As your child likely spends a lot of his or her time in preschool, forming a strong home-centre partnership is key to helping your child to thrive.
A strong home-centre partnership is where parents and preschool teachers share common goals and work together to develop children’s potential to the fullest. This partnership embodies mutual respect, goodwill, confidence, trust, and most importantly, open communication and the commitment to exchange information.
When parents and preschool teachers work together, it does wonders for their children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological development and well-being.
Benefits of Home-Centre Partnership
Did you know that when children observe that their parents and teachers are working together, they are likely to develop more positive attitudes towards school and achieve more?2
Here are just some of the benefits your child might experience from your partnership with the teachers:
- Strengthens social skills
- Builds confidence and self-esteem
- Enhances thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and language skills
- Healthier attitudes towards learning
How to Build a Strong Home-Centre Partnership
Now that you know about the potential benefits, here are three practical ways to be an engaged parent and build a strong home-centre partnership.
1. Communication is Key
There’s nothing more important than communication when building bridges. In fact, children feel more at ease and learn to trust their teachers when they witness friendly exchanges between both parties3!
Here’s what you can do:
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- Have regular and meaningful communication with your child’s preschool teachers (within their working hours please!).
- Communicate your expectations, experiences, and even challenges related to your child.
- Listen to what your child’s preschool teacher has to say.
- Be objective and open-minded when receiving feedback – your child’s teachers are trained and good at what they do, so trust them and their observations about your child.
2. Extend a Helping Hand in Your Child’s School
Here’s what you can do:
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- Bond with your child;
- Learn about his or her friends;
- Better understand your child’s preschool environment; and
- Render support and assistance to your child’s preschool by joining the Parent Support Group and helping out with school events, or conducting storytelling or art workshops, if the school requires.
Do remember to check in with your child’s school for such volunteer opportunities!
3. Reaching Out
Here’s what you can do:
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Reach out to your child’s teachers, who are trained professionals. They can share fun and practical tips and techniques on how you can guide and support your child’s learning.
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Share with your child’s teachers on your child’s progress and the activities he/she enjoys doing at home. You may also want to invite your child’s teacher to also share his/her ideas or suggestions.
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Talk to your child’s teachers if you have any concerns about your child’s development or behaviours.
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Working Around Challenges
It’s true that we are all running on a tight schedule and may not have time for long conversations during drop-off and pick-up. But there are always ways to get around this. Try harnessing the power of technology through video calls, zoom, or group chats to bridge the gap where physical meetings are not feasible. Most importantly, find a mode of communication that works best for you and your child’s preschool teacher!
Parents and teachers are partners in education. We hope that you find the practical tips above useful in building a strong partnership with your child’s preschool. Together, as a team, you can work with your child’s preschool teachers to create the best possible environments to foster physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being for your child!
Watch this video to get a glimpse of how a good home-centre partnership works to benefit your child!
References
- https://theeducationhub.org.nz/home-school-partnerships-what-the-research-says/
- https://www.edutopia.org/home-school-team
- https://www.ecda.gov.sg/growatbeanstalk/Documents/Beanstalk%20Magazine/Beanstalk%20Issue%2034%20%28Jan%20-%20Mar%2022%29/Beanstalk%20Jan-Mar%202022%20Lowres%20Spread.pdf