K.M.
My kiddos had a great teacher who used a method of communication that was simple, but got the job done.
She had a sheet for each kid at the end of the day. Every child in the classroom's name was on it and she would circle the names of the kids my daughter played with during recess or worked with during center time.
The sheet also had a list of what "specials" they did that day, like PE or music or art and told what kind of day they had (good, okay, or Oh dear! Everything was difficult today!).
Finally, she jotted down simple academic things that they did. It took her just a few minutes and really helped me with the discussion on the ride home for the day.
Now that my kids are in elementary school the teacher puts out a Friday memo via e-mail that talks about what they did that week (she covers every subject) any upcoming events and general things in the class (like we need more kleenex).
Hope this helped!