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Today’s post focuses on communication. If you have read any of my Ask the Teacher posts, I think by now you understand how important, I feel, communication is. But for this post I am answering emails that were sent to me, specifically on this topic.
My twin daughters are in preschool. They are 4, so most days when I get home from work and ask them how they day was I get “I don’t remember” to every question. I work full time and my grandmother-in-law drops the kids off at preschool and picks them up for me.
The preschool is great, but they don’t communicate a lot with parents because of time. I can email them, but I am never sure how much is too much.I feel really out of the loop this year. I would like some advice on how often is the appropriate amount to email my girls teachers and ask them how they’re doing and what they are doing. I really want to be involved, but I am not sure how to do it without being a nuisance. And I would love for my children to be able to remember and want to tell me how their day was. Can you give me some advice?
That is a common question that I get from parents. To be honest, your reasons for contacting a teacher are wonderful and any teacher would LOVE an email stating what you just stated to me!! I would email the teacher and explain what you just did and then ask if emailing them once a week (or once every 2 weeks – depending on what you are looking for) would be okay. Most teachers would not mind giving you feedback with that time frame.
Also keep in mind that because teachers are busy with many students, that an email from you as a reminder every couple of weeks would be helpful. It could be as simple as “Hi (Teacher’s Name), I just wanted to touch base with you and see how (child’s name) is doing? Is there anything I need to know about and any suggestions on what I could be doing at home to help them for school?”After a few emails back and forth, that relationship will form and emailing will be easier.
If email isn’t your thing, call the teacher and request a phone conference where you can discuss your concerns. Ask if the teacher and you can set a consistent day and time to talk on the phone about how your child is doing. Same principle as above.
My 8 year old has come home several times this week complaining that his teacher is picking on him. I know that most likely this isn’t the case and I have tried to discuss and question what possibly could be going on, but he thinks that he isn’t doing anything wrong and that the teacher just doesn’t like him. What is the best way to go about approaching his teacher about this. I don’t want to seem that I am over protective and jumping to conclusions but at the same time I need to know if something is going on. Any advice would be appreciated.
You do have a right to be concerned, but PLEASE do not jump to conclusions. Be prepared that it may be a more serious issue (i.e. a behaviour issue, bullying) or it may be a big misunderstanding. I would just call the teacher and ask if there is something going on in the classroom that you need to know about and explain to her how your son feels.
There can be several scenarios that could be going on and the sooner you work it out with you son’s teacher the sooner the issue can be resolved. Trust me, your teacher will be encouraged and glad that you feel comfortable enough to to come to her and work together for a solution.
Now it’s your turn, parents. If you have a positive story about how you have opened communication up between your child’s teacher and yourself, I would LOVE to hear from you. Please leave a comment below! Or if you have a more specific question about the above emails, please feel free to leave the question in the comment section or contact me.
If you have questions or concerns, not related to this post that you would like to bounce off me, you can leave a comment here or contact me.
For a list of recent “Ask the Teacher” posts, click HERE.
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Great post and great questions. My kindergartener likes to answer “I don’t want to tell you” or “I don’t remember” to questions I ask. So I will email his teacher. Thanks! Here’s a question for a future edition: What is a good teacher gift? I am already stressing over what to get Joshua’s teacher for Christmas. I don’t want to get her something she will get 1,000 of. What are some of the best gifts you got when you were teaching?
When I taught pre-k I sent home a detailed weekly newsletter that gave the activities we would be doing, the books we would be reading,etc. for the following week. That gave parents a lot of info and they could ask, ” What did you like best today, painting or making a kite?” Maybe the parent could explain that a little more info on the newsletter would help with communicating with her children. Another method, if there is no newsletter, would be a simple poster outside of the classroom door – Today we are painting, reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and making butterflies, for example. \n\nI also found with my own children that they were a little more willing to talk at bathtime or bedtime when they had a little more time to process their day and relax.