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Discover the benefits of early childhood accreditation, learn about the s implified process, find support and resources for your program or login to the accreditation portal.

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32 Best Take Home Bag Ideas images | Literacy bags, Literacy, Preschool literacy

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Mar 4, 2013 - Explore mindfulmoments1's board "Take Home Bag Ideas", followed by 391 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about Literacy bags, Literacy and Preschool literacy.

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Parents Are Changing. Is Your Early Learning Service?

Parent engagement is one of few win wins in education.

Regulators, early education experts and quality assurance agencies are placing more and more emphasis on parent engagement in the digital age. Centres can improve early education outcomes if they can draw parents into the process, make them collaborators in their child's education. This is sometimes referred to as "parents as partners."

Parents are the world experts on their children and so their feedback is invaluable. Furthermore, if parents are aware of educational plans in action during the day and can reinforce those ideas at home, the child's education moves into a 24 hour clock.

And for sure, engaged parents are happy parents, and likely loyal supporters of your service.

And yet, engaging parents is not getting any easier. Today's parents are:

Juggling increasingly complex lives, and

Short on time

They care more than ever about the educational trajectory of their preschooler. And so, they do want to engage. The question for your service is how?

Collaboration - The Value of Parent Engagement

If your communications engage parents, you will build a stronger teacher-family partnership. This leads to a better understanding of the child, more feedback from parents on how things are going and ultimately, a happier and more successful learning experience for the child. Parent engagement to start, evolving into authentic parent collaboration where the parent is a true partner, and active participant in your educational team.

In its guide for preschool teachers, the US Department of Education says parent engagement in early education plays a vital role:

It gives parents a better understanding of how you are helping to prepare their children for success in school.

Parents learn how well their children are progressing in developing the building blocks of learning.

Parents learn ways to help their children at home.

You will have a better understanding of children's background and experiences.

Children will see that the adults in their life care about them, and their learning and development.

Sharing Nurtures Growth

Bridging the gap between home and preschool makes families feel more engaged with their children's development, with many studies suggesting strong parent-teacher partnerships can help children develop positive self-esteem and be motivated to learn.

In the words of a report by researchers AC Baker and Manfredi Petitt for the National Association for the Education of Young Children, "Young children do best - now and later - when they are nurtured within a tightly woven web of love."

All around the world, service quality systems include measurements of family engagement. Experts and regulators see parent engagement in early childhood education as one the most powerful drivers of better educational outcomes.

Engaging Parents In A Noisy, Digital World

Stress, financial worries, time pressures, conflicting values and experiences, language barriers and different views of a child's needs can get in the way of developing an open, honest and trusting relationship between teachers and parents.

Even with the best intentions, teachers sometimes find it easier to communicate with children than their parents!

However, parents really do want to hear from you, they do want to engage. Here are four ways to cut through, to engage parents and make them part of your extended learning team:

1. Make your passion shine through

2. Treat messages differently

3. Involve parents

4. Focus on two-way communication

#1. Communicate (& Educate Parents) With Passion

Your teachers are passionate about their kids. Every time a child makes a step forward, your teachers are thrilled. It's the kind of passion parents of any generation will respond to.

Does that passion come out in your communications with parents? Face to face communication about a growth moment is hard to beat. Checklists and reports don't voice this passion. Neither do text emails.

Use Photos To Make Your Messages Compelling

One way to communicate with passion is to send updates that brings the learning to life. Every parent will respond to an update from you that includes a picture that catches their child in the act of learning something. Here are some tips of taking photos that are memorable.

Use Learning Stories To Share Your Goals & Provide Context

A parent who understands your approach is likely a more enthusiastic supporter and a more active partner in the learning. If a parent understands and is excited by the value of an activity, she is more likely to continue the learning at home. And more likely to provide feedback that will might improve the way your teachers run that activity next time.

The way to provide this educational context to each activity is to connect the photos and stories a teacher's plan, to a child's individual learning goals and/or to state guidelines using an online portfolio system where the context and linking is clear.

It's not just play. For instance, play doh activities could be connected to fine motor skills. Or it could be that a teacher is using an interest and/or a strength to develop a weakness.

This context resonates for parents, it gives them confidence in the learning that goes on at your service. And, when they better understand the value, it encourages to continue the activities at home, the ultimate sign of family engagement.

Learning Stories

The need to inject passion into the parent communications in early education is part of the thinking behind the concept of learning stories, a narrative assessmen t method that uses a storytelling approach (about the child, or written to the child) to describe learning progress. The beauty of learning stories is that a teacher's passion for the child, and excitement over the progress made, is much more likely to shine through.

