Parent's Corner
Courtney Ratliff
He was kind of a class clown today, but he was fine. He did a good job of making all of the other kids laugh.” Not exactly the response I expected to get from Ms. Dee Dee on my less than one year old son, Rhett. This statement had my mind wondering “What in the world does he do when I walk out the door? How can he be a class clown; he is just a baby?” Simply put, this question is now answered, thanks to his daily Tadpole report.
With the click of a mouse, I can view Rhett’s daily report – showing what he ate at each meal, when he slept, when he was changed and numerous activities he participated in throughout the day. Being able to have this information available to me with such ease has been wonderful. I love every feature about this program. It has been a great tool for my husband Ryan and me.
When I learned Rhett would be moving from the nursery to Mrs. Sandra’s Class, I was worried about the adjustments he would be going through. Having the luxury of the Tadpole report set that anxiety aside for my husband and me. My favorite part of the entire program is the pictures that the teachers take and send to me along with his report. We have numerous photos of Rhett at home, with family, on vacation and now we are able to add photos of him at school to that list. Pictures of Rhett at school are extremely important to our family. Particularly with Ryan working night shift. Often times, he does not get to spend a great amount of time with Rhett through the week, so being able to share these pictures of Rhett with Ryan are things we treasure as new parents.
By receiving this daily report, I feel my communication as a parent with his teacher has increased – especially on days I pick him up after Mrs. Sandra has gone for the day. I don’t have to bombard other teachers with the questions “Was he good? Did he eat? Did he nap? Do I need to bring anything in for him?” All of those questions are summed up in his daily report, and I receive a notice when he is running low on supplies.
This is a great feature that helps me prepare for what he needs the following day. Overall, this electronic report card has been a great experience for our family. I catch myself looking throughout the day at my e‐mail, just to see if I have received any new pictures of Rhett. After all, nothing relieves parents more than knowing their child is being taken care of and is happy.