Free template
Family newsletter template
One page that goes home every Friday, or out as an app announcement, covering what the class did, a couple of photos, and the dates a family actually needs to know.
- A note from the teacher in their own words, not a form letter
- Space for two photos from the week, with captions
- Dates to remember and a reminders checklist, so nothing gets missed
- A celebrations section for birthdays, new families, and small wins worth naming
PDF, one page, letter size. Print it for the sign-out clipboard or send it home Friday.
Get the template
Tell us where to send it and the file is yours. We send the template and the occasional new one, nothing else.
Six sections that fit a lot on one page
A note from your teachers
Two or three sentences in your own voice, what went well, what the children were into, one small moment worth telling.
What we are learning
The week's theme, letter or number of the week, and the books, songs, and skills behind the activities.
Try this at home
One or two easy ideas that extend the week, so learning does not stop at pickup.
Moments from the week
Two photo slots with captions, the same photos that go out as an app announcement, already on every family's phone.
Dates and reminders
What is coming up, plus a short checklist for the things families forget, labeled clothes, weather gear, tuition due.
Celebrations and shout-outs
Birthdays, a welcome for new families, and small victories worth noticing, the moments that get lost between drop-off and pickup.
Send it out every Friday, on paper or in the app
A weekly note is the single easiest way to make families feel like they know what happened in a week they were not there for. Consistency matters more than length.
Fill in the two teacher sections first. The note from your teachers and what we are learning carry the most weight, write them before anything else fills the page.
Drop in two photos. Real photos from the week, not stock art. Families forward these to grandparents.
Print it or send it as an announcement. Clip a paper copy to the sign-out sheet Friday afternoon, or post the same update in the app, where every family sees it on their phone and the photos are already attached.
Family newsletters, answered
How long should it be?
One page. A newsletter families skim in ninety seconds gets read every week; a two-pager gets read the first week and skipped after that.
Do we need photo consent to include the classroom photos?
Confirm you have photo consent on file before sharing images, requirements vary by state and licensing body. See the consent and release forms template if you do not have one on file yet.
Weekly or monthly?
Weekly, if you can sustain it. A short weekly note beats a longer monthly one; families forget what happened four weeks ago.
Can one teacher write it for the whole room?
Yes. Rotate it if more than one teacher wants a voice in it, but keep it to one byline per week so it reads like a real note, not a committee.
The same update, without the printing
Post it once as an app announcement and every family gets it on their phone, photos included, no clipboard required.