Encouraging Parent Involvement

Hi everyone! Happy (almost) fall! This was my first official week back to school with kids... but I spent it in bed. Yep. Sick the first week of school. Not fun.

Today my post is all about parents, specifically parents participating in their children's education. More and more I'm seeing the iPads or iPhones as babysitters. Ouch. There, I said it. I'm being harsh and definitely over exaggerating, but there is a little truth in it. However, there are still TONS of parents who want to work with their kids and are so eager for ideas of how to do this. So  for this post, I've pulled some of my favorite posts and pins that involve kids at home learning and exploring with parents.

At the end of this post, there is a page filled with QR codes that lead to some of these great posts. The goal is to encourage those iPad parents to interact more with their kids and to give those eager parents the resources they want/need. :)

I love this post about fun science experiments to do at home! What a great way to bond with your kids while getting them thinking and exploring.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523209390604/

This is a great post filled with tons of fun, interactive suggestions for at-home reading.

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523207418397/ 

I love this post from my friend Valerie from All Students Can Shine about reading at home. This is a great resource for parents!

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523207354094/

My friend Lisa from Growing Firsties also has an wonderful resource for parents. This is such a helpful resource for parents. Often they are reading with their kids or listening to them read, but they aren't sure how to make the best of it.

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523209396193/

This post is full of activities to practice math skills. Math can be so fun and it starts with our attitudes toward math. Making math come alive can do wonders for kids! 

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/9218374213319517/

This idea is adorable for introducing subtraction to the younger kids:

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/156359418290166401/

This post is packed with fun ideas, games, and tools to make math enjoyable for your kids. Love this post!

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/358599189055217482/

Last year I posted ideas for practicing the alphabet at home. Here is a link to that post:

One of the questions I get most from parents is how to help their kids master those sight words. I'm hoping this resource can help! Earlier in the summer I also posted some ideas for practicing sight words in the summer. Since summer is pretty much ending, I thought I'd share this resource I made for the parents at my school a couple of years ago.  

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523209396283/

(If you scroll down to the bottom of the summer post, you will see this sight word parent resource to download for free.)

I wanted to find a way to share these resources with parents. I put some of these blog posts together on a page with QR codes so parents could easily access them. I also made a bookmark version. Head on over to my blog if you'd like a copy of this. :)

Come by my blog to pick up this freebie!

Don't forget to check out all of these other wonderful Chalkie posts this month!

Parent Input Freebie

Hello, Hello!!!

It's Lisa from Growing Firsties dropping by today to talk a bit about getting Parent Input.

Over the last few years I've been pretty jazzed about Growth Mindset. You may have already seen this recent Primary Chalkboard post or this Growing Firsties post.

Smile if you like getting input from your students' parents at the beginning of the year about their child's learning style and personality. (Did ya smile? Hope so!)

Back in April, when I started thinking about my new crop of students, I started thinking about how I could get different input from parents...mindset-based input.

'Cuz, at the very beginning of the year, before I reallllly know my students, it's helpful to know which students may...

need extra organizational help

be reluctant to try something new

are reading at the beginning of the year benchmark, but it was lots of hard work to get there

benefit from close support to learn routines

For some students, the above characteristics are pretty easy to see...but in others, the ones who stay under the radar a bit, not so much.

Sarah has a GREAT post about her parent input form - you can read it by clicking {right here}.

I like to hit the ground running as much as possible, so this is the Parent Input Form I developed.


Here's a bit of a closer look:


You can download it by clicking either of the above pictures. It's a zipped (compressed) file because one of the formats is EDITABLE. Yep...you can make it work for YOU and YOUR context. :) I hope you find it helpful!!!

What We're Chalking About AUGUST: A Visual Calendar

Hi friends, it's Emma from Clever Classroom.  I am so excited to share with you all the upcoming posts that the authors of the Primary Chalkboard have planned for you this August. 

Can you believe it's August? We are almost three quarters of the way through the year!  How did that happen?  

While you contemplate that, you might also want to think about what you have planned for this month?  Are you heading back at school now, or are you planning to go back soon?  Either way, this page will set you up for inspirational ideas from our experienced, and very dedicated teacher-authors. 

To receive blog posts directly, click here. 

Here's what you can expect this month. 

