What is a communication notebook for school-home tracking?

A communication notebook is a tool that facilitates regular communication between teachers and parents or caregivers. It serves as a bridge to share important information about a student's daily activities, progress, behavior, and any concerns that need attention from both school and home.

What types of information should be included in a school-home communication notebook?

The notebook should include daily academic progress, behavioral observations, homework assignments, special achievements, any challenges encountered, medication reminders, upcoming events, and specific goals or strategies being implemented both at school and at home.

How often should parents and teachers write in the communication notebook?

Ideally, entries should be made daily by both teachers and parents. Teachers typically write at the end of each school day, while parents can respond in the evening or morning. Consistency is key to maintaining effective communication and tracking progress over time.

What are the main benefits of using communication notebooks for students with special needs?

Communication notebooks help ensure consistency between home and school environments, allow for quick identification of patterns in behavior or learning, enable immediate addressing of concerns, facilitate collaborative problem-solving, and help track the effectiveness of interventions and strategies.

What digital tools can replace traditional paper communication notebooks?

Digital alternatives include specialized apps like ClassDojo, Seesaw, Remind, Google Classroom, or shared documents through platforms like Google Drive or Microsoft Teams. These tools offer real-time communication, photo sharing, and easier organization of information.

How can parents effectively use the communication notebook to support their child's learning at home?

Parents should read entries daily, respond with relevant home observations, ask specific questions about strategies that work at school, share successful home techniques with teachers, and use the information to maintain consistent approaches to behavior management and learning support.

Communication notebook and tools for school-home tracking

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Communication Notebook: Tools for School-Home Monitoring

The communication notebook is an essential tool for ensuring continuity of support between the child's different living environments. Particularly useful for children with specific needs (ASD, language disorders, disabilities), it allows sharing of important information, progress, and strategies that work.

📒 Download Our Communication Notebooks

Illustrated notebook Communication sheets

Why a Communication Notebook?

For children with communication difficulties, the communication notebook serves several essential functions:

Continuity: effective strategies are shared among all caregivers
Communication for the child: the child can "tell" about their day even if they cannot do so orally
Progress tracking: observe development over time
Coordination: synchronize approaches between school, home, and therapists
Trust relationship: create a bond between different partners

Types of Notebooks Based on Needs

Type	For Whom	Content
Illustrated/pictogram notebook	Non-verbal or minimally verbal children	Photos, pictograms of activities, emotions, events
Behavior notebook	Children with behavioral difficulties	Mood scale, positive behaviors, incidents, triggers
Speech therapy notebook	Children receiving speech therapy	Goals being worked on, exercises to do, observed progress
Health/nutrition notebook	Children with medical or eating disorders	Meals, sleep, medications, symptoms

Content of an Effective Notebook

Daily Information

Mood/general state: how was the child today?
Activities: what was done (photos, pictograms)
Successes: what worked well
Difficulties: problems encountered and how they were managed
Food/sleep: if relevant

Information to Share

Special events: outings, birthdays, routine changes
Effective strategies: what worked to calm, motivate, communicate
Important messages: appointments, requests, questions

💡 Practical Tips

Keep the notebook simple and quick to fill out (2-3 minutes)
Use checkboxes and scales rather than free text
Include pictograms or photos so the child can "read" their notebook
Always note at least one positive element
Define who fills in what and when

Adapting the Notebook to the Child

For a Non-Verbal Child (ASD, Disability)

The notebook becomes a communication tool for the child themselves. With photos or pictograms of their day, they can "tell" their parents what they did even without speaking. This also promotes language development and memory.

For a Child with Behavioral Difficulties

A positive reinforcement system (stars, green points) values expected behaviors. Avoid focusing exclusively on problems. The notebook should not become a "punishment book."

For a Child with Language Difficulties

The notebook enables working on functional communication: the child shows pictures to talk about their day, answer parents' questions, share their emotions.

Our Downloadable Tools

📒 Illustrated Communication Notebook

Pages with pictograms to record activities, mood, food. Suitable for non-verbal children. A5 format.

Download

📋 School-Home Communication Sheets

Daily sheets to check off: mood, activities, meals, nap, incidents. Simple and quick to fill out.

Download

⭐ Positive Tracking Chart

System for valuing positive behaviors. Points, stars, rewards to motivate.

Download

🌡️ Daily Mood Scale

Visual support for the child to indicate their emotional state each day. Promotes expression of emotions.

Download

Frequently Asked Questions

📌 Who should fill out the notebook?

All caregivers can contribute: parents, teacher, teaching assistant, childcare worker, speech therapist... The ideal is to clearly define who notes what and when, so that the notebook is regularly filled out without overloading anyone.

📌 How often should the notebook be filled out?

Ideally daily for children with significant needs. This can be reduced later when communication is well established. The essential thing is regularity: a notebook filled out sporadically loses its usefulness.

📌 Should negative behaviors be recorded?

Yes, but with nuance. Factually describe what happened and what was implemented, without judgment. Always balance with positive points. The notebook should not be a catalog of problems but a tool for comprehensive and constructive monitoring.

📒 Ready to Implement a Communication Notebook?

Discover all tools →

DYNSEO - December 2024

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