Have you had your parent teacher conferences yet? We have our conferences starting this Friday! We are doing a few every day for an entire week because my teammate is heading to Vegas next weekend for the Daily 5 conference!!
Our conferences last about 10 - 15 minutes depending on what we need to talk with our parents about. This is our only official conference time of the year, so almost every parent does decide to come and meet with us during these appointments. We took our standardized tests a few weeks ago, so the goal is to usually have the test results back in time for conferences. **fingers crossed**
This is our first official conference time, but this is not the first time that we have talked with our parents so far this year. I work at a very small school, and most of my students are picked up by their parents walking up, very few of my kids go to the drive up area. This allows me the opportunity to chat with parents almost daily about things that are going on if they are needed. This also allows parents the opportunities to ask questions they might have, or share concerns they might be noticing.
We have also scheduled a few conferences already, since our first quarter ended a few weeks ago. We met with a few parents after the first few tests went home, as students are adjusting to the demands of third grade, and how different my classroom is run than the second grade classroom. My class is far from traditional, just in case you didn't already know that, and sometimes parents have concerns or questions about it. I gladly meet with them so we can discuss how I am going to continue to push their child to succeed even without doing worksheet after worksheet. :D
This year to have parents sign up for parent teacher conferences we are using Sign Up Genius! It's perfect because we can put in the time slots that we have available, offering both before and after school times, and then they can choose a time that works best for their week too! Plus, then they can sign up when they have time, and we don't have to worry about getting a slip back from by a certain date.
If we don't have parents sign up by Friday we will be contacting parents to sign them up for a time slot, but we have never had that problem before. Usually parents are very eager to meet with us, and sign up for things quickly.
On top of having parents sign up, I created a cute sheet to write down when they were coming so that way I could post it outside of my door so they would know when it was their turn, as well as have a copy with me at my table so I know who is up next.
After parents sign up I do plan on sending home these notes as a reminder of when their conference time is. This way they know I acknowledged when their conference was, and it is another reminder for them to hang on their fridge, and not just have on their phone or email. You can grab these editable notes here to be able to send home a reminder note to your parents and to let them know when their conference time is.
I am really looking forward to meeting with my parents this year and discussing their child's strengths! I hope that you all have a great time meeting with your parents and things run smoothly!!
Make sure to head over to Angie and Ashley's blogs to find other great tips for your conferences as well!
I am really looking forward to meeting with my parents this year and discussing their child's strengths! I hope that you all have a great time meeting with your parents and things run smoothly!!
Make sure to head over to Angie and Ashley's blogs to find other great tips for your conferences as well!
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