Weekly home connection activities help students talk with a caring adult about the social development focus of the week. Each Home Connection Activity (available in English and Spanish) provides conversation starters to help family members talk to their children about what they are learning and how to apply those skills at home.
To engage families in these Home Connection activities, consider the following:
- Host an introduction to the Caring School Community Program using the agenda from the Principal’s Leadership Guide pages 67-74. This will help families understand the program and their role in supporting it.
- Include information about the Home Connection activities in classroom and schoolwide newsletters.
- Offer reminders to the students across the week.
- Mention Home Connection activities as a way to support students during conferences with families.
- Plan opportunities to invite families to the school with the Caring School Community Leadership Team using guidance from the Schoolwide Community-Building Activities book. Intentionally building relationships with families fosters strong school-family connections.
Brainstorm who students might talk with during the week. Not all parents have bandwidth each week but students might call a relative like a grandparent or aunt/uncle for the Home Connection conversation. A high school age sibling, a caregiver, even a coach or other caring adults might be an option for some students.
If you have only a few students returning their Home Connection activities at the start of the program, be sure to give them the opportunity to share who they spoke with, what they learned from the experience and how it felt. Avoid offering rewards or consequences for the return of the Home Connection activity.