Engaging while apart – part 3

Whether your setting is currently open or closed, the opportunity for daily informal face to face communication with parents is either limited or non-existent. We know that providers and educators are working hard at keeping in touch with and supporting parents during this pandemic. Many settings are using email, Instagram, WhatsApp, text messages, Facebook and Zoom to keep in touch with parents and to interact with and provide activities for children who cannot attend the setting. We have heard of the many innovative ways educators are doing this – Circle time and Story time, Children’s Show and Tell sessions, Treasure Hunts in the garden or around the house and even children’s yoga sessions! Children have even had boxes or bags with activity materials delivered to their homes, while respecting the current travel restriction of course.

Another way of keeping parents updated with the many activities and changing information and circumstances is through a weekly or monthly Newsletter. This is a means of communication that is very useful for gathering all the bite-sized pieces of information shared through other media. Usually seen as hard copies on notice boards or left near the entrance area, a newsletter can now be easily emailed to all parents.  

If this is something that you are revisiting or are doing for the first time it is useful to include the following:

• Your logo, name, address and various contact details – phone, email, Facebook etc.
• The names of all staff members and the rooms they work in
• If your setting is community based, names of board members and a contact number or address for the chairperson.

Compiling a newsletter is great opportunity to involve all staff members and to avail of their individual skills, perhaps artistic design, computer skills or writing skills, everyone can contribute.

The team can discuss and agree on the content headings – for example:

• latest news or developments
• room team updates
• activities for children
• activities parents and children to do together
• supports for parents,
• sharing or reviewing a policy
• gathering parents’ ideas, opinions, and feedback.

Having consistent headings is a good guide to the content in each issue.  You and your team know your parents and what might best meet your setting’s, and the parents’ needs. For example, if there are parents whose first language is not English, is there someone you know who can translate the information in the newsletter?  

The newsletter can be in the format of a simple word document or you might like to use a Microsoft word template which you can find when beginning a new word document by:

Right clicking on word icon and select word

Select “More templates” 

Type “Newsletter” into the search box

Scroll down to see all the various template designs available, choose on by clicking on it and simply follow the instructions to insert your own logo, content etc.

We are all learning and using technology in new and exciting ways, it can be exciting to experiment with different tools to share, communicate and collaborate with families.