EDU 314 Blog

Parenting Tools

Parenting entails a lot of different things. Parents have to be prepared for every stage that their child is go through, this can be nearly impossible. Supporting your child can help to ensure that they will be successful with all their endeavors. There are several resources that have been developed to help this task. Parent Toolkit is one of these great resources that parents should be aware of. The resources come in a variety of forms such as videos, articles, infographics, or interactive discussions.

Parent toolkit is a resource created to compile a variety of resources for all areas of child development. It was created by NBC News Learn and is additionally supported by Pearson. Resources can be found for children from early childhood even into college. The resources include topics about school, relationships, health, and so much more. The Parent Toolkit operates through both a website and a mobile app. Depending on the age and grade level of your child, parents can choose to follow a grade by grade model. With each grade, Parent Toolkit will share benchmarks, tips, and tools for the parent to explore. Many of the resources can also be translated into Spanish.

Topics are organized into academic, health and wellness, social and emotional development, financial literacy, and college and career. In the academic section, you can find information to help ensure that the child is on the right path, advice on homework, how to support the child when at home, and even things such as teacher conferences. The health and wellness section includes tips for physical activity, proper sleep, a balanced diet, and other developmental benchmarks. The social and emotional section can help to encourage your child to create healthy relationships and social skills. Within in financial literacy section provides money managing tips for children, scholarship help, and college spending. The final section, college and career, is the guide to all things after high school.

Using the app, you can track your child’s development. The app allows you to set priorities of specific things you think your child needs to work on. Priorities can also be set for things you simply want to come back to later on. When exploring the website and app, the first thing that I noticed was how easy it is to navigate. With clear sections, each subject can be easily found.

Even though the resource is guided towards parents, it can be utilized by teachers as well. It is important for teachers to know the developmental benchmarks that a child is going through. Education can be greatly impacted by other areas of a child’s life. Teachers should also be aware of the app to inform parents of resources.

When it comes to parenting, the task can be extremely intimidating when all alone. Finding resources and help can be the support you need to manage. Resources such as the Parent Toolkit are great to have in your back pocket. Especially when the resource is something so inclusive, parents can receive the help and guidance they need to be the best person for their child.

Resources

Parent Toolkit – A One-stop Shop Resource for Parents. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2019, from http://www.parenttoolkit.com/

Family Engagement

The relationship between parents and their children is one of the most important relationships that a child can have. This relationship can be a determining factor in various different areas of a child’s life. The condition of a child’s relationship with their family can spill over into their education. A parent has a great power to influence a child’s education. When there is a strong relationship between parents and their children, education can thrive.

This resource is a great thing for parents and families to be aware of! There is so much great information that can be gained and things that can be learned from this site.

The Global Family Research Project is an organization that is working to improve family relationships and their involvement in education. This organization was originally Harvard Family Research Project until the separation from Harvard. From the beginning the program’s goal has been “defining and advancing the fields of family, school, and community engagement” (The Global Family Research Project). The Global Family Research Project works with other organizations such as schools, libraries, and museums to ensure a positive learning environment.

On the website, there are many resources that can be found for parents and families. The resources include a mixture of tips, activities, and programs for families to access. There are many different articles that are available to provide more knowledge to families. Some of the articles are able to give access to specific tools and reports that have been done.

A specific article that I found to be very informative was titled Moving from Communication to Engagement: Unlocking the Potential of Underserved, Diverse Families. This articled shared some great insight on the importance of not only communicating but engaging with all families. The article shared that even with the growing diversity in schools, there is still a need to communicate with families. Within the article, the author referenced an app that can be utilized to improve lines of communication. An app called TalkingPoints can be used to communicate between families and teachers. The app also helps to communicate when a language barrier may be a factor. Articles with great resources such as this and more are some of the great things that are provided through The Global Family Research Project.

The impact that family involvement has on a child’s education is huge. It has been shown that when parents and families are included in the child’s education, the education can be improved. The child becomes encouraged when families become included. Some children are motivated and want to show their parents what they are doing in schools.

Even with such resources, it is an important role of the teachers to provide an environment that is conducive to parent involvement. Parents can have to desire to be involved, but the teacher has to give an avenue to allow them to have time in the classroom. This can be something that is extremely hard to plan for on top of all the other requirements in the class but is something that will pay off.

Link to the resources: https://globalfrp.org/Articles

References

The Global Family Research Project. (n.d.). Resources. Retrieved November 21, 2019, from https://globalfrp.org/Articles

Resources for Children’s Mental Health

The more resources we have as educators the better! Here is another resource that is great to have when in working in a classroom!

The Child Mind Institute is a great website for teachers and parents alike. The Child Mind Institute is an organization whose goal is to provide for children and families dealing with mental health and learning disorders. The organization strives to increase awareness of the problem of childhood mental and learning disorders. According to the site “an estimated 17.1 million [children] have or have had a mental health disorder” (Child Mind Institute). This is a major percentage of children. With a faction this large, it is inevitable that there will be students in our classrooms that are dealing with mental health issues and/or learning disabilities. The Child Mind Institute has thus committed to giving children, families, and educators access to the best care, providing accurate information, and contributing to research to improve treatment.

On the website, there are vast numbers of resources available. With tabs dedicated to both educators and families, it is easy to find what you are looking for. Included for educators are strategies that can be utilized in the classroom when encountering a child that is affected by learning disorders. The organization gives tips that teachers can use to help minimize disruption, while still providing all students with the best environment for their learning. Also available for educators are guides to learn about many different disorders that could be encountered in the classroom. Educators can go to this resource if whenever they need help regarding mental illness or learning disabilities.

