Parent Involvement

It is back to school time and we are barely swimming above water… We are overwhelmed by new routines, schedules, kids, parents, duties, some of us are new to everything (ME). Parents are eager to come in and be involved in the classroom, but you need some time and maybe even a different way that is less stressful and more beneficial to you and your students. I have a list of 5 ways you can have parent involvement little prep for you and 1 that involves a little more, but will help you tremendously throughout the year. I use SignUp to have parents volunteer in the classroom. Ready… LET’S GO!

Stations:

I typically do not start stations until my students have reached 15 minutes of Stamina. That will take anywhere from 2-4 weeks.

This is my favorite way to have parents come in. During stations when I am with a small reading group it is nice to have another adult in the room to help with questions and keep the kids on track. I just have them walk around and the kids know to raise their hand if they need something. I also train my students to ask others in their group for help. This is great because you don’t always have parent help everyday and they need to know what to do if you are the only adult in the room.

A couple of tips: Tell the parents EXACTLY what you want them to do and how. Remember they are not teachers, so do expect them to know how your classroom should run. Tell them what to look for and how to help the kids. This is teacher preference, but in my class I tell them that students can whisper if they are on task. They turn in their papers to the black basket when finished, Then they check their folder for work that isn’t complete. If all is finished they can organize their desk or go to our classroom library and read quietly.

Voices should be at a whisper at all times. I also tell them a few student to keep an eye on that will need help, but might not ask for it. I always introduce them to the class and let them know why they are here and we all thank them for coming when stations are over.

Mystery Reader:

This one makes me tear up! I tried this Pre-Covid and had an amazing positive response. To get started you send a note home explaining what Mystery Reader is. I found mine on TPT from First Tries and Sunny Skies for free here. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings can sign up to come in and read a picture book to the class. I use a www.signup.com to have them pick a spot. I usually do 1 a week and I start around January.

At the bottom of the form they write down 3 clues for the kids to guess. NONE of the kids know who is coming in. It is a MYSTERY! When the mystery reader gets to the office to sign in, the office will call down to my room and let me know they are here. Then I tell the kids the clues and they guess until they get here. I make a HUGE deal and even drop our curtains in the door so they can’t see who walks up. The anticipation is WILD! When they come in they introduce themself and read the story. I have the kids ask 5 questions about the book then we thank them and they go.

Takes about 15-20 minutes and they are so excited each week to see who is coming in. I had a grandpa come in one time and read one of his favorite books that he reads with his granddaughter. After he read it he donated it to our class with a special message inside. Activities like this build your classroom community and help develop life long readers.

Send Things Home:

Some parents cannot help out in the classroom, but would love to be a part of it. I have things they can take home such as lamination, cutting out things, prepping books, correcting fluency facts, and helping prep for holiday projects. I put everything in a tote with instructions and supplies they might need. I also put on the instructions when I need them back.

Small Groups:

If I have a parent that was in the education field or likes to be hands on, I will put them with a small group or one on one. If it is a small group, I will have an outline of what to do. For example. reading I would have them practice sight words, spelling words, alphabet letters and sounds, and then play a game that goes with our phonics skill. If it is one on one I would have them work on letters and sounds and then do a blending game or alphabet tracing. This is something I would do if I had a parent that comes in weekly, so that the kids would be comfortable around them.

Cultural or Work Presentations

Each month I send out an email asking if there are any customs, holidays, or traditions that they celebrate and if they would like to come in to do a presentation, craft, or game with the class. This has been so fun! We had a parent come in around Easter and do an Armenian egg crack game. The kids had a blast and now I play that with my family every Easter. I also had a parent come in October and read a book about Día De Las Muertos in Spanish and English to the class. They made a pretty paper flower out of tissue after the story.

You would be surprised with how many parents would love to come in and talk about their work or do an activity. Recently I did a celery experiment and posted it on ClassDojo and one of my parents messaged me and said she was a scientist and would love to come in and do an experiment with the kids! WE CAN’T WAIT! T I will put out a note at Back to School Night inviting parents to come in.

Memory Books & Extras

This is a hot topic and not for everyone. This is something I do not trust anyone with!  Every year I do memory books for the kids that has some fun pages in the front, a monthly writing and a monthly directed draw. If I really trust a parent I will have them glue in the writing and art each month. I would have an already made example, numbered pages, and instructions to set out for each week, if needed. I would need to check them each month a few times to make sure that it is correct.

This will save you a lot of time if you do memory books. If you don’t they could always hang up monthly art/bulletin boards, glue art onto construction paper, or do a one on one art project or craft.

There you have it. A few ideas to put in your teacher toolbox for when you have parents that want to come in. I hope one of these ideas helps you with parent involvement! What are some ways parents help out in your classroom?