When it comes to a young child’s education, the best thing parents can do is have a great working relationship with their child’s teacher. When teachers and parents work together for the betterment of a child, magic happens in the scope of a young learner’s educational development. In fact, research shows that parents who become involved in their child’s education, even if it’s simply playing with educational toys with them, yield positive results: from boosting motivation and academic achievement in the child, to creating better classroom behavior and developing a more positive attitude about going to school in general.
Parents and teachers each have an important role to play in a child’s life, and there are many ways they can work together. Here are just some of them:
Communication is key.
One of the most important ways for parents and teachers to have a good working relationship is to communicate well with one another. Parents know more about the home life of a child, from how they do their homework and interact with their peers and siblings, to what their passions are outside of the classroom. In school, teachers know how the student is progressing with his or her lessons, what the learning style is, and the subjects he or she has a proclivity for. Both teachers and parents need to combine strengths and put in effort to achieve a positive working relationship. Good communication requires that both sides constantly “check in” on each other and the student, whether by arranging parent-teacher conferences, working together in school community organizations, and facilitating weekly or monthly phone calls or emails.
Don’t just talk about the bad—make the good important, too.
It’s easy to complain, but you make more of an impact when you give praise! Parents and teachers need to make it a priority to reach out to one another for both positive and negative reasons. It goes without saying that berating someone with negativity sours a relationship; we see that in friendships, work relationships and even marriages. Parents shouldn’t do the same with their children’s teachers! Remember, given the nature of schooling, teachers are often with students more than parents are throughout the week. It’s important for parents and teachers alike to respect one another and use positivity to let the other know they are valued and impacting the student in good ways.
Parents can work with students at home to enhance classroom lesson plans.
For young children, learning is a never ending cycle, and an important part of that cycle is what happens in the home. For one, teachers change every year; and every teacher has his or her own methods and procedures in the classroom that children need to learn and adapt to. To balance that, parents can set certain education standards and routines at home, whether its reading to them every day, adding educational television shows into their downtime or buying them educational toys. Here at Miniland Education, we have some educational toys that we recommend. Take Follow the Bigfoot, for example. This active game and takes young learners through six different adventures on their search for Bigfoot, encouraging them to overcome obstacles and work with other players as they develop their cooperation and psychomotor skills.
