Teaming up with your child’s teacher

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?

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

A child whose parents are part of the picture, by showing an interest in what goes on at school, has an easier time developing a good relationship with their 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.

Developing a good teacher/student relationship
Studies show that students who get on well with their teachers get better results, are more motivated, and participate more in class. You can foster your child’s relationship with their teacher by providing the teacher with information regarding your child’s personality and behaviour.
During the first visit to kindergarten, or just before it, parents are often given a questionnaire to fill out so that teachers can get to know the children better. Some daycares also provide a document for kindergarten teachers describing the child and the strategies that were used in given situations.
Taking the time to talk to your child about what he does in class also helps build this relationship with their teacher. Since children spend a lot of time with their teachers, it’s normal that they often talk about them. It’s important not to criticize or speak poorly of the teacher in front of your child, so that your child doesn’t feel caught in the middle.

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.

 

Naître et grandir

Scientific review: Manon Roussel, kindergarten teacher
Research and copywriting: The Naître et Grandir team
Updated: December 2021

 

Useful links and resources

Please note that hyperlinks to other websites are not updated regularly, and some may have changed since publication. If a link is no longer valid, use search engines to find the relevant information.

Online

Books for parents

  • Au retour de l’école... La place des parents dans l’apprentissage scolaire, 3e édition, M.-C. Béliveau, Éditions du CHU Sainte-Justine, 2019, 272 p.
  • Les grandes émotions des tout-petits, S. Bourque, Éditions Midi trente, 2020, 144 p.
  • Petit Loup entre à l’école, S. Bourque, Éditions Midi trente, 2012, 96 p.
  • Petit Loup se sent bien à l’école, S. Bourque, Éditions Midi trente, 2015, 96 p.

Books for kids

  • 1,2,3 à l’école, M. Dubuc, Casterman, 2020, 32 p.
  • À l’école, les grands!, texte: A. M. Bergeron, ill.: Maco, Éditions Imagine, 2012, 32 p.
  • Allons à l’école, texte: L. Charlesworth, ill.: M. Baker, Éditions Scholastic, 2015, 16. p.
  • En route pour l’école, collectif, Éditions Hemma, 2015, 16 p.
  • Gédéon va à l’école, L. Wall, Éditions Scholastic, 2014, 24 p.
  • J’adore l’école! texte : R. Munsch, ill. : D. Whamond, Éditions Scholastic, 2020, 32 p.
  • J’aime la maternelle avec Biscuit et Cassonade, C. Munger et C. Chabot, Éditions de la Bagnole, 2018, 48 p.
  • Je ne veux pas aller à l’école, texte : E. Abécassis, ill.: A. Siroy, Éditions Thomas Jeunesse, 2013, 28 p.
  • Je suis capable! C’est la rentrée, D. Pelletier, Éditions Scholastic, 2015, 24. p.
  • Je veux pas aller à l’école, S. Blake, École des loisirs, 2011
  • La grande école, ton album de la rentrée, texte : J. Rochefort, ill. : J Morin, Éditions Fonfon, 2011, 32 p.
  • La rentrée de Gaston, S. Yoon, Éditions Scholastic, 2016, 40 p.
  • La rentrée de papa, M. Wohnoutka, Éditions Scholastic, 2015, 40 p.
  • La rentrée de Roudoudou, C. Bielinsky, Bayard Jeunesse, 2019, 26 p.
  • Le monstre des couleurs va à l’école, A. Llenas, éditions Quatre fleuves, 2019, 38 p.
  • Le premier jour d’école de Madame Pépin, texte: P. Robbins Janousky, ill.: M. Lands, Éditions Scholastic, 2017, 32 p.
  • Les Monsieur Madame et la rentrée des classes, A. Hargreaves, Hachette, 2018, 40 p.
  • Pat le chat : J’adore aller à l’école, texte: É. Litwin, ill. J. Dean, Éditions Scholastic, 2014, 40 p. 
  • Princesse Paola à la maternelle, texte: J. Couëlle, ill.: M. Arbona, Éditions Planète rebelle, 2012, 32 p.
  • Roi de la maternelle, texte : D. D. Barns, ill.: V. B. Newton, Éditions Scholastic, 2020, 32 p.
  • Qui sera mon professeur?, texte: J. Pallotta, ill.: D. Biedrzycki, Éditions Scholastic, 2014, 32 p.
  • Qui m’amènera à l’école cette année?, texte: J. Pallotta, ill.: D. Biedrzycki, Éditions Scholastic, 2015, 32 p.
  • Sam apprend à aimer l’école, texte: S. Martel, ill.: C. Battuz, Dominique et compagnie, 2010, 24 p.

 

Photo : Nicolas St-Germain

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