Children learn from every adult in their lives, especially their parents and teachers. The fact is, if you and your child’s teachers aren’t aligned on their early education, your little one will become confused, and their development will slow down. But when parents and teachers work together, you provide many benefits for your child, such as:
- Academic success
- Individualized support
- Improved social skills
- Greater emotional maturity
As an early education center, we work hard to help kids develop all the skills they need to thrive in life and know that none of that is possible without parent collaboration. In this article, we’ll share some parenting advice/tips to help you build a strong partnership with your child’s teachers.
Academic Success
A child’s mind is like a sponge; it’s constantly soaking up information around them whether they are at an early education center or not. In fact, their homes can be a great place to continue learning all kinds of skills. For example:
- Reading with your child helps teach language skills
- Conducting simple science experiments like mixing baking soda and vinegar teaches cause and effect
- Doing practical activities like puzzles, gardening, or cooking to teach fine motor skills
- Asking what your child learned that day helps with learning retention
Whatever you do, chances are your child is learning something from it. And when parents and teachers communicate, you can better reinforce what your child is learning in the classroom in your home.
For example, if your child is struggling with a particular subject in school, teachers can suggest activities parents do with their child at home to help build the knowledge. This kind of consistent learning sets the foundation for the rest of your child’s academic career. It teaches them to continue learning even after the school day has ended. And this all starts with strong parent-teacher relationships that help children thrive, no matter what developmental stage they are in.
Individualized Support
Young children are constantly changing and adapting to the world around them. Sometimes this results in them acting differently at home than they would at school. Or a child may act the same no matter their environment. You won’t know unless you talk to your child’s teacher.
The fact is, teachers notice things that parents miss, just like how parents notice things that teachers miss. This makes parent-teacher communication vital to helping children develop and identifying early warning signs that your child may be facing some challenges.
Teachers and parents shouldn’t just talk when it’s time for annual conferences or when the child is in trouble. They need to stay in contact and consistently discuss the child’s strengths and weaknesses noticed at home and in the classroom. This can reveal potential issues a child may be struggling with, such as:
- Difficulty focusing
- Behavioral problems
- Anxiety
- Learning disabilities
The sooner these challenges are discovered, the sooner an individualized education program can be put in place to help the child learn in a way that works for them. But what if your child only shows signs of these issues in one location, like at school but not at home?
This insight is invaluable and could not be discovered without parent-teacher communication. Perhaps there is a stressor at school that is causing your child to act out. Once it is identified, steps can be taken to remediate the situation.
When unwanted behavior or learning challenges are identified in children early on, steps can be taken immediately to help your little one before habits become deeply ingrained in their brains. The longer your child goes without intervention, the harder it will be to break the habit. Even without early intervention though, parent-teacher collaboration can help children develop crucial skills needed to thrive for the rest of their lives.
Improved Social Skills
Early childhood educators don’t just teach children academic skills, they implement life skills curriculum into everyday lessons. One of the important life skills teachers try to nurture is social skills. Children learn how to engage with others through interactions with children their age. With the right early childhood educators, social skills can be especially nurtured through daily activities like:
- Making music as a class
- Storytelling with others
- Using building blocks as a group
Early childhood educators can also model mature social skills as well as guide child in how they navigate new situations. For example, if another child knocks over your little one’s block tower, an early childhood educator will be able to help both children address the conflict without resulting in hitting or name calling. This teaches strong conflict resolution and social skills, but teachers aren’t the only ones children learn from.
Parents and teachers need to be on the same page when it comes to social development. If children witness conflicting ways of communicating, sharing, cooperating, or apologizing, they will have more difficulty learning these skills. They won’t know whose example to follow and may withdraw socially or start lashing out.
Children need to see their parents and teachers interacting with others as well as each other to better develop their own social skills. When the same expectations are set at home and at school, like how to best apologize, children are more likely to develop these skills and use them in the correct situations. However, social skills aren’t the only life skills curriculum teachers and parents need to be on the same page on.
Greater Emotional Regulation
Consistency is key when it comes to raising mature children. When kids get the same instructions on how to regulate their emotions at school and at home, the techniques are more likely to stick. For example, if Conscious Discipline is used at school, your child will learn how to use breathwork, safe spaces, and feelings cards to calm down when they are stressed. But if this practice isn’t also used at home, it’s less likely to stick.
Your child may only use Conscious Discipline at school and nowhere else, making it incredibly frustrating for you since your kid seems to calm down for their teachers, but not for you. Your little one isn’t disrespecting you; they are just only applying what they’ve learned in the environment they learned it in. Here’s some resources on how you can start implementing these emotional regulation tactics at home:
- Help Your Kids Manage Big Emotions with Conscious Discipline
- Encouraging Honesty with Your Children | Kiddi Kollege
- Stop Toddler Tantrums with Conscious Discipline | Expert Parenting Guide
- Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Your Child Interpersonal Communication
- Dealing with Meltdowns? This Conscious Discipline Course Helps
Practicing emotional regulation at home will help show your child that these skills are applicable everywhere, not just at school. This requires parents and teachers to work together for the good of the child, but how exactly can you do this?
