Discussing ASQ results with parents can be a challenging. Ensure families get the answers, support, and referrals they need with these tips and resources.
This article contains several useful ideas you can implement in your classroom to help enhance the engagement of your students' parents.
I've been running at full speed this week trying to get ready for our first day of school on Monday. Tomorrow is our back to school night. When I saw this awesome open house idea by Jodi from her wonderful blog Fun in First Grade, it was calling my name! I already had this box of popcorn that I had bought at the end of last school year for my class. I ended up only using a couple of packs so I had just enough packs left for my new students. Jodi had posted this adorable printable so all I had to do was print them and cut them out. Then I taped them onto the bags of popcorn. So stinkin' cute. And oh so simple which was one of the absolute best parts after spending way too many hours at school this week and coming home worn out tonight. If you're like me and you're running out of time before open house, this would be a great little project to put together quickly. Head over to Fun in First Grade to print your own. My printer was being weird and printed a mini popcorn machine on top of the bigger one in the bottom right corner on a few of them. I ended up not using those. I didn't realize I still had one in the bunch when I took this pic. I was just too tired to take a new pic after I changed it out. Ha! Tomorrow is sure to be another long day. Fortunately, our new principal told us that since we are required to stay late for open house two hours that we get to come in two hours later tomorrow morning!!! Sleeping in pretty much sounds like the most amazing thing ever to me! Of course, we've had plenty of meetings and a math textbook training along with two new state evaluation process trainings this week. {I won't even go there on that last one. Ahh!} Our new principal seems very fair though and willing to listen. She has also shared some wonderful ideas of her own so I'm looking forward to good things. Ok, off to bed now so I can take advantage of those much needed extra two hours of sleep. Can't wait for my new kiddos to pop into my room tomorrow night so I can meet them and give them these goodies! Thanks so much for sharing this fabulous idea, Jodi! I love it! :)
An educational blog hosted by a collaborative group of teacher-authors hoping to share creative and colorful ideas and activities from our classrooms!
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
Explore venspired's 3392 photos on Flickr!
What a great color matching activity! This quick and easy activity for toddlers is perfect. Fine motor skills, matching - a great independent activity!
Want to help your tot get a head start in meeting milestones? These are the 6 fine motor skills to start with! Most of us take for granted the skills we use every day. As I type this, the fact that I am able to make my fingers move exactly where…
This all about me self-portrait collage connects the classroom to home with some pictures of family members, pets, and favorite things. During a preschool or kindergarten all about me theme kids create their own self-portraits and share about their favorite things with this preschool getting to know you activity.
If your new norm consists of non-stop video conferences and virtual classroom time, you’re probably familiar with the Zoom app. But did you know that you can customize your background? Hide that messy kitchen (no judgement!) or add some humor with these downloadable backgrounds. Right click to download the full res image, then find the […]
Use this list of free resources to use as social emotional learning activities to help you work with kids and young adults. As a special educator for 10 years, I can say without a doubt that we need more social emotional learning supports for kids and young adults. Some of my best days in the classr
Set up question of the day for your preK, kindergarten, first grade, and homeschool students. Build expressive language, incorporate journal writing topics and math skills. Great for morning routing, morning meetings, transition activities, and more!
best science activities for kids; pre-school science activities for kids, homeschooling science activities for kids,
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 Newsletter is what you need! ✨✨ Buy this newsletter with a different title or theme! ✨✨ Included in this product: -2 design templates -Newsletter with editable text boxes -Editable headings to text boxes -Font names used in previews Important: -All clip art can be changed except for the beach clipart due to copyright. -This is a Powerpoint file and you will need PowerPoint or an equivalent program to edit. [ Edit online using PowerPoint Live.] -The header that says "Meet the Teacher" is NOT editable. ✨✨I nterested in a custom product of your choice? ✨✨ Other products you may love: Matching Meet the Student Activity Back To School Post Cards Matching Classroom Newsletter Blog posts you may enjoy: 5 Reasons You Should Try a Digital Planner Teacher Organization End Of Year Hustle Test Paper Organization Made Easy
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!
