What are some creative ways to involve parents in classroom activities?

Involving parents in classroom activities can be a great way to enhance learning, build relationships, and foster a sense of community. However, it can also be challenging to find creative and feasible ways to engage busy and diverse families. Here are some ideas to help you involve parents in your classroom in meaningful and fun ways.

1 Share your goals and expectations

Before you invite parents to participate in your classroom activities, make sure you communicate clearly what your goals and expectations are. Explain why you value parent involvement, what benefits it can bring to the students and the school, and what roles and responsibilities they can take on. You can use newsletters, emails, social media, or video messages to share your vision and invite feedback.

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2 Offer flexible and varied options

Not all parents have the same availability, preferences, or skills to contribute to your classroom activities. Therefore, you should offer flexible and varied options that suit different needs and interests. For example, you can ask parents to volunteer in person or online, during or after school hours, for one-time or recurring events, or for academic or non-academic tasks. You can also create a survey or a sign-up sheet to let parents choose what they want to do.

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3 Celebrate diversity and culture

One of the most creative ways to involve parents in your classroom activities is to celebrate the diversity and culture of your students and their families. You can invite parents to share their stories, traditions, languages, foods, music, or art with the class. You can also organize multicultural festivals, potlucks, or performances that showcase the richness and variety of your community. This can help students learn about different perspectives, respect differences, and appreciate similarities.

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Mary Odewale

Experienced Chemistry Teacher with QTS | Expert Examiner for Prominent Examination Body | Shaping Tomorrow's STEM Leaders
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Celebrating diversity and culture ensures that every student feels seen, heard, and valued within the classroom community. Regardless of their socioeconomic status, every student deserves to feel a sense of belonging and pride in their identity. Parents who are fluent in languages other than the primary language of instruction can lead language workshops. They can teach basic phrases, introduce students to cultural nuances etc. This helps promotes language diversity and cultural appreciation among students.

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4 Collaborate on projects and challenges

Another way to involve parents in your classroom activities is to collaborate on projects and challenges that require teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity. You can design activities that align with your curriculum, such as science experiments, math puzzles, or writing prompts, and ask parents to work with their children or other students. You can also use online platforms, such as Google Classroom, Padlet, or Flipgrid, to share ideas, resources, and feedback.

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Neeta Desai
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At our Pre school we consider parents to be equal partners in the learning journey of their child. We ensure they have as many opportunities as possible apart from the mandatory Parent -teacher meeting to visit the school along with their child. The various events we host, which are only an extension of the classroom teaching and learning experience, ensures that parents come to school and engage in different learning experiences along with their child. We also consider our parent community to be a very important resource pool who step in and come as expert speakers as and when required.

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Cheryl S.

Founding Head of Primary, IB PYP Coordinator & IBEN Program Leader at Adani International School / Education Influencer / Academic Researcher
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Parents can be called to collaborate on a project. Flipped learning could be a good beginning. Sending home some reading material that could be read and shared in class the next day, would be a good way to bring a parent into the class and help them work with learners on the ongoing concept in class. This will bring in newness to the classroom environment, Learns will be super excited to have their parents into their learning spaces and the parent community would be an inclusive part of our teaching and learning practices.

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Samia Henaine

Educational Leader. Teacher Trainer. DEA en Mathématiques Pures. Master in Educational management. Previously as PYP Math & ICT coordinator. MIEExpert.
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One creative approach is to invite parents to participate in specific learning experiences alongside their children in the classroom. Activities could include preparing a recipe together, solving riddles, reading aloud stories, engaging in drama or singing, or celebrating events. This not only provides parents with firsthand insight into the authentic learning experiences their children are engaging in but also fosters meaningful engagement between parents, students, and the school community.

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5 Create a parent advisory board

If you want to involve parents in your classroom activities in a more formal and consistent way, you can create a parent advisory board. This is a group of parents who meet regularly with you to discuss issues, provide suggestions, and support your initiatives. You can select the members of the board based on their interest, expertise, or representation, or you can rotate them periodically. You can also use the board as a liaison between you and the rest of the parents.

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6 Show appreciation and recognition

Finally, don't forget to show appreciation and recognition for the parents who get involved in your classroom activities. You can send thank-you notes, certificates, or tokens of gratitude to acknowledge their contributions. You can also showcase their work, feedback, or testimonials on your website, bulletin board, or newsletter. You can also invite them to share their experiences and reflections with you, the students, or other parents.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Kwame Sarfo-Mensah

Emergent ABAR Educator | Education Consultant | Teacher Development Specialist | Author | Blogger
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Beginning-of-year conferences, building a class website, and starting a class newsletter are examples of actions that help keep parents informed about assignments, projects, resources, and other classroom-related activities. In some classrooms, teachers may designate a class parent who will help in organizing fundraising events, purchasing supplies, and recruiting other parents to assist in the operation of the classroom.

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Eduardo Yto

Coordenador de Cursos das Formações em Data Analytics na Yto Nihon Treinamentos | Fundador
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Algo que fiz no passado e que deu muito certo, foi o trazer para o cenário do aluno situações no qual apenas os pais passavam na época em que eram estudantes. Dessa forma, sempre tinha aquela interação quando as crianças chegavam em casa e perguntavam se de fato era daquela forma na época deles.

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What are some creative ways to involve parents in classroom activities?

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1 Share your goals and expectations

2 Offer flexible and varied options

3 Celebrate diversity and culture

4 Collaborate on projects and challenges

5 Create a parent advisory board

6 Show appreciation and recognition

7 Here’s what else to consider

Teaching

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What are some creative ways to involve parents in classroom activities?

1

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3

4

5

6

7

1 Share your goals and expectations

2 Offer flexible and varied options

3 Celebrate diversity and culture

4 Collaborate on projects and challenges

5 Create a parent advisory board

6 Show appreciation and recognition

7 Here’s what else to consider

Teaching

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