• A complete searchable, linked index to our online catalog.
  

• New We Recommend categories for Califone and Copernicus products, showing you our top choices for audio and computer equipment, easels, book carts, and storage solutions.
  

• Special offer for Spanish literacy: receive free sets of Spanish journals with your purchase of related products.

Best wishes,

Rosalind Iiams, Editor
editor@primaryconcepts.com

Parents matter. Good teachers recognize what research has confirmed: Children of parents or guardians who are involved in their education perform better, behave better, do more homework, have better attendance, and are more likely to graduate. Family involvement is even more important for schools serving high-risk students. But these are exactly the communities it can be hardest to reach: lower-income and less educated parents participate less in their children's schools than do higher-income, more educated parents. Barriers to family involvement range from schools' and teachers' lack of resources and training, to families' time constraints, language and cultural issues, and feelings of intimidation by the school environment.

Overcoming the barriers. Schools across the country have developed innovative ways to encourage more family participation. A simple lack of time, both for teachers and parents, is the biggest barrier. Volunteer parent coordinators or home-school liaisons can help take some of the burden from teachers, as well as bridging language and cultural barriers. Meetings can be scheduled at night so working parents can attend. Homework hotlines, newsletters, inviting websites, and voice mail systems can keep parents in the loop even if they cannot come to school.

Inviting parent involvement. Schools can also encourage family involvement by making the school environment less intimidating to parents. Simply hanging a welcome sign or assigning a volunteer to welcome and direct parents can make a big difference. Providing a space for parent volunteers, and training in school and volunteer policies, gives parents a way to ease into volunteering. Holding Family Math and Science Nights and parenting classes also helps to draw parents to the school and encourages them to return. Check out the links below to see these and many more best practices developed by urban, rural, and suburban schools.

Try out these activities from our Phonics HomePacks for Grades K, 1, 2, and 3. Activities use our Moveable Alphabet (Kindergarten) and Student Letter Tiles (Grades 1-3).

These hands-on letter tile activities for Grades K, 1, 2, and 3 are designed to build students' skills and confidence in phonemic awareness, letter/sound relationships, word building, common spelling patterns, and open-ended word play. The teacher selects appropriate activities for each student and sends them home along with a set of plastic letters or letter tiles, all in a special HomePack pouch. Instructions are simple, clear, and easy for both parents and children to follow.
 
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Kindergarten HomePacks feature molded plastic letters for tactile reinforcement. HomePacks for grades 1-3 include letter tiles. All activities are age-appropriate and focus on fun, to encourage family involvement. Teachers also tell us these HomePack activities are perfect for parent volunteers working one-on-one with students in the classroom.

July specials, online only!

The most popular product pages on primaryconcepts.com this month:                 

Marilyn Jager Adams once wrote, "Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read." Next month: Links to read-aloud research, tips on choosing books and reading to your class, and fantastic book lists.

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