Each year, we have an Open House/Meet the Teacher event prior to the first day of school. It's very informal and lasts 1 hour. It's more of a quick "Meet and Greet." Each year, I try to be a little more organized than the previous years. Below I'll show you how I set up my Open House this year.
Once supplies are unwrapped, I send the families back to the table to sign in and take all of the important papers. That little yellow bucket on the table contains contact magnets that I make each year. They have my name, email, room number, and phone number on them. I always want my parents to know how to reach me if need be.
In the past, I've used my editable "Open House Display Board" to display papers. However, it matched an old classroom theme and I didn't have time to make a new one this year. You can grab the board here.
Each child has a special treat on their desk. I've done lollipops, popcorn, and candy over the years. This year I went with Goldfish crackers from Costco. I made some labels to stick on the front.
Like always, I lay out my large bins that you can grab here and label them with my editable supply signs found here. I have clear directions typed out and sprinkled on the desk groups. I have parents unwrap the supplies and follow the directions. In the past, I've displayed the directions, but found that not all parents noticed them on the whiteboard. Having a paper copy right in from of them really helped this year!!!
Once supplies are unwrapped, I send the families back to the table to sign in and take all of the important papers. That little yellow bucket on the table contains contact magnets that I make each year. They have my name, email, room number, and phone number on them. I always want my parents to know how to reach me if need be.
In the past, I've used my editable "Open House Display Board" to display papers. However, it matched an old classroom theme and I didn't have time to make a new one this year. You can grab the board here.
Each child has a special treat on their desk. I've done lollipops, popcorn, and candy over the years. This year I went with Goldfish crackers from Costco. I made some labels to stick on the front.
I ALWAYS ask the parents (immediately after I introduce myself) how their child is getting home on the first day of school. This saves my sanity on what's already a crazy first day! Grab the form shown below here for FREE. I also put out my transportation tags, found here, for the parents to fill out and pin to their kids' book bags.
I store all extra supplies together in this red cart from Ikea. The only things that I add a name label to are the kids' markers, folders, and headphones. Everything else goes in the cart.
So there you have it! This year's Open House went smoother than any other years! I took a lot of pictures and notes and will remember to do the same things next year!
xo
Megan
It was the "sharpened" on the ticonderoga that made my heart skip a beat.
ReplyDelete