You don’t need to wait for parent-teacher conferences to start talking with your child’s teacher. Reach out at the beginning of the school year to start building a relationship. It can take time to get comfortable sharing information with each other.
Quick tip 2
Write it down.
Write it down.
Having the words to say can make the conversation easier. Before you talk with the teacher, make a list of what you want to talk about. You can also take notes after the conversation to help you remember next steps.
Quick tip 3
Be specific.
Be specific.
Try to be specific when talking with the teacher about your child’s strengths, interests, and challenges. For example, “My child’s top two interests are soccer and drawing comics.” Or “I’ve noticed my child writes very slowly by hand.”
Quick tip 4
Ask questions.
Ask questions.
If you need more information or don’t understand something the teacher says, ask a question. And if you think of a question after your conversation, write it down and ask it in a follow-up email or the next time you talk.
You and your child’s teacher share a common goal: Providing the best learning experience for your child.
Working with the teacher can give you an even better understanding of your child. It also gives you the chance to share concerns about what’s happening at home that the teacher may or may not be seeing in school.
For example, the teacher might tell you that your child gets frustrated about assignments and says things like “Why do we have to learn this?” Maybe you see the same reaction when it comes to homework. Together you can come up with consistent ways to respond to frustration.
Engaging the teacher lets you find strategies to use in class and at home, and other ways to support your child at school.
Dive deeper
If you’ve noticed signs in your child that concern or confuse you, talking with the teacher is a good first step. Sharing information can give you a better idea of what’s going on.
Here are things to say if your child struggles with:
Understanding your child’s strengths, interests, and challenges helps the teacher build an approach to learning that works for your child. It also helps the teacher predict what might be hard and figure out what kind of support would help.
Having that information makes it easier for the teacher to engage your child in learning. For example, maybe writing is a struggle and the teacher knows your child has a passion for dogs. The teacher could find a way to work something about dogs into a writing assignment.
Knowing more about their students helps teachers tailor instruction for kids. Find out how teachers use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to plan lessons that are engaging and accessible to all students.
When you and the teacher try the same strategies and use the same language, your child sees that everyone is on the same page. It can help kids feel confident knowing what to expect and what’s expected of them.
Plus, when kids have confidence, it makes it easier for them to speak up when they need help. Learn more about the importance of self-advocacy.
And have your child make a 3×3 card to share with the teacher: three strengths, three challenges, and three strategies that work at home.
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Reach out from the start.
