DOES ANYONE USE A HOME CONTACT BOOK?

[silvermist]

Hi everyone, Do people generally use a home/childminders book or a seperate 'look what I did today' sheet or is a simple conversation with parents at the end of the day enough? Not sure what to do, any ideas?
Teresa x

[green puppy]

I use a hard back A5 book for each child as their "daily diary". This is the general layout:
Date
Breakfast
lunch
tea
sleeps
nappies
my day (this is a short summery of what child has done from child's perspective)
cm comments (could be noting achievements, child's mood, anything important to tell or questions I have.....)
parents comments

All my parents love them and put in comments, we don't always have as much time to chat every morning and evening with kids leaving at different times and sometimes things get forgotton so this works really well. Also shows a working parent partnership at inspection time!! I sometimes add little pogo photos and the children also like to add a line of "writing". Really up to you what you do though, it's not a requirement but is seen as good practice.

[VeggieSausage]

yes i use a daily diary for mine lo's, run down of what we have done, what lo has eaten, naps, nappies, drinks, and anything else, encourage parents to comment but they don't often :)

[kellib]

I use a hard back A5 book for each child as their "daily diary". This is the general layout:
Date
Breakfast
lunch
tea
sleeps
nappies
my day (this is a short summery of what child has done from child's perspective)
cm comments (could be noting achievements, child's mood, anything important to tell or questions I have.....)
parents comments

All my parents love them and put in comments, we don't always have as much time to chat every morning and evening with kids leaving at different times and sometimes things get forgotton so this works really well. Also shows a working parent partnership at inspection time!! I sometimes add little pogo photos and the children also like to add a line of "writing". Really up to you what you do though, it's not a requirement but is seen as good practice.

I do the same but I don't think the parents even read them! They certainly don't comment on them! :(

[Penny1959]

I do a daily dairy for each child - as others a A5 hard back book

Penny :)

[Velleity]

I have receieved a single comment back from my parent in three months that said 'It would be nice if you could take her to the library sometime'. I had taken her to the Library the day before.

[silvermist]

Thanks everyone for replyling, think I'll go with the daily diary, hard back book. Great thats another thing sorted! :)

[jojobell]

i use comunication books, same as daily diary only parents also write in their days too................ofsted loved it!

[green puppy]

i use comunication books, same as daily diary only parents also write in their days too................ofsted loved it!

This is what my parents do, some write a full 2 pages after the weekend!! One child who I have had for 3 years has 7 books as his mum loves to write in it.:)

[silvermist]

Thanks, Im glad I asked now, do the parents write stuff in on weekends etc, so you know what theyve been up to?

[green puppy]

I do the same but I don't think the parents even read them! They certainly don't comment on them! :(

That's a shame, maybe you could encourage them by popping a photo in or asking them to jot down a few things child has done at weekend or something. One of my parents told another one off for not always reading his childs diary as she said I put so much effort into them! They are friends so it was fine but it worked as he now jots the odd comment more often along with childs mum.

[green puppy]

Thanks, Im glad I asked now, do the parents write stuff in on weekends etc, so you know what theyve been up to?

Mine write in them every evening and any days inbetween that I don't have the child, they also write about holidays.:)

[loocyloo]

i use A5 folders and put a sheet in each day with food, sleeps, nappies and what we did. plus any notes for the parents, photos etc.

i use A5 sheets as then, if they forget one day, i can still write & send home the sheet! when the folder is full, i take all the sheets out, date them and ties them together an dgive them back to the parents to keep.

i have a couple of pages at the back for parents to comment, pass messages etc. amazingly at the moment ALL my parents write me messages !!! :laughing:

[kellib]

That's a shame, maybe you could encourage them by popping a photo in or asking them to jot down a few things child has done at weekend or something. One of my parents told another one off for not always reading his childs diary as she said I put so much effort into them! They are friends so it was fine but it worked as he now jots the odd comment more often along with childs mum.

