Supporting Parents Through Conferencing and Newsletters During the Coronavirus School Closures

With thousands of students home from school because of the coronavirus, schools are hosting conference days for parents by phone and online. Through these meetings, parents meet with teachers to learn how they can support their children’s academic success at home. To prepare for these conference days, teachers compile diagnostic reading and math data and portfolios of students’ work to show the parents what their children need to learn and what they have achieved to date. We also provide parents with guidance on how they can help their children at home.

Newsletters for Parents

I created a winter newsletter that highlighted our second graders’ second semester updates. These included:

Summarizing the various math operations and strategies the students are learning to solve various math and word problems in class
Guidance on how students can help their parents shop at the grocery store by adding the total of ten items that are being purchased.
Reading assignments and strategies that students are learning to build independent reading stamina with diagnostic testing support to become more familiar with online test-taking skills
Guidance for parents to reinforce reading with their children at home for at least 20 minutes daily.
Added guidance on how parents can support their children’s writing at home by encouraging them to self-edit their work and read the various stories that their children have created.
Information about the various social studies and science modules that students will complete in class with follow-up research and experimentation at home.

How Parents Support Teachers and Students

As I work more closely with my students’ parents at home and through the school’s online system, I am humbled in how supportive they are in providing all students with essential resources for class projects and parties. The parents have gone beyond my expectations in trying to help me succeed with each and every student in my class.

Happy learning with your children!

Danielle

Mom Is on a Trip

While Kinji’s dad visited his son in the United States, his mom traveled to Thailand. When Kenji was with his father, he did not miss his mother because he was excited to spend this time with Dad and his relatives. Once I took care of my grandson at his home for four more days (beyond time spent with Dad?), Kenji commented that he missed his mom when playing because his mom was always there. I immediately acknowledged Kenji’s feelings about his mom’s absence. Through this encouragement, he returned to playing with his toys.

When mom was gone, we also talked with her on the phone. Initially, Kenji did not want to use the FaceTime feature when talking to his mom because he said it would make him sad. Eventually, Kenji decided to talk to his mom on FaceTime. During the conversation, he said it was hard to see his mom’s face and not be with her. After that phone call, we stayed busy until mom’s return with school and various outings.

Once Mom returned from her trip, Kenji was happy to have his mom around again. During the first few days after Mom’s return home, I limited my time with my grandson so he could spend quality time with his mom.

This experience taught our family that when Kenji was traveling with Dad and not in his daily environment, he is happy. But once Kenji returned home without his mom and daily routine, he really missed his mother. He was also happy at school because this was a regular activity without mom. As our family plans for Kenji’s upcoming trips overseas, we are considering how we can support him as he learns to live in a new country and the United States.

Happy travels!

Joyce

Helping Your Child Make Healthy Choices

Spring is a time for awakening, growth, and beautiful sunny days of blooming trees and flowers. It is also the time that our children are feeling excited about the final days of school and various spring events. We can help our children become grounded by asking them these questions:

How do you treat your friends and family?
What does your family or teacher tell you that helps you become happy and successful?
What are your accomplishments at home or school?
What is your legacy or your contribution to your family or classmates?
What type of support do you need from your family or teacher to achieve your legacy or contribution to your family or classmates?
Who has had the greatest impact on your life and how did he or she inspire you?

Family Dinner Discussions

Some families like to ask their children one of these questions each night when eating the family dinner. When you have younger children, it may be easier to discuss each question as part of your quality time together before bedtime. And other families like to include one of these questions each time they meet for a weekly family meeting. A weekly family meeting provides the family with an opportunity to:

Have family members discuss what is happening in their lives and brainstorm solutions on challenges
Discuss the upcoming week of family activities
Review the weekly chore list and adjust as needed for scheduling conflicts
Plan for upcoming family outings, vacations, and activities
Identify community service and church related activities that the family can participate in to give back to their community

Family Meetings

When organizing a family meeting, family members can rotate facilitating the meeting or taking notes. Much success this spring as you fully engage your family in a new beginning of growth and learning.

Mary Ann

Wonderful Experiences with Dad Across the Miles

Although Kinji’s dad works in Japan, my grandson thinks his relationship with his father is quite normal when he shares extended time with his father in the United States or in Japan. Between visits, their close relationship is maintained through regular FaceTime phone calls throughout the week. Ongoing phone conversations focus on:

Their daily life activities and Kinji’s new Lego creations
My grandson’s exciting adventures at school
Kenji’s participation in various afterschool programs including Karate and swimming
Math discussions on prime numbers, multiplication, and how to identify number patterns

When Kinji’s dad comes to visit in the United States, my grandson lives with him for several days. Because they regularly talk on the phone, my grandson and his dad are able to continue their discussions about daily life while also sharing memorable activities including:

Attending local football games
Going to the movies
Playing at parks
Eating dinners at various restaurants
Visiting with cousins and relatives
Building new Lego kits

Kinji’s recent visit with his dad was limited because his father was in the process of moving to Thailand for a new work assignment. This relocation to a new country is exciting for Kenji because he will be able to explore another country and culture with his father during his future extended trips overseas.

May our grandchildren and children cherish their many cultural adventures with family members around the world!

Joyce

Yikes! My Child Is Struggling with School

Winter report cards were just distributed and your child is struggling with various core subjects. Many parents feel overwhelmed when their child is not happy with the daily school routine. The report card may reflect many of these ongoing challenges. To clarify frustrations, consider asking your children these questions:

What frustrates you about school?
How do you get along with your teacher?
What can I do to help you succeed in the classroom?
What can you do to improve your relationship with your teacher?
What can we do at home to build your learning and resiliency skills?
How can we partner with the school to ensure your success?

Elementary Student Solutions

Through these discussions, parents can listen to their children’s fears about learning and identify concerns and needs. After probing more deeply into your children’s feelings about their classroom experiences, it is time to meet with the teacher to create a plan of successful actions. Effective solutions for elementary school students might include:

Work with the teacher to select reading books that are academically appropriate to support reading skill development. Many teachers can provide parents with guidance on various age appropriate book lists or online resources to reinforce reading challenges.
Ensure that your child is reading each day for at least 20 minutes. This can include sharing the reading of a book together, alternating reading each page to each other, having your child read to you, and reading to your child. This should be a positive experience of nurturing and support for both of you. Have your child read books that he or she wants to read and you can read the harder books to your child.
Integrate art and family play activities with reading. For example, you can visit historical sites when reading about local history or celebrations. Then you and your child can watercolor a site that you visited or create a framed college of a historical family outing.
For math, you can play math games and help your child develop math facts through the use flash cards. Encourage your child to help you with various home projects and work together to problem solve using various math applications. Kids love to cook, measure, calculate square footage, build, sew, construct, design, and budget. All of these activities require various mathematical applications you can support through your guidance and modeling. Ensure that these projects are fun for both of you.
Participate in the classroom to learn how to support your child’s learning at home.
Offer to prep various projects for the teacher to establish an ongoing dialogue of support.

Middle and High School Student Solutions

Middle and high school students should meet with the teacher first and then include their parent in the discussion if not successful. The students can lead the discussion on how to resolve their challenges with a teacher. The teacher and students can also devise a plan on how they can succeed in a class. Then parents can follow-up with both the teacher and their children at predetermined intervals to ensure that all are supporting students’ successes.

Much success in partnering with the school!

Mary Ann