Ok so I am not sure why my blog never got posted but I am reposting hopefully this works this time...
During this week of observation I got to sit in and observe a first grade classroom that had two parents come in and participate in small group activities, one of which was reading aloud to a small group of six students. The first book that the mom read to the group was called, "The Everything Machine." It was a book about how this machine in a town started doing everything for the people of the town and when it broke they had forgotten how to do the simple tasks of daily live. It was funny to see how the kids interpreted the book when the mom was asking questions afterwards. One of the kids said that his mom is the everything machine at their house and another kid asked why he does not see an everything machine where they live. After listening to another book I was able to talk to one classroom mom that had come into help for the day.
One of the first questions I asked was what she enjoys about coming into help during the day. She replied by saying that she enjoys to see her kid along with the other kids interacting within the classroom because it is not something that all parents get to see. She told me that it helps her think of new ideas for at home to help her son out with his homework and other areas. The mom also said that her son's teacher is very helpful when it comes to if parents have questions or concerns. She stated that she emails frequently to all parents letting them know what is coming up next and what they can look forward to their child learning and being able to do. I thought that this was a great idea. I know that some schools, hopefully most schools, do newsletters for the classroom but as I have found out by doing newsletters within the center that I work at some parents just do not read over all the information. I think that emails between parents and teachers can be a more effective way of communication because the parents can access the email anywhere; phone, home and work in most cases. Emails can be a quick way to send a parents a helpful link to a website that they could benefit from using at home. There are so many free websites for children that do enhance their learning skills that I think a lot of parents do not know about.
Hello Britney,
ReplyDeleteHow fun that you are working with First graders it must be so much fun! I remeber when I had the oppurtunity to observe first graders is truly an experience. I think it is awesome the way teachers and parents are now communicating. Technology has definitely become a top resource for teachers. That is how I communicate with most of the people that I know and I think its a faster process to get a reply faster. 21st century is definitely a change in our nation! I absolutely agree with you when you mentioned newsletters getting tossed in the trash your absolutely correct. Great Post!!
Hi Britney,
ReplyDeleteYour observation does sound like you had a great time with all the things that were going on around the children. I think that it is nice to have parents who are interested with their children's education enough to come in and assist in the classroom
Hi Britney
ReplyDeleteWhen parents come and volunteer I think about teachable moments. because not only as teacher you get to see the teacher in action but a parent who come in and read a story or do art & craft with the class. However, it’s the child who will remember this as a special day because it was mom who came to visit. At the center I always tell my parents they are welcome to visit, even when we serve our meals. Great posting....