5 Easy Teacher Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences

5 Tips for Successful Parent Teachers Conferences! with Freebies
 
It’s that time of year again,  Parent-teacher conferences!  Now, I know that some teachers dread parent-teacher conferences. I am not one of them.  I enjoy (most) of my parent-teacher conferences, so I thought I would share some teacher tips for parent teacher conferences to help YOU enjoy them a little more!  Click the read more button to read on!
 

Teacher Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences #1: Entertain the Siblings!

It is inevitable that parents will need to bring their children to conferences.  Sometimes it just can’t be helped.  Make sure that you have some items where the kiddos can entertain themselves while you are conferencing.  I put out a box of books, a few rockers, some crayons, and some coloring pages.  I also have out a can of pens and a few pads of sticky notes just in case the parents also have to wait and would like to put a note in their child’s locker.
 
5 Tips for Successful Parent Teachers Conferences! with freebies!
Coloring pages by Creative Clips!
 

Teacher Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences #2: Invitations to Parents

Before parent-teacher conferences, I make sure that I have some fun student work made to have in the hallway.  I put up the posters to invite the parents to check out all of the great work that their students have done!  I also have a note letting the parent know that there are items for their children to use while we are conferencing together (see #1).
5 Tips for Successful Parent Teachers Conferences! with freebies!
Get these posters for free below!

3. Start your parent-teacher conferences with a funny or positive story!

I always start each conference by letting the parents know that I like their child.  I look for funny and positive stories to tell parents to start conferences.  Even better is having at least one positive parent contact BEFORE parent-teacher conferences.  Parents are more apt to listen to your suggestions if they think that you like their children and have their best interests at heart.  If you have concerns the parents know that you care and want to help their child.
 

4. Laugh!

Parent-Teacher conferences can be a serious business, but the whole conference will be more positive for you and the parents if you can find things to laugh about during your conference.  Kids say the darndest things, tell parents about funny things that happen in your classroom.  I also tell stories about my own children and the funny things that they do. It helps you to relate to your student’s parents on a parenting level as well. If you don’t have your own children, tell them stories about past classes or other children in your life when it fits into your conference.  It also helps parents to see you as more than a teacher, but a real person outside of the classroom.
 

5. Be organized and ready!

Have all of your ducks in a row before their parents walk into the room.  I always have my Parent-Teacher Conference form filled out and ready.  I review these before the conferences to refresh my memory about what I want to say.  I don’t write things out word for word, but I do write notes that will help me remember what I want to tell parents.  I also make sure that I have all the paperwork that I need in a paper-clipped stack so it is ready when the parents walk in. If available I have the student’s report card, test scores, and examples of student work.  Your conferences will go much smoother if you are not scrambling around to look for what you need.
 
5 Tips for Successful Parent Teachers Conferences! with freebies!
 
 

FREEBIES! 

Sign up for my newsletter and get all of the posters and parent-teacher conferences form from this post for free!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Save this post by pinning the image below!

 

5 Tips for Successful Parent Teachers Conferences! with freebies!

Share it:

Email
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

You might also like...