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Last year, I was rudely awakened from the bubble I had been blissfully living in.
Now, I realize that I live in lots of different bubbles so I need to narrow it down for you.
I never realized that my children’s teachers had to supply a large majority of the supplies they pass along.
You know those worksheets with stickers on them?
Yup. The teachers bought the paper AND the stickers!
Handsoap for their classroom sink?
They picked it up at the grocery while they were shopping for their own family.
They go home to their families at night and do homework, dread making dinner and argue with their own kids about how it’s time to go to bed. So, the last thing that they need is to deal with unhelpful parents even if we don’t mean to be.
So I started brainstorming about ways that parents can help make back to school and quite frankly the entire school year easier for teachers.
Ways to make back to school easier for you child’s teacher:
Follow directions!
And no, this isn’t just for the students. The papers that are put into backpacks and folders on a daily basis are sent home for a reason. There might be something that needs to be signed, an assignment that needs to be brought to your attention or something the office needs to get to you as the parent. So open up the backpack and the folders and get to signing and looking at what is being sent home.
Send them extra supplies
Teachers often grade papers in colored ink. While schools seem to have an endless supply of traditional blue and black pens, the colorful ‘fun pens’ are harder to come by. Plus I don’t know about you but having fun pens to write with make me happy even while doing the most mundane task.
I LOVE these Bic Intensity Pens. They write very nicely and smoothly. The cheerful colors make it more fun to grade papers! For a lefty like myself, I enjoy these gel-ocity pens because they dry quickly leaving hands free of smudges.
I don’t know about your kids but my kids go through Kleenex like there is a limitless supply of them!
So grab a box of Kleenex or two and send them in with your kids. Better yet, grab several packs of Kleenex Go Anywhere tissues for your kids to keep in their own backpacks as well. Seriously, no one likes a kid with a snotty nose.
At schools, hand sanitizer is like liquid gold, so don’t leave that bill up to your teacher’s! Purell has some great options like plant based sanitizer, instant sanitizer in a spray form, and sanitizing wipes.
and on the note of sanitizing…
Don’t send your kids to school sick
As a parent, I implore you to think about everyone else that has to deal with the choices that you make with your kids. It really is a headache to deal with shifting schedules to take care of a sick little one. But teachers don’t have time to get sick any more than you do.
A good way to keep your kids healthy (or at least give it a solid try) is to start them on a daily probiotic like Culturelle.
Don’t do everything for your kids.
Seriously. Your kids need to be self-sufficient or at least enough so that your child’s teacher doesn’t have to spend her days re-tying shoes and zipping up jackets. Being school ready is more than just knowing the alphabet, your child needs to become increasingly more independent as each year progresses.
Communication is key!
Teachers are not out to get your child, they don’t want a child to struggle any more than you want your child to struggle. If you think there might have been a mistake made, approach your child’s teacher, in a respectful way. The longer you stew over an issue the bigger it becomes in your mind and before you know it has gotten out of control.
Volunteer!
As a child of a teacher, I can tell you first hand that teaching tends to become a job that occupies more time than anyone could ever imagine. So, if stopping in the classroom when you have an hour free and have coordinated with your child’s teacher, is very much appreciated.
Think the task that you have been given is just busy work? Don’t! Freeing up time for your child’s teacher to concentrate on bigger tasks at hand means a lot. And, if you find yourself enjoying the time, why not get more involved with something like a TEFL qualification that will give you more skills in the classroom?
Are you a teacher? Leave a comment below and tell us parents can do to help you!
