As the school year draws to a close, it’s the perfect opportunity for parents to reflect on how to wrap up the year meaningfully and start planning for the holidays and the exciting possibilities beyond. Gail Smith shares her ideas on how to approach this thoughtfully and effectively.
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Read MoreThis is certainly is a challenging question. I would be the first to say dig deep and you will find many opportunities for developing yourself and growing familiar with your child’s school. Being around a school is a vibrant and lively feeling. These school years with your child are precious and will not return once complete. Therefore, embrace them.
My recommendation is for you to research what the school offers and how you can tap into its life or perhaps add to its life.
The following are considerations about what’s in a school:
How involved are you able to be at your child’s school?
Explore the library and learn from the librarian what and how you can access books for the family. Often school libraries have specific sections for parents and they often hold a wonderful feelings section to support children going through emotional issues. Also, if you have time, you could always help in the library. There is so much to learn about books in this environment.
Does your school offer parenting nights? Schools often look to supporting family education. This can be through a one-night session or a series of nights.
Read the school newsletter regularly to get all the updates in the life of the school. This certainly gives you a broad picture of what is happening across the school.
In my time as Principal, many parents in midlife looking for a career change, assisted in classrooms and took up the teacher aid course. Teaching is a great career to take up after having had other work and life experiences.
Simply helping in the classroom gives you a chance to learn about how reading, writing etc., is taught. You can pick up great teaching strategies from just being around teachers. It is also fascinating to watch how teachers manage and relate to the children with such control.
If you enjoy sports, often being involved in the sports programs at the school is a wonderful way to commit to a valuable part of the curriculum.
Schoolyards are great places to build friendships with other families. Many lifelong friends have been made from meeting families in the school setting.
When the school offers social days such as Book Week, where there are dress-ups, consider joining in and sharing in the fun with your child.
Do you have special talents that you can offer the school? For example, can you paint, teach cooking or crafts? Schools love to hear from talented parents who contribute their skills to teaching children.
Check-in with your child’s teacher to see if they need assistance. Your presence in your child’s classroom is a buzz for your child.
These thoughts are to explore and invite you into the life of the school. Your child benefits from your engagement and school become a natural extension to their home life.
“Behind the child that makes the most progress is an actively involved parent.”