How To Continue Building Student Relationships While on a School Break

“How was your gymnastics meet this weekend?” “Did you level up on your video game last night?” “Yes I did listen to that song you told me about!” “How is your dog doing?”

Wait, what am I reading? Is this a conversation between friends? Nope, this is a list of questions I asked my students last week. I make a point to really get to know my students, their likes and interests, so they know I care about them. I talk to them about what's happening in their lives because I value building student relationships above everything else. As a teacher I know building student relationships is a key component to student success. I want my students to feel loved and valued, and building relationships with them is the key. I work hard at building great relationships with my students while they are in the classroom with me, but how do I continue building student relationships when I am away from my kiddos, like on spring break? Read more to learn how I continue building student relationships while on a school breaks.

Building Student Relationships with a Class Facebook Page

Keeping in touch with your students when they are away from the classroom is so important. When you reach out to them while on a school break it shows them how much you really care. One way you can work on building student relationships while on a school break is to start a class Facebook page! I know some of you may be thinking, talk to my students on Facebook? No way! However, I have to tell you that I have had a closed class Facebook page for the past four years and I love it! For one thing, it is a great tool for parent communication. Additionally, it is an excellent way to stay in touch and continue building student relationships while you are away from school! How? You can link videos your students would enjoy watching, post a class poll, post pictures of your pets, share class notes/ information, and so much more!  HERE is a video link you can watch if you are interested in setting up your own class Facebook page to help you continue building student relationships. P.S. I tried my first ever Facebook live with my students today and they loved it!

 Building Student Relationships with a Google Classroom

Google classroom is another great tool to help you continue building student relationships while on a school break! You can create a classroom space on google and invite your students to join you. Here you can ask fun questions, daily emotion check ins, create polls, and so much more! Now of course you can use Google classroom for great educational purposes and online learning opportunities, but were not talking about that right now. If you want to start using Google Classroom to help you continue building student relationships, check out THIS link.

Building Student Relationships Through Writing Letters

As we all know, not all students have access to technology while they are at home? So how are you going to continue building relationships with those kiddos, write them a letter! I love the internet as much as the next girl, but there is something special about getting a snail mail letter from someone. Take a minute while you're on break and write your students a letter, you will be surprised how much it means to them. When I send home letters over summer and winter breaks, I always have kiddos write back or tell me at school how much they loved getting a letter from me. If you want to write your students a letter over break, click HERE to download this free template!

Want to learn more about building student relationships? Read my blog post about the Happy Teacher Challenge and get some great tips to build student relationships! Click HERE!

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