I teach at the BEST school ever {but that's just my humble opinion.} The staff has been great, understanding, and oh so helpful since my hire. I'm looking forward more and more to this school year with each passing day. The stuff you probably want to hear goes something more like this.... I teach at Garfield Elementary it's the 4/5 building in the beautiful town of Abilene, Kansas. The town is the home of President Eisenhower "big" to me with the small-town feel I love. {Big is a relative term. My hometown maybe has 150 people in it. My graduating class was the largest in the school in 2008 with 15 students... a school district with roughly 1,700 kids is big...to me!} The school district adopted a technology initiative. This is the first year for 1:2 iPads in K-1; and 1:1 iPads 3-12. I am the 5th grade special education teacher and here is a quick look at my classroom. { I apologize in advance for the picture quality; most pictures yellowed due to the time of day and the sun setting oh well you get the just.} Thank you Pinterest! I have some kiddos that need some review with telling time and this is the best "anchor chart" {I didn't realize the link went to the template, so I free-handed, but I would have printed it out if I would have seen that template sooner!!} First job... my own room whoooooooooot! Gifts for parents at Open House/Parent Night For free printable leaves please click here! LOVE my math-word wall! Every math term (CCSS for 4th and 5th) has a QR linked to online math dictionaries and sometimes even more interactive activities. Great resource from Eberopolis! Great free printable (aligned to 6-trait writing) from Ladybug Teaching Files "Show Me the Money" Interactive bulletin board. Problems will be given to each pocket or purse. Inside the pockets/purse is a ziplock baggie with the correct change manipulatives for student's to self check. {It's a goal to have this as an interactive bulletin board every month}. One of my favorite parts of the room: the reading area. I have an addiction love children's books. Modge-podge and I became good friends this last year and I covered wood letters to go with my classroom colors. Again thanks to Pinterest. {Only one of a dozen different links to this project.} A look at half of my room where I teach/where my desk is at. I am so thankful for all of the windows! To the left unseen, is a sink, and a huge built in storage area. The other half of the room, has a kidney table along with the interactive bulletin board and reading area. I wanted to leave this space as an area for teachers to use as needed for small groups or during MTSS. In reality, I'm pale... my walls are tan-ish...and things really aren't as yellow as they seem. Ignore my tired state. Focus more on the fabric covered filing cabinets--love this idea.... and FLOWERS FROM MY HUSBAND!! {He's the best, hands down. They were a great first day surprise.} This is where I teach...and I love, love, LOVE IT! Looking forward to taking a peek at your school and where you teach, so be sure hop over to Blog Hoppin' to link up! -Mrs. Whitehair
Here's a great idea to start the New Year. It's free, simple, and could engage families in a meaningful way. All you have to do is go to my website (drjean.org) and click on free activities. Scroll down to the parent resources and you'll find an activity calendar you can send home at the beginning of each month. Ask the parents to do 5-10 of the activities during the month and return the calendar to school at the end of the month. When my daughter first saw these calendars she said, "Mom, that's really cool." I said, "Would you do those things?" She replied, "Of course. I just don't think about doing those things." Most of your parents are like my daughter, but if you give them a prompt something special might happen. Here's an introductory letter you can send home with the calendars. Dear Families, I’m excited about starting the New Year, and I’ve got some great ideas to make this the best year ever for my children and their families! You’ve heard it before, and I’ll say it again. YOU are your child’s first and most important teacher! Children today need the same things they have always needed. They need caring adults to talk to them, sing to them, read to them, play with them, and LOVE them. And the good news is that the best things to do with children are FREE! Each month your child will bring home a “family fun calendar” with suggestions for activities you can do at home. Try to do at least 10 activities, color them in, and return the calendar at the end of the month. You will also receive a reading calendar to record the special times you read together. I want to do all I can to fill 2015 wonderful memories for you and your child! Sincerely, You'll also find a reading calendar you can send home each month. I'm convinced if every family read with their children every day we could improve literacy scores. But wait...there's more! You can download a handout called "January Recipes for Fun" with a song, finger play, nursery rhyme, game, cooking activity, and craft. Run these off and send home or post the ideas on your class website or blog.
I’ve wanted to make dream catchers forever so in honor of Valentine’s Day we switched it up a little bit and made Love Catchers. I thought it was kind of nicer to bring on love dreams than ward off bad dreams. Know what I mean? These are pretty easy to make too and can be […]
These 10 DIY gifts for teachers are inexpensive and easy to make. Complete with free printables, the special teachers in your life will love these.
Get started with a preschool question of the day in your classroom! These fun questions will make your morning routine meaningful and fun!
Printable Home Visit packet includes ideas and activities for conducting successful home visits for Head Start, preschool, or early childhood teachers.
I love lists! I make lists for myself all the time. My lists are on my computer, on my desk, on my refrigera
Printable Home Visit packet includes ideas and activities for conducting successful home visits for Head Start, preschool, or early childhood teachers.
