Parent-teacher meetings are designed to facilitate open communication between two of the adults who spend the most time with your child every day. You both care very deeply about the development of your child, but if you’re not on the same page, it’s hard to manage and support that growth, which is so important during these early years. Here are 10 questions to ask your preschooler’s teacher at your next parent-teacher meeting.
- How is my child doing socially? Social development is extremely important at this age. In fact, having the chance to develop these skills is one of the benefits of academic preschool. Your child will learn to get along with other kids and interact with adults outside of their immediate family.
- How is my child doing emotionally? Your toddler may be sad when you drop him or her off every morning, and happy to see you when you pick them up from preschool, but how are they feeling and expressing themselves throughout the day when you’re not around?
- How is my child doing in terms of grade school readiness? Academic preschool programs provide early high quality education, which can help kids prepare for school. Studies show that as many as 60% of at-risk children are less likely to attend college if they did not receive a preschool education. Talk to your child’s teacher about whether or not kindergarten is the logical next step.
- How is my child doing behaviorally? Does he or she follow the rules, respect classmates and teachers, and demonstrate acceptable behavior? Behavioral issues need to be identified and addressed early on.
- What methods of discipline do you use? Make sure your disciplinary philosophy lines up with that of the preschool and your child’s individual teacher. Everyone approaches this in their own way and it can be a delicate subject. However, it is one that you need to discuss.
- How are my child’s basic life skills? This includes hand-washing, eating, cleaning up, putting on outerwear, using the restroom, and any other basic skills for self-sufficiency.
- How are my child’s cognitive skills? Find out if you child is progressing at a healthy pace. Talk about the following skills for preschoolers: counting, colors, alphabet, weather, and shapes.
- What are his or her strengths? It’s good to know in which areas your child excels.
- What areas need improvement? Find out where he or she struggles so that you can provide more support at home.
- What are his or her favorite activities? Does he or she enjoy coloring, playing make-believe, solving puzzles, building with blocks, or active play like climbing or jumping? Your child may be developing new interests in preschool, and you can encourage those — but only if you know about them.
You enrolled your child in an academic preschool for the amazing benefits of getting an early high quality education. Make sure your child is learning, growing, and developing into a strong, smart, and kind human being by discussing his or her progress with the teacher.