Open house is an exciting time! It’s the first time families and students see the classroom. It’s when students and parents meet the teacher for the first time. It can...

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I know - it's a scary thought reality!!!! I'm sorry to even say the words......Back to School. But let's be honest. It's not that far away now, and closer for some than for others. So let's start thinking about how we can prepare. I don't know about you, but I have been stalking Target, Hobby Lobby and a few other places all summer long looking for the best deals and the cutest little bins, buckets, and supplies. Why, oh why, do we teachers spend so much dang money on our classrooms (and have so much fun doing it!?!). I know, I know!!! (I say as I wave my hand in the air like my new students will likely be doing soon enough.) We buy cutesy new things for our classrooms and spend our money on supplies because we love to see the looks on the faces of our little ones when they walk through the door and see their new HOME! It's one of the many reasons why we love teaching so much. As much as we all dread the end of another summer and the freedom we get with it, we also secretly love the excitement of the first day of school. Come on - admit it - you feel the same way too. If there ever comes a time when I don't feel that way, then that should be when I retire. I say retire because I am positive it will not be happening for a LONG time, if ever. I feel like I'm going to be one of those lovely, older, experienced teachers who doesn't want to retire and has to be kicked out. I'll have to dragged out kicking and screaming - dragging my chevron and polka dotted decorations behind me! So back to how we can prepare for going back to school. I don't actually go back until after Labor Day (I'm sorry if that makes you hate me right now, but you get out earlier I'm sure =) I will definitely be posting pictures of my classroom when I actually get around to organizing and decorating it. I also have to find room for all of this stuff... (remember I mentioned I had been shopping just a teeny bit). Even though my room is nowhere near ready I have been thinking A LOT about what I plan on doing those first few weeks of school. This will only be my 2nd year teaching 1st grade. It is my 12th year teaching, but I taught 3rd and 4th grades for 10 years. Last year I was in survival mode with the implementation of Common Core, all the changes with teacher evaluation, and being my first year in a new grade level. It was fun, but I have so many ideas for what I want to do differently this year. But before I talk about all of the things I plan to change (that will have to be another post), I have to get through the first week of school. Yikes!! So here are a few ideas I've been throwing around for that first week. I will start with some things from my Welcome Back Pack. I've always loved reading First Day Jitters by Julie Dannenburg on the first day of school and I also found First Grade Jitters by Robert Quackenbush - how perfect is that? I will start with this First Day Feelings survey and class graph after reading one or both of those books. The picture of the graph is just an example to show what it might look like. We will also make Jitter Juice from Babbling Abby's Fun with Firsties to ease the nerves and have a little snack break =) We will compare our summer with school like this example from First Grade Honeybunch. We will reminisce about our summers *tear* with a little summer writing (which is really my teacher way of getting a quick writing sample to see where they are at). We will HAVE to finish on a high note and not get totally depressed that our summers are over, so we will then come back together and talk about all the amazing things we will be doing this year in first grade - like learning to READ!!!!!! That's a big one! I will give some beautiful, could hear a pin drop, speech about how reading opens the doors to anything you will ever do in life like driving, traveling the world, and of course social media like texting, Facebook, etc. (I'm not totally serious, but I know they will think this is the best part =( Next, we're going to need to break up the sitting, because I don't know if you know this or not, but kids (and adults too) who are just coming back to school after a summer vacation are not so good at sitting for long periods of time and their attention spans are mere minutes at best. So it is extremely necessary to plan for multiple breaks in the day. My Find a Friend activities will give us that opportunity to get up and walk around. These are perfect for any student because there is no reading involved - just pictures. I would introduce this by going through the pictures and pointing out what they are and what they might think of when they see them (a little inferencing on the first day of school - take that Common Core!) Then they walk around and get other kids to sign their names next to a picture they like. When we come back together to share I have students share what they picked and why. For example, I might pick the dog and say that I have a black lab named Molly and tell a little about her. There are 4 different versions of this so I can do 1 each day to get up and moving. The next thing that I think we probably all do is some getting to know you activities or All About Me. I created an All About Me banner that will be perfect to hang up in the hallway or on a bulletin board. So excited to do these this year! There are a couple variations to choose from. I will probably choose this one I also have this super cute Math About Me craftivity that I like to do with the kids. We discuss how math and numbers are everywhere and how we can even describe ourselves using numbers. The craftivity above is a freebie in my TpT Store, but I also just wrote a poem to go with it. You can download the poem HERE if you'd like it. To finish off my pack, I also have included a Back to School interactive mini-book and some printables/coloring pages to fill time or use as morning work. In addition to all this FUN, I also need to take care of some business. That business will be ROUTINES, ROUTINES, ROUTINES!!!! I will be modeling like a crazy woman and pointing out when students are following rules. I will be positive and upbeat, but when needed we will stop what we are doing and go back to the carpet to review a routine or a rule. Here are a bunch of books I plan on reading those first few days as we discuss rules and routines and make anchor charts. I don't have any formal plans for these yet, but I am working on a few things to go along with some of these books, and others will be just discussions and connections. We will work through our class rules that first week (more to come in a later post on that) and more routines. So I hope you got some good ideas from my First Week of First Grade plans. I'd love to hear what you are doing in your own classrooms (or are planning on doing), so leave me a little note =) Click HERE to go to part 2 of this post - I Survived the First Week - Now What? Some more freebies and a chance to win!!!