Learning stories with photos speak the language of millennial parents. That passion a teacher feels for a child is something parents will respond to - they will read, learn, give positive feedback and respond to any suggestions to extend the learning at home.

#2. Different Messages, Different Mediums

For a teacher, finding the right way to reliably communicate is daunting, especially as the channels of communication keep evolving. The way a parent consumes information and relates to her providers, and that includes you, is also changing.

Today's parent has a jammed email inbox. And a jammed Facebook feed. Resist adding to the digital clutter. Ask yourself: in each case, what is the best form of communication for this message? Another email blast or is there a better option?

If you do have an important message, the communication should be:

Quick and easy

In real-time, and

Preferably private

There's still a place for paper notices such as upcoming events, for instance, where a paper notice can go onto a board at home. However, most of the time you will need to find an online option, with communications preferably all in one place, on one channel.

#3. Involve Parents

Part of parent engagement in early education is parent involvement. The more comfortable a parent feels with your service and your approach, the more likely they are to engage and collaborate in the learning. Here are a few suggestions:

Make sure parents know you and your staff. Announce new staff hirings, talk about any awards earned by staff members.

Encourage parents to volunteer. Do they have a passion or talent they would like to share?

Create an ePortfolio where parents can see their child's progress whenever they want.

Provide resources helpful to parents, and make them available in a private website, a parent portal.

Recommend activities at home that build on the learning during the day, to extend the learning.

#4. Make It Two-Way

Sending a steady stream of one-way emails or updates that do not invite a response is so 2009! Yes, there is a place for news updates, FYI emails and the like.

But for instance, when it comes to anything to do with a child's learning, a channel that provokes a response is going to be much more effective. These days, parents expect two-way communication. They are looking to engage and respond if the invitation is there.

And so, when sending updates or stories consider adding a question, inviting a specific parent response.

Using Technology to Engage Families

In recent years, technology has created new ways for teachers to engage in two-way communication with families.

Technologies such as welcome videos for new families and individual private digital portfolios enable teachers and parents to work together to provide children with the best possible start.

Our Parent Communications Software

Our software, Educa, gives preschool teachers a way to document the information they gather about children's learning and development, and to share that information with the people who matters most in a child's life.

Reports

Educa has a Reports section, which help take some of the guesswork out of your parent engagement ideas.

For instance, one report shows stories posted and parent reactions. Another tracks parent visits - parents are active, and probably more important, which parents are not.

On average, parents visit their Educa site 20x each month. That's 20 opportunities each month to make parents part of your program and active contributors to their child's education.

Try Educa

To see how Educa works, schedule a demo here. Or register for a webinar here.

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4 Keys To Better Parent Engagement in Early Education

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Parent engagement is one of few win wins in education. Regulators, early education experts and quality assurance agencies are placing more and more emphasis on parent engagement in the digital age. Centres can improve early education outcomes if they can draw parents into the process, make them collaborators in their child's education.

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Please make sure you add the director and assistant director and Grant Coordinator onto this

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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Ways to build communication with Families

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Ways to build communication with Families

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Nurturing the home-school connection is key to the success of any classroom, but especially important in classrooms that include students with and without disabilities. Partnering with parents will give you unique insights into your students' gifts, strengths, and needs-and help you create workable solutions to a student's learning challenges.

Today's post gives you 18 great suggestions (adapted from Brookes books by top education experts) on how to create and maintain strong partnerships with your students' families.

1. Send a back-to-school letter.

Before the beginning of the school year, send home a friendly letter to parents. Begin with a positive statement that conveys excitement about the year ahead, introduce your class expectations, relate any important information parents need to know (the date of Back-to-School Night, what information will be posted online and when), and provide your contact information (be sure to specify when they can call you). If you co-teach, the letter should be from both teachers and include contact information for both of you.

2. Ask for their preferences.

Before choosing a home-school communication option, check with parents and specifically ask them how they'd prefer to communicate. Some parents will prefer written communication, while others will opt to talk face to face or over the phone. Also, discuss how frequently parents would like to communicate with you or other school team members, and decide on a rough schedule that's manageable and feasible for everyone.

3. Determine their priorities.

Ask parents at the beginning of the year what their highest priorities are for their child. For some families, it may be helping the child improve in a specific academic area; for others, it may be supporting positive behavior or development of friendships. Assessing parents' priorities and communicating these priorities to all team members are key to the home-school partnership.

