For many years I, like many others, have made New Years’ Resolutions. My resolutions have run the gamut of losing weight, exercising more, being more productive, slowing down, you name it. This year a friend suggested we name intentions rather than resolutions. What did we want to be intentional about doing this year? An intriguing way to look at an age-old habit. Most of us forget what we resolved to do by the end of January or at least by mid-February, but setting intentions for the new year may have more sticking power. It means we are narrowing our focus. We’re being specific. For example, in the past my resolution might have been to “ignite my love of reading.” That’s a great idea, but how would I accomplish it? I didn’t have a specific plan. Saying instead, “I will read 24 books this year” is intentional. It’s specific and doable!
Guess what? January is the perfect time to identify one intention to improve your family engagement. We know from Dr. Karen Mapp’s research that students who have engaged families have better attendance, graduate on time, have better social and emotional skills, and go on to post-secondary education opportunities. How do parents who are not engaged or connected, parents who didn’t have engaged parents themselves, and parents who do not follow educational research, know what is important for their child? Where or how do they learn? They learn that from you. They learn how to be engaged from you reaching out and inviting them in. They learn when you are intentional about engaging them.
ReadyRosie has made it easy for you to think about your intentions. Here are a few to consider:
1. Be intentional about replying to comments left by your families. Put a sticky note on your computer or in your plan book to check comments every Monday or Friday. Parents are just like us, they want to know someone has heard them. When we don’t comment, they stop.
2. Be intentional about the family workshops and/or Give Me Tens (10-minute workshops). Before the next P.T.A. meeting or other upcoming gathering, choose a section from one of the Family Workshops to present. While the workshops are meant to take an hour, they are designed in sections that can easily be shared in less time. Check out our Give Me Tens. They are perfect for a coffee chat or after school quick snack meeting.
3. Be intentional about using ReadyRosie tools for your family events and Parent-Teacher conferences. We’ve made the planning easy for you.
4. Be intentional about sending home a custom playlist. Start small. Send one a month, link it to your newsletter, print out a copy, and send it home. Ready to get started? Launch our on-demand webinar that walks you through the process of creating a custom playlist
5. Be intentional about checking your playlist report. You created the playlist and sent it home, now check to see who is watching.
6. Be intentional about sending home a ReadyRosie certificate for families who have watched videos.
Whatever your intentions are for ReadyRosie and 2020, we are here to support you! We are excited for you to share your intentions with us!