Ah. Open House. Back to School night. The special time when you will find me a big, stressed-out, nervous wreck with a giant smile all night. I still get seriously scared about meeting all my new kiddos and parents. I really, really want to make a good first impression. This year went so well, that I actually left with a big smile and told me fiancée that I love my job/life when I got home. “How?!” you may ask. I’m not completely sure, but if I had to sum it up, I would say probably lots of organization and preparation.
This year, I had a check list of all of my kids’ names as well as another box to check if they turned in their papers. Well, the parents have many, many papers (poor parents!) to fill out on Open House, and some choose to take them home and bring them back. I tried to let them know that the only paper I really need THAT night was the one that had the info on how their child was getting home. And being organized, I put that paper on top. And being really organized, I actually made two piles of papers on each student’s desk. One was labeled, “Please fill out and turn in tonight,” and the other was labeled, “Please take these papers home to review.” This made the process much simpler for parents.
Back to my checklist…I served a few purposes: 1. If I talked to the parents, I checked in the appropriate column. This really helped at the end of the night so I could figure out who forgot to sign in versus who I didn’t meet, which is essential when you are meeting twenty-five families in two hours. 2. It helped me to remind parents to return the essential transportation paper before they left. (I checked off a different column when they did.) 3. Holding the clipboard all night worked as a bit of a safety blanket for me. I feel more comfortable holding something in my hands for some reason. Plus, I like to think it made me seem more professional and organized…always a bonus.
I also wanted to make the students and parents feel welcome and excited. What better way to feel welcome and excited than an exciting welcome gift?! I gave the students glow sticks and bubbles with a tag which said “Third grade is going to be an awesome, bright and shining year. I can’t wait to be blown away by your achievements!”
For the parents, I gave them a red delicious with a leaf that had the poem, “An apple for the teacher is really nothing new, until you consider…parents are teachers too!” Both the kids and the parents seemed to really like these.
I had a great turn out: Only three families did not come (two of those ended up dropping), and I got two new students. (Side note: I had extra desks prepped for new students. It’s a good idea to be ready, because in my experience you will get at least one.) At the end of the night, I had met a lot of families, shook many hands, talked about a lot of kids’ summer fun activities, worn heels too long, got to meet my class, and established great positive first family contact with so many parents. Success!
This year, I had a check list of all of my kids’ names as well as another box to check if they turned in their papers. Well, the parents have many, many papers (poor parents!) to fill out on Open House, and some choose to take them home and bring them back. I tried to let them know that the only paper I really need THAT night was the one that had the info on how their child was getting home. And being organized, I put that paper on top. And being really organized, I actually made two piles of papers on each student’s desk. One was labeled, “Please fill out and turn in tonight,” and the other was labeled, “Please take these papers home to review.” This made the process much simpler for parents.
Back to my checklist…I served a few purposes: 1. If I talked to the parents, I checked in the appropriate column. This really helped at the end of the night so I could figure out who forgot to sign in versus who I didn’t meet, which is essential when you are meeting twenty-five families in two hours. 2. It helped me to remind parents to return the essential transportation paper before they left. (I checked off a different column when they did.) 3. Holding the clipboard all night worked as a bit of a safety blanket for me. I feel more comfortable holding something in my hands for some reason. Plus, I like to think it made me seem more professional and organized…always a bonus.
I also wanted to make the students and parents feel welcome and excited. What better way to feel welcome and excited than an exciting welcome gift?! I gave the students glow sticks and bubbles with a tag which said “Third grade is going to be an awesome, bright and shining year. I can’t wait to be blown away by your achievements!”
For the parents, I gave them a red delicious with a leaf that had the poem, “An apple for the teacher is really nothing new, until you consider…parents are teachers too!” Both the kids and the parents seemed to really like these.
I had a great turn out: Only three families did not come (two of those ended up dropping), and I got two new students. (Side note: I had extra desks prepped for new students. It’s a good idea to be ready, because in my experience you will get at least one.) At the end of the night, I had met a lot of families, shook many hands, talked about a lot of kids’ summer fun activities, worn heels too long, got to meet my class, and established great positive first family contact with so many parents. Success!