4. Keep a communication notebook.

Notebooks that go back and forth between home and school are a popular home-school communication option. They're a simple, reliable way to keep parents informed about what's going on at school and provide educators with the invaluable parent perspective. To make the most of this option, be sure that entries are all signed or initialed by both the teacher and parent, and keep the book in a consistent, convenient place, like the student's backpack or a pouch on the back of the student's wheelchair.

Electronic communication can sometimes have advantages over low-tech options like notebooks; for example, you can easily supplement your notes with photos and video, and electronic platforms are available to both teachers and parents at any time. Consider free and low-cost options like journaling apps and blogs, which can be easily adapted for use as a communication book. Or stay in touch through email or text messaging, if the parent is more comfortable with those options. (You might even consider a hybrid approach-use a simple communication notebook but supplement some entries with emailed photos or video.)

Try setting aside 15 to 20 minutes each week or every other week to call parents for a friendly update. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in that small, manageable amount of time. Not only do personal calls to parents build bridges between school and home and foster trust, they also give you a chance to talk through concerns and brainstorm solutions.

7. Be the bearer of good news.

When you're trying to juggle a hectic schedule, it can be tempting to communicate with parents only when a child's had a challenge or a difficult day. Be sure to use your communication platforms to share good news, too, so parents can celebrate their child's accomplishments and positive actions. Every now and then, send an email or text or make a quick phone call to update parents on their child's achievements and share which ideas and strategies have been working well.

If parents are comfortable with home visits, you might want to try setting one up. A trip to a student's home can be a great way to get to know families and set up a partnership with them in an environment where they're comfortable. And seeing your students in their own homes can give you invaluable insights into their social-emotional development and preferred communication styles. (If you can't visit homes, another option is to spend some time in the communities where your students live and get a feel for their everyday environment.)

9. Use student learning logs.

For students who can write or type, a daily learning log is a good way to keep parents informed about what's happening in school. Students can take a few minutes each day to update the log and reflect on the day's activities and lessons. This provides an excellent opportunity for the student to actively participate in home-school communication (and it's an extra chance to practice literacy and communication skills). For students who don't communicate via the written word, a classmate might provide support with this task (by taking dictation, for example).

10. Share solution-building.

Solutions to a family's concerns should be discussed collaboratively by the parents and the teacher, and possibly a few other members of the educational team. After you come up with several workable solutions, review them with parents and ask which one they're most comfortable with. Encourage the parents to choose which option to try, so they leave feeling empowered with a clear plan of action.

11. Offer language choices for diverse families.

When working with families who are culturally diverse, offer them a choice of language for communication, both at school and between home. If your school doesn't have easy access to translators, consider recruiting a local university student to translate in his or her area of study or native language, having a parent or relative fluent in English translate for a parent who is not fluent, and using pictures, graphs, and organizational charts to aid your communication.

During a team meeting, do you ever hear statements like these? "He's currently in a 12-1-1 and could move to consult if the one-to-one follows along. Could the O.T. do push-in in that setting? His fine motor skills need a lot of work." Jargon might come easily to education professionals, but it can create a barrier for parents and cause confusion and frustration during meetings with them. Minimize use of jargon during sit-downs with parents, and use clear and direct language that puts them at ease and welcomes their participation.

13. Show families you value their child.

The way you talk about students has a big impact on the success of your partnership with families. Parents want to know that you see their child's best qualities, so be sure to communicate your optimism about the child and praise his or her positive traits. For example, pointing out a child's great sense of humor or helpful nature lets parents know that you see and care about their child as a person, and that can go a long way toward gaining the parent's respect and trust.

14. Make parents part of the classroom community.

Invite parents into the classroom for special activities so they can take part in your community. You might invite them to whole-class debates, classroom performances, presentations, or art gallery walks.

15. Be there for after-school events.

Support your students' communities, too! Attend a community event or activity that the family is involved in, such as a craft fair, a charity walk, a play, or pageant. This communicates support and shows families that your interest doesn't stop when the dismissal bell rings.

16. Encourage volunteers.

Welcome parents as volunteers and suggest classroom jobs for them that suit their personalities and talents. One parent might enjoy reading to the class or teaching students about a particular area of expertise, while another parent might prefer to prep materials for an activity or type up the class newsletter.

Lead some activities outside of school to strengthen the home-school connection and get families up to speed with what you're working on. One fun idea is a quarterly game night. Start a math-games night or a language-arts game night every quarter to teach families about the games you use during your lessons. Encourage parents to use the games at home with their children.

