As many of us prepare for back to school, meet the teacher and open house, we are looking for materials to get organized. I want to share a few printables from The Mailbox Gold website that I found really useful during my meet the teacher night!
Prior to my current school, I've always sent an invite to my open house. I want my parents to feel welcomed in my classroom!
Currently, I work in a title one setting. We host one big event with meet the teacher, open house prior to school starting. This will be our only open house for the year. To increase participation, families enjoy a full BBQ meal. It's held the Thursday evening during our teacher work week. My room is usually 80% pulled together. Most of the missing details are only noticed by me. Since school hasn't let in, we don't have crafts, charts, and content on display. This is a time where the spotlight is 100% on me. Organization is key! Many parents have multiple kids and visiting several classrooms so my time is limited.
This will be the first time I meet my newest darlings and so often the parents have different last names. A sign helps me to identify both the parent and child. I strategically place the sheet in the entryway!
Placed with care on each desk is a little gift for the kids. They so often purchase supplies for school but rarely remember to keep some for home. I gave each child the essentials with a new editable bookmark.
I prepared a little packet to help inform parents without overwhelming them. Many speak limited English. I found hitting a few key points and providing a copy to send home helps the parents start the first day with ease. Included with the newsletter is a monthly calendar to show the rotations of our specials (PE, Music, Library and Computers). All the forms are editable!
The above newsletter is my follow up letter to parents.
Along with the essentials above, I give my parents a little note taking sheet for those that stay and ask questions.
The next form had my giddy! I printed hard copies and strategically placed near the donation tree. I also saved several PDFs on the student desktops. The file below is an editable file. Some parents took advantage of typing student information so I could print it out in class.
Also located by the donation tree is a school supply list. It's purpose was meant for updating parents throughout the year; However, many parents often ask what they can provide for our class. I share this list and add specific supplies on the "other" line. I let them know any of the below supplies would help me tremendously.
The transportation log was strategically placed near the food. The most important thing on the first day of school.... keep the kids safe, feed them and get them home without incident!
Parents won't leave empty handed! They will receive a thank you on the way out the door. Their bag consist of two free books coupons under $3 to purchase for their children with our Scholastic Book Clubs. Oh my stars, parents really are touched by the gesture!
The Mailbox Gold has a large bank of resources to meet a busy teacher's needs!
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