Phone log

One of the greatest helps to me in the category of parent communication has been my phone log.   Calling parents has often been a daunting task for me but I know the parent teacher partnership creates a strong climate of cooperation in my class and my school.  To help make this task less daunting  I created a simple book with a page for each child.
I attached a class list to the front cover  and create an index by numbering each child, in alphabetic order and assigning him/her the corresponding page in the book.  I wrote each child's name on his/her page and the phone numbers for the parents.  I put a pen in the binding and Viola!  I can contact parents with a flip of the pages!
I like to have students call/ talk to their parents when they are dealing with a major behavior incident or if they've come back from a major behavior incident and can report a good day and for simply wanted to report a good day.  I want my positive phone calls to out number my negative ones.  We usually do phone calls during free play time.  I jot down a note in the book when a parent is called and the reason so that I have a report.