18. Survey the situation.

Gather parent input periodically so you can see what did and didn't work. Once or twice a year, give parents a simple survey to complete and ask them key questions about their perceptions of their child's educational services. This is a great way to keep the home-school dialogue going, ensure that parent are partners in developing their child's education plan, and target specific areas for improvement.

What would you add to this list? Do you have a favorite strategy for reaching out to parents and forming strong partnerships with them? Add your home-school connection tips in the comments below!

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18 Ways to Connect and Communicate with Families - Brookes Blog

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Nurturing the home-school connection is key to the success of any classroom, but especially important in classrooms that include students with and without disabilities. Partnering with parents will give you unique insights into your students' gifts, strengths, and needs-and help you create workable solutions to a student's learning challenges.

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Email families with pictures of what the children did during the day or week and keep up that great communication!

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Everyone's Invited

Parents don't have to download an app to join the party. ClassTag's smart messages reach parents on any device and in whichever language they prefer.

Easy to Get Involved

Parents can respond to sign-ups, parent teacher conferences, volunteer opportunities and donation requests through ClassTag, in just one click.

One Simple Source of Info

Find messages, photos, events and news all in one place. It's like a window into the classroom and virtual fridge door all in one. A frindow if you will.

"ClassTag is transformational. I have never seen this level of parent engagement. A must have tool for every teacher!"

Rebecca Karow Kindergarten Teacher, Success Academy, New York City

"What I love about ClassTag is that if I have something in my calendar, or that parents need to respond to, ClassTag sends them automatic reminders, so I don't need to do any of that work."

Danielle Fugazzi 1st Grade Teacher, Now Assistant Principal, New York City

"We had the idea to have parents choose their own times for parent-teacher conferences...We implemented that with ClassTag, it was super cool. Teachers bought into it... it was fabulous!"

Susan Oehlertz Technology Integrationist

"ClassTag has opened up the gates for teacher-parent communication! There's no more waiting for responses or risking lost papers getting sent to and from school. It is a super way to send reminders to parents!"

Leslie Aden 5th Grade Teacher, Pocahontas Area Elementary, Iowa

I'm a Teacher

Connect with Parents
Sign up

I'm a School Leader

Better communication
Sign up

I'm a Parent

Connect with Teachers

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Free Parent-Teacher Communication That Works, For Everyone

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Everyone's Invited Parents don't have to download an app to join the party. ClassTag's smart messages reach parents on any device and in whichever language they prefer. Easy to Get Involved Parents can respond to sign-ups, parent teacher conferences, volunteer opportunities and donation requests through ClassTag, in just one click.

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Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform

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Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform

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Elementary Learning Experience Platform | Seesaw

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Seesaw is a Learning Experience Platform with 25M+ users, enhancing elementary education, engagement, and school culture while improving academic success.

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School districts often end up using five to ten different classroom communication apps across all their schools. Schools might be using one tool for msging, and a completely different tool for taking attendance or healthcheck forms. When a school or district uses too many communication apps, things get lost in the shuffle. Overloaded parents often miss important messages leading to further disengagement and frustration.

Bloomz is the unified parent teacher communication app that increases parental engagement by connecting everyone with one easy-to-use tool. Bloomz handles ALL district, school, teacher, parent, and student communication. Bloomz is designed to be the complete unified solution, bringing together teachers, parents and students.

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Parent Teacher Communication App with PBIS Behavior Management

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Bloomz makes it easy for teachers to securely share photos and classroom updates, reach parents through messaging, and coordinate events.

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Communicating with Families Zero to Three

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Communicating with Families Zero to Three

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Parents and children are a two-for-one deal: Developing positive relationships with parents is critical to providing the best care possible to their children.

But sometimes you already have a relationship with the child's parents-they may be related to you, live in your neighborhood, or be friends or acquaintances. This can be a real benefit since you might already share an open, trusting relationship with the parents. But this familiarity can also raise some challenges when you are caring for their children.

Even when your relationship with a parent(s) is warm and positive, sharing the care of a young child often stirs up strong feelings. It isn't uncommon for parents, at one point or another, to feel a pang of fear that their child might grow to love her caregiver more. They may also worry, at times, that their child's caregiver is better at parenting than they are. This may be more of a concern when the caregiver is someone the parent and child both know well-a relative, friend or neighbor. Here are two fairly typical experiences that come up when sharing the care:

1. Sarita got into her car, really angry. When she dropped off her 20-month-old, Malika, that morning, she mentioned to her friend, Angela (who cares for Malika), how impossible Malika has been in the mornings. She drags her feet, doesn't want to get dressed, pitches a fit about which outfit to wear-it's been practically impossible to get her out the door. Angela seemed really surprised. "Wow, she is an angel here. I tell her it's time to go out and she runs over to the coat hook, pulls down her coat, and puts it on. She is really cooperative." Sarita thought she'd be relieved to hear how well-behaved Malika was, but instead found herself wondering if this means she is not as good at caring for Malika.