Open House Ideas {Fab Ideas from the Weekend Warriors} 5 comments Tips and Tricks, Weekend Warriors It's time for Weekend Warriors! I love our monthly link up. I really do! Our goal has always been to share great ideas with you, but we are always striving to make things better. Over the past month we've made some exciting changes to Weekend Warriors. First, we have a new look! Eek, don't you just love it? Another change we've made is to open up the linky! That's right, if you have a blog and some ideas to share that go with the current month's theme, then grab the buttons, post away, and link up! We'd love to check out your ideas! So, let's get started with this month's theme! This month, we are linking up to share our favorite Open House ideas, and more! We hope to share some fun ideas that you can use at your own Open House, or whatever annual nightly event your school might host. Warning, you are about to be photo bombed. My apologies in advance. But, I have lots of ideas to share with you. Each of which helped make our Open House a successful event. I truly hope you can take an idea or two away from this post! We recently had our Open House, so I thought it would be fun to take a peek at what we did. This year we spruced up the inside of our classroom by displaying new work on our bulletin board. It's always so nice to hang fresh work up for these kinds of events. The kids had a blast making this adorable display from Bright Concepts 4 Teachers. They wrote about why their future will be so bright. The parents loved this display! I kept our self-portraits up so the kids could play a guessing game with their families (you may recall from a few posts ago, that I never take this board down, or change it out). A few weeks ago, I removed the name tags that were on display with their artwork. With the names gone, the kids asked their families to figure out which portrait was theirs. It was a fun to watch this! If you're looking for a fun way to get students interacting with their families and their work, this is a simple way to do so. Just have your kiddos complete a self portrait, put them on display, and watch the fun unfold! Look for quick and easy projects to fill smaller spaces in your classroom. We put together this quick and easy little "board." This space is actually where I hang my anchor charts, but I didn't need those on display, I wanted student work on display. The students finished the prompt and colored their iPod. Easy peasy. You can grab a copy of this quick project here. Another idea is to spruce up your desks or table groups. That's exactly what we did! The students wrote letters to their parents thanking them for attending and noting the things they wanted their families to look at. We set these out with newly decorated name tags and bouquets of tissue flowers. I had the students hide their well loved name plates in their desks and they made new ones. I simply cut some white card stock into strips (2 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches) and wrote the students' names on each one. Then, they used colored pencils to decorate! This is my sample (and I really should have colored a bit darker...oops). I will be laminating their name tags so that they can use them as bookmarks. They are very excited about this! The finishing touch? We made some fun tissue paper flowers to set out at our table groups. Aren't they amazing? The following Monday, I sent them home with the students (they each took home a mini bouquet). My sweet colleague suggested this idea, and I am so glad she did! It made our room look super cute, the parents were really impressed, and the kids had a blast. And, they are super easy to make! To make these beauties, you need some tissue paper circles (I used 4 inch circles that I cut out on our die cut machine), pipe cleaners, and some "vases" (I used the small Mason jars). Fold one end of the pipe cleaner over (twice). Stick the opposite end through a mini stack of tissue circles (3-6 pieces). Gently slide the circles up to the folded end. Then, take your whole hand and scrunch the circles upward. Then, open the layers one at a time and rescrunch each one. Finally, trim the stems and stuff them into some Mason jars! Another fun idea is to set out any class books you might have. My students were so excited to show these to their families! Finally, to create a calm and welcoming environment, make it smell nice! I can't be trusted with a Scentsy, but I love the Air Wick plug in air freshener. I found a great tropical scent the other day and plugged it in. Our room not only looked great, but it smelled great! I realize this is soooo not necessary, but it's a nice touch. DON'T FORGET IT: PIN IT! Don't forget to visit these fabulous ladies to grab some more great ideas for Open House and more! And, if you've got some great Open House and More ideas to share, feel free to link up! An InLinkz Link-up Share It:

