Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up and whether it is your first time attending or maybe nearing the end as your child moves on from elementary school, conveying a genuine school-home partnership is paramount. Here are some helpful questions to ask during that treasured time with your child’s teacher that maintain a strengths-based, collaborative focus.
During these conferences, it is very helpful to be curious. If your child’s teacher brings up challenges or concerns, be curious about what DOES work for your child at school. Asking, “Is there something that works particularly well at school that we could try at home?” Similarly, if you know of triggers for your child, sharing those with your child’s teacher and asking if they have seen that as well, or what they have tried that might be helpful to your child.
It is inevitable that each child will encounter some struggles at school as they learn new concepts, manage friendships and school expectations. Asking “what is a productive struggle and what crosses into overwhelm” can be helpful to collaboratively identify the just-right challenge for your child. Maybe the teacher never sees that but at home, you receive all of the overwhelm and big feelings.
“How can we support what you’re doing at school from home?”
Partner with your child’s teacher to make a plan and a shared, observable goal. This creates collaboration across school and home. Make a plan for how you will know whether progress is being made towards the goal and when you will check back in. Bringing your child into the goal setting is especially helpful to increase their own self-efficacy and capability. Then, your child can be an active agent in working towards that goal and building self-monitoring skills.
Some other areas to inquire about:
Transitions:
Are there routines or strategies that seem to help my child transition?
Independence:
What can my child reasonably begin doing more independently?
How can we support our child without unintentionally taking over?
Social Emotional:
Where do you see our child experiencing connection at school?
Who do they naturally connect with?
Are there times when they seem unsure how to enter a social situation?
How do peers respond to them?
“What do you think our child needs most from us right now?”
