Elizabeth Kolb EDUC 461 Fall 2014

TWS 10
A. Family Communication
Family communication is important in the classroom because teachers and families have
to work together to meet the needs of the child. It is important to establish the needs of the child
in the home and in the classroom. In addition, it is beneficial for the parent to know what the
teachers intentions are when it comes to what they are teaching the child and making sure their
child is important in the teachers eyes. I intend to instill communication between myself and the
parents of my kindergarten class in four ways so that we are all on the same team. The parents
will be given an introduction letter in the beginning, a newsletter each week about content and
events that are going on, and they will be given my website that has my blog on it that they can
leave comments that I will check at the end of the week. The parents will be part of the open
house and events that we have at school like career day, or other events that involve parents.
Introduction letters are the first thing teachers give to parents that tell them a little about
them and what their intentions are in education as well as what they will be studying during the
year. This is not my first time writing an introduction letter. I believe that the parents know who
is in their childrens lives and how it is going to affect their education. The introduction letter
also gives me the way to communicate with the parents. In conducting my introduction letter, I
wanted to include elements that would be important for the parents to know. First, I wanted to
thank the parents for giving me the opportunity to teach their children and that I was excited to
do so. I introduced myself by telling them I was an Early Childhood Education major at Lander
University. I talked about the different places I lived in and about my dog. I even let the parents
know about hobbies I do when I am not teaching or doing schoolwork. I wanted my parents to
know my belief on education and instill the concept of motivation to their children. In addition, I
let the parents know that I would be taking pictures and videotaping my lessons as part of the
experience. I attached a permission sheet to the parents with an option to check no. At the end of
the letter, I told the parents again that I was excited about working with their children. I added at
the end if they had questions or concerns to email my cooperating teacher or myself. After my
signature at the bottom, I added my Weebly website so the parents can look at it. For my
introduction letter, I included the theme I am going to do for my own classroom one day. The
introduction letters are part of what parents need to know about their teachers especially if they
did not go to Open House to meet them in person.
The newsletter I would include for when I become an actual teacher would be beneficial
for each parent. I would like to include a newsletter for the parents of what I am teaching their
children. I did make a newsletter that is on my Weebly website and it included things that I
thought would be best for parents to know. My newsletter includes the following: 1) an
introduction to a new week and a recap of how the week before went; 2) Homework for the
week; 3) Furry Friend of the Week, which is a student that had good behavior and has done well
in academics during the week; 4) Furry Friend Helpers which tells the parents that responsibility
is given in the classroom; 5) School Dates to know, Reminders to Students and Parents; and 6)
Spelling words and the weeks activities of what we are doing during the week. For my current
experience, I would like to give out a letter of the things I will be teaching them and how that
pertains to what my cooperating teacher is teaching them. The newsletter is another way the

parents can keep up what is going on in the classroom and how to implement some of those ways
at home.
The blog is another way to communicate besides email and I made it known to
the parents that they check it out and leave a comment if need be. Blogs are another way to
communicate because it could be pertaining to the website and what is featured on it. It is
important to have other ways besides email to talk about things that are dealing with what their
child is learning. I would most likely have a private blog for the parents so others cannot see
what they are writing about. I would instill total confidence that anything the parents post would
only be seen by me.
B. Communication/Collaboration with Colleagues
It is important that teachers collaborate and communicate among each other so they can
decide what they are teaching and how to teach it. Teachers share teaching ideas, activities, and
assessments with each other so they can see what would work for their students. It is important
that teachers work together as a team because it is more beneficial for the teachers as well as the
students so that everyone is on the same page. I have communicated with my cooperating teacher
by helping to plan lessons and helping to co-teach as well as help when she has a substitute.
The colleagues and I collaborate in many ways so that way we are on the same page
when it comes to teaching. We have team meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays after school. We
come together and bring the things that we are assigned to do. Since my teacher is doing the
ELA, I have been going to the ELA planning meetings with two other kindergarten teachers.
During the team meetings, we have our recorder, which is my teacher, because the principal
wants to see us document what we talk about at our planning meetings. During planning, we
discuss the new unit for the next week, as well as integration of ELA and Math with Science and
Social Studies. We also discuss homework and communication logs. Attached will be a copy of
the documentation of what the principal has given each grade level in the school.
Another way we have to communicate with our colleagues is through faculty meetings
which are held on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. During these faculty meetings, we bring up issues that
need to be discussed or resolved among grade levels. There is no official documentation for these
meetings but we do receive paperwork about school or visitors that come as well.
One last way that we communicate through colleagues is through field trip permission
forms. These forms have to be permitted by the principal as well as the district. The field trips
have to be affordable when it comes to transportation and gas. The trips also need to be related to
a unit you are doing in the classroom. The principal will approve of the field trip and it gives you
the right to make further arrangements with the other teachers. Attached is a copy of the field trip
permission form that the principal must approve.