Meet the Teacher with Maja from KookyKinders

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Hello, Maja here from KookyKinders! I survived my first week of school!! Meet the teacher night is one of my favorite nights because it is a relaxed time to meet my new students and their parents. 

This year I ordered some adorable custom sugar cookies for Meet the Teacher night. It was an adorable treat for my new little ones. I also made "jitter glitter" and included a copy of "The Night Before Kindergarten" in their new student folders. I create a PowerPoint to help better explain my expectations. 

 

Gift that I made for my team that could be easily adapted for a student gift.

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!!

Meet the Teacher (Tickled Pink in Primary)

I love getting to meet all of my parents before school starts, but I'm not going to lie, I get SO nervous talking in front of adults. Put me in front of kids all day long, but adults...no thank you! We have just the parents attend our Meet the Teacher night, because the students meet us during our school-wide Ice Cream Social night. This gives us time to talk to the parents about rules/procedures, without the kids getting antsy sitting through a meeting.  I think being prepared, organized, and having things to keep parent busy until the meeting starts, helps make the night go smoother. 

When parents walk into my room for Open House (Kindergarten does it before school starts), they find their child's seat and daily folder. In the picture below, you'll see my classroom handbook, hand print labels, and a money/notes label. These are all included in my editable Beginning of the Year bundle.  My parents have commented on how much they love the money/notes pouch. They never have to worry about money or notes getting lost anymore. It is a bit pricey to buy a set of pencil pouches for an entire class each year, but I think it is well worth it!!

Depending on the time, they can start to look through the folder and fill out forms. I color code the forms that need to be returned to school. Doing this makes it much easier to sort the forms. 

Once all the parents arrive, I go through a PowerPoint that shows our schedule, rules, attendance/dismissal procedures, etc. Having this PowerPoint helps me remember what I want to say and keeps me from rambling and getting scatter brained. :)

Another part of my open house, is to have parents sign up for their parent-teacher conference during my open house. I do this so that the parents have plenty of time to take off work. I have 3 dates for them to choose from & put all of them on one clipboard. I then have small reminder notes that they can fill out and take with them. We have students bring their own snack, but many of you have parents donate snack, so I created a snack sign-up form as well that I would put next to my conference sign-up.

I have bundled everything I do to help me get ready for my Open House night and the beginning of the year in my Beginning of the Year Bundle.  It is editable, so you can edit the forms and powerpoint to meet your classroom's needs. Good luck this year!!!

Meet the Teacher { with Stephanie from Mrs. D's Corner }

Hey everyone! I can't believe that it is August already... and that August is almost half over. I just can't.

Our Meet the Teacher is next Friday, so I have been getting some things ready in my room over the last few days to prepare. Last school year, it was tough for me because I was in a brand new position, in a brand new school... with pretty much brand new everything. So I'm very excited that I feel like I have a handle on things this school year.

Like I said, last school year was completely new to me. I literally did nothing except welcome parents into the classroom and that was it. #worstteacherever

So this year I'm trying to make up for it. Here's what I have planned so far:

I found the idea for Wish Fish on Fluttering Through First Grade's blog. Even though I put a page in my Parent Handbook Flip Book about classroom donations through the school year, I wanted to give parents the option to donate things we always need now... like Clorox wipes, tissues, Velcro, tape. Since I teach friends with special needs, our supply list for the year differs from that of a traditional supply list. We cook on Friday's, so that's why we are in need of a spatula and ingredients :)

You can snag a set of blank Wish Fish here. Just print on colored paper and write on them with a Sharpie!

I saw this super simple, yet perfect back to school bulletin board over at Doodle Bugs Teaching. I put up a white background and still need to paint the sun and print the letters, but I think my students and their parents will enjoy it. It's bright and cheery, perfect for back to school.

The last thing I plan to do is pick out a casual professional outfit. Last year I was so overwhelmed with everything being new, that I didn't even do my hair or makeup.

Yeah, the parents probably left Meet the Teacher last year like that. #thosepoorparents

I'm a pretty casual person though. I live in Target t-shirts and GAP khakis because I need to be comfortable when working with my little friends. I'm constantly on the floor, lifting and transferring students, changing and diapering, so skirts and heels just aren't an option. But this year I'm going to *try* to make more of an effort... ya know, since I have a handle on this whole teaching life skills things now...

Ideally, it would be something like this.

Or this, except with white dress pants and not white jeans. There are just so many options! Hopefully there is something good left at the mall this week after it being Tax Free Weekend this past weekend.

