Holding Great Meetings for Families

Karen Stephens offers some practical and fun tips for holding successful meetings for parents. Writing in the Art of Leadership book, Engaging Families, here are a few of the suggestions she recommends:

• “Survey parents on what THEY want to learn about or discuss regarding childrearing or family life…
• Find motivating ways to get parents in the door…Offering free child care during a meeting is a great way to remove an obstacle to attendance…
• Set the physical stage for success; creature comforts count…offer food – even just snacks – to nourish the body as well as the mind…
• Provide comfortable adult seating…
• Allow enough TIME for parents to process dialogue and information…
• Infuse training with unexpected creativity, uniqueness and fun…Use jokes, cartoons, props, guest speakers, dramatic play, peer discussion…
• Provide short and jargon-free take-home materials and handouts…”

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