For families, that are many great resources available as well. Although the child is the one dealing with the disorder, the family can be greatly impacted. Families need to know how they can best provide for their child. The Child Mind Institute has developed guides to help parents navigate life with children facing various different disorders. Child Mind institute has also created various workshops for families gain knowledge about aspects of life when managing mental health and leaning disorders. Any family that has been affected by mental health and leaning disorders should be aware of this resource.

This resource also provides help for things that go beyond education. Children are already facing so many pressures without the added struggle of mental health and disorders. Child Mind Institute provides information about current trends and fads popular among children. Some of the concerning trends such as vaping and social media can have crucial affects on children. Child Mind Institute gives information and tips for children that are being negatively affected by such things.

Both parents and teachers want the best for their students. Mental health issues and learning disorders can be a hurdle in education, but it is by no means the end all. Teachers and parents need to work together to figure out what a child is dealing with and help them. With proper knowledge and resources, teachers can learn to make a child’s school experience amazing!

Link to website: https://childmind.org/

References

Child Mind Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://childmind.org/.

Child Care For Families

The more resources that teachers and parents are aware of the better. Both parents and teachers have a lot of needs when it comes to providing for students. A school is not always capable of meeting all these needs. Finding available resources is one way to fit these needs. There are many resources available, the key is finding them! Here is a great resource that is available.

School takes up a lot of time during the week but there are many parents that still need a little more help watching their children. Many parents work hours that are longer than the length of a school day. Finding the right child care program to fit the needs of a working parent can be difficult. ChildCare Aware has created a solution to many parent’s struggle. The program’s mission statement is “To raise the quality of early child care educational experiences in Missouri by improving child care services through training, education, quality standards, coaching, and business support.” This program allows for parents to find quality child care that best fits the needs of their family.

ChildCare Aware is a nationwide program, with branches in each state. The program partners with early childhood business around the country. Through this program parents are able to find quality child care easily. On the website, ChildCare Aware provides an outline of the different types of child care to help parents identify what they need. Other resources such as finding financial assistance, questions to ask, and programs for general support can be found for parents seeking for child care.

ChildCare Aware works directly with many child care businesses, to help the provide the best possible education to children. Through things such as professional development, resources, and ways to build knowledge, ChildCare Aware helps to create the most quality child care programs. For its partnering child care programs, ChildCare Aware provides both national and statewide resources to help guarantee the highest level of service. Information about licensing, curriculum, and additional programs are all given to participating child care businesses. Through the website people are able to access many of these resources that are provided to child care centers, so this is a great resource for educators as well!

This resource is great to provide to parents. Educators in early childhood should be aware of this to provide to families and to access resources. Even though the care is specifically for early childhood, educators in elementary can use this resource as well. It is very common for parents to have more than one child and if the parent is struggling with child care for their other children, this will help. On the website, there are also additional resources that can be beneficial for parents. Resources for thing such as health, wellness, emergencies, and military families can be found on the site.

Many helpful resources just like this one can be found for teachers and parents. Students deserve the best we can provide. Through the use of local, state, and national resources, we can make education even greater. Visit this resource to learn!

Link to website: https://www.mo.childcareaware.org/about/

References

About Our Child Care service. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://www.mo.childcareaware.org/about/.

Parent Involvement

Link to article: https://www.teachervision.com/teaching-strategies/teacher-parent-collaboration

Teaching in itself can be a bit intimidating. To make the task less daunting, utilizing resources can be extremely helpful. There are many different resources that are offered to teachers, the key is to find the right ones. Within the community, whether local, state or national, there are many different things provided to teachers. In this post, I will be discussing a great resource for both teachers and student to help encourage parent involvement in the schools.

In an article published on Teacher Vision, the focus is on parent and teach collaboration. In the article there are six different sections depending on the need. The sections are Advice for Teachers, Advice for Parents, Parent Teacher Collaboration Forms, Parent Teacher Conferences, Open House Resources, and Additional Resources. Provided in each section are several different links to great resources. The resources can be beneficial to both teachers and parents. Teachers can use the resources to give to parents, or to prepare themselves for different occasions in the school year. Browse the article to find what best fits your individual need.

Including families in the classroom can be a great way to help the students take pride in the class. Children spend most of their early life with their family, so it only makes sense to include them in school as well. So much of what a child learns early on comes directly from home, so creating an easy avenue to connect home learning and school learning, can help not only the students but the teachers as well. If teachers are able to understand their student’s backgrounds, they can help cater to each student. Student learn in how they make connections. Fostering to each child by creating a way for them to create connections. Including the family in a student’s learning, allows them to relate school and home.

If parent involvement is what you want in the classroom, it can not simple be expected. Not all parents are going to instinctually know what they are supposed to be doing in the classroom or with their student. Teachers have to take the steps to show parents how to best work with their students. Within this article, there are several resources that teachers can use and/or give to parents in order to start taking the steps toward parent involvement. Included in these resources are advice for parents to help students with math, science, and writing. Another resources that is included is an article that can help parents teach organization to their child.

Teachers need to constantly stay up to date with their teaching. Including families in the classroom is one way to continually learn and grow in teaching. Each family has a different background and can add to the class in a different way. However, teachers need to be intentional in how they involve families. As teachers, we want parents in the classroom, but the teacher is still responsible for their students. Using the resources that are provided in this article, is a great way to manage the involvement of parents within the classroom.

References

Teacher-Parent Collaboration. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.teachervision.com/teaching-strategies/teacher-parent-collaboration.