The beginning of the year is always a whirlwind with the first few days of school and Open House/Visitation. Whether you have your Open House/Visitation before school starts, or once the year is already in full swing, it’s still a huge undertaking! Today I’m sharing with you my 5 favorite tips for your Open House ... Read More about Kindergarten Visitation!

Open house is an exciting time! It’s the first time families and students see the classroom. It’s when students and parents meet the teacher for the first time. It can...

I'm a girl from the Midwest sharing bits of my life in a first grade classroom.

Whew! We're wrapping up our first month down here in sickeningly hot and humid sunny Florida and I kinda sorta finally feel like maybe I ha...

Searching for daycare open house ideas? Here is some inspiration on how to run an effective open house to attract families to your preschool.

Spring is finally here, and if your classroom is like mine, that means that we are RUNNING on OVERDRIVE! With report cards,...

Editable School Newsletter, Meet the Teacher / Counselor Template, Back to School, Meet the Teacher Flyer or School Open House Template! Looking for a cute newsletter you can hand out during open house or on the first day of school for your students and parents to get to know you? This editable "Meet the Teacher/Counselor Newsletter" is what you need! Included in this download is an adorable newsletter you can send home to your families before school starts, at Open House or during the first week of school. Important: You MUST have Power Point to be able to edit this product. ❤ What you CAN edit: - TEXT INFO you can customize with your own details - UPLOAD your own photo - ALL the headings are editable - Photo Frame is with transparent background (png file) ❤ What you CAN'T edit: - change the colors or the style of the background - size and placement of design elements ❤ WHAT WILL YOU GET WITH YOUR PURCHASE? • 1 Editable Power Point "Meet the Teacher" Template (.PPT File) • 1 Editable Power Point "Meet the Counselor" Template (.PPT File) • 1 PDF File with Directions ❤ Paper Size: • 8.5" x 11" (Letter Size) ❤ PLEASE NOTE: • Colors may vary slightly based on your printer and monitor. ❤ This pack includes only Power Point Files. No physical item will be sent to you. ❤ SHOP MATCHING ITEMS: Back to School Trifold: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1054391527/back-to-school-trifold-brochure-open?ref=listing_published_alert Open House Sign in Sheets: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1057407783/back-to-school-open-house-night-sign-in?ref=listing_published_alert Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about this purchase! Enjoy!

Open House ideas. Great activity for students to do to show during Open house.

Do you have Open House in the fall or in the spring? It doesn't matter because these simple ideas for your school's Open House will make it a success!