1  Sarah from Sarah's First Grade Snippets - Morning Arrival Routines

2  All the Primary Chalkboard Authors - Our Little Secret

3  Lisa from Growing Firsties - Parent Input

4  Leslie from First Grade and Flip Flops - Teaching with Themes Throughout the Year

5  Christina from Miss Decarbo - The First Day of School

6  Casey from Second Grade Math Maniac - The Second Day of School

7  Valerie from All Students can Shine - Classroom Management

8  Greg from Kindergarten Smorgasbord - Names

9  Jessica from Second Grade Nest - Elementary Back to School eBook Tips

10 Terry from Terri's Teaching Tidbits - Intermediate Back to School eBook Tips

11  Monica from The Schroeder Page - Executive Brain Function

12  Katie from Teaching to the Core - First Day Freebies

13  Blair from One Lesson at a Time - MVP: Most Valuable Partnership

14  Autumn from Primary Techie - Family Journals

15  Susanna from Whimsy Workshop Teaching - Simple Art Tutorials

16  Laura from Peace Love and First Grade - Meet the Teacher

17  John from Created by Mr. Hughes - Back to School Night

18  Karen from Mrs. Jones's Class - Bulletin Boards Made Easy

19  Haley from My Silly Firsties - Dismissal Time 

20  Corinna from Surfin' Through Second - Sub Tub

21  Randi from Teach it with Class - Building a Classroom Environment

22  Stacy from Funky Fresh Firsties - Easy Hallway Displays

23  Anna from Simply Skills in 2nd - Classroom Rules 

24  Latoya from Flying into First Grade - Blended Learning Ideas

25  Meg from The Teacher Studio - Setting a Climate for Problem Solving

26  Matt from Digital: Divide and Conquer - Behavior Plans and Data

27 Jen from Out of this World Literacy - Spreading Kindness

28  Cyndie from Chalk One up for the Teacher - Math Games

29  Vicky from Teaching and so Much Moore - Setting Goals the First Daye 

30 Heather from 2 Brainy Apples - Integrating Social Studies & ELA 

31  Emma from Clever Classroom - September Chalk About It - blog Posts Overview

To remember this post, you might like to pin it.  That way, you can come back to see the posts throughout the month. 

On the last day of each month, we will post this visual calendar for you to see what we have planned for you. 

If you have any suggestions that you would like us to write about, please comment below. 

To follow our blog, please click here. 

Here's a link to our July posts which are full of classroom organization ideas, tips and makeovers, back to school ideas, first day inspiration, writing conferences, behavior management.  We also blogged about tips for new teachers, integrating math, writing and art, techy ideas and even a post about our trip to the Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Las Vegas. Click here to see July's posts from the authors of the Primary Chalkboard. 

End of the Year Parent Survey

Hey friends! It's Haley from My Silly Firsties. I wanted to stop by today and share something I tried for the first time this year. I think this year has been the most challenging year of my teaching career so far, and I have definitely worked hard to keep a growth mindset this year. It's not always easy for me since I can be pretty hard on myself...can't we all?!? But I truly have tried to look at each setback as an opportunity for growth..just like we ask our sweeties to do. 

So, I decided to send out a survey to my parents this year. I prepared myself for the absolute worst, but was pleasantly surprised by the responses. I also found it to be incredibly helpful in validating what I think my strengths are, and also in seeing what my parents wanted a little more of!

So, first off, I used Survey Monkey to create the survey. I wanted it to be completely anonymous so parents would feel comfortable being honest. I know people always wonder "is that REALLY anonymous?!" But I'm telling you...it IS! Each response is just labeled a number and you don't know what email or anything it comes from. I would definitely encourage you to do it this way, but I know lost of people have great success sending one home on paper. :) The free version only gives you 10 questions, but I think that's actually best. Otherwise it can be overwhelming! 

Now you need to decide what's most important to ask. Since you only get 10 questions on Survey Monkey, that's even more important. :) I know that I don't like taking 100 questions surveys so I think keeping it short is best. :) I also think it's important to ask questions that will help you GROW! If there is an area you are sensitive about, maybe don't ask that question. You just gotta be honest with yourself! :) 

There are several kinds of questions on Survey Monkey, but I only used 2 types. :)  I used a Rating scale on 9/10 questions. BUT...I forgot to add a neutral option, and I really wish I had. So my advice for you, is don't forget! Hahha!! 

Here are some examples of Rating Scale questions you could use. Remember, some people will never put "strongly agree" on everything! That's okay! The important part is that you see trends on what parents think. :) 

Here's an example of how the responses look. You can see them by respondent, or by question. 

And here are some examples of open-ended questions you could ask. I chose to only use the 1st one, because I felt like it was the most important for me. 

Remember, feedback makes us better! We are constantly telling our sweeties that their brains grow everyday and we can always learn something new! :)