Open House Photos

Oh...my...word.  I can hardly believe it myself...I am writing blog posts two.days.in.a.row.  UNBELIEVABLE!  (Teehehe.)  I heart Spring Break!

 

Anyway, I thought I would quickly share some photos that I snapped during our Spring Open House / Parent-Teacher Conferences.

 

 

As an ESL teacher this year, conferences have been VERY different for me.  Rather than inviting parents and leading the conferences myself (like I had done in the past, as a Kindergarten teacher), I only assist during a conference, if the homeroom teacher requests it.  In the Fall, I had...um, zero students and parents visit me during Parent / Teacher Conferences.  *tear*  So - I decided I was going to bribe encourage my students to visit me this time around by entering their name into a raffle if they attended and made it a point that Mrs. Unger saw them there.

 

 

Here are the prizes I picked up for the raffle.  I had fun pencils, candy, treasure chest trinkets (like Playdough, mini frisbees, glow sticks, bouncy balls, and yo-yo's), coloring books and crayons, bubbes, and even a t-shirt that says "Proud Student of Janes Elementary School" - which, silly me, is being blocked in this photo by the red garbage can.  Grrrr.  (I ordered it from VistaPrint, along with the "Welcome to Janes! Thank you for visiting today!" sign that you see in the photo.)

 

 

Each student wrote his/her name on the back of a "ticket," which was just half of an index card with a personalized stamp that says, "Please return to Mrs. Unger."  (My sweet mommy ordered the stamp for me for Christmas!)  I will pull names from the little red garbage can after we return from Spring Break.  (Everyone gets a prize of some sort, but those whose names are pulled first will get first picks.)

 

 

I had some new business cards made up on VistaPrint, in case any parents wanted my information for communication purposes.  I also will stick these in the envelopes (with paperwork that parents need to fill out) that I sometimes have to send home with kids.  They were FREE...I just paid the shipping and handling.  :)  Oh - and that cute business card holder - I found that on Etsy years ago.  The shop, Green Willow, seems to still be open, if you would like to request one from her.

 

 

I always think a room is more inviting when it smells nice.  Don't you agree?  I turned on my wickless, flameless candle from Scentsy. 

 

 

My room is clearly identified - though one has to climb MANY flights of stairs to get there!

 

 

I made sure to hang some student work outside my door, so parents had something to look at while they were there.  Actually, after I took the picture above, I also hung student photos from our Dr. Seuss photo booth on the bulletin board.

 

 

I hung student work on the door, too.  These are the "Yertle the Turtle" opinion writing craftivities that my 2nd graders completed.

 

So - does your school have Open House in the Spring?  What do you do to encourage attendance and make it fun for the families?  I would love to hear about it!

 

As always, thank you for stopping by!  :)