Hey Y'all! I can't even believe we're talking back-to-school! Didn't summer JUST start??? Back to school means lots of things...school supplies, squeaky clean teacher planners, new clothes (maybe that's just wishful thinking), #targetruns, setting up classrooms and decorating, and open house. Or meet the teacher. Or Sneak-a-Peek. #couldwepleasejustallchooseonenameandstickwithit (for the purposes of this post, I'm going to call it Open House) Open House is absolutely wonderful! I get to meet the sweet families that I will from that point forward forever call my own...I expand the number of children that I affectionately refer to as mine! Here's the thing though, on the inside, I'm crawling with nerves, and feelings of awkwardness. For real, y'all. Parents and their kids come to the door, we say hello, and then everyone awkwardly wonders what in the world is supposed to happen for the next few minutes. There's a billion things to make sure parents know about, forms to fill out, and on and on. I needed something for parents to do, so that I wasn't trying to tell the same thing to 25 different families who all arrive at different times. #chaos Several years ago, I decided to try something different. For purely selfish reasons, of course. I can't handle awkwardness. So instead of having all the papers set up for each student on individual desks, I set up STATIONS. #cuethehallelujahchorus Y'all, this is the single most brilliant thing I've ever done. Seriously. So what are stations, you ask? What do the parents do? What do the KIDS do? What does the teacher do? What are stations? Stations are numbered areas throughout the room. Parents start by signing in, and then continue through the rest of the stations. Once they get to the last one, they know they've gotten and done everything they need to do, and are free to leave. How do parents know what to do? When parents first walk up to my classroom door, I introduce myself, we shake hands, and I do the same with their child/children. I greet every.single.person that comes in the family. Oh, and smile! After introductions, I give parents an "agenda" of sorts, and it pretty much does the rest. (You can find the checklist pictured below HERE.) Why stations? Prior to using stations, I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I felt like parents were waiting to talk with me, while I was talking with a different family. I felt like parents didn't know what they were supposed to do, and everything just felt so awkward. Stations, on the other hand: Provide clear, concise directions Provide a space for parents to fill out papers (and turn them in!) Speed things along...parents spend less time wondering what to do, and get them in and out (this makes it sound like I don't want them to stick around, but the truth is that parents have just as much to try to get ready for the first day of school as I do. Plus, there's often families who have more than one classroom to visit - stations get parents in and out in about 15-20 minutes) Allow me to mingle with families and students, and most importantly, allow me to greet families at the door What do I have at each station? I typically use 10 stations. You could use more or less...that's the great thing about stations, you get to make them fit YOUR needs. Station 1 - Welcome and Sign in This is the only station (unless someone looks lost) that I point parents to...I hand them their agenda, and tell them to start here. Station 2 - Transportation This is pretty much the most important station I have. I need to know how my students are getting home each day, and especially on the first day of school. While I also asked parents to turn in the student info sheet before they leave, this is the ONE thing I've got to have turned in!Station 3 - Student Info Student info is pretty much the same no matter where you go. Does the office have this info? Yes. But I like to have it on my form, all in one "student info" binder that I keep in my classroom. Station 4 - Volunteer/Room Parent Sometimes parents want to know when they can help, and I always direct them here. Some years I have lots of parent volunteers, some years I have zero. Station 5 - Supplies This is my favorite station (like, duh)! If parents brought supplies with them, I have them sort (this is a great job for the kids) the supplies into the containers. If parents didn't bring supplies, I have supply lists specific to my classroom ready for parents to grab. ***Tip: Put one of what you want in each container to everyone knows exactly what goes where*** Station 6 - Instagram/Text Notifications Last year, I did a class Instagram, and gave parents information with how to follow the class, as well as had them sign a permission slip. In years prior, I used text notifications through Remind (formerly Remind 101), but now there are a lot of different apps you can use, like Bloomz that The Elementary Darling wrote about. Station 7 - Getting to Know Your Child I like to have parents describe their child to me. It's let me get to know the child from their perspective. Station 8 - Meet the Teacher Parents pick up a sheet that tells them, and their child all about me. This is one station that I always hear a lot of comments from. Station 9 - Wish List I included a half sheet with items that are wish list items. Parents take one if they want, and send in supplies if they want. No pressure with a wish list. Station 10 - Scrapbook Page The scrapbook page station is where my students get their very first assignment for the new school year! I ask students to create a scrapbook page that tells all about them! I usually have it due the end of the first week of school, and students present them to the class. The scrapbook page doubles as our first class book that lives in the classroom library! I provide the scrapbook paper and allow students to choose their favorite color. I also have examples from previous years that are always pretty popular! What do students do? I tend to switch this up each year. Some years I have some sort of "All About Me" page for students to complete. Sometimes, I ask students to sort their school supplies at station 5. Other times, I just let them go with their parents. Tomorrow, Erin from The Elementary Darling will be sharing 10 ideas for STUDENT participation during open house, and I can't wait to read all about it! Read about it HERE. Are others using stations? In a word...YES! A few years ago, I got smart, and made stations that I could use year after year instead of having to retype them from scratch each year. Here's what other teachers are saying about them: Wanting to try Open House Stations this year? I'd love to hear from you! If you're interested in what I've shared (which is editable) you can find them HERE! SaveSave SaveSave

It's back-to-school season, which always means one thing: Open House. Parent Night. Back-to-school Night. Welcome Back Night. Regardless of what your school calls it, the intention of this evening is to introduce parents to their student's teacher(s) while allowing teachers to highlight various aspects of their classroom and teaching. For teachers, the purpose is to

I'm going to let you in on my 3 secrets to have the best elementary open house ever! Ready to love hosting open house? Here's how...

