Why Send An “All About Me” To School
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A new school year brings about many emotions for parents and students alike. For some people, it means new beginnings and feelings of excitement. For struggling learners and their parents, it can also mean anxiety and stress. While you cannot shield your children from struggling in school, you can help set them up for success with an All About Me.
What is an All About Me?
The goal of an All About Me is for it to explain everything pertinent about your child’s educational journey. It includes elements such as learning differences, strengths, areas where more support is needed, etc. You can find a detailed list of elements to include in an All About Me in a later section of this article.
Giving teachers an All About Me allows them to understand what works best for your child. Instead of starting at a baseline of zero, they will already know some of your child’s strengths and ways to support them. An All About Me can be as simple as a one-page sheet or as robust as a folder. They are most helpful when given to the teacher at the beginning of the school year.
How is an All About Me Helpful?
If you have a struggling learner, you most likely have identified the most difficult areas for them. This could range from subjects like reading and math to social and emotional learning skills. You might also know techniques that have best supported them, and efforts that negatively trigger them. All of this information can be used to set them up for success at school.
For instance, knowing that your child struggles with reading and will shut down if asked to read in front of the class is valuable information for a teacher. Sharing that your child loves horses and will be most likely to read if the book has horses in it, is just as valuable. A teacher would also benefit from knowing if your child struggles in math and relies on a 100s chart to do work. Equally important to share would be knowing that your child is creative and loves working with their hands.
Think about how this information would help a teacher frame your child’s work and school day. They could use this information as a starting point, add their own flare, and adjust as needed. Teachers could also use your child’s strengths to raise their confidence. A struggling learner’s self-esteem can take big hits with every unmastered skill so highlighting areas where they thrive is important.
All About Me Templates
There are several options to take advantage of on how to create an All About Me. Click here to download an All About Me one-page PDF that includes the information below. You can also visit this link for access to an editable version of an All About Me through Canva so you can create your own categories. You will need to create an account with Canva to access the template but it is free and a great resource.
You can also encourage your child to write a letter to their teacher that explains everything you would include in an All About Me. This is a great option for children who have stronger writing skills. Another option would be for your child to create a PowerPoint or simply have a conversation with their teacher about their needs. These options are great for students in fourth grade and above as they encourage children to advocate for themselves.
Important Elements
There are some important elements that should be included in your child’s All About Me. Along with information such as name and birthday, below are other helpful elements.
Learning differences:
Is your child dyslexic? Have they been diagnosed with ADHD or identified as having a specific learning disability? This is the perfect place to inform the teacher. They may already have some classroom accommodations that have been successful with previous students that they will want to implement.
Strengths:
Let the teacher know all the ways that your child shines. Do they have great organizational skills or work best in a group? Is your child exceptionally empathic and loves to support other students? By informing the teacher, it allows them to use your child’s strengths in roles around the classroom and also helps boost your child’s confidence.
Areas where more support is needed:
Use this area to help the teacher understand where they can best support your child. Let the teacher know if your child is shy and it stops them from answering questions in a class discussion. This information would help the teacher set your child up for success by helping them build confidence in small group settings. Does your child have great comprehension but struggles reading grade-level curriculum? The teacher would be able to pair your child up with a partner for reading or allow access to audiobooks if that is an appropriate accommodation. Teachers can have the most imaginative solutions for helping your child succeed.
Ways that your child learns best:
Take this opportunity to share some techniques or accommodations that you know have helped your child. For instance, let the teacher know if your child has been most successful in math using manipulatives like base ten blocks. Does your child skip lines when reading and needs help tracking with the use of an index card? Were they most productive when their desk was closer to the teacher? Providing this information could be a game changer for your learner. Teachers may still use their own assessments but having this starting point will be critical for your child.
Interests:
Does your child know everything there is to know about trucks? Do they have a favorite tv show or video game? Teachers love to find ways to engage with their students and create individual bonds with them. Knowing your child’s interests will help them facilitate that bond.
Additional information:
Use this area to add anything else that you deem important to share. Do they hate timers? Are they food motivated? Are there certain things that trigger anxiety for them?
If your child is in special education services, it would be helpful to add any paperwork associated with their needs such as their Individual Education Plan (IEP). You can also add any information such as any allergies or emergency contacts if you would like.
Connect With Your Kids
Completing the All About me is a great way to connect with your children. Talk to them about what it is and why it will be helpful for them. Try filling out it out together and get their input for each category. It may surprise you to learn what they feel are their strengths and areas of improvement. Completing this together may also help ease some of their anxiety about the school year. It may also help create an open dialogue between you and your child as you follow up on how their teacher is using the All About Me through the school year.
What are other ways that you like to set your child up for back-to-school success? Let us know in the comments or send us a message via the let’s connect page. We would love to hear from you!