hello friday.

Has November flown by for anyone else?  I feel like I blinked sometime in September and two months have flashed by.  Phew!

Anyway, it's Friday.  The Friday before Thanksgiving Break and Parent Teacher Conferences.  So excited for both.  I love having a week off to enjoy some down time with my own kids (minus the dreaded flu that keeps rearing it's ugly head in my house!) and no "real" places to go.  Staying in jammies and comfy clothes, fire burning, and maybe even a family movie or two.  

Can you picture it now????  I can.  

Sweet!

But not until...

The craziness of prepping for conferences is past.  That break will be well earned I'm sure after this weekend.  I love the chance to sit and talk with each child's parents about where they are in the classroom academically, socially, functionally, and behaviorally.  Report cards never seem to do it all justice and let's be real...kids are very different at school than they are at home.

Okay.  Some of them are.  ;)

Either way, it's a great time to have those conversations.  

In order to elicit great feedback and good conversations from parents, I have found that I need two three things.

1.  Actual materials from their child (evidence, if you will...to support your thinking)

Must be organized, thorough, and clear.

2.  Support and resources.

Most parents are not trained educators and are not always sure how to get the best work from their child or where to find it or what's appropriate for their needs.  I like to have resources available to support them at home when working with their child/children.

and I almost forgot the third one...

3.  Great listening ears.

Even though my job is to support, educate, and share with parents...just like students, teachers, and every other person ever...they want to be heard.  If they have concerns or even if they want to take 2 minutes of your time to brag...I need to let them.  It's their 20 minutes (most likely) all year that they have to let you know where they are and how they feel about their child.  Good, bad, ugly, indifferent.  I need to listen.  I need to allow them that time.  I think that is difficult for some teachers as we think we need to be the only one talking with merely the final "Do you have any questions?" comment reserved for the last 30 seconds.  And for sure...I AM GUILTY OF THAT!!!!

But I do know that allowing parents the opportunity to share will open the lines of communication even further and more positively so I need to work that into my plan.

As I put together all my resources this weekend I will share some of the goodies I give to parents and how I outline my conferences.  Yes, I realize it may be too late or down to the wire for some, but nevertheless, great to add to the files for next year.  

In the meantime, enjoy your Friday!