Open House provides your parents an inside look into your classroom...your daily routines, schedule and everyday elements...a snapshot of the classroom for your parents to see. (This is a great time to showcase your room-but it is also a great time to recruit parents as your partners in the classroom.)Getting your parents in the room may be harder than you think. One thing you may want to try is making it personal! Build the interest and excitement in your classroom and you may have a better chance of high turnout. Have your class design/create personalized invitations to their parents. Upon arrival-be sure to be at the door to greet all of your parents. Providing them with name tags or having them find their child's desk may make your evening start smoothly with everyone having "a place to go." It may also be helpful to have index cards/post its/pens available for your parents to write down any questions they may have during your presentation.
WRITE IT DOWN! While you think that you will remember all of the important information you want to share with your parents-chances are you will forget something. You have a captive audience; Note cards with bulleted points you want to cover will prove to be immensely helpful.(What do you want to cover? You will probably want to include your daily schedule, grading scale, your daily schedule and rules/procedures.)
When you have finished-invite your parents to stay and take a look around the room to view current work etc...(Remember-this is not conference time. If parents begin to ask about student progress, ask them to please make an appointment.)
Relax and have fun! You can win them over-and they can be your best allies for student success!
Helpful parent resources:
www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749183
