Initial Family Meeting
Teacher Training Email # 16
Setting The Tone
This meeting is an exciting time for you as a Homeschool Teacher and for your family. This is the first time you will interact with your family in person and set the tone for the rest of the school year. Relationship is paramount in our job and first impressions are important. This meeting could be viewed or thought of as a conversation between friends over a cup of coffee.
In the first training email you learned about the heart of Inspire. Let relationship drive your conversation.
In the first training email you learned about the heart of Inspire. Let relationship drive your conversation.
Curriculum Support
During your initial phone call with the family, you learned about their philosophy and vision for homeschooling. You learned about their "why" and what drives them to school at home. This meeting is now your opportunity to build on that relationship and come along side your family as you together choose curriculum that supports the family's philosophy and the child's learning style.
Remember, nothing is set in stone. Choosing curriculum will require trial and error. A child's education and learning style can change over time and what fit yesterday may not fit today. One of your roles as a Homeschool Teacher is to be aware of this and know the curriculum options that will support these changes as the child grows. Furthermore, it is imperative that you as a Homeschool Teacher be willing to explore and adapt to the needs of the students on your roster.
Creating a Plan
In this meeting you are going to want to lay out for your family a general idea of what their year will look like.
This is where you will bring up the following:
- scheduling in-person meetings
- reviewing and turning in work samples
- learning periods and attendance
- assessments.
First Meeting Required Documents
The following documents will need to be signed by your families and collected at your first meeting:
- Media Release Form
- Waiver to Participate (this is an electronic form that the family will sign in the EOS. You are just verifying that they signed it).
- Work sample (Bring activity to initial meeting and/or collect already completed sample)
See section 3.1 of the Homeschool Handbook for more information.
The Meeting
What will your meeting look like?
These are the topics covered in this initial meeting.
- Making a Connection with the Parent and Student
- Parent Resource Site Curriculum Conversation
- Attendance
- Work Samples
- I Can Statements
- Scheduling Meetings
- Enrichment
- Field Trip and Events
- Lending Libraries
- Testing