Parent-Teacher Communication

So for the past three years I've used these nifty little binders to help with parent-teacher communication.  I can not express to you how much I LOVE them and so do the parents.  They are a great way to organize information, communicate to parents, keep students on track, and hold students accountable!

They have been called many things, BEE Book, STAR Book, etc., however mine is the FISH Book {which totally goes along with my beach theme}!  FISH stands for Family Involvement Starts Here.  

Of course I wouldn't have any pictures handy of these cute little binders in action, but they are simple three-ring binders that have a pocket on the front to place the cover.
This is the FISH Book Cover!  I place this on the outside of the folder/binder.  I also put a label on the side of the binder with the students name so that when I'm looking to place something in a student's binder I can easily find it!

This is the first page {after a letter explaining each section of the notebook to the parent}.  I place each of the following pages inside page protectors so that they do not get ruined throughout the year.  Behind this page is blank sheets of writing paper. This is where parent can jot down a quick note for me and/or vise versa.  I check these in the morning as students come in {they are required to place their FISH Book in designated baskets that are next to my desk before beginning morning work/activities}.  It's the most simple way for me to communicate with parents.

fishschedulesheet[1]This sheet is next.  This is where I place a copy of our daily schedule and my long range plans for the year.  This is great because parents can easily see what there child is doing throughout the day {if they need to chose an appropriate time for an appointment, etc..} and what their child will be learning throughout the year.  My parents say they love knowing what their child is learning about and what the expectations are.

Fish Reading Log Sheet 2The next section... Reading Log.  In my school, each first grader is required to read for 15-20 minutes nightly as homework {in addition to other things}.  This is a section where I place a table that allows students to take charge of their reading and learning. They are required to write the title of the book(s) read, how long they read for, and then a parent signature.  I give a sheet for the month.  It seems to work best {without a lot of changing out papers}.

fishbehavior&rulessheet2Here is the last section.  Here I place my classroom's behavior plan as well as my expectations for myself and my students.  Behind that sheet is a calendar that I mark daily.  I place the color that each child ended on each day and the parents are required to sign nightly.  This allows problems to be immediately addressed.  There's also space where I can write notes to the parent in reference to the particular behavior.  It's great!

So this is what I create each year for my parents to help with communication... what do you do?!

Side note:  You should be able to click on the photo and download.  This is my first time doing this so let me know if I failed!! :)  Happy Friday!