Communicating With Parents The Easy Way

Communicate with parents the easy way, with SimplyCircle

What are you using to communicate with parents this school year? Still using regular email or flyers? I wanted to let you know about a great service called SimplyCircle that makes communicating with parents much easier. Not only does it save you time, but it turns a chore (like reminding parents of an upcoming field trip so that nobody forgets to sign that permission slip or wear their school T-shirt) into something that is fun and easy to do. 

Plus, I love the look-and-feel of their newly redesigned app. As you all know, I’m a huge fan of Apple, and their simple and beautiful design. The new look of the SimplyCircle app reminds me of an  Apple-like design: clean, simple, and easy to understand. 

Click the image to grab the FREE App.

What’s SimplyCircle?

SimplyCircle is a website where you can create a free, private circle for your classroom. Just add all your parents to a circle, and then you can send them messages, events, tasks, photos, documents – basically anything you want. You can communicate with all the parents at once, or one-on-one. The service can be accessed from any computer, tablet or mobile phone – all you need is an Internet connection. And they just released their brand-new apps for both iPhone and Android.

Why do I like SimplyCircle better than regular email and paper flyers?
 

SimplyCircle is better for lots of reasons:

·         Saves you time. Instead of having to send parents multiple emails reminding them about the project that is due next week, you can set up a task with a due date, and SimplyCircle will remind them automatically. Parents can even add the task to their personal calendar.

·         Keeps everything in one place. When you send a lot of emails, parents overlook or accidentally delete some of them. That means they either tell you that you never told them the info to begin with, or else they ask you to send them the same materials over and over again. With SimplyCircle, everything is securely stored in one place, so parents always know where to go to find what they need.

·         Gets you more help in the classroom. One of the coolest features of SimplyCircle is the integrated volunteer signups. If you need help with something in the classroom, you can ask for parent volunteers easily, and they can sign up in just one click.

·         Helps you remember who’s who. When parents sign up for SimplyCircle, they’re encouraged to post a profile photo. These can be great at helping you remember who’s who, which is especially important at the beginning of the year, when there are so many new faces.

·         Great for on-the-go communication. SimplyCircle has always been mobile-friendly – no need to pinch-and-scroll. And now that they have native apps for both iPhone and Android, sending a quick update to the parents or sharing photos of the kids has never been easier.

How do you get started?

You can set up a free account and set up your classroom on SimplyCircle in just a few minutes. Then you can either invite all your parents via email (if you know their email addresses) or create a unique invite code that you can send home on a flyer.  The system is FREE, private and secure.

Good luck with your teacher-parent communication this year. And definitely check out SimplyCircle!
Give it a try and let me know what you think by leaving a comment. 

My New Favorite Tool For Communicating With Parents + A Drawing

As you all know, I LOVE taking pictures of my students making their amazing creations. With ClassHubz, I now have a new favorite tool for sharing these pictures with their parents!

Click the image.

I met the ClassHubz team at the So Cal Kindergartenconference. I really liked the service that they created. It’s web-based for now, but the mobile app is coming out really soon. I am already using ClassHubz for my class and loving it!

Sharing Pictures and Updates

Sharing pictures and updates is super-easy. Everything is one click of a button:

Everybody can share pictures, and they stay PRIVATE within our class!

Click the image to read about their privacy policy.

It’s a great way to preserve memories with ALL of the pictures in one place. You can see all of them at a glance in a class timeline  

Managing Sign Ups

With ClassHubz, I can finally say GOOD-BYE to paper sign up sheets. I can use the tool to do electronic sign ups for parent-teacher conferences, volunteering in the classroom, chaperoning field trips, or bringing in special supplies. Phew!!

Here’s how EASY it is to create a sign up for parent-teacher conferences:

And it’s ready to go!

 

Creating Events and Calendars

I use ClassHubz to create a calendar and send invitations (and reminders) for events like the Spring Concert or the End of the Year Picnic. And soon after the events, pictures from excited parents start to pour in!

The tool is completely FREE. No ads, no “upgrades” to paid options. Just FREE.

Come to ClassHubz.com to register, create your hub and invite others to join in the fun – it only takes a couple of minutes and it will save you many, many hours!

The Drawing:

Friday is the last day to get in on our Free Giveaway.

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. follow this blog (link is at the top of this page), 

2. head on over to our Facebook Page and click on 

the blue "Giveaway" tab, and 

3. enter the drawing for our huge Beginning of the Year Bundle.

Good Luck!

 See you all tomorrow.

Palma :)

HAPPY SHARING!!