Believe me I've tried, I even put one parents receipts in the diary to see if they even opened the book, the book came back for 2 days with the receipt still inside :rolleyes:

I'm still going to do them, it keeps me right :)

[silvermist]

Great, off to the shops for me for some A5 books,(any excuse to go shopping :clapping:) Im guessing you can use stuff written in them by parents to give you ideas for activities etc. If they've been to wedding or zoo you could use that in your planning?

[green puppy]

Believe me I've tried, I even put one parents receipts in the diary to see if they even opened the book, the book came back for 2 days with the receipt still inside :rolleyes:

I'm still going to do them, it keeps me right :)

It shows you are trying!! I think it's nice that we take the time to create something that I'm sure the child and parents will enjoy looking back on!!:thumbsup: I also find them useful for planning as I can look back at everything we have done.

[green puppy]

Great, off to the shops for me for some A5 books,(any excuse to go shopping :clapping:) Im guessing you can use stuff written in them by parents to give you ideas for activities etc. If they've been to wedding or zoo you could use that in your planning?

Exactly! I sometimes photo copy pages that indicate any queries or possible concerns along with any complimentary feedback!:)

[loocyloo]

Great, off to the shops for me for some A5 books,(any excuse to go shopping :clapping:) Im guessing you can use stuff written in them by parents to give you ideas for activities etc. If they've been to wedding or zoo you could use that in your planning?

yep! really good to link in with what the parents have been doing at home. if i've done that, i then add a comment to the learning journal to say why we did something!

hopefully, you will be able to 'train' your parents to tell you things in advance!

[silvermist]

It shows you are trying!! I think it's nice that we take the time to create something that I'm sure the child and parents will enjoy looking back on!!:thumbsup: I also find them useful for planning as I can look back at everything we have done.

I think its nice too, especially when you look at them years later and see how much fun your child had.:) I do love making new things, folders etc!!!

[rosebud]

I use an A5 sized diary sheet. It has "about our day", meals, nappies & sleeps on the front and then a space for observations, next steps and parents comments on the back. I send them home in a plastic folder and ask parents to send them back the next day. Sometimes they write on them, sometimes they don't. I then file them in the childs learning journey - observations done, next steps done, communication with parents done.

[silvermist]

Wow, thanks guys, so many ideas. I love this forum!:clapping:

[jadavi]

As far as parents not writin in... My do said to write down comments they make to me. so I get parents permission and then write comments in the parents section like 'mum says he is keeping everyone awake at nights and won't settle down.' or 'his dad texted to say he really liked the card and cookies' etc. Seems to do the trick and still keeps a record .

[silvermist]

Thats a great idea too. I didnt realise how useful having a book could be. Thanks again everyone x

[onceinabluemoon]

I do for one of my little ones for but the other three I don't. The one I do it for also writes in the contact book, reads it every day, comments on the photos I stick in etc. In short it works.

Other parents just don't bother so instead I talk to them at the end of their child's day which they prefer. I think of that as fitting in with individual family's needs rather than doing a one-size-fits-all type way of communication just to please ofsted.

[Toothfairy]

Mine have an A4 folder each and at the end of each day I put a sheet in which says;

Activities & outings done that day
Food eaten
Bottles (if a baby)
Naps
Nappy changes or potty training record
A photo
A space for notes from CM to Parents
A space for Parents comments

The folder goes home each night and comes back each morning.

When they reach full time school age, then I have a simpler sheet (activities, food, behaviour etc ) that gets given to the parent at the end of the day (no folder).

