It’s that time of year, parent teacher meetings.
In infants, it can be tricky having meetings at this stage of the year, however it can also address issues early in the year too.
In preparation for PT meetings for Junior Infants, I reviewed my own observations from the beginning of the year and chose two points to address at the meeting. My junior infants assessment pack contains the observation sheets on Mash.ie. While it’s important to outline the child’s academic attainment, I felt that social skills, fine and gross motor skills and friendships became the focus of my meetings.
I would discuss fine motor skills, often I had examples of some of the activities in class. I found having some examples of their cutting activities was beneficial especially for those who may find it challenging. If a parent wished to get more information I had a list of suggested fine motor activities that I could email home.
In Junior Infants, it is also important to address their social skills and friendships. Depending on the location of your school children may come from a variety of playschools. It is important to outline to parents that they are establishing friendships, or if they need support in doing so. I often encourage a wide circle of friends in infants. This has become my most frequent phrase in their school reports at the end of the year.
In Senior Infants, I would discuss the change to Senior infants and whether this had an affect on them. I would also have some examples of assessment such as letter sounds, sight words. A previous blog post discussed some ideas for assessment in Senior Infants. Again in Senior Infants I address friendships, social skills and if it’s warranted fine and gross motor skills.
I always asked the parent at the start of the meeting, if they had any concerns. This may seem daunting for some, but I felt it worked for me.
Always remember the positive sandwich mode for parent teacher meetings. Discuss a positive aspect of their child’s learning, then address any issues and always finish on a positive aspect.
Lastly, I tried to give the parents some information to take with them. I like the tip sheets from the NCCA for Maths, literacy and playing with your child. It can give the parents a focus leaving the meeting.
Best of luck everyone.
A.M.
Aistear Múinteoir 