Parent Involvement Plays A Large Role in Your Child’s Education

mother and daughter playing at Care A Lot child care center

When teaching is extended outside the classroom by parents it creates a more positive experience for the children as well as helping their performance and growth in the classroom

Having a strong home to school connection is a key component to help further children’s development.  For this to be possible, parents should be aware of what is being taught in their child’s classroom.  They can then bring those lessons back home and engage with their children to help extend their learning.  Having parents extend teaching outside of the classroom helps to create a positive experience for children as well as perform better while they are at school.

What Role Can Parents Play in Early Childhood Education?

When parents are involved with their child’s education, they can extend the experiences that a child has in the classroom to real-world experiences they see at home.  A parent that is involved with what their child is learning at school has a better sense of where their child is developmentally.  This means they can see which areas they are excelling in as well as areas they may need more guidance.  If parents know this, they can talk with the child’s teacher about strategies they can be using at home to help further said child’s development.

One of the most difficult challenges for early childhood educators is figuring out how to better engage parents in their child’s learning.  When child care center educators establish a strong sense of communication with parents, as well as making a great effort to involve parents and families as an important partner in their child’s education, you can make a positive impact on their learning ability.

Woman hugging a girl outside on brick sidewalk

Tips For Encouraging Parent Involvement

  • Make families feel comfortable with your center and the educators who work there. This will help families feel at ease during their time in the center and is likely to get them to be more involved.
  • Ask parents if they would be interested in coming into the classroom and participating in activities. Some parents may have a special talent that they would like to come in and share with the class during circle time.  Or maybe they would be interested in volunteering to help with a special art project in the class.
  • Sustain an open communication with parents by doing daily and weekly check-in’s at drop off and pick up by asking if there are any topics they would like to see incorporating in the upcoming curriculum.
  • Create daily reports with photos and observations for the parents. Have a platform where they can reply and comment back on these reports
  • Have recourses easily accessible for parents to use regarding developing motor skill, language development, behavior management and more.
  • Post events and activities around the center for parents and students to attend together. These activities could pertain to the curriculum for the class at the time or focus on different developmental domains.
  • Thank those parents who do get involved. Send them thank you notes and showcase their involvement around the center and social media.

father and 2 daughters at day care

Studies show that when parents are actively involved with their child’s early childhood education, they are more likely to stay involved when their child enters elementary school.  When teachers help to facilitate parent involvement in child care centers, they can help support children beyond just their time at the child care center and make their families an important part of their education well into the future.