Talking to Your Child's Preschool Teacher
Enrolling your little one in preschool can be a time filled with many questions. How well will my child adjust to preschool? Will my child make friends? Will the teacher understand my child? Establishing and maintaining an open, clear channel of communication with your child's preschool teacher can lessen many parental concerns.
Getting to Know the Teacher
When discipline, toilet teaching, biting, or other preschooler concerns. A teacher's answers can help you evaluate how creative he or she might be in responding to everyday classroom dilemmas. You can also learn a great deal from how responsive a teacher is to your questions. If the teacher appears defensive, uncomfortable, or uninterested while replying to your inquiries, that could signal future communication problems and may mean that the teacher and preschool aren't the right fit for you and your child.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Some preschools schedule meetings during the year to discuss a child's developmental and behavioral progress. Typically, these conferences cover a child's unhappy, contact the teacher at once.
If your preschooler complains about the teacher, try to find out what he or she is unhappy about. Often, a preschooler may complain if he or she is put in time-out or isn't given a popular classroom job, such as line leader. It's helpful if you support the teacher and talk to your child about following rules or taking turns.
If you have concerns about the teacher's style or performance, talk to him or her first. If your concerns aren't resolved to your satisfaction, your next stop should be the teacher's supervisor. It's a good idea to try to work out any problems rather than to change preschool teachers midyear, unless absolutely necessary. Your child may take a switch to a new school to mean that any time there's a problem, it can be solved with a new teacher or a new school. It's better to show your child how to work through problems rather than avoid them.
Building a Relationship
It's important to form a good relationship with your child's preschool teacher - for both you and your child. Approach your child's teacher with an open mind and clear, direct questions, so that you can be a part of your child's preschool experience and take pride in your little one's achievements.
Remember to also share praise - both yours and your child's - with the teacher, as well as his or her supervisor ("My child really enjoys story time," for example). This approach not only makes the teacher feel appreciated, but also creates a positive framework that makes it easier for teachers to receive negative feedback in a constructive way.
Think of yourself and your child's teacher as a united team whose shared goal is to help make your child's preschool experience a happy and productive one.
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