1-2-3 Come Do Some "First Day Jitters" Activities With Me Do you read “First Day Jitters” by Julie Danneberg? It’s one of my all-time favorite back to school books. My students absolutely LOVE the surprise ending. With that in mind, I decided to make 3 different "Jitter...

Getting ready for back-to-school night? Here are some things you don't want to forget to have a successful open house!

I am posting some of my favorite back to school student gifts. I have found over the years that having a little something special waiting for young students on the first day of school or on Meet the Teacher Night (Open House) helps make them feel a little more at ease and excited about beginning […]

I bought the Pages program (way better than Word) for my Mac last year and have found a TON of cute clipart and borders from blogging. Now, when I look back at the documents I made in the past, they look incredibly boring! So, I've been going through and updating some things.... I've redone my Open House documents and thought I'd share! Here are a few things I do on our school's Open House night (usually several weeks into the school year): Raffle - I usually run to Dollar Tree and create a goodie basket of school supplies, fun erasers, etc. for a student to win. I leave the prize sitting on my desk all day for the kids to ogle at! When parents attend Open House, they enter their child into the drawing. I honestly think this helps with attendance because the students beg their parents to come so that they can be entered into the drawing! Sneaky, I know. ;) The following day, I do the drawing in class. Poem/Letter to Parents - I found a poem online a few years ago that I have my students copy on a writing template. They leave this poem on their desks for their parents to see. I lay an envelope and stationary on the students' desks so parents can write a note back to them. Mystery Students - My students create portraits of themselves and fill out a clue card to hang beneath it. Parents then try to guess which picture is their child! Reading Survival Kit - I put together "Reading Survival" baggies for families to take home! Click on the image below to download my Open House Packet with these activities!

Open house is an exciting time! It’s the first time families and students see the classroom. It’s when students and parents meet the teacher for the first time. It can...

butterflies, open house, back to school night, summer countdown

Whew! Open House is Over! I stress myself out over Open House every year. I learned recently that some states up North call it Back to Schoo...

Yes, I am aware that my open house was four whole weeks ago. This whole back-to-school thing has been completely out of control. I CANNOT catch up, and I come home every day aching and exhausted. I would totally be asleep right now, but it’s storming, and I don’t do well with storms. ... Read More about Open House (Meet the Teacher Night)

Planning a Meet the Teacher Night? This post shares four steps to a successful parent night, including free printables!

It’s no surprise that everyone wants to kick off the year by wowing parents at Meet the Teacher or Open House. You want to make sure to make a great first impression and really show your new students that you are excited about a new year. But let’s just be honest for a quick sec…this […]

