Also, by keep the learning going in the summer they will be that much farther ahead next year.
In the U.S., our classrooms are full and teachers can only do so much. And I have a teacher friend who pointed out if a parent is involved, she finds herself more invested in that child. That's just human nature, I think.
When you communicate with your child's teacher, they see you're willing to do your part and they also learn a lot more about your child and his or her individual personality and needs. If you talk to the teacher, he or she will most likely be very happy to cooperate with you in your child's education.
As I pondered this idea of working hand-in-hand with the school, I thought to myself, hmmm, there's homeschooling and public schooling, why not "co-schooling."
It turns out I'm not the only one to think of this idea. There is no official site, but I found the following three blog posts about it:
What is Co-schooling?
Just What is Co-schooling?
Co-schooling at Wordpress
I hope to continue to illustrate ways we co-school, whether it's fostering communication with educators, guiding behavior or focusing on a particular learning area.
Here are some ways we co-schooled during Brady's 1st grade year:
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| I volunteered to do this craft in his classroom. |
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| We used these letter tiles to drastically improve his spelling. |
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| His teacher made and sent these sight words home for us to practice. |
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| She also sent home an old handwriting workbook when I asked for a handwriting page website. |
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| The Behavior Notebook is a great way to communicate with your child's teacher in a specific area. |
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| We're working really hard on reading over the summer with our Reading Store and have seen success. |
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Great post Stephanie and I totally believe in co-schooling. I guess it means a lot more to me with an autistic 8 year old receiving services in school on an IEP. I totally believe in communicating with teachers and doing your own work at home. You can't always rely on the public school system to do a good job so you have to pitch in as well. Kudos to you!
ReplyDeleteIt becomes even more crucial if you're working, I think, because there's less time to spend. I have to really plan out our nights and weekends to get this in and also have down time too! Whew! Too much to do.
DeleteOH MY WORD!! I feel like you broke into my brain! I am on the same scope but never thought of searching for co-schooling? DUH, lol. I am excited to read more of your post.
ReplyDeleteNeat to meet someone who was having the same epiphany! :)
DeleteI was a teacher before I became a stay at home mom with my girls and co-schooling from both perspectives just makes total sense! Because I taught in Montessori for a while, I know of a great variety of easy and fun ways to teach your kid at home..sometimes without them realizing that they are being taught. It is so much more fun for kids to learn when they go to it by choice! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, so you see it from both sides! I told my friend the things Brady and I were doing and she said that's not typical, which really surprised me. Montessori is great, there's none nearby here.
DeleteThere truly aren't enough parents that invest themselves in their children's schooling. If there isn't help and encouragement at home than a child usually doesn't do well in school.
ReplyDeleteYou know it surprised me to learn it is not this way for everyone. I have had a good friend and my niece, both teachers in different states, to tell me that. It still surprises me.
DeleteThat's awesome! It has helped Brady so much to work one on one with me, then he can take that to school. His teacher mentioned the difference she saw and the results in his "grades" (he's just in 1st) were very evident.
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