Parents - The Child's First Teacher
If you are at school, come on in and play with your child
I view parents of the students I teach as partners, collaborators, and advocates for their children. They are their child’s first teacher, therefore I try to involve them in as many aspects of their child’s learning as I can.
Being a guest reader helps a parent to understand the teacher's role in our partnership
It is not uncommon to see parents volunteering within our classroom, reading to a small group of children once a week or teaching the entire class about their own passion or interest.
Parents are always welcome to join us and share their passions.
I work very hard to help parents understand what a social-constructivist classroom is like, why play is very important, and encourage them to follow similar philosophies in their parenting.
Using learning stories to ask 'what are you learning about?'
Displaying documentation around our classroom and hallway space, as well as learning stories through our blog, informs parents of our classroom happenings, and inspires them to be creative and experimental with their parenting in order to raise a whole and healthy child.
Aiding in the reflection process - recording child's memories of the experience
The documentation binder also supports parents to aid their child with the 'reflection' process of learning, a prop to ask questions and have the child recall while the parent records the child's thoughts of the learning event. They always know what to ask their child about at the dinner table.
