Good preschools understand that parent involvement is an essential part of a child's education and success. When parents are an active part of their child's learning journey, the impact can be felt for years to come.
To ensure that parents remain involved and engaged in their child's education, preschools should provide a range of activities and communication methods to keep them informed. Here are some simple ways to ensure that your preschool is encouraging parent involvement.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-teacher conferences are a great way for parents to stay up to date with their child's progress in preschool. These important meetings allow the teacher and parent to openly discuss concerns, share important information, and communicate to ensure the child gets the best possible education.
At a parent-teacher conference, parents can learn about their child's academic and behavioral performance. This gives parents invaluable insight into how their child performs at school, helping them track development and make adjustments if needed. The teacher may also provide tips on how they can better support their child at home or ways they can further develop certain skills or abilities.
Parent-teacher conferences also give parents a chance to voice any questions or concerns they may have about their child's progress or overall well-being. Teachers are more than happy to address these questions and offer advice on how best to help their children succeed — whether it's helping with homework, providing additional resources, or finding extracurricular activities that may be beneficial.
Effective communication between parents and teachers will undoubtedly benefit your child's education from this collaboration and support.
Classroom Parent Volunteers
Classroom parent volunteers are an important part of a good preschool. These volunteers often become role models for children, providing guidance on how they should interact with their classmates and participate in activities in the classroom.
From helping to guide the children through crafts or reading stories, these parents offer a unique insight into what it means to be part of a learning community and provide real-life examples of how one should behave within that context.
It is also beneficial for the teacher, who can use the extra sets of hands to help make lessons more engaging for the children and keep better track of their development throughout the term.
Having classroom parent volunteers promotes collaboration between parents, teachers, and students, strengthening relationships between all members of this educational family. Crucially, it allows parents to have an active role in their child's development without requiring them to commit too much time or resources — while at the same time giving them an insight into what goes on during school hours.
In doing so, parent volunteers ensure that every parent is kept informed about their child's progress throughout the term. Contact local preschools to learn more about their learning programs.