Class Newsletters Just Got Easier!

Let's talk class newsletters!

I will freely admit that at times I have not been good at sending home a class newsletter monthly or even weekly.  In fact I use to dread the time it would take to sit down and grind out a newsletter, all the time checking dates to make sure I had every activity school wide down for the entire month (because who wants to do this every week!), classroom goals, I can statements, birthdays, parent volunteers, field trips..... Whew!  I would get it set up the way I wanted, cute as a button, printed and put into my students binders and then.... Date changes! Rescheduled events! Cancelled field trips!

BUT WAIT!

I just sent everything home with my students!

Dang it!! I know I could just send a quick, impersonal email though our district system informing parents of the changes,  but I really dislike the impersonal look (read: "NOT CUTE"!) of our district email and I never really know if parents are getting my emails (unless they bounce back) and are actually reading them unless they talk to me personally about the topics in the email.  I know that with a paper copy it usually makes it out of homework binders and I at least know it made it home ~ somewhere.

One day, while cruising through Facebook I came across a sponsored ad for Erin Wing's Classroom Newsletters through MailChimp.com.    I was intrigued!  It was cute and it was an email with SO much more going on!  I could add links to our district parent portal to check grades and lunch accounts, I could link a direct email response, all the calendar dates could be easily added to any smart phone with just a touch!  I loved it!  

I don't know about you but anything that makes my life run smoother is a huge bonus and this new way of sending classroom newsletters has made them so easy and I don't dread them any more.  Now, I actually look forward to sending classroom newsletters weekly!

I love these emails (actually called campaigns) because not only are they cute, and I can provide direct links for parents to use (district home page, email, websites for homework, etc.), I can also see which parents are actually opening my emails (and I hope reading them) and if they have clicked the links.  I no longer am sending out a paper copy to any of my parents because the emails can be read on ALL smart phones, tablets, or any computer.

Here is the link to Erin Wing's website with a great YouTube video on how to set up an account with MailChimp and a link to her teacher store on Teachers Pay Teachers where you can buy her cute newsletters that are compatible with MailChimp.

http://www.erinwing.com/mailchimp-newsletters/

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Erin-Wing

I hope this can make your classroom newsletters a little less overwhelming and much easier to use! It has made such a difference in my communication with parents that I will be using it for years to come.