Back to school night-- meet the teacher night-- open house night-- Whatever you call it, it can be a source of stress! But it doesn't have to be! Here are some simple ideas to help you figure out that night in advance! Most back to school night activities include some sort of "supply drop off". To make it easier on yourself I suggest have prelabeled baskets/containers off to the sides of your room (out of the way). Or even outside your doorway in the hall (this way it's not interrupting the flow of your room). This works great for community supplies like Kleenex, Lysol wipes, and Ziplocks! If you want to keep student supplies separated-- have large ziplocks laying out on your desks/tables (labeled with student names) and have families fill them up. You can easily set these aside someplace until you have time to sort more! School forms. Such is the life of a teacher. Make it easier on your parents-- if you can send it home to be filled out, do it! Don't make them sit around for an hour filling out forms. I like to have a prelabeled folder (one side says "bring back" and the other says "leave at home") with all the forms and information my parents need. You can find the folder cover in my free resource library (it will range from preschool-6th). Click HERE to access! In the "bring back" side they may see school information forms, medical forms, and transportation forms. I always like to have parents fill out a transportation form during the open house, so I know exactly what their child is doing the first couple days of school! On the "leave at home" side I put a teacher contact card: a classroom flipbook: and a brochure about flexible seating. I also like to include my Class Dojo sign up pages (since I do a lot of contact through the app). If you have access to Google apps (or love saving on paper) you can create a Google Form with information for you parents to fill out. This makes it easier on you and the parents because they can scan a QR code you provide, or type in a short link, to fill out the survey. In the survey you can ask a wide variety of questions like: *Contact Info *Preferred method of contact *Which parent/guardian to contact first *Who does the child live with *Allergies/Medicine *What the child is great at *What the child struggles with *What makes the child work hard *Anything else the teacher should know Then you can keep the info digitally or print it out for your teacher binder! If parents HAVE to fill out forms, make sure you provide a brief activity for the students! In the past I have made a photo booth using this tutorial: I have also done scavenger hunts (which you can usually find for FREE on Tpt!) Here is link to 2 of my favorites: Open House Editable Scavenger Hunt Editable Open House Meet the Teacher Resources I like to include the numbers so students have to go around find items/places and then write the numbers down: One other thing I love having parents do is fill out a quick personal note for their kid for that first day of school. I keep the notes and then have it waiting on the student's desk for that first moment they walk into class! Here is an example: I always include a wish list for my parents to see-- if you don't ask, you will never receive! I've had years with lots of items given and years with only a few (and all were great years!) One idea is to have a physical "piece" they can take home. Here is the succulent wish list I use in my room (it matches my theme): Here is another example of a floral themed one: It doesn't have to complicated-- even Post-it notes on the whiteboard would make a great display! Lastly, I know a lot of teachers like to send home a small/simple gift for the visiting student. I've done a variety of "gifts" over the years: Here is a link to the "write stuff" post and label (the bag had a set of crayons and 2 sharpened pencils inside). Here is a link to the "Blow Pop" label Freebie Below are links to my "Back to School" bundles (which includes lots of sign up forms, gift tags, and more!) So far I have succulent, floral, and forest themed bundles: I hope this post gave you some great ideas for your back to school night! If you have any questions feels free to leave them in the comments!

Open House this year was a big success! Here are some of the things I do during Open House... I have baskets set out for all the s...

