The beginning of the school year always brings excitement and worry. You are looking forward to your child growing academically and personally, you may also have worries of will they be understood and supported in order to positively achieve that growth!
With your support and positive advocacy they will!
You know your child best and are their biggest supporter this makes taking a positive approach to having open communication with their Teacher very important to get them started off to having a great school year!
Your child’s teacher can be a great advocate for your child and an important source of information for you! The relationship you have with them is important for your child’s success.
How can you do this??…you may be thinking! Perhaps every year you felt you tried and feel defeated or you feel they have not listened to you or your child in the past and now you think how is it going to be any different this year!??
It will be different by taking a fresh approach!
First check in with your thoughts and feelings about your child and their school. This may seem like a strange thing I am saying however how you see things will impact how you communicate with the school.
Do you see their school as a positive place where you know they will positively grow and learn? or is your view their school does not support them and you are expecting a challenging year!
Start this year off viewing it as a clean slate. Let go of all past challenges and get a new vision that they are going to have a great year because you are going to team up with their teacher and the school with the goal in mind of your child’s success!
Mindset Matters!
As early as possible connect with your child’s teacher sharing a bit about them. Positively share about your awesome kid! Information is power and the more the teacher knows about your child the easier it is for them to support and understand him/her!
for example: My son used to start wiggling in his seat and almost hide under his desk when he did not understand what the teacher was talking about! I shared with the teacher that if she sees my son doing this it is a good prompt for her to check in with him privately that he understands how to do the work.
Teachers are usually very grateful for tips and suggestions on how to help your child as long as you are sharing positively not demanding.
Another way to share information about your child with the teacher is by writing a letter outlining some of the most common challenges he/she has and ways to help him.
Remember the teacher has possibly 25 plus other kids in the class and sharing information about your child will shine a much needed and appreciated light!
wishing you all much success,
Donna Hunter
Your ADHD Friendly Family Coach