2. Aldo stopped by his mother-in-law's house to pick up his toddler, Blanca. When he tells Blanca it is time to go home, she shouts, "No! Stay with Abuelita!" and goes to hide under the table. After calling to her, Aldo finally had to crawl under there and pull her out. Blanca was screaming the whole time. It was embarrassing, and made him feel like a bad father-like even his own child didn't want to be with him. His mother-in-law told him it was just because Blanca has a hard time making changes. But it still was a rotten way to end a long day.

Communicating with Parents: 3 Key Steps

When you have a challenging encounter with a parent, you can use the steps below to get things back on track in order to provide the best care for the child you all care so deeply about.

Step 1: Notice how you are feeling.

Tuning in to your feelings is very important. When you're not aware of them, they often rear their ugly heads in ways that can interfere in building strong, positive relationships with parents.
Adele watches her niece's son, Eduardo, each day, which she really enjoys. But her niece, Tasha, is often late to pick him up and never calls. Adele is really frustrated and angry. She feels it's very disrespectful and that she is being taken advantage of. When her niece does eventually show up, Adele is very abrupt and annoyed in her tone. The two adults barely communicate. Eduardo glances from one to the other and looks very tense. Tasha whisks him away and Eduardo doesn't even say good-bye to his auntie whom he adores.
Recognizing the impact on Eduardo, Adele decides to talk to Tasha about her feelings and to see about making a plan to help Tasha arrive on time, and at least to call to let Adele know she is running late. When Adele takes the approach of partnering with Tasha in solving the problem, versus blaming her, Tasha is open to discussing solutions.

Step 2: Look at the interaction from the child's point of view.

Tuning in to the child's experience can reduce tension and lead to joint problem-solving. Take the example of a child throwing a tantrum when his parent comes to pick him up. This situation can naturally make a parent feel incompetent and embarrassed. But if you look at it from the child's point of view, you can reframe the issue in a way that doesn't make the parent feel bad and that also helps him or her understand the complexity of the child's behavior: "It seems like Stephanie is trying to tell you, I'm having so much fun with the dollhouse that I need a little time to adjust to the idea it's time to leave for the day. "

In the cases where a child is more cooperative with you than the parent, again, help her see it from the child's perspective: "Yes, Tony puts his coat on when I ask him to, but that's because he knows I have to help the other kids too. Kids learn quickly that the rules and expectations at home and here can be different. He tells me all about how you make sure he is zipped up and how you always check that he has his hat. He talks about you all the time."

Step 3: Partner with parents.

Developing a plan together with parents on how to handle a child-rearing issue helps you move forward as partners, instead of competitors. For example, if you are trying to teach children not to hit when they are angry, but the parent hits her child to discipline her at home, you can:

Use "I" statements: I know we are both concerned about Erica hitting other kids when she's here. I really work with the kids on finding other ways to show angry feelings. I don't hit them because when adults hit children when they are angry, it teaches children to hit as well when they are mad.

Ask for the parent's perspective: Clarify the parent's feelings and beliefs on the issue. Ask questions to learn, not to pass judgment: "What are acceptable ways to you for Erica to express her angry feelings? What do you do at home? What do you find works? What doesn't work? Would you be open to finding ways to discipline her other than hitting?"

Most important: Look for a place to compromise. Ask the parent if he or she has ideas for next steps. What can the two of you agree on? What can you both work on? For example, " We both agree that Erica needs to find other ways to show her anger besides hitting. One strategy that seems to work here is to have her stomp her feet as hard as she can to get her mad out. Are you comfortable with that? I also tell her that if she needs a break, she can curl up on the couch with her teddy bear. Are these strategies you think you might want to try at home?" (If not, ask the parent(s) what he or she would be comfortable with.)

Finally, don't forget to check in. A relationship is a living thing that grows and changes over time. It's important to check in with parents to see how things are going, how your agreed-upon plan is working, and where you might need to make some adjustments. Communication is the key to making any partnership work.

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Parents and children are a two-for-one deal: Developing positive relationships with parents is critical to providing the best care possible to their children. But sometimes you already have a relationship with the child's parents-they may be related to you, live in your neighborhood, or be friends or acquaintances.

