.