The Great Parent Challenge

Parents are a vital part of our students success.  Parents, students, and teachers need to work together to provide the best educational opportunities possible for our children.

            One of our goals as educators is to improve family engagement.  Although, our school offers a variety of learning activities, I wanted to challenge myself with a new project of bringing parental involvement to a fun and relaxed environment.  

            Since there are so many activities that can be done outside of the classroom that can teach and reinforce important skills.  The “Parent Challenge” initiative has activities that parents can share and enjoy with their children.   Parents are sent one to two different challenges each week.  Currently, there are 36 challenges that parents can do with their child at home. 

HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF Parent CHALLENGES THAT ARE SENT TO MY PARENTS:

Challenge #7: Calendar Fun.  Discuss the calendar with your child.  Locate days, weeks, months, and the year.  Then locate special events such as birthdays or special holidays you celebrate together.  You may also want to count how many days until a special date or how many months until that special day. 

Challenge #17: Play School:  Encourage your child to “play school” with you, a family member, neighbor, friend, etc. This provides additional learning practice in a fun and relaxed environment.  

Challenge #22:Laundry.  Have your child help you with laundry.  Have them help separate, count by pairs, locate sets, fold in halves or quarters, etc.

As you can see, these challenges are very simple that cost little to no money.  The whole idea is for the parent to spend time with and share some educational moments outside of the school environment.  Students are rewarded with a sticker chart in my classroom that lists all 40 parent challenges.

            More important, is the response I am receiving from my parents and students.  Their comments have been amazing!  Students are so excited to share the learning that they are doing at home with their family. Parents have shared that they really enjoy doing these activities at home.

            Parents are one of the most important stakeholders in their child’s success.  By working together, we can provide our children with a rich, fulfilling, and well-rounded education.

GET THE ENTIRE LIST OF 36 ACTIVITIES FOR FREE. Click HERE!