Kindergarten teachers provide the foundation of a child’s education. And along with that influence, there is enormous responsibility. Because it’s a big job to organize and manage 20 or so small squirming children! Using online forms is an effective way to ease the administrative side of teaching kindergarten. Online forms can collect and manage information about students from their parents and guardians. Here is a guide to get you started with building online forms for kindergarten teachers.

Review School Records

First, check in to see what information is already available in the school records. It doesn’t make sense to ask parents to complete forms and provide information they gave during the school enrollment process. So start with confirming what details are available.

Plan the Year and Personalize

Next, review the curriculum and teaching plan to spot where and when additional information is required. School trips require permission forms which may need to be personalized for the destination. Also, every kindergarten teacher creates their own special classroom environment. Things like celebrating birthdays, holidays, parent volunteers, or community participation all require communication, tracking, and documentation. This is where using online forms can ease administration time, eliminate data entry, and save valuable time. Build a form to gather the information needed to organize these events throughout the school year.

Integrate Online Forms

Before sharing the online forms with parents, set up integrations to boost the efficiency of data management. This can be as simple as connecting to a Google Sheet or Excel so that information gets dropped into a spreadsheet for easy review. Or, set up a form so that documents uploaded by parents are added to a specific folder for easy access. Integration is the best part of using online forms because it eliminates data entry, prevents the need for printing, and cuts down on processing time.

Share the form

Now that the forms are built and integrated with other software and systems, it’s time to share with parents. There are many ways to do this.

• Email the form link to parents with an explanation and a deadline

• Create a shared folder for all parents and guardians, and place all form links there for them to access as required

• Embed the form on a classroom or school website

• Hand out a welcome page to parents with QR codes for the online forms

The key thing is to clearly communicate to parents what forms are required, why they are needed, the deadline, and how the information is going to be used.

Note that security is another advantage of using online forms. A fully encrypted online form will keep data more secure and confidential than email or paper. Read our article The Security  of Online Form Making Software to better understand the security of online forms.

Follow up

Review completed forms to see if there are follow up questions. Also check for missing or incomplete responses, and follow up with parents or guardians. This is an opportunity to communicate with parents and develop a relationship with them. Throughout the course of the school year, if new online forms are edited or created, be sure to update parents. By setting up a notification in your online forms, you will never miss when a form is completed or updated!

Online Forms to manage Kindergarten

Being a kindergarten teacher involves managing a great deal of information, tasks, and events. Streamlining this into a digital process saves time and increases security of sensitive personal details. From organizing parent volunteers, to signing permission forms for field trips, and understanding the preferences and needs of parents and children, online forms for kindergarten teachers will make it all easier and more efficient. Start building your forms at no cost with our Free Forever plan!