Quick Tip: Get Connected and Show Families Some Love

I have a quick tip for you on how to connect with
families and make it easy. Positive connections are something that can get put off, those
parent phone calls or emails, newsletter that are days or weeks late.

I have
tried some different things to make it easier on myself to connect with
families and make sure I am communicating and helping them feel connected to
our classroom. I took a class this last year and someone in this course shared that their principal gave them time at the end of every staff meeting to take a few minutes and write a couple of notes
to parents. The notes were simple and teachers used the opportunity to make a
positive connection.

(Note cards less than $5 at Michael’s craft store)

It was an ah-ha for us! Taking 5
minutes of our staff meeting or PD to write a quick note was something we
wanted to incorporate. At the very next meeting my principal brought a box of
notecards and we used the first few minutes to write our own notes. There
have been a couple of times where we run out of time or she forgets to bring
the cards or whatever, so I started just setting a reminder in my phone. Each
week it goes off, “Parent Love Note” and I stop whatever I’m doing and
write two notes. If I’m in the middle of a conversation I hit snooze, but I
do not dismiss that reminder until my notes are written.

This super simple task has made an incredible difference
in how connected I feel with families and also how families feel about me as
their child’s teacher. They feel so much more included in the classroom and
what we’re doing.

Here are the two notes I wrote out and together they
took me less than 3 minutes. I can give 3 minutes of my time once a week.