How Can Parents and Teachers Collaborate?
Balance is key when it comes to parent-teacher collaboration. Equal partnerships prevent power struggles and help children learn from the most important adults in their life. Let’s break down some parenting advice/tips on how you and your child’s teacher can work together:
Communicate Effectively
Some of the best parenting advice/tips center on clear, consistent communication with your child’s teachers. But both teachers and parents alike can feel like they’re in the dark if they don’t know what’s happening with their child at the other location. You can’t be with your child in school, but you can learn all you need to know about your child’s development by communicating with their teachers.
Parent-teacher communication must be clear and consistent. Twice a year parent-teacher conferences are important, but alone they won’t cut it. See if your child’s early education center uses any digital apps to encourage communication between teachers and parents (at Kiddi Kollege, we use BrightWheel).
This can be a great way for teachers to keep you posted on your child’s daily activities, progress, and learning expectations. Additionally, many teachers have open-door policies so don’t be afraid to contact them another way if you have questions. Communication with your child’s teachers should include a discussion of your little one’s strengths and challenges so you and their teacher can create a holistic plan to help them thrive.
Participate in School
Parents and teachers need to build a strong relationship to show children that the adults they see the most often can work together. This helps build a sense of security in your child and makes them feel more comfortable at school.
In order to build this relationship though, you need to get involved in early education center activities so you can actually interact with your child’s teachers. There are many ways you can participate in school activities, such as:
- Volunteer in your child’s classroom
- Help with story time
- Host parent-led workshops
- Attend open houses
- Organize family nights
Participating in this way shows your child that you think their schooling is important, provides more opportunities to spend time with your little one, and helps familiarize yourself with their teachers. However, early education center activities aren’t the only ways to participate in your child’s learning. You can also help reinforce school learning at home.
Learn from Each Other and Outside Sources
Parents and teachers can learn a lot from each other. Parents can talk to teachers about their child’s home behaviors and techniques that worked to help calm their little one down, focus, communicate, and more. Teachers on the other hand can provide resources or even workshops for parents on topics like Conscious Discipline, early literacy, or even nutrition. This way, neither parents nor teachers are gatekeeping knowledge. Instead, they are sharing it to better care for your child no matter where they are.
Ready to Continue Your Child’s Learning at Home?
When parents and teachers work together, your child thrives in all sorts of ways. They grow their academic, social, and emotional skills and feel confident at home and at school. A big part of this is continuing their early education at home. Sign up for our newsletters to get more information on how to continue your child’s development at home without boring them.
Parent-Teacher Collaboration FAQs
When parents and teachers work together in early education, children benefit from consistency between home and school. This alignment helps prevent confusion, supports faster development, and reinforces the academic, social, and emotional skills children are learning in both environments.
When parents and teachers communicate regularly, they can reinforce classroom lessons at home. Teachers can suggest activities that build on what a child is learning, creating consistent learning experiences that lay a strong foundation for the rest of a child’s academic career.
An individualized education program is a customized learning plan designed to help a child learn in a way that works best for them. It’s often put in place after a specific challenge or learning need is identified, ensuring the child gets targeted support.
An individualized education program should be considered as soon as learning challenges or behavioral concerns are identified. Early intervention allows support to begin before unwanted habits become deeply ingrained, making them easier to address.
Children sometimes act differently depending on their environment. A stressor at school, for example, might cause a child to act out there but not at home. Parent-teacher communication is the only way to uncover these differences and address the root cause.
A life skills curriculum teaches children practical, everyday abilities beyond academics, such as social skills, emotional regulation, communication, and cooperation. Early childhood educators weave these lessons into daily activities.
Children learn social skills by observing the adults in their lives. When they see consistent examples of how to communicate and resolve conflict at home and at school, they don’t have to guess whose example to follow, which reduces social withdrawal or acting out.
Consistency is key. If a technique like Conscious Discipline is used at school, practicing it at home too, using tools like breathwork, safe spaces, and feelings cards, helps your child understand that these skills apply everywhere, not just in the classroom.
Communication should be clear and consistent, going beyond twice-a-year conferences. Many early education centers use digital apps like BrightWheel to share daily updates, and many teachers have open-door policies for questions.
You can volunteer in the classroom, help with story time, host parent-led workshops, attend open houses, or organize family nights. Getting involved shows your child that their education matters and helps you build a relationship with their teachers.
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