On Open House Night, or maybe your school calls it Meet the Teacher Night, are the teachers scrambling trying to meet and greet every parent and they arrive and leave at different times, do a slideshow and/or presentation, trying to direct parents, students, and siblings to the different areas of the classroom, and then collapse into their desk chair upon completion of the whirlwind last two hours? If so, try something different for the upcoming school year!
Look into creating a Classroom Parent Handbook for the parents and caregivers of your students! While many schools have school handbooks, this document will be exclusive to your classroom routines and expectations! It will be perfect for answering any questions a parent might have about how your classroom runs on a daily basis.
Start with a basic cover page with your contact information like school phone number with extension and email, then include some or all of the following on the pages inside:
- Introduction Page
- Class Schedule
- Fun Stuff
- Curriculum/Grading Scale Pages
- Homework
- Parent Involvement Ideas
- Standardized Test Page
- Behavior Expectations
- Final Notes Page
- Perhaps even items such as reminders about dress code could be a wonderful addition!
These super helpful pages are wonderful for answering all those little questions that parents may have on the night of Open House. You can easily direct them to the document if you are not able to break away from something else. It can also easily take the place of a rushed slideshow or presentation!
Instead, run off one handbook for each student, 3 hole punch, place in a 3-prong two-pocket folder, and place a label on the front with the title. Leave one on each student desk.
As families start to arrive on the evening of Open House, welcome each one into your classroom, offer refreshments, encourage all to browse through the document, take a tour around the classroom, and be available to answer any questions they might have. In this way, you are now able to build some rapport with your new students and their families rather than rushing through a canned talk while parents are trying to filter in and out of the room to visit all siblings’ classrooms as well.
As the families are leaving, remind them to take the handbook with them for referencing throughout the school year. At the end of the evening, you have a very easy and visual way to track which parents were not able to attend the event. Take a note for attendance and place in a safe file. Make sure to send the handbook home with those students on the first day of school so those families still receive the information as well.
Having a calm and casual Meet the Teacher Night is a wonderful way to set the tone for the upcoming year. Even more important, having good connections with your students and their families right off the bat is a great way for everyone to start off having a successful and cooperative school year!
Enjoy creating your Classroom Parent Handbook!
{Note: if you don’t want to create your own Classroom Parent Handbook from scratch, you can get one for FREE to customize on your own from the Preston Education Publishing Store by ordering an Ultimate CCSS Lesson Pack, which are available for grades K-5!}