Finding out what your child did at school can be difficult for any parent. When your child has special needs, it can be nearly impossible! Although your child may have a behavior sheet that comes home daily, most behavior sheets just tell you how compliant your child was, not what they actually did during the school day. Creating a parent-teacher communication notebook that goes from home to school, however, can be a great way to help keep you informed, to start conversations with your child, and to keep teachers informed as well!

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Why parent-teacher Communication Notebooks Are Helpful

Parent-teacher communication notebooks are helpful for all students. They serve three main purposes.

1. Reinforcing academic skills. Parent-teacher communication notebooks help you know what your child did during the day so you can reinforce those concepts and skills. Teachers can write you notes about the various activities your child did during the day rather than simply checking boxes on a behavior sheet. When teachers share information with you about the day, you can know how to continue the learning outside of the school day. If you find out your child learned about the color green, you can point out green at home. If you find out your child learned about Thanksgiving, you can talk about the holiday. If you find out your child worked on 2 digit addition, you can practice those skills when you go to the store and your child wants to buy something for $11 and something for $17. Knowing what your child does, allows you to help him or her practice their skills in other settings.
2. Starting conversations. Parent-teacher communication notebooks help you identify topics to discuss with your child. Many parents struggle with getting their child to share any information about the school day. Having a parent-teacher communication notebook allows you to know a little bit about your child’s day so you can use it as a starting point for conversations. If you read that your child played tag with Sasha and Leia at recess, you can ask questions about the game or about her friends. If you read that your child worked on an art project for the fall festival, you can ask your child about the project and can talk about whether they’re painting, using clay, or making a collage. When you have a little bit of information, it allows you to start conversations and learn more. You might also find out that your child played alone at recess for the fourth straight day. That can help you have a conversation about what’s going on with her friends or check in on how she’s feeling. The more information you have about your child’s school day, the more you can help support your child.
3. Addressing areas of concern. Parent-teacher communication notebooks allow you to share concerns with your child’s teacher. Teachers are busy, and it can be hard to find time to chat with them about all the little things going on in your child’s life. A parent-teacher communication notebook, however, gives you a direct line to the teacher every single day. You can write notes about changes to your child’s schedule, exciting events, or even your child’s mood. It may be helpful for you to let your child’s teacher know that a parent will be out of town for 3 days next week so the teacher is prepared for any changes in mood or behavior. If your child was up all night because of a cough, you can let the teacher know that he or she may be tired and struggling during the day. You could also let the teacher know that grandparents came to visit over the weekend, which allows the teacher to have a place to start some conversations or build rapport with your child.

Parent-teacher communication notebooks serve a wide variety of purposes, but in simplest terms they are just ways for home and school to be in constant contact with one another to best support the child.

What do you need to make a parent-teacher Communication Notebook?

In my experience, a simple notebook really works best for this activity! The notebook should stay in your child’s backpack so it can go back and forth across settings. If your child goes to tutoring, therapy, or other afterschool activities, consider having those professionals use the notebook as well to ensure everyone is on the same page in regards to your child.

If you don’t feel like a notebook is the best option for your child or your school, don’t worry! Parent-teacher communication notebooks are incredibly versatile and can be made in any one of a number of formats. Although I’ve seen excellent communication notebooks that were actual notebooks, I’ve also seen communication notebooks that were binders, daily sheets, or even emails. The format isn’t as important as the content.

The main idea is to have a template for the types of information you want to be receiving from school each day, as well as a way to send information back to the teachers each morning. If it’s a daily sheet, it should have places for the teacher and the parents to write each day. If it’s a binder or notebook, home and school can just take turns writing notes on the next available page. If everyone prefers to use email, it’s important to ensure messages are consistently sent each day. Binders, notebooks, and daily sheets are often easier to remember to use because their presence provides a visual cue to adults. Emails, while potentially easier to create than written notes, are also easier to forget to send or check. It may be helpful to set up calendar reminders to ensure any electronic notebooks are completed each day.

What type of Information Should the parent-teacher Communication Notebook Include?

The absolute most important thing about creating a parent-teacher communication notebook is having a place to share information. The specific type of information that makes sense to share will vary significantly from child to child and situation to situation. In general, it is important to ensure that communication does not focus only on a child’s struggles; ensure positive messages are included regularly.

Many families and schools also find it is helpful to have children take part in completing the communication notebook. Depending upon the child’s age and developmental level, that role may vary greatly. Some children can give a simple answer to a question that a teacher writes. For example, the teacher may ask “What did you like doing today?” The child may reply “Cars.” The teacher could then write, “He enjoyed playing with cars during choice time this morning.” Other children may be able to select from a few picture options and either point or circle the answer that best describes their day. For example, the sheet may ask “What did you like doing today?” The child could then circle or point to a picture representing math, lunch, recess, specials, or reading. Other children may be able to write short answers to a few questions. By building in daily note time to the end of the school day, the child can begin to build lots of important skills from remembering their day to making choices to writing answers to questions.

If you’re unsure what to include in your parent-teacher communication notebook, don’t worry! You can always revise your communication notebook after a few days or weeks if it isn’t capturing everything you want.

When you first start your parent-teacher notebook, keep in mind that a standard template might include prompts like:
* Something that went well
* Something that was difficult
* Something I enjoyed doing
* Someone I played with/talked to
* A topic we’re studying
* A project we’re working on
* Something new I tried
* Something new I learned

As stated above, remember that the options you could include are endless. It’s really about deciding what information you want to be getting each day and picking 3-4 prompts that will provide you with that information.

Remember, the parent-teacher communication notebook should share information from both home and school. It is very important to be sure the log also has a place for parents to have a place to share home information with the school.

Just as there are endless options for school information, there are lots of options for what parents may want to include, as well. Some topics you may want to cover in the home section include:
* How I slept last night
* How I ate this morning
* Something fun I did last night
* Something fun I’m looking forward to this week
* A concern my parent has

Remember, the home section of the log isn’t trying to tell the school absolutely everything going on. The goal is simply to identify a few key pieces of information that would be helpful for the teachers to know as they start their day.

Sample Entries

Some sample entries are posted below. You can see how in just 3-4 sentences, or with just a few question prompts, there’s a ton of information being shared back and forth!

LOg Format

2/26/19 – Jack had a great day today! We worked on adding numbers up to ten and he did a nice job using the manipulatives. He didn’t eat much at lunch and seemed a little tired this afternoon. He had a great time playing boardgames during inside recess with Sam this afternoon!

2/27/19 – Thanks for letting me know – he seemed to have a stomach ache last night and went to bed earlier than usual. Hopefully he’ll be more himself today. This morning he ate a ton so I think he’s back to himself! Does he play with Sam alot? We’re looking to set up a playdate and wondering who would be a good choice.

2/27/19 – Definitely seemed like himself today! Yes, he plays with Sam alot, and also Tanner. He did a nice job reading in literacy centers and earned all 10 stickers on his chart! 🙂 

question format

What is something that went well? Jack did a great job using manipulatives to solve math problems today!
What is a topic we’re studying? We’re working on 2 digit addition in math.
What is something new I did? Jack was able to complete ALL his literacy centers work without any breaks!
What was hard for me today? Jack had a hard time when he lost a game during recess

How I slept last night: Jack didn’t sleep well last night. He complained his stomach hurt.
Something fun I’m looking forward to this week: Jack is excited to go to the zoo on Saturday
A concern my parent has: Jack wants a playdate. Can you tell me if he plays with Sam or someone else a lot?