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Parents Are Changing. Is Your Early Learning Service?

Parent engagement is one of few win wins in education.

Regulators, early education experts and quality assurance agencies are placing more and more emphasis on parent engagement in the digital age. Centres can improve early education outcomes if they can draw parents into the process, make them collaborators in their child's education. This is sometimes referred to as "parents as partners."

Parents are the world experts on their children and so their feedback is invaluable. Furthermore, if parents are aware of educational plans in action during the day and can reinforce those ideas at home, the child's education moves into a 24 hour clock.

And for sure, engaged parents are happy parents, and likely loyal supporters of your service.

And yet, engaging parents is not getting any easier. Today's parents are:

Juggling increasingly complex lives, and

Short on time

They care more than ever about the educational trajectory of their preschooler. And so, they do want to engage. The question for your service is how?

Collaboration - The Value of Parent Engagement

If your communications engage parents, you will build a stronger teacher-family partnership. This leads to a better understanding of the child, more feedback from parents on how things are going and ultimately, a happier and more successful learning experience for the child. Parent engagement to start, evolving into authentic parent collaboration where the parent is a true partner, and active participant in your educational team.

In its guide for preschool teachers, the US Department of Education says parent engagement in early education plays a vital role:

It gives parents a better understanding of how you are helping to prepare their children for success in school.

Parents learn how well their children are progressing in developing the building blocks of learning.

Parents learn ways to help their children at home.

You will have a better understanding of children's background and experiences.

Children will see that the adults in their life care about them, and their learning and development.

Sharing Nurtures Growth

Bridging the gap between home and preschool makes families feel more engaged with their children's development, with many studies suggesting strong parent-teacher partnerships can help children develop positive self-esteem and be motivated to learn.

In the words of a report by researchers AC Baker and Manfredi Petitt for the National Association for the Education of Young Children, "Young children do best - now and later - when they are nurtured within a tightly woven web of love."

All around the world, service quality systems include measurements of family engagement. Experts and regulators see parent engagement in early childhood education as one the most powerful drivers of better educational outcomes.

Engaging Parents In A Noisy, Digital World

Stress, financial worries, time pressures, conflicting values and experiences, language barriers and different views of a child's needs can get in the way of developing an open, honest and trusting relationship between teachers and parents.

Even with the best intentions, teachers sometimes find it easier to communicate with children than their parents!

However, parents really do want to hear from you, they do want to engage. Here are four ways to cut through, to engage parents and make them part of your extended learning team:

1. Make your passion shine through

2. Treat messages differently

3. Involve parents

4. Focus on two-way communication

#1. Communicate (& Educate Parents) With Passion

Your teachers are passionate about their kids. Every time a child makes a step forward, your teachers are thrilled. It's the kind of passion parents of any generation will respond to.

Does that passion come out in your communications with parents? Face to face communication about a growth moment is hard to beat. Checklists and reports don't voice this passion. Neither do text emails.

Use Photos To Make Your Messages Compelling

One way to communicate with passion is to send updates that brings the learning to life. Every parent will respond to an update from you that includes a picture that catches their child in the act of learning something. Here are some tips of taking photos that are memorable.

Use Learning Stories To Share Your Goals & Provide Context

A parent who understands your approach is likely a more enthusiastic supporter and a more active partner in the learning. If a parent understands and is excited by the value of an activity, she is more likely to continue the learning at home. And more likely to provide feedback that will might improve the way your teachers run that activity next time.

The way to provide this educational context to each activity is to connect the photos and stories a teacher's plan, to a child's individual learning goals and/or to state guidelines using an online portfolio system where the context and linking is clear.

It's not just play. For instance, play doh activities could be connected to fine motor skills. Or it could be that a teacher is using an interest and/or a strength to develop a weakness.

This context resonates for parents, it gives them confidence in the learning that goes on at your service. And, when they better understand the value, it encourages to continue the activities at home, the ultimate sign of family engagement.

Learning Stories

The need to inject passion into the parent communications in early education is part of the thinking behind the concept of learning stories, a narrative assessmen t method that uses a storytelling approach (about the child, or written to the child) to describe learning progress. The beauty of learning stories is that a teacher's passion for the child, and excitement over the progress made, is much more likely to shine through.

Learning stories with photos speak the language of millennial parents. That passion a teacher feels for a child is something parents will respond to - they will read, learn, give positive feedback and respond to any suggestions to extend the learning at home.

