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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Back to School Forms

Yesterday's post discussed my welcome letter and supply list (to see it, click here) and today, I will be discussing all the other forms I send home the first day of school.  I send home one massive packet that covers most of the activities I will need parent permission for right away.  I don't want to have to wait until week 3 to take pictures of my kids, take them on a community walk, or teach them to brush their teeth!  I want to start right away so we can establish these activities as a part of our routine.

Below, I will give you an explanation of the different forms.  I have included a snapshot picture of each form, but not the entire thing...it was too hard to see.  These are my versions the permission forms, but in the packet I send home, I also include school versions of the forms as well when needed.  I will elaborate more as I discuss each form.

Child Survey: 
First up is a basic child survey.  I ask some basic questions about family members (siblings names/ages), student info (favorite foods, activities, strengths etc.), parent goals for their child, as well as information on how the family would like to be contacted. 





3 Photo Release Forms:
I also include a variety of photo release forms.  My school has a form they want signed to allow pictures on their website.  I also send home a donorschoose photo release form so that I can post pictures of my kids on their website using the materials we receive from grants (see this post for more on that).  And last, to cover any other photos I may need to take for educational activities (i.e. for scrapbooks, schedules, name worksheets, etc.) or to send with thank you notes to other donors (i.e. friends, family, or businesses that donate to the classroom), I send home my own form.  For photos, I like to cover my butt in every way/shape/form possible.  


Community Trip Forms:
My school has a field trip form they like students to sign for trips, so I use my own explanation about our community trips and add the school's form to the bottom half of the page for parents to sign.  I use this blanket field trip form for walking field trips in the community.  Sometimes it is just a walk where we practice stopping at corners, crossing the street, etc.  Other times, we may walk to a neighborhood playground or a corner store.  For any trip requiring us to take the city bus or a school bus, I have the parents fill out a separate field trip form.  I'm sure each school district has different rules on this, but I like to be able to explain to parents the importance of community trips and get their permission for going on walks around the neighborhood as well as buying little treats for their child.

Hygiene Release Form:
I think hygiene is a very important skill for my students to work on in school.  As I have received more students, this has been harder to incorporate, but I am hoping with a few more aids this year, we will be able to get to it more often.  I think it is important to let parents know we will be working on these skills and get their permission...especially since I am buying the materials.  I don't want a kid to have an allergic reaction to the lotion I buy or a parent to get mad when their kid comes home with a scratch from learning to clip their own nails.  You could ask parents to send in these hygiene supplies, but since they are pretty cheap at the dollar store, I usually just pick them up.  Or, I have written some grants to get them donated as well.  


Classroom Library Agreement:
I haven't done a take-home library in awhile, but am thinking about bringing it back again this year.  This is a great way to just let parents know about the activity and have them sign off to be a part of it...to read with their child and help their child be responsible for the books as well.

When I was in grad school, I would also send home a consent form so that I could discuss my students' progress with my classmates and supervisors at grad school.  I guess that is about it...I hope I'm not forgetting something, because I am about to print these bad boys out!  Are there any other forms you send home the first week of school??

Also, be sure to like Autism Tank on Facebook...this packet of forms may just be a Freebie later this week...however, it will only be promoted to Facebook Fans!

2 comments:

  1. Do you have a place for parents to sign on each one of these forms or is it just overall information and if they have a problem with it they let you know?

    Caitlin
    Learning Ahoy!

    ReplyDelete