Keeping Up With Parent Communication Using ClassTag

Do you ever struggle to communicate with your students' parents?  I know I definitely have!  It is so important that we make it a priority to communicate with parents positively and frequently BEFORE a major problem happens.  But, the big question - how do we do that without it being a major hassle when our plates are already overflowing?

Enter ClassTag!  This awesome parent communication app is completely FREE to use, is super easy to set up, translates in over 50 languages, delivers messages to parents via their personal preference (sms, email, or paper), and allows teachers to communicate about school supplies, back to school info, volunteering, activities, assemblies, and more!

This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

Some Benefits I LOVE:

1. Office Hours

You can set up office hours in ClassTag.  You get to specify the hours that you will be available to respond to your messages.  Parents can still send messages whenever it's convenient for them, but, you will only get push notifications during your office hours.  This is so important when you are trying to juggle the work/home life balance!

2.  Rewards

Activities on the app earn you points that can be redeemed for rewards for your classroom.

3. Class Supply Lists

You can create supply lists for your families to reference.  The best part is that they have made it super easy with ready created supply lists.  Just delete or add anything that you need included. You can even update this list throughout the year.  You know, like in January when everything needs to be replaced!


4. Communicate With One or All Parents

Using the app, you can choose to communicate with an individual parent (for a behavior issue or to give a compliment) or for the whole class (for upcoming events or announcements).


5. Parent Teacher Conferences

Scheduling parent teacher conferences is a breeze with the app!  You can schedule the times that you are available, and parents can sign-up for available times right on the app!

6. Even More Rewards!

I already mentioned that teachers can earn rewards for their classroom just by communicating with parents, but... ClassTag has added another opportunity for teachers to gain resources they need in their classroom!  They have joined the #clearthelists movement started by teacher, Courtney Jones.

ClassTag is going to clear the list of one lucky teacher every day for the entire school year!  You can find out how to take part here.

If you haven't signed up for ClassTag - click here to get signed up for FREE right now!

I would love to hear all the ways that you use ClassTag to communicate with parents!  Please share in the comments below!

 I would love to hear from you! ❤️

Have a question? Idea for a resource you might find helpful?

Be so kind and leave a comment below.

Classroom Newsletter Writing Made Easy

Classroom newsletters can be a great way to keep parents informed about your classroom events and learning activities!  But... if the thought of creating a classroom newsletter makes you a little queasy, I have a few tips to make it easy peasy!

Step 1: Gather Important Dates and Deadlines

Make a list of all important dates in the upcoming month. Think of no school days, early releases, field trips, assemblies, test days, etc.  

Step 2: What Will You Be Teaching/Learning?

What topics will be covered in the upcoming month?  You don't have to write out complete details, but broad descriptions will be helpful. For example you might say "We will be working on place value in math, and character traits in reading."  Be sure to include any ways parents might be able to assist including reading with their child, practicing math facts, spelling words, etc.  If you have a weekly spelling list, you might want to include this as well.

Step 3: Reminders

What things have your students been forgetting, or what do they need to remember?  Ideas here might include: sneakers for PE, lunch money, book order money, picture order forms, etc.

Bonus Tip:

Create newsletter templates at the beginning of the year that can be easily edited and re-used.  This will save you so much time!  I have a set of ready made editable classroom newsletters that you can check out if you would like to save even more time!

I have even included a Meet the Teacher (and Meet the Teacher's Aide and  Meet the Student Teacher) versions so you can start off on the right foot!

Do you have any tips for making classroom newsletter writing easier?  Leave a comment below!

Tried It Tuesday -

I am linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday!

This week I tried out these Hey You! What's New? Parent Reminders from Teacher To The Core.  I found myself wasting time  spending hours carefully looking through tons of clip art for just the right pictures, then adding text to it whenever I needed to send parents home a quick note.  The worst part?  I almost NEVER saved the file, so each time I had to recreate the wheel.  And this always would happen during the most crazed weeks - you know the ones with last minute schedule changes, principal observations, homework for a class due, child's out of town baseball tournament!

Luckily, a few months ago I was perusing Katie's blog when I saw these adorable Reminder Notes!  Not only are there reminder notes for just about every thing you could ever think of - they are cute to boot!

We have an awards assembly coming up for the end of the quarter, so I printed a few of these out.

Then I quickly filled in the information needed.  If I had more awards to give out, I would have filled them in first, then copied them!

Easy peasy!  

What new things have you tried out this week?  Link up and share!

Conference Ideas And Resources

We had our last conferences for the school year last week, but I am just getting around to posting about them.  Is it just me or is that week before Spring Break the LOOOONGEST week ever???  Today was our last day before break and boy do we all need a break right now!

Anyway... I just wanted to share a few things that I do during conferences.  If possible, I have the student run the conference.  I have them complete the sheets below which I found from Lesson Plan SOS.  This really helps them guide what they tell their parents and I have found the students to be VERY honest.  Their reflections usually match their grades closely, and light bulbs seem to go off in many of their heads about their work habits.

They are often tougher on themselves then I would be, but that is often a great teaching point in itself!

 

 

 



This conference I also asked them to write a short note to their parents telling them one thing that they are proud of this quarter and one thing that they are still working on.  It worked great for the conference but also as a mini-assessment.

 

 

I also found these forms from Ms. York's class that I think I might use next year.  I will use the ones above for the beginning of the year conference, and then the ones below for the end of year. 

Do you have your students write self-reflections for conferences?  Do you have any other tips for having successful conferences?

Sending Home Good News

       The other day I handed a free lunch notification letter to one of my students (they come in envelopes for the student's privacy). 
      
       She asked, "What is this? Is it bad?"

      I know that as teachers sometimes we get so bogged down with all of the other things that we do, that the only communication that goes home is negative.  I hated thinking that my kiddos think that whenever a note goes home to their parents it means that they did something wrong.

      So... I started sending home notes that celebrate their successes!  I started with just  a few students this week who had STAR tested (Accelerated Reader) or had 100% on Accelerated Math.  I added a few personal notes to make it even more personal and special.

What ways do you share good news with your parents?