#2. Different Messages, Different Mediums

For a teacher, finding the right way to reliably communicate is daunting, especially as the channels of communication keep evolving. The way a parent consumes information and relates to her providers, and that includes you, is also changing.

Today's parent has a jammed email inbox. And a jammed Facebook feed. Resist adding to the digital clutter. Ask yourself: in each case, what is the best form of communication for this message? Another email blast or is there a better option?

If you do have an important message, the communication should be:

Quick and easy

In real-time, and

Preferably private

There's still a place for paper notices such as upcoming events, for instance, where a paper notice can go onto a board at home. However, most of the time you will need to find an online option, with communications preferably all in one place, on one channel.

#3. Involve Parents

Part of parent engagement in early education is parent involvement. The more comfortable a parent feels with your service and your approach, the more likely they are to engage and collaborate in the learning. Here are a few suggestions:

Make sure parents know you and your staff. Announce new staff hirings, talk about any awards earned by staff members.

Encourage parents to volunteer. Do they have a passion or talent they would like to share?

Create an ePortfolio where parents can see their child's progress whenever they want.

Provide resources helpful to parents, and make them available in a private website, a parent portal.

Recommend activities at home that build on the learning during the day, to extend the learning.

#4. Make It Two-Way

Sending a steady stream of one-way emails or updates that do not invite a response is so 2009! Yes, there is a place for news updates, FYI emails and the like.

But for instance, when it comes to anything to do with a child's learning, a channel that provokes a response is going to be much more effective. These days, parents expect two-way communication. They are looking to engage and respond if the invitation is there.

And so, when sending updates or stories consider adding a question, inviting a specific parent response.

Using Technology to Engage Families

In recent years, technology has created new ways for teachers to engage in two-way communication with families.

Technologies such as welcome videos for new families and individual private digital portfolios enable teachers and parents to work together to provide children with the best possible start.

Our Parent Communications Software

Our software, Educa, gives preschool teachers a way to document the information they gather about children's learning and development, and to share that information with the people who matters most in a child's life.

Reports

Educa has a Reports section, which help take some of the guesswork out of your parent engagement ideas.

For instance, one report shows stories posted and parent reactions. Another tracks parent visits - parents are active, and probably more important, which parents are not.

On average, parents visit their Educa site 20x each month. That's 20 opportunities each month to make parents part of your program and active contributors to their child's education.

Try Educa

To see how Educa works, schedule a demo here. Or register for a webinar here.

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4 Keys To Better Parent Engagement in Early Education

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Parent engagement is one of few win wins in education. Regulators, early education experts and quality assurance agencies are placing more and more emphasis on parent engagement in the digital age. Centres can improve early education outcomes if they can draw parents into the process, make them collaborators in their child's education.

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Newest way to communicate with families

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COR Advantage's easy-to-use technology makes it easy to systematically track and measure programs' unique goals, create rich content, capture reliable data, and more!

All photos, videos, and notes captured for assessment purposes can be shared with families in real time, scheduled to send automatically, or inserted into engaging newsletters. Family communication can also be translated into a family's preferred language.

Easily share photos, videos, portfolios, newsletters, and more with families through text or email.

Intuitive for users of all abilities and accessible through web, iOS and Android devices

Aligned with state standards, Head Start ELOF, and meets QRIS requirements in all states.

Free, individualized, online training and unparalleled service to ensure all users are successful

Up-to-date view of child performance, growth, and assessment completion for reporting and planning purposes

All communication to families can be automatically translated to more than 100 languages

"When we were evaluating assessments, COR Advantage met all of our expectations and others that we didn't even realize we had. The cross-utilization of documentation has been extremely helpful for our teachers and our families."

Easily share photos, videos, portfolios, newsletters, and more with families through text or email.

Aligned with state standards, Head Start ELOF, and meets QRIS requirements in all states.

Free, individualized, online training and unparalleled service to ensure all users are successful

All communication to families can be automatically translated to more than 100 languages

Intuitive for users of all abilities and accessible through web, iOS and Android devices

"My teachers absolutely love it. They love that they can send reports in Spanish, the parents' home language. And they love that when they reach out to the customer service team, they will individualize information for us the same way we do for our kids."

"In the same classroom, we have children at the developmental level of a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old. We can now use our assessment tool to scaffold to what each child actually needs, not what a typical 4-year-old might need and better meet the needs of all our kids."

- Instructional Coach in Arkansas

Head Start Educators Love HighScope's Child Assessment Tool

COR Advantage is HighScope's whole-child, observation-based, valid and reliable assessment tool that can be used with any developmentally appropriate curriculum to help teachers focus on what matters most.