[silvermist]

Thanks for all the feedback, its been really helpful.:thumbsup:

[jadavi]

You can also write in there what parents say to you (with their permission) my do suggested this with one family who never commented in the diary and it's working out really well :)

[Carol M]

I don't do diaries!
Not to send home ones. I talk with parents morning and evening, have a noticeboard up in my hall with weekly plan of general activities, print off photos monthly and put them in my album for parents to look at. Each photo is dated and has a bit of explaination written by it. I do keep food diaries here where i list what has been offered and approx amounts eaten, parents can look at when they want tho hardly ever!
New children who start I do detailed sheet for the first few weeks only.
Carol xx

[rickysmiths]

I don't do diaries!
Not to send home ones. I talk with parents morning and evening, have a noticeboard up in my hall with weekly plan of general activities, print off photos monthly and put them in my album for parents to look at. Each photo is dated and has a bit of explaination written by it. I do keep food diaries here where i list what has been offered and approx amounts eaten, parents can look at when they want tho hardly ever!
New children who start I do detailed sheet for the first few weeks only.
Carol xx

Snap! This is what I do.

[silvermist]

Thanks for replying, think I will do diaries, it does sound like a fair bit of writing to do each day but if it worksit works x

[13Katrina]

I use an A5 sized diary sheet. It has "about our day", meals, nappies & sleeps on the front and then a space for observations, next steps and parents comments on the back. I send them home in a plastic folder and ask parents to send them back the next day. Sometimes they write on them, sometimes they don't. I then file them in the childs learning journey - observations done, next steps done, communication with parents done.

Would you be willing to share your diary sheet?

Tell me to go away if that's too cheeky!

K x

[silvermist]

Would you be willing to share your diary sheet?

Tell me to go away if that's too cheeky!

K x

Could I have a sneaky peek too please xxxxxx:D

[ziggy]

2 of my families provide A5 books where i note:

food eaten and at what time
nappy changes
sleep times
any medication given
any signs of ill health

I used to send home an A4 sheet every day with this info on plus activities we had done, places we had visited but soon realised parents never read them, so couldnt see point in wasting my time, paper or ink. Each day when parent comes to collect i make point of showing/telling them what we have done/made that day

[Cassie]

Here is a copy of my daily contact form, i send this home with all new parents. Some parents love it! some don't bother...if i see it's a waste of time i speak to parents and offer verbal feedback instead. Feel free to use it.... ;)

[The Juggler]

i use little a5 notebooks that me and parents both write in. :thumbsup:

[silvermist]

Here is a copy of my daily contact form, i send this home with all new parents. Some parents love it! some don't bother...if i see it's a waste of time i speak to parents and offer verbal feedback instead. Feel free to use it.... ;)

Thank you so much for sharing that with us. You're a star!:littleangel: xx

[Lea-mumof2 :)]

Im just starting out only have one mindee but we have a communication book with her mood , what she ate , how much she drank , nappies , nap times , my comments and a space for theres My parent is very intersted in seeing and using this but I get the impression not all parents are the same so would vary my contents dependant in parent xxx

[madwoman]

I use a hard back A5 book for each child as their "daily diary". This is the general layout:
Date
Breakfast
lunch
tea
sleeps
nappies
my day (this is a short summery of what child has done from child's perspective)
cm comments (could be noting achievements, child's mood, anything important to tell or questions I have.....)
parents comments

All my parents love them and put in comments, we don't always have as much time to chat every morning and evening with kids leaving at different times and sometimes things get forgotton so this works really well. Also shows a working parent partnership at inspection time!! I sometimes add little pogo photos and the children also like to add a line of "writing". Really up to you what you do though, it's not a requirement but is seen as good practice.

I do the same but my parents either keep loosing them or don't bring them in, but the ones that do remember them say they like them x x

[primula]

I usually only do diaries for under ones and then find myself telling them what we have been up and what the child has been doing anyway!! new year's resolution not to keep repeat myself! in paperwork that is!

[VeggieSausage]

I have this problem too and I have started to at the end of the days entry in the daily diary at least once a week write a question such as What does XX like doing at home at the mo? What has XX been playing with this week? Or XX has been doing this here does he do that at home too? .....and they have a couple of times written in, not a lot but at least shows I am making an effort I think.....:rolleyes: