EP 131 Mid-year Building Relationships
Welcome educators! Before we get started with today’s episode, I want to share the engaging and effective resources I have available. To learn more and download some engaging resources, go to myadventuresinesl.com/store.
You are an effective and hard-working educator. The work that you are doing for your students is appreciated. Thank you for your dedication and the time you put in to ensure your students succeed.
In this week’s episode, I will share strategies and tips you can use to build relationships with your students mid-year.
Going into the school year, one of my professional goals was to be more intentional about building relationships with the students I support. As I have shared before with you all, I have struggled with building relationships because I am so ready to jump into the content.
My solution to that this year was intentionally building relationships with the students. I started the year strong, but as the months passed I found myself needing to be more consistent than I was in the beginning. Upon reflection, I noticed the differences in my classroom. After having someone observe my classroom, she gave some beneficial feedback. My big takeaway was to keep it simple so that whatever strategy I use is easy to implement.
The first tip I want to share for building relationships mid-year is to have a simple greeting for the students. You can stand at your door and greet them when they come into the classroom. I also take 3-5 minutes to write a daily message. In this daily message I share with the students something about myself and I ask the students a question. To ensure everyone shares and has a voice, instruct the students to turn and talk to share their answers.
The second strategy I am using is sending regular communications to the parents. I simply inform the students they are doing fantastic in class, and that I want to send some of their work to their loved ones. This strategy has been fantastic in building relationships with the students and their families. This can be done through newsletters or just sending an email has an impact.
Mid-year can be difficult with testing, random school events, and students simply getting tired. If you are running into any difficulty, try some of these strategies.
If you found value in today’s episode, go to myadventuresinesl.com/store for lesson plans, activities, and projects you can use in your classroom.
