Parents of School-age Children

Welcome to Kinder! What new Kinder parents need to know NOW to help children start school right-from how much sleep children need, to communicating well with their child’s teacher, to becoming a parent leader at your school. (September – November)

The Road to Success: This workshop will help K-5th parents to support their children’s school success (at home, at school, as volunteer, advocate, and leader). We’ll cover common obstacles, focus on strengths, set goals, get support. (March – June)

PTA Mini-Parents-As-Leaders: Choose from five 10- to 20-minute interactive workshops designed to help your PTA, ELAC, AAPC or other parent group function more effectively. Email Laura@penfamilies.org with your organization’s meeting dates and times, and topics of interest:

• Unity (“Spaghetti” exercise) – Parents learn how they can be stronger and get more accomplished by identifying common goals.
• Quick Connect (1-minute pair share activity) – Helps parents become better speakers during meetings by organizing ideas, getting to the point. Also helps with listening skills that can be useful in meetings, difficult conversations, and with family.
• Building a Team (triangle activity) – Teams need different kinds of people and skills to thrive. Guided discussion on different skills, passions, and dreams helps parents overcome fear of leadership and encourages more parents to see themselves as the “right” person to participate.
• Power of Words (broken telephone activity) – What we say and how we say it can make a big difference, especially in diverse groups. Activity demonstrates importance of clear speech and of making our wishes and needs known clearly.
• Building Bridges (connector activity) – In a diverse school environment, finding the things we have in common helps us to build bridges. Exercise helps parents think beyond superficial differences and to spot and build on things they may have in common with other parents.