WINNING WAYS WITH PARENTS

In Amanda Ripley’s book THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THE WORLD, one of the most interesting findings was that what parents did at home mattered significantly. Reading to children and talking about school was very important. Parents showed their children they valued education by asking about school, what they learned, what they liked, etc. Parents who modeled reading also had a positive impact.

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.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljUmNfQTJld3VsV00/view?usp=sharing

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!

Here's a very interesting article from Laura Pearson that you might want to share with your families.

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!

PARENT CONFERENCES

Before you know it, it will be time for parent conferences. I used to dread conferences because many of the parents didn’t want to talk about their child. They wanted to talk about the neighbor’s kid or their “ex” or whatever. Once I started using this questionnaire my conferences became much more meaningful for me and the parents.

A week before conferences I’d ask the children, “Would you like me to give your parents some homework? Well, here is something they need to fill out and bring to our conference next week.”

Note! If parents show up without the form, simply smile and say, “I’ll give you a few minutes to fill this out before we get started.”

CONFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

Please fill out this form and bring it to your conference on __________________at _________________.

Child’s name__________________________

1. My child’s favorite activity at school is________________

2. My child expresses concern about_____________________

3. My child’s strong qualities are__________________________

4. Areas I feel my child needs to work on are_____________

5. Something I would like to see my child do at school is _______

6. Is there any special information about your child that you think we should know about?

Cheers and Goals
Here’s another idea for conference time. Ask parents to write down three things positive (cheers) about their child and three goals that they have for their child. This will give the teacher insight as to what is important to parents. It will also provide the teacher with the opportunity to say, “This is what I can do at school to help your child accomplish these goals. What can you do to help at home?”

   

Student Led Conferences
I must admit I never did these, but many schools are now using this approach and find if very successful. You can find videos and other useful information about student led conferences on the internet.

Conference Tips
Sit beside the parent at a table, rather than behind a desk.

Keep the conversation focused on the child.

Have samples of the child’s work to share with the parents. Focus on the total child, including intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development.

If there is a problem, brainstorm solutions and develop a plan for action.

End the conference on a positive note by reassuring the parents and thanking them for their support.

Provide an interpreter for parents who do not speak English.

Follow-up with the parents after the conference.

PORTFOLIOS AND MEANINGFUL ASSESSMENTS

Probably the last thing you want to hear about right now is ASSESSMENT. I think we focus too much on a test score and number, and not enough on the whole child. Drawings, work samples, observations, checklists, rubrics, and journals can all be used to demonstrate what children are learning. They are perfect for parent conferences because they are a personal assessment of each child.

Portfolio
Individualize children’s growth by collecting samples of their work each month and saving the work samples in a portfolio. You can use grocery sacks or clasp envelopes and date each month. Collect a writing sample, self-portrait, small motor activity, math page, etc. You could bind these together and present them to parents at your end of year conference.

Four Square Assessment
At the beginning of each month, have children fold a piece of paper into fourths. Ask them to write/draw the same thing in each square every month. You might have them draw a picture of themselves, write their name, write letters of the alphabet, numbers, shapes, write a story, etc. Adapt to your age level and standards. Date and save for a “reliable” picture of the child’s progress throughout the year.

Interest Inventory
In addition to saving writing samples and self-portraits in a “portfolio” each month, have children complete an “interest inventory” by filling in sentences similar to the ones below:

I am good at______.
I like to _____.
I want to work on _____.
My favorite book is _____.
I wish _____.

Hint! Younger children could just dictate their responses to an adult.

Color Coded
This isn't very high tech, but it's very visual and can be very meaningful. Find an assessment with basic skills you will be focusing on during the year such as upper and lowercase letters, numerals, shapes, sight words, sounds, math facts, etc. Each month assess children and color in the squares they have mastered with a different color of crayon. For example, color what they know in September in red, October - orange, November - brown, etc. It will give a "colorful" picture of the child's learning journey.

Observations
Write down what you observe children doing as they play with classmates, complete assignments, cooperate in group activities, and every day routines.

Hint! Add photos for a visual "insight" into how children are performing.


I AM PROUD!
Let children decorate a folder with their name. Store these in a special tub in the classroom. Encourage the children to save work that they are "proud" of in their folder. 

Hint! If you did this with an illustration and writing sample at the beginning of each month they could “revisit” past work and see how they are improving.