Guest Blogger: Shayne Byrne, CrossPoint Christian School, Lead Teacher – 4’s
Communication is key when teaching. Our parents want to know what is going on in their children’s school lives and LivingTree helps bridge that gap helping alleviate the wonder of whether or not parents are seeing the information sent to them. As long as they check in at least once a week they will see everything from our class on the conversations page. I had a parent miss the first week of school due to a business trip. She was so happy to see the photos I posted on LivingTree of her child the first week. It helped her know her child was safe and happy while at school while she was away.
I love having the information on the conversation page so you can look back in the history and see everything that has been posted since the school year started. If a parent missed something they know where to find it. The room moms are using the website to send information to other parents as well. This way I stay informed as to what is being sent between all the parents using the website. I love that parents are using it as well!
It is all in one spot…newsletters, important reminders, room mom info, photos, etc.
Best Feature: I love posting photos for the parents to see. It is easy and they always comment on the photos. It gives them a glimpse into the classroom since they cannot always be there. I love that it is so portable with the phone apps as well. I can upload information from anywhere by using my phone!
Parent Receptivity: The parents have been really positive. The room moms like to have a place to share information with the entire group of parents as well as with me. They especially love the photos.
More about Shayne:
Shayne is a graduate from Iowa State University with a degree in early childhood education/special education. She moved to TX to do her student teaching 15 years ago. She taught Kindergarten for 3 years, PPCD(preschool program for children with disabilities) for 5 years, and PreK for 3 years in public schools in Houston, TX. At this point, she took 3 years off to raise her baby boy. When she was ready to start him in preschool, she got a part time job at the private preschool where he was registered. She is now in her second year there teaching 4 year olds. Shayne loves the relationships she is able to build with the families of her students in a small school. She has been married to a wonderful man for almost ten years, and they have a sweet little dog named Ducky. Shayne also loves to read, swim, travel, and spend time with family & friends. She is trying to love running as well as cooking. Both of those things are in the “works in progress” files.