What to expect and what to ask in your parent-teacher conference
It may seem surprising to have a parent teacher conference when your child is so young, but we believe it’s important to check in with you and your family on your child’s developmental progress — after all your child’s brain develops the most in these early years! Read more below to explore what parent teacher conferences look like at Day Early Learning.
What to Expect:
At your parent teacher conference, your child’s teacher will review your child’s progress in each of the early childhood developmental areas — physical, social-emotional, English and language arts, mathematics, and personal care. Your child’s teacher will also discuss any areas of concern, and you can bring up concerns you may have. If there are areas of concern your teacher will collaborate with you and your family to create a plan of action and will share any resources that may be helpful.
What to Prepare:
Similar to a check-up at your doctor, think about any questions you may have ahead of time — whether they are related to your child’s academic, social or developmental progress. Ask your spouse, co-parent or other significant caregivers what questions they might have too.
If you want to consider your child’s development before your parent teacher conference, you can check out our curriculum overviews or the Play & Learning guides on Brighter Futures Indiana.
If your child is old enough, talk to them about school and ask them questions. What do they like best about school? If they could change anything about school what would it be? Their answers may spur additional questions for you.
Prepare a list of questions to bring with you, so you don’t forget anything. See our list below for some ideas.
What to Ask:
- What are my child’s strengths and weaknesses?
- What is my child like in class?
- How does my child interact with other children in class?
- What is/will my child learning in class this year?
- What can I do at home to help my child develop further?
What to Discuss:
In addition to your questions, be sure to discuss any concerns you may have about your child. Also, let your teacher know of any significant changes at home — a new sibling on the way, a move or a death in the family — these can all impact how your child is doing in the classroom. And they will impact the way our teachers support your child too.
Also, make sure to ask your child’s teacher how to best communicate with them to follow up on progress or in case you have additional questions.
Beyond Your Parent Teacher Conference
Our Day Early Learning team focuses each day on helping your child learn and grow — and on partnering with you to nurture that development. While your parent teacher conference is a great time to explore your child’s experience in depth, you can always reach out to us and share any thoughts that you may have anytime.
