Meet the Teacher Ideas {from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd}

Hey hey all! It's Ashley here from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd! I'm here to bring you a few ideas and a couple of FREEBIES, too, for your Open House/Meet the Teacher night!!!

A challenge that I always have while planning for Open House is simply the fact that it occurs BEFORE I've met my kids! I would so so so prefer to be able to have met my kids before open house, added kid work to the walls, and have the KIDDOS give the tour of the room, explain our systems and procedures, etc. However, at the school I'm at, that's simply not the case.  

Soooooo I deal! And here is how I set up my Open House "presentation".  It's all about establishing that POSITIVE relationship with the students AND parents right out of the gate, right? So, you've gotta be on your A-game!! 

A-game for me equals POWERPOINT!!  Who doesn't love a little neon that screams WELCOME TO THE BEST YEAR EVER?!?! I mean... seriously?!?!

For the last few years, I have used the freebie open house presentation by the fabulously talented Ladybug Teacher Files.  You can see a page above that I've edited and customized with my own Open House info!   She even includes a BUSINESS CARD template that you can put your contact info on and to which you could even add a magnet for parents to be able to hang on the fridge or keep in their wallet!

Included in the presentation is a little bit of everything from our schedule, to our curriculum, to contact info, etc.  My goal is always to answer enough questions before they're asked at Open House night and this power point presentation usually allows me to do just that!

In addition to the power point presentation that tells the parents all about the highlights of the MUST KNOWS at the beginning of the year about our classroom procedures and routines, I like to ask for some donations for those ARE WE OUT OF THOSE AGAIN?!?!?! status items! {expo markers, tissues, ziplock bags, etc}.  So I created this "LEND A HAND IF YOU CAN" display with which I put "hands" for the families to grab to make a donation! The kiddos usually bring those donations back on the first days of school and my school supply loving heart is FILLED as I restock our classroom shelves!    You can grab this LEND A HAND sign for FREE in my TPT store :)

And you can't forget about a little welcome gift for your kiddos, right?! 

Y'all.  I prefer SIMPLE when it comes to gifts . . . like I'm the girl who loves the family members that actually LIKE getting gift cards for their birthday, because that's the route that I love to take!! 

With that being said, I like SIMPLE packaging for gifts for my kiddos, too! And with the back to school MADNESS, who has time for anything else?!  I like to take the chance to let my new kiddos know what SMART COOKIES they are before the first day of school and I treat them with some cookies, too! :)  

You can grab the smart cookie tags above HERE in my TPT store if you'd like a simple gift idea for your kiddos!! {I've made them for PK-6th grade with 2 options for printing} 

And last but not least! We can't forget about establishing those positive relationships with our students' PARENTS right off the bat! In our non-air conditioned school, water is a MUST, so I threw together this FREEBIE WATER TAG to give to parents with a bottle of water during open house, too!

I hope that gave you a few ideas to make the MOST of your first few hours at open house with your NEW families for this BRAND NEW SCHOOL YEAR!! Happy back to school season, friends!!