Skip the Insanity: Open House Ideas for Real People

 

Flickr Photo Credit: Miss K.

Did open house creep up on you again this year? Your secret is safe with me. Read on for some strategies to help you pull off a successful evening on the fly.

This subject is somewhat dear to me, because no matter how hard I seemed to try, parent night arrived every year leaving me feeling, once again, less prepared than I wanted. Especially during the early years of my teaching career. And the advice I got from all those workaholic would-be mentors with good intentions? Please. If you are new to the teaching arena, do yourself a favor. Skip the advice of the well meaning individual encouraging you to stay late cutting out apple coasters for dozens of people, and get a life.

Here are some simple strategies to pull off a low stress open house night with the parents. Bonus? None of them will break the bank or leave you feeling off kilter in the classroom.

Art Work.

Lots of it. You’ve got from the very start of the school year to pull off one or two fabulous projects. Back them with larger colored construction paper for a makeshift art mat and post neatly in rows and columns for a dramatic statement. Parents dig it.

Wall of Fame.

If you caught my initial post on Year Long Bulletin Board Ideas, you’ll remember the Wall of Fame idea. Use it. If you start on day one by pulling out an excellent piece of completed work from a particular student, this sets the tone for all of them to want a spot on the board. Keep a basic checklist in your grade or plan book so you will be sure to pull one piece for each student prior to open house. (Hint: if you do this every quarter you will also be prepared for each parent-teacher conference session and any unexpected drop-by.) You don’t have to have all the student samples from the same assignment. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. It’ll give the board more diversity and more accurately represent an overall picture of the type of work produced in your classroom. Starting off with this on day one sets a tone for quality work, and ensures that you are ready to roll on open house night.

Coffee.

Both you and the parents will need it. Make it a big pot.

Journal Entries to Parents.

Assign a note to the folks in each student journal as the morning language activity. There will be plenty of time to correct errors, or you could even make the editing process part of that night’s activity. Leave the journals open to that page centered on a neatly organized desk with a sharpened pencil. Each student’s parent can write a note back to them.

Digital Pictures.

If you have a camera, or the school will provide you with one, start snapping pictures from the first day of school. Put them all into one folder on the class computer and have a slideshow running as a conversation piece during the open house session.  Determined to go the extra mile? Incorporate them into a class blog and include a post for that night where parents can comment in real time on the blog page itself and even have the capacity to update with images from the event.

Snazz Up the Sign-in Sheet.

Chances are, the administration will want you to record this data anyway. Bring in the sheep by promising a door prize. Nothing fancy, but  hopefully something the students will get excited enough about to pressure . . . ahem . . . I mean, encourage their folks to show up for. Like say, a small stack of free homework pass certificates to use throughout the year? A simple three column chart will suffice. In the first column, a list of student names. In the second column will be a place for the parents to sign their name. In the third, a slot to record their ticket number. (Snag a roll of them from the lunch lady or have the PTA pick up a roll for you.) Then, rip the parent’s ticket in half, giving one to them and putting one in an empty jar. Require them to be present to win and draw the ticket at the end of the evening.

Get the Students Involved.

They are usually more than willing to help you get cleaned up at the end of the day and set up for the event. Have a clean desk contest if you really need to “amp up” the encouragement factor.

Have a Simple Activity or Demo.

Got a telescope and know how to use it? You could be good to go if there’s an event right outside your classroom window or exit door. Or, try simulating a crater by having a tall sided box of flour and a giant marble. Another idea would be a simple open microphone night using a karaoke box and microphone. Let the students read poems they have written or tell a joke. The trick is to not plan anything that requires the necessary arrival of a certain group of students or a particular number.

Work in the Pizza Hut Book It Program.

I love this program. And believe it or not, it’s been available in more than one overseas school location. Pizza Hut gives you a stack of tickets allowing each student who achieves a particular reading or language art goal (determined by you) to receive a free personal pan pizza when they stop by a Pizza Hut with their ticket signed by the teacher. I suggest that for the first quarter of the year at least, this is an excellent way to promote sustained silent reading at home by making the first goal the completion of a specific book to be read with the parents. Have a list of questions to be completed and when the students arrive at open house with their completed question card, you can hand over their first Book It coupon of the year. That way, everybody has the opportunity to get a prize on open house night.

Open house night doesn’t have to be horrific. Doing a little bit from day one and having a few low prep, low stress tricks up your sleeve can have you ready to roll in no time!

Last 5 posts by Myscha Theriault

• Setting the Tone: Strategies to Start the Year Off Right - August 1st, 2008
• Want a Green Bulletin Board? Consider Cloth! - August 1st, 2008
• Sign of the Beaver - June 24th, 2008
• Sarah, Plain and Tall - June 24th, 2008
• The Golden Compass - June 18th, 2008