Hey Hey Friends!
This week, we have a great FREE download that I hope will be helpful to you! We are focusing on the importance of parent- teacher communication, the benefits of it, and tips (with resources) to help you implement this into your daily or weekly routine.
What is Parent-Teacher Communication in practical terms:
- Obtaining the necessary information about the child to have a happy and healthy classroom,
- Keeping an available form of contact with parents in case of emergency,
- Maintaining a useful and organized check in and check out system for parents to know what to expect and feel at ease,
- Allowing children to take home the interactive activities/ crafts that are completed in their time away from their parents (crafts can also be displayed to show the child’s participation in class),
- Providing encouragement/ Kudos to children for specific accomplishments in the classroom,
- Openly discussing problems with parents if issues arise.
Benefits of Parent-Teacher Communication:
Parent-Teacher Communication benefits the parents and the teachers of course, but it benefits the child most of all! Parents are going to be more encouraging and inclined in bring their child to church if they are comfortable to speak to their child’s teacher about concerns they may have, see the joyful participation of their child by witnessing crafts and hearing stories, observe that their child is being encouraged and affirmed, and have peace-of-mind regarding their child’s safety and communication with the teacher. These are just a few examples of the many benefits of implementing open and organized parent- teacher communication.
How to implement Parent-Teacher Communication:
- Make sure each parent checks their child in, providing their child’s name, their name, and their phone number. If you keep this on a clip board, you have a perfect item for evacuation guides and tools by using a sleeve on the back. In addition, this check-in clipboard tells you exactly how many children you have, at all times. ** Having the parents’ phone number in an easy location allows you to easily contact them for emergency, or simply send them pictures of their child while they are away to establish more trust and overall peace for parents. **
- Ask each parent to provide information regarding their child, the first time they come. This includes their names, numbers, and emails along with the opportunity for them to list allergies and/ or concerns they may have while being away. You can download this on our free resource page – just click here!
- Provide Kudos to children when they accomplish something in class like being a good friend, setting a great example, being helpful, etc. We have a FREE downloadable Classroom Kudos card available today for you to easily print and use- Click here to download! Providing affirmations as such teaches the child that those valued actions have a positive impact. Meanwhile, this allows the parent to encourage their child with the teacher and continue this great work at home as well- let’s not forget that parents are also encouraged by seeing their little ones succeed!
- Establish a flow, and stay organized. Using a simple and consistent check in and check out method helps all parties know exactly what to expect. In the video below, I will explain the exact process that I follow. I hope you check it out!
*View more Evacuation Tips below.
Games Games Games
The kiddos LOVE these games. I started using them years ago, and they never get old! Other teachers liked them as well, so I ended up making sure these games are in every classroom. They hold up very well over time, and some of these games are useful for a little friendly competition among the kiddos.
- Bible Book Hop Mats are vinyl mats containing all the initials for the books of the Bible including the numbers 1-2-3. Children take turns hopping from letter to letter as they recite the books in order. Teammates can help and even tag one another to complete the next division of books.
- ABC-123 Hop Mats are vinyl mats. One has the letters of the alphabet while the other mat has numbers. Children take turns hopping from letter to letter as they spell out the book of the Bible or the verse they are memorizing. This game is very useful for preschoolers to learn their alphabet and numbers, but I have used it for relays, matching games, and bean bag competitions as well.
- Mega Mat and Table Top New Testament and Old Testament Games are also made of the vinyl material. Mega mats are large and played on the ground by stepping on the mat like the hop mats while the tabletop game is made to be played on the table or multiple tables in the classroom. It comes with matching game cards for each book of the Bible.
We also put together a book of our favorite games called Bible Skill Boosters to help teachers develop a treasure chest of learning games they can use each week. This resource has ideas for Bible book games, Bible verse memorization games and fun review games. These ideas will be so helpful in Sunday School, Bible Drill, Awana and whatever children’s class you lead. Our children need to learn their Bible skills so they can feed themselves spiritually and this book will flood teachers with tons of ideas. It’s available for immediate download.
We also have the Blue Cycle of Bible Drill and we have written ideas for every verse and books of the Bible games and even Key passage games. It’s available for immediate download too.
Here’s just one example of a great idea we used from the book. So much FUN!!
It’s Fall, Y’all!!
Fall is here! We are so excited to help you create an engaging and welcoming environment for your kiddos with our brand-new downloadable fall decorations!
We are thrilled to share these with you and support you throughout this fall season. Look out for the Halloween and Thanksgiving decor coming soon! Thank you for being a part of our community and for your dedication to creating a positive learning environment for your kiddos. We’re here to assist you every step of the way.
Evacuation Tips
Safety is always priority, especially in and around children’s spaces! In the video at the top of this page, you are able to see the pouch on the back of my classroom clipboard for the red and green communication papers to signal whether the classroom is safely at the emergency spot. I urge all organizations to have a system that is established for each teacher to follow. In addition, we have drills for these emergent scenarios where all classes go to their designated areas so that we all know exactly where to go. This includes the bed babies that are harder to transport in emergent scenarios. In the video below, you can see the cribs that we recently bought that are for evacuation purposes. There are many more practical and safety benefits that we are enjoying from these as well, of course; but evacuation- ready cribs are giving me consistent peace of mind.
