Last Updated on May 27, 2022 by Maria James
Get Involved in Your Child’s Education:
The more engaged you are in your child’s education and learning, the more likely they’ll succeed in all areas of their education at children daycare near me, thanks to your continuous assistance and encouragement. Solid relationships between your school and home also create a sense of belonging and community.
Over time, the involvement of family members has changed substantially.
It has traditionally included helping with homework for children and making arrangements for school events or field excursions. While these are both essential, the importance of family involvement extends much further than that. As per the National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition, “family involvement serves to promote and support youth’s social, emotional, physical, academic, and occupational growth.”
Said, a more comprehensive approach is beneficial for the entire children.
A minimum of 50 studies on this topic have highlighted benefits, such as reducing concerns about behavior and increased attendance and improvements in social and cognitive skills development and creating a lifetime enthusiasm for learning.
It is important to remember that families could comprise other people central to your child’s life beyond those who belong to the nuclear families. Children are benefited from having multiple individuals who are involved in their learning. Encourage any person your child considers family members to be involved in their learning journey, including grandparents, aunts and uncles, stepfamilies, etc.
Here are a few suggestions for creating more of a connection.
Attend School Events:
The families are generally provided with various options to be present for their children throughout the year. The school’s leaders try to arrange the timings of activities to ensure that loved ones or parents can attend.
- The daytime: Celebrations in the classroom, holidays, grandparent days, and field days, among others.
- Evening: Curriculum nights, open houses, spaghetti dinners, etc.
- Extracurriculars: Sports, choir, band, theater, etc. Participate as a spectator and invite your extended family or close friends as often as possible. You might want to consider attending these events with your child, even when they’re not actively participating, to strengthen your connection with the community at school.
Be Guest Readers:
Younger children are very happy to have family members come to read to them and their peers. It’s a thrilling experience that will make them feel proud even at toddler and infant levels.
- Talk to your child’s teacher to select a time and date most suitable for your schedule, and they’re typically quite happy to accommodate.
- If the virtual option is still available after the pandemic, you can use this as an occasion to bring in relatives who reside in different locations as an exciting surprise.
Create a Community to Share Hobbies or your career. It’s a great way to share your passion or career; sharing your hobbies, love, or an area of experience with your child and their classmates is an excellent method to build connections and show your support.
- Create a basic demonstration like photography, crafting, baking, cooking, etc.
- Give career-related tips, like showing how to brush your teeth correctly (hygienist or dental professional) and presenting art instructions (artist or Illustrator) or presenting the tools you use and images of your vehicle (carpenter or mechanic). There are endless options!
- You can even suggest integrating an after-school event into your career or passion. For instance, you can help plan an evening of safety to discuss fires or booster seats. You could also help with biking.
Share Cultural items:
Representation in the classroom is perhaps among the top essential elements of inclusion. Sharing things that are representative of your child’s life can be extremely beneficial. This also gives children in the class and the teacher(s) the chance to get to know more about your family’s cultural heritage.
- Make photos of unique items, and then share the special story with your class.
- Sing, playbooks, or any other items that you find interesting.
- Discuss options for sharing foods, clothing, and traditions.
Elevate Communication:
Consistent communication with your child’s school offers an opportunity for parents and teachers to communicate objectives, stories, and assurances. This also creates an underlying foundation to create a connection between the teachers and families. Families with children younger than them are typically informed about their routines for care every day, but older children rarely receive updates daily.
- Show your support and interest by regularly communicating via email, phone notes, or other apps for school, such as SproutAbout.
- Make attending conferences scheduled throughout the year an important part of your plan.
This list can serve to get started and then see what ideas you can come up with. Discuss your interests with your teacher or the school’s leadership to find other avenues to be involved.