Hey Y'all! It's Erin from The Elementary Darling! Summer has been flying and I go back to work tomorrow! so today I am going to chat about what your new students can do during Open House. I have enjoyed my summer full of Target trips, dollar store hunts, and family time but as the school year rolls around, I get equal parts excited and anxious. Back to school time is fun but also stressful and this year I am moving to a new school and a new grade level. Many of you are doing the same or even just one of those things, and while it is an exciting time, it is also a stressful time. To help with the stress of coming back to school and having Open House (or meet the teacher, or sneak a peek) I also started doing stations in my classroom. Yesterday, Theresa shared her station idea with you all. If you didn't read it, head here. I did something similar and you can read about those stations here on my blog. The only difference is that I found that my parents were doing the stations, and my students weren't always participating. OR one parent was taking the student to do the stations (LOVE) and the other was filling out the paperwork. {This is the ideal situation for my classroom.} My school was a Title One school and we had a ton of information and surveys for the parents to fill out. ***Insert big idea here*** I decided that I needed some things that students could do while the parents filled out all of the paperwork! You can make these a station OR you can just have them set out in the room and let the students do them. {Side note: if you teach Kinder babies you may want to make it a station, so their parents can help them.} Here are 10 ideas for student participation during Open House! 1.) Organize Supplies I love Theresa from True Life I'm a Teacher's idea of having the students take a scrapbook page to create a scrapbook. The students pick the color of their paper and they take it home to work on. I also love that she organizes her materials THAT NIGHT. This is a great activity for the kids to do! Everything is labeled and even if they can't read the words, you can put one of each item in the box and the students will know where to put the item. 2.) Selfie Wall Almost every kid knows how to take a selfie. This selfie wall or photo booth is a great and easy way for the students to snap a picture with a saying. I just put second grade on mine, but you can do anything! I also had to use a selfie stick because no one was at school to take my picture so excuse the terrible pose :) 3.) Photo Booth Another version of this is Chandra, from Teaching with Crayons and Curls, photo booth where she took a sparkly table cloth and the students used signs and got a picture. She did a Party theme and it was precious! 4.) Meet the Teacher Chart Kristin from School in the City created this cute chart to learn about the teacher. This would be cute for the kids to look at during open house. It is also easy to make for all grade levels!  5.) Estimation Station The students grab a post it note and write how many skittles they think are in the jar with their name. I check them all when Open House is over and I put all of the post its on an anchor chart for our math focus board. The student who gets the closest answer wins the jar on the first day of school! It makes an awesome first math lesson and gets the students excited. 6.) Post it Note Anchor Chart This is an easy and fun way for students to answer a question. They love choosing their post it note, and most grade levels can answer the question on their own. K-1 babies will need some help on this one, but even pictures are cute. My first graders did pretty well with this, the year that I did it! 7.) Choose your back to school gift! Sometimes I have my students' gifts on each desk as they walk in, but I think this year I am going to let them choose their own gift. They are either going to pick based on marker color or based on paper color, but who doesn't love a choice?!?! You can find these editable marker papers here in my TPT shop for FREE! 8.) Scavenger Hunt I have seen so many different scavenger hunts for students. I love the ones with the pictures, especially for the K-1 babies. There are too many to choose from, so my suggestion is to get on TPT or Pinterest and find the perfect one for you and your classroom! 9.) Find your seat or choose your seat. This may seem like an easy one, but many students, like us, are anxious. They may want to sit closer to the teacher, or the board and choosing his/her desk is an easy way for them to get excited for the year. My suggestion is to write the names on the name tags, have the students choose their name, and then place it on the desk they choose. If you need a more controlled environment, I understand! The students could just find their desk. Make sure to leave them something fun like ready confetti, jitter glitter, or a present to make them feel comfortable. 10.) Meet the Teacher Wait, they need to actually talk to you? YES! And this is the cheapest and easiest suggestion of them all! It is so important to take the time to talk to the student. Many times, the parents take over, and the kids just sit there. Have some "go to" questions to ask the students that are easy to answer. *What did you love about First Grade? (their previous grade) * What are you excited to learn about? * Do you love science? We are going to do some fun science experiments! *Did you get anything special to start the year off with? *or my Favorite- Do you think your mom and dad are ready for you to Second Grade? Just remember, these are suggestions. I don't think all of this is possible during one open house. It's like Target, just pick the one or two you need. {Who am I kidding, I need everything at Target.} Good Luck! 

Printable and free Student Gift Tags for Back to School perfect for Meet the Teacher or the first day of school.

Back to School tips and ideas to have a stress-free and fun Meet the Teacher. Get your classroom ready for Open House.

Are you having an Open House, Meet the Teacher Night, Classroom Tour, or Back to School Event? These Back to School Themed Open House Invitations are perfect to send home to parents and will save you time! Choose from 4 color and black/white invitations. Each invitation has different wording, depend...

We also changed the date from mid May to the first week of April. If you are going to showcase the learning process, it’s best to do so when things are in full swing, not when things are winding down at the end of the year.

I have to confess I wasn't going to make a slideshow this year...I usually make one but I have been so busy getting everything else ready and I didn't feel my picture taking this year was as good as years past. But then I was talking with a parent this morning and she talked me into it. So, I was putting all my pictures into an iPhoto album which is SUPER easy to turn into a slideshow....and I realized I needed an ending. While I was blog stalking a few months ago I found THIS super cute Mother's Day idea from Sandy at Soaring Through Second Grade and it hit me! I could re-do this but change it to what they want to be when they grow up! Here is my set-up! And here's what it really looks like without the magical special effects of the Camera + app! The font is Howser by Kevin and Amanda. I also downloaded the Big Words app for on my iPad for 99 cents and we were ready to go! Here are a few of the final products! If you're wondering why these two appear on the blog quite a bit it's because they are teacher kids and I have permission to use their photos exclusively on the blog : ) We had quite a few future teachers!! After I took them, I just dropped the picture into the iPhoto album with all our other pictures and the slideshow is complete! It was a very easy and great way to end our slideshow!!

Download this FREE Help Your Child Learn to Read reading tips brochure for your students' parents to support their child in learning to read.