With no lengthy checkpoints and only 34 assessment items, COR Advantage saves teachers time so they can maximize learning time with children and make data-driven instructional decisions.

Interested in learning more about COR Advantage and how it can help with the child assessment tips Katie Turner shared in her Preschool Inspirations blog post, Early Childhood Assessments Made Simple?

Up-to-date view of child performance, growth, and assessment completion for reporting and planning purposes

Head Start Educators Love HighScope's Child Assessment Tool

Educators Love HighScope's Child Assessment Tool

Educators Love HighScope's Child Assessment Tool

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COR Advantage's easy-to-use technology makes it easy to systematically track and measure programs' unique goals, create rich content, capture reliable data, and more! All photos, videos, and notes captured for assessment purposes can be shared with families in real time, scheduled to send automatically, or inserted into engaging newsletters.

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With Brightweheel, you can provide a summary of your day and call parents right from within the app. Send photos easily as well. You can also record student progress with text or voice and share assessments privately with other teachers.

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Brightwheel | The Easiest All-in-One Childcare Software & App

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See why brightwheel is the #1 childcare management software for preschools and child care. The all-in-one platform is built to save you and your staff time.

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With this app, you can share pictures, videos, and observations. You can also keep parents informed on how a child is developing and learning. Storypark’s reporting features make it easy to see each child’s progression, unique interests, and family involvement. You can create ePortfolio records that students can have from birth to school too.

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Engage families in children's development in your own private Storypark community
Start your free trial

Record and communicate learning as it happens by sharing photos, video, audio, observations and routines within a secure online environment. Receive instant feedback and plan new ways to extend children's unique interests and abilities.

Built under the guidance of international experts and leading academics, for educators focused on high quality practice.

Trusted by practitioners around the world.

Nurture life-long learning

Accessible ePortfolio records that travel with children from birth to school. Support a continuous, cohesive learning journey for each child.

Enhance quality practice

Encourage reflective intentional teaching, personalise learning, and work with mentors or specialists.

Communication made easy

Share notices, events, reminders, policies and messages. Have conversations with individuals and get immediate responses.

90

%

of families said they now have a stronger understanding of their child's development.

84

%

of teachers said Storypark had saved them time.

98

%

of teachers said Storypark had improved family engagement.

Data-led decision making

Increase enrolment and gain competitive advantage. Streamline assessment and reporting with unique data insights. Do and understand more in less time.

Learn more >

Led by our values,
in service to our Mothers

Storypark is a for-purpose organization dedicated to making a difference. Our unique heritage has helped us focus on what matters most to children, families and educators.

Why we're doing this >

Powerful professional development tools

Support continuous professional learning in your own teacher portfolio.

Have discussions and share resources in private communities of practice.

Show how observations support your plans as a team and with parents.

Simple to implement, easy to use

We're here to help you on every step of the journey with dedicated technical setup and onboarding, advanced teacher training, and prioritised customer care.

Individual voices, interests, strengths and abilities are more easily recognised and supported.

Immediate, timely responses mean current interests are deepened and explored more fully.

Greater emotional support - stronger trust and attachment, important during transitions.

Extended awareness of community, relationships and place in the world.

Trees love Storypark

Save on printing costs, improve environmental sustainability and make some trees happy.
Read a case study >

Proud to be working with

"We have seen a national shift towards ePortfolios becoming the norm and would strongly attribute this to Storypark's commitment to innovation and quality service. Their alignment with our values makes our relationship that much stronger and we encourage all our members to use Storypark."

Flexible and affordable for early learning services.
Free for families.
Try Storypark now
Start your full access 30-day free trial and join people in
over 100 countries who rely on Storypark every day.

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Document and support children's learning, together - Storypark

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Start your free trial Record and communicate learning as it happens by sharing photos, video, audio, observations and routines within a secure online environment. Receive instant feedback and plan new ways to extend children's unique interests and abilities. Built under the guidance of international experts and leading academics, for educators focused on high quality practice.

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With this app, you can align your classroom observations with your curriculum and assessments to track student development. You can easily share that information with their families too. This app also includes special tools designed specifically for preschool and daycare programs including digital daily sheets, attendance tracking, and much more.

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Kaymbu - Portfolios and Family Engagement for Early Education

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Kaymbu - Portfolios and Family Engagement for Early Education

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Kaymbu is the leading family engagement and classroom documentation tool for early education programs. From simple photo sharing to rich observation-based portfolios and assessment, Kaymbu connects educators with young, digital-native parents.