Teaming up with your child’s teacher

Working together with your child’s teacher can help your child integrate kindergarten more easily. But where do you start?

Your child spends most of their day with their teacher, who, like you, wants your child to do well in class. Teaming up with your child’s teacher can help your child make good progress. If your child sees that you have a positive relationship with their teacher, they’ll understand that you respect their teacher, and that what happens at school is important. This will help to motivate your child.

The ABCs of making a good team

It’s important to attend parent-teacher meetings to get to know your child’s teacher and discover how things work in class. The first meeting is held at the start of the school year to introduce what the teacher expects from the students and from you. This is a good time to ask your questions, so you can understand what goes on in your child’s kindergarten class, and to see what you can do at home to support your child’s learning.

Tips for building a positive relationship with the teacher

• Show your child that you and their teacher form a team, by never speaking poorly of the teacher in your child’s presence.
• Encourage your child to listen to their teacher’s requests and instructions.
• Notify the teacher if your child is struggling (e.g. has behavioural issues, anger management issues, difficulty following instructions, language impairments, etc.) or if your child is experiencing a difficult situation at home (e.g. a separation, illness of a loved one, loss of a grandparent, refusing to go to school, etc.). This will help the teacher know how to act with your child.
• Keep your expectations of the teacher realistic. Teachers cannot take care of 15 to 19 students the same way a daycare educator does.
• If your child is struggling, don’t delay in speaking about it to the teacher. Aim to find a solution together. It’s better to explain the problem and listen to the teacher’s point of view than to criticize or lay blame.

Use the right tools

There are several ways to communicate with your child’s teacher. Kindergartners sometimes have an agenda or a correspondence log that they bring home every day. Teachers may write comments in it about your child’s behaviour in class. For example, they may put happy faces to indicate that your child has had a good day. You can also use it to write your own comments or questions to the teacher, or to inform the teacher of a situation that is worrying you. The teacher can then reply directly in the agenda or log, call you or set up a meeting with you. It is therefore important to check your child’s agenda every day to see if the teacher has sent you a message.

Teachers may also provide you with their email addresses so you can contact them more quickly. Of course, it’s also always possible to phone the school directly to leave a message or to set up a meeting with your child’s teacher.

Things to keep in mind

• Going to parent-teacher meetings will help you connect with your child’s teacher and understand what goes on in class.
• The relationship between your child and their teacher plays a key role in their academic performance.
• When something happens at school, you need to talk about it promptly with the teacher.

Scientific review: Manon Roussel, retired teacher Research and copywriting: The Naître et Grandir team Updated: December 2023

Photo : Nicolas St-Germain