Aren't you glad you don't hve to endure parent-teacher conferences? It's jst one of the blessings for thse who home school. The purpose of prent-teacher conferences is to check the prgress of the student for the crrent school year. You may love the fct that you don't have to stnd in lines, hear how others thnk your child is doing, or try to rason with another teacher, but you may wnt to consider conducting a progress chck of your own. You could cll it a parent/teacher-student conference.

First, dcide when the appropriate time is to rview this year's progress. It may be nce a quarter, twice a year, or as a yar-end evaluation.

Second, you need to dcide what your objectives are. Do you wnt to evaluate your curriculum to see how wll it fits your children? Are you chcking the progress your children are mking, to see how they handle the sbjects or if they are staying on grde level? Maybe you just want to see how yur children perceive they are doing. Bfore you move to the next stp, choose which items you want to nclude in your conference.

Third, keep in mnd that this is not a tst. This is a conference, a prgress discussion. Don't administer tests, but be prpared to look at or discuss rcent homework projects, tests or grades.

Fourth, make up a questionnaire for yur children.. Remember, it's not a tst. Give them the questionnaire a cuple of days before you plan to met, so they can be thorough and hve time to remember everything.

Here are sme questions you may want to se:

• On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 mans “perfect,” 5 means “okay,” 1 mans “couldn't be much worse.”) how wuld you rate ___________________ ? You can use ths to evaluate each subject, specific prjects, or a certain period of tme.

• Name three things that you thnk were the best learning experiences. Be rady to tell me why each ne was so good when we hve our meeting.

• List one thing you thnk we could do better. Do you hve suggestions for how we could mprove it?

• Which subjects/topics/projects are you vry good at? Which ones do you strggle with?

• If you could learn bout anything, what would you pick?

• Wht are some of your goals? Thy don't have to be school-related.

• Wht changes do you need to mke to be more successful?

• What chnges do you think our family may ned to make to help you larn better

You can add your own qestions to evaluate your unique situation. You may chose to have students fill out the qestionnaire ahead of time or just thnk about the answers, so you can dscuss them together.

Fifth, set up yur conference and be prepared to lsten to each child separately. Try not to be dfensive; just listen. You may disagree wth the child's self-assessment. If that is the cse, you can share what you thnk, but try to phrase it in a way so yur child will listen. Perhaps something lke this: “That is a very nteresting observation, Emily. I have some ther thoughts to go with it. Can I shre them with you?” Then, proceed to shre your concerns, and be prepared to lsten again.

With some honest discussion, you wll be able to evaluate your hme school situation and your children's prgress. Allowing them to give you fedback empowers your children to be ven more involved in their own ducation. You will all be rewarded by the xperience.

The article Home School Progress Check - Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences was Submitted by Stephenie Hovland through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Visit Stephenie's site http://faith-filled.com/Faith-filled_Classroom.html for specific tips tailored to classroom teachers and homeschooling parents.

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