What do you have planned for Meet the Teacher / Back to School Night / Open House?

Meet the Teacher {Amber from The Sunny Side of Second Grade}

Hello, friends! This is Amber from The Sunny Side of Second Grade here to talk to you about some ideas for back to school night. I hope you have enjoyed this series on our blog this month, and I hope you have been able to use some of the amazing tips we have shared with y'all.

Have you checked out Mrs. D's Corner on TPT? She is one of our fellow bloggers here at The Elementary Entourage, and I was lucky enough to snag one of her awesome freebies for BTS night. As y'all know, Dianna and I have been back to school for almost a month now, so we have already done all of our back to school stuff...including benchmarking! The little life/time saver you see below is easy to assemble and houses all the pertinent information you need your parents to have all in one little booklet.

{Click on the link above to download from Mrs. D's Corner on TPT}

Another thing I try to do each year, like most of us, is to have all of my bulletin boards prepped and ready to go for the first day of school. Parents like to see a well set up classroom, as do the students. Remember, this is an exciting time for both the parents and the students.

Setting the stage for your new year invites your new little sweeties with open arms. Parents feel more at ease when things are orderly. Yes, I know...the backgrounds look busy, but trust me, now that they have items hung it is not nearly as hard on the eyes.

How do you prepare for back to school night?

Meet the Teacher Ideas {Alex from The Kindergarten Connection}

Meet the Teacher Night... Open House... Back to School Night. It can be called many different things, but no matter what you call it, it is a busy time of excitement!

Lots of students and families in and out of a room can feel a little chaotic, even though it is so fun to see everyone! 

We don't do formal presentations for our open house at my school -  it is more drop in style.

This means I have to be prepared because I don't know when or how many people will come. 

Here is my favorite idea that I implement every year! 

Since my open house is drop in style, I like to have a way for the families to interact with their children and with each other. Otherwise there can be some awkwardness and standing around, and we don't want that!

So, I send my students with their parents or guardians on a scavenger hunt!

The idea is that the parent(s) will have time to explore the room with their child, and see many of the main parts of our classroom. It is a great way to ease some nervousness for both parent and child when they know more about the room and school.

I give the child a checklist, and they set off with their adult! The adult can read the list (for Kindergarten usually), the child can lead the hunt, and then they check off what they find! 

It works great because it gets families up and moving, and allows me to connect with them all with no one feeling like they are waiting in line to talk to me (which can happen at drop ins sometimes!)

I can go talk to a small group, check in and talk a bit, then go check in with other families also. The kids are engaged and starting to interact with each other and getting to know their environment too! 

Plus, if they save the playground for last, they can play!   :)

The above picture shows a Kindergarten hunt, but there is also a version that just says "school." 

You can download these for FREE at the end of this post -  and they are editable, meaning you can change the list that your students search for! 

Download the Scavenger Hunt

You can download an editable Powerpoint HERE - When it opens in drive - click the download arrow to open fully in PowerPoint and use all editable features.

Happy Back to School season! 

Meet the Teacher {Aloha to Second}

Wow!  This summer has flown by.  Even though I have been out of school, I've had school on my mind all summer, and I'm sure you have too! I go back August 17th and have a week of PD.  Then, students come August 25th.  I still have some time to get things done, but I'm beginning to feel like I'm in panic mode!

We have an open house after school starts, so by then I know my students and they are adjusted to our school day.  Here are some pictures of things that I lay on student desks for open house.

You can see that we have already written our class mission statement, and I include that in my open house packet!

I also like to give families a little snack that they can share when they get home.  I found this adorable label from KookyKinders.  All you have to do is buy a package of popcorn, print the labels, and tape them to each packet!  Super easy and the kids get SO excited. :]

Each student gets to go away with a baggie treat as well.  You can find these fun labels in my TpT store for free.  I have them for different grades. :]

I also use this time to allow my students to show their parents around the classroom.  I place numbers around the classroom and give each student a checklist so they can check to make sure they have gone to each part of the classroom.  I find that if I don't give them areas to go to that they forget to share important parts of our room.  

Some of my numbered areas include:

*calendar space

*class library

*student desks/tables

*computers

*centers

*writing area

*religion area

*morning meeting spot

*word wall

Students then take their guests around the classroom, show the area to them, and explain why it is important.  My kids love being able to show off the room and be the "teacher."  I also encourage my students to use pointers when they take their guests around the classroom.  This makes them feel important. :]

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to check back the rest of the month to find more meet the teacher ideas!