I found this interesting. At conferences you can almost always intuitively figure out the hierarchy in the family but I love the idea of adding that question to your 'Getting to Know You' conferences at the beginning of the year - this could really help with keeping communication clear throughout the year.

In my classroom we do two different things - one is called 'Super Stars' - this recognizes a student for doing something super in the classroom - the student gets their star on the wall and a certificate goes home to the parent detailing what super thing the student did. The other thing I use is a special note from the teacher - this works really well with students that struggle with behavior and doesn't usually get 'super stars' - this note just let's the parents know that the student had a really great day or a great achievement. These positive reinforcements are so important and it gives the parents something to talk about with their student once they get home.

This particularly resonates with me. I have 3 children and I think about how differently I look at and handle things with my 3rd child versus my first child. I think this is something as educators we need to keep in mind when working with our families.

In my interactions with my students and families I fight this particularly helpful. I always tell my families that they are the experts and that they know their kids the best and I try to use things that they do at home or that work well at home to incorporate into my classroom.