Here are a few tips to encourage parents to communicate with their children about school.
Journal
Make daily journals for students by putting white paper in a pocket folder. At the end of each day students draw what they learned and dictate or write a sentence to go with their drawing. The journal goes home each evening so children can discuss what they did at school with their parents. The parents sign the journal, write comments or compliments, and return it the following day.
Conversation Starters
Make copies of the attached conversations starters. (Adapt them to your age level and curriculum.) Cut them apart and put them in a bag. Children draw one as they leave at the end of the day and give it to their parents to prompt a discussion about what they did.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jlja2w2OWtzRjlIdkk/view?usp=sharing
Hint! One school suggested that parents "turn it off" in the car when they picked up their child. The quiet time might encourage children to talk about school because they'd know they had their parent's undivided attention.
Screen Time Survey
Ask parents to keep a log of how much time their child spends in front of a screen for a week. The following week ask them to “turn it off” and spend an equal amount of time reading, playing games, doing chores around the house, etc. with their child.
Brain Tickets
Run off brain tickets similar to the ones below. To earn a brain ticket children need to tell the teacher one new thing they learned at the end of each day. Explain to the parents that their job is to ask their child what she learned to earn the ticket.
Laptops for Every Child
A teacher explained at her first parents’ meeting that she recommended that every child needed at least one laptop – two if possible. It’s not the kind of laptop that you plug in, but the kind with two knees. This laptop is perfect for reading, talking, hugging, and singing!
Image via Freepik
The Overbooked Kid Fix: Rhythm, Rest, and Sanity
You’ve got soccer at four, piano at six, a birthday party on Saturday, and a homework packet somewhere between all of that. If you feel like your child’s calendar is starting to look like a middle manager’s Outlook, you’re not wrong. Modern parenting often means being a logistics coordinator, therapist, and time cop in the same breath. But let’s be honest: cramming a kid’s day full of “enrichment” can smother the very energy it’s meant to nurture. You don’t need a color-coded spreadsheet to reclaim your family’s sanity. What you need is rhythm. Predictability. A little breathing room.
Recognize When the Schedule’s Too Full
It starts with small shifts—short tempers, a slammed door over nothing, or your kid suddenly dreading the art class they begged for last month. That’s your cue. Pressure piles up when days are stacked without breaks, and it shows. Parents who pay attention to emotional fatigue often notice that kids resist structured plans once their stress threshold has tipped. One reliable sign? When a child displays agitation or starts pushing back on things they usually enjoy, it may be time to reassess how much their week is demanding of them. Think of it like a battery: even the best ones burn out if you never stop running the apps.
Build Time Literacy Into the Week
Kids don’t just need structure—they need to understand it. Helping them grasp the shape of their week builds a kind of internal compass. That means co-creating a weekly rhythm where each piece—homework, soccer, dinner, wind-down—is visible and anticipated. You’re not just managing time; you’re teaching them how to move through it. As educators note, prioritizing tasks over just filling slots helps kids feel ownership without overload. The trick isn’t perfection—it’s pacing. Let them see where breath fits in.
Use Digital Systems That Actually Work for You
You can’t run a household from memory. And sticky notes aren’t going to cut it when the whole week shifts because someone forgot Tuesday’s piano recital. Digital family organizers now do more than just log appointments—they connect everyone in real time. The best ones let you build visual routines, share to-do lists, and track commitments across multiple people. One standout platform offers features for planning events, coordinating tasks, and keeping the week visible without creating more mental clutter. A well-chosen app isn’t extra work; it’s a nervous system.
Digitize the Chaos (and the Paper Trail)
If your kitchen counter looks like a PTA meeting exploded, it’s time to fix that. Parents juggle field trip slips, aftercare forms, birthday invites, chore lists—most of them scattered across devices or hiding in inboxes. One way to stay sane? Use free tools to combine PDFs into one simple file you can keep on hand. Group everything by week or theme, label clearly, and breathe. You don’t need to be a systems engineer—just a parent with five minutes and a better workflow.
Give Downtime a Permanent Spot
Here’s the truth: your kid doesn’t need one more thing. What they need is less noise. Downtime is where resilience grows, where the nervous system resets, where boredom unlocks creativity. That doesn’t mean aimless screen scrolls—it means time that’s theirs to shape. Studies show that reducing overstimulation and allowing for rest improves emotional health, focus, and sleep. Carve out these moments with intention. Treat rest like an essential nutrient, not a leftover.
Use Audio to Wind the Day Down
Even after a full day, some kids struggle to land. One proven reset is sound. Lullabies, rhythmic chants, or silly songs can smooth the edge off overstimulation. Whether you’re setting a mood for cleanup, bath time, or bedtime, the right audio cue shifts the vibe without negotiation. Dr. Jean's Song Store is a goldmine for those kinds of transition tools—designed with young minds and rhythms in mind. You’ll be amazed what a five-minute melody can do when the room is buzzing and no one wants to put on pajamas.
Let Play Be Unscripted Again
Every second doesn’t need a plan. Children learn best when they’re in charge of their own story for a while. Free play—without rules, coaches, or outcomes—is how kids process the world. Whether it’s pillow forts or sidewalk chalk, that autonomy builds problem-solving, confidence, and emotional regulation. Experts emphasize that unstructured time is vital for creativity and self-direction, especially in early development. So if your schedule has room for another class but no margin for mess, rearrange it. Let play breathe.
You’re not just managing logistics—you’re building a rhythm that your kids will carry into adulthood. Every skipped activity, every reclaimed hour of boredom, every dinner that wasn’t rushed to make practice… it adds up. Not to perfection. But to a pace they can live inside. Balance doesn’t mean equal parts. It means knowing what you can drop and still be whole. So look at the calendar again. Then cross something off. And breathe.
Discover a world of fun and educational songs with Dr. Jean and Friends, and make learning an unforgettable adventure for your little ones!
