So, are you getting
ready to meet your students and parents for the first time? We have our Open House/Meet the Teacher night
a couple of days before school starts. I
do like that we do it this way because it gives the kids a chance to come and
meet me, see the classroom, and bring their supplies prior to the first
day. I know it helps some kids that are
really nervous about starting a new school year.
What a WHIRLWIND
though, right? You get to meet all of
these new students/parents in a short amount of time. They ask you all sorts of questions or give
you a “heads up” about their child. I
always keep a paper and pencil nearby to jot down anything important they feel
the need to tell me that night.
Here are 5 Open
House Ideas that may help you prepare!
1 I
use a Powerpoint file that I project onto the Smart Board. I run it in a continuous loop. It contains some important information that
parents may have questions about. This
way, they can see the answers to some of their questions before asking me.
2
I order magnets from Vistaprint
that contain all of my contact information.
I have had several parents comment about them. They seem to be a hit, so I keep getting
them.
3
I make a little “treat” bag for
the students with a cute Welcome poem on it.
These are free in my TPT Store.
There are several different backgrounds to choose from also.
4
You know those cute little paper
tablets that are in the shape of different things like apples or frogs? I have a zillion of these pads of paper and
this is one way that I use them. I put
one on each students desk and the parents write their child a little note for
the first day and put it into their mailbox.
When the students leave the first day of school, they get a note from
their parents. If I have parents that
don’t come to Open House, I write a note to those students so that they aren’t
left out.
5
Lastly, I take their picture
when they come in to meet me! I have
them hold the sign below. It is also
free in my store and I have K-4. I use
these pictures to put into their Time Capsule that we do at the end of the
year.
I hope these ideas
have inspired you to get things going for Open House! I need to get busy myself!
