Sunny Side Daycare School & Family Communication Strategies 1. Newsletters Newsletters are a great way of communicating to the families about ongoing activities. You can effectively communicate to parents/families to help plan accordingly for upcoming events. For example, you might want to inform the parents of activities that may require a volunteer or donation of supplies. This will allows parents’ time to plan. 2. Social Media In today’s generation, technology is a primary source of communication and we need to utilize it to our advantage. We can post to our web/social media page videos, links and other resources to help parents with their child development without singling any one child out. This form of communication allows them access anytime/anywhere unlike the paper copies. Parents and families can remain informed. 3. Parent/Teacher Conference Parent/Teacher conferences are a very good form of communication. It allows the parents a one-onone opportunity to ask any questions pertaining specifically to their child. It also allows time for the teacher to talk to the parents about their child’s accomplishments and deficiencies. 4. Phone Calls/Text Messages/Virtual Office Meeting The traditional method of communication is by phone calls. Adding the teacher’s office phone number to the newsletter would be an easy way of providing that info to the parents. Parents can call or text the teacher with questions during regular business hours. Being available for parents is very important. Parents need to feel comfortable in reaching out to their child’s teacher. While attempting to allow for communication we do need to have boundaries. Establishing an hour of availability to have a video call would be another way a parent can have a quick face-to-face talk with the teacher without having to drive to the school. 5. Award Ceremonies Children like to receive rewards and parents love to see their children excelling in anything they do. We can have different levels of awards with the most accomplishments receiving the greater reward. 6. Open House An open house allows for teachers to establish good communication and trust with parents. We would be able to connect with the parents and in doing so be able to work together. Teaching children is a joint effort, teachers and parents working together can start with an effective Open House. 7. Activity planner Activity planner can be a monthly calendar or agenda sent home with the children to assist in organization and preparedness. This is a skill the children will benefit from and use all their lives, not only during their early years.
