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The Brown Bag Teacher

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Parent Communication: 1st Grade

Our students spend 8 hours a day in our classrooms, and even though I’m not a parent, I can’t imagine not knowing what’s going on. So from Weebly, to Twitter, to newsletters, to YouTube – I want families to be connected.

 Classroom Website

The ‘hub’ that connects all my communication efforts is our Weebly Class Website. Using Weebly, I upload photos, update our class blog, keep parent resources (newsletters/math reference guides – both seen above), as well as, suggestions for at-home practice and linking district websites. Weebly for Educators is a free platform and it’s simple to use as it is based on drag-and-drop media (note the menu-bar on the left in the picture below). There is no coding or finagling involved! (Note – I do pay for the basic Weebly package so I’m able to access analytics on our website. I think the website is great but if families are not using it, it’s not worth the time to update it. Through this stats function, I’ve learned that an average of 15 unique visitors connect with our website each day. In a classroom with 23 families, that tells me a website is worth the effort!) I’ve written an entire post about my Classroom Website and using Weebly that you can check-out here.

Class Newsletter

As you saw above, I do send-out a weekly classroom newsletter. On our newsletter, I include upcoming dates, our high-frequency words for the week, our learning goals, and any reminders for families. At the beginning of the year, I asked parents to choose if they wanted an electronic or paper copy of the newsletter. I currently send out 17 e-newsletters (saved as a PDF), 6 paper newsletters (printed black and white), and put a JPEG of the newsletter on our classroom website so families always have easy-assess to it.

To keep families reading our classroom newsletter, I change out the template every 2 weeks or so. I try to keep the basic outline similar, so it’s recognizable but change out the color and theme. This helps keeps things fresh. You can snag these newsletter templates here.

Remind Texting

Remind texting has been an effective resource for joining these communication forces together. Remind offers teachers a FREE and safe way to send out information (texts, pictures, documents, links) to families. You don’t have phone numbers of those who sign-up for your class list and the subscribers don’t have your phone number. Rather, every time you send a message (via phone, iPad, or computer), they receive it! Here are my 3 top-tips for getting the most of your Remind texts! You can read more about how I use Remind and my tips for making the most of this FREE and safe communication venue here.

Classroom Twitter Account

Additionally, half-way through teaching 5th grade, I opened a classroom Twitter account for documenting our learning in real-time. I enjoy using Twitter for several reasons – (1) It’s short and sweet. 140 characters with pictures (up to 4) counting as 23 characters. (2) Families know in real-time what our classroom looks like. At 10:30, we are doing math and you can see us breaking apart double-digit numbers to add. Boom. (3) It connects me – as a teacher – to other teachers in my district. There are 14 elementary schools in our district and I follow all the 1st grade teachers who Tweet. There is great solidarity in knowing “They’re learning about main idea in reading, too!”, as well as, getting fabulous ideas. After seeing something in action, it’s simple to send a message or email asking for links to the resource, ideas, or suggestions on teaching a certain topic. (Learn more about Twitter in our classroom here.)

Positive Notes Home

Bragging on students and their awesome work/behavior is an easy way to reach out to families. I love the opportunity to send a note home with students and share their accomplishment for the day! You can snag these free notes home in this blog post.
PBIS Positive Notes Home

Connect with Students

Lastly, don’t forget the most tried-and-true form of communication: in-person conversations! As each quarter begins, I ask families for a printed or email schedule of sporting events, recitals, church events, in which their child will be participating. I commit to going to at least 1 event for each student, and it makes a world of difference. It tells families I am invested in their child’s life, it gives me a chance to learn about the family, it allows families to see me as a real-life person, and it gives me a great platform for making content connections and ‘hooking’ my students in learning. Plus, students LOVE have their own cheering section…Even in 5th grade, my students would light-up when they saw me in the crowd!
We’ll, friends, that’s it for me today. So, tell me – how do you keep families in the loop? Is there anything you’re hoping to try next year? Any ideas that have worked well for you? I’d love to hear them!

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Comments

  1. Mrs 3rd Grade says

    I love that you go to your student's events! I am attending not one, but two plays this week for past students who have invited me to come back and watch them! I love having this connection with students too!!

    Mrs. 3rd Grade 

    Reply

    • Kate says

      Hi Cathy! For our classroom website and Twitter account, I do send home a permission form to use student faces. I know I'm covered by our District and School forms, but like to double-check. I also have written permission to use faces on this teaching blog, but it makes me feel a tad weird, so I don't. 😉

      Reply

  4. Kindergarten Kind of Gal says

    I use Remind and my parents usually LOVE it! Lets face it, many parents don't read newsletters (or read them thoroughly anyway). But they are always on their phones, so a quick text is perfect for them! I love your newsletter template, thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply

  6. Annie says

    Great post!! I, too, love Weebly for my classroom website. I have used Remind for the past 3 years and got so many “thank yous” from parents who love the connection to what’s happening in the classroom and the reminder messages from me. This year, after a colleague shared her experience using Class Dojo with me, I made a change. I merged 3 separate systems (behavior clip chart, hand filled weekly behavior report, and Remind messages) into one (Class Dojo). I love it!! It has been so wonderful. It does so much more than just behavior tracking. ☺

    Reply

  7. Jennifer says

    I am addicted to your blog! I am finishing my student teaching and will be a first-year first grade teacher next year. I cannot wait but there are SO many things to think about! Your posts about curriculum, organization, and family communication are giving me so many ideas. Thank you for sharing your wealth of wisdom!!

    Reply

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    Reply

  18. funny says

    Love how you use multiple platforms to keep parents engaged! The mix of newsletters, Twitter, and in-person events is brilliant. Do you find families prefer digital or paper communication more?

    Reply

  19. Kyle Cook says

    The idea of attending students’ events outside school is so meaningful! It really builds trust. Have you noticed a difference in parent-teacher relationships since starting this? Great post!

    Reply

  20. Leo says

    Wow, these communication methods are amazing! Weebly, newsletters, Remind, Twitter, and home visits – parents must feel so connected! So thoughtful! 👍

    Reply

  21. Rice Purity Test says

    Such a great reminder that strong parent communication in 1st grade sets the tone for a child’s lifelong learning journey! Speaking of learning about yourself… ever heard of the rice purity test? It’s a fun little quiz that reveals just how pure (or wild) your college self might’ve been. Totally unrelated—but oddly insightful!

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