Open House

The day finally arrived when I would meet the students whose names I had written down for weeks. I had imagined what each one would look like and what their personality would be as I prayed for them quite often throughout my day.

My school has an open house a few days before the first day for parents to fill out paperwork and students to meet their new teachers! I did not know what to expect, but came up with a few ideas to help the evening flow smoothly.

At each student's desk, I included a welcome letter, a brief survey, and a couple of treats (to match the superhero theme, of course).

For the parents, I distributed a letter about my background, excitement about this school year, and a few items they needed to know. I also asked them to fill out a contact information sheet and information about their child's strengths/weaknesses/anything else that I would want/need to know.

As students entered, I let them choose where they wanted to sit for the first day of school (this helped them with the transition and helped me figure out which students that I should/should not place together when I made the first official seating arrangement). Many of my students brought their school supplies. I had a pile for each item brought, such as tissues, wipes, dry erase markers, etc. If I could go back in time, I would have labels for each item. Having students bring these supplies has many benefits. One of which, is that it saves a great deal of time on the first day of school. Another benefit is that I could organize those supplies and not trip over them when teaching on the first day of school!

What a great night it was to put a face to each of those names and chat with the parents anxiously awaiting to send their children to 4th grade. We talked about some of the exciting things their children would be learning!

Finally, the day was over and I was ready for bed!