The Parent Backpack by ML Nichols is written by a parent who has come through the elementary school years and wants to give you a heads up on what to expect. It takes several years to really understand the school system and how to support your kids within it. And by that time, your child is about to begin middle school. Even if you have a younger child, they will have different needs, and you will have more to figure out. Nichols wrote The Parent Backpack to help you have the knowledge you need from the very beginning, from when your oldest baby walks into that kindergarten (or pre-K) classroom.
My favorite section of the book is the glossary of Edu-Terms. I often feel like teachers are speaking a different language, and it takes some translation to help parents understand what the terms they use mean. I often hear new terms in my annual parent-teacher conferences, and I have to make note to look them up when I get home. Nichols introduces many of these new terms and explains each throughout the text, but having it as a glossary is such a great resource for parents striving to understand what is going on in the classroom.
Nichols main goal is to give parents an understanding of the education system as a whole as it relates to parents and the kids in school. She gives advice on how to talk to teachers, so parents and teachers are all on the same team in helping the child, including a section on creating an IEP or 504 Plan for the student and how to recognize when a child is struggling. Nichols also gives parents an understanding of the emotional needs school children have and how to meet those needs at home and in the school setting.
