1-2-3 Come Make Open House Extra Special With Me
Do you have an Open House before school starts, or a Meet & Greet the Teacher Night, and are looking for ideas? Here's a super-simple & inexpensive one:
Each year for my Open House, as well as parent-teacher conferences, I put up a small table, covered it with a seasonal tablecloth and set a basket of mints on it, along with a sign that said: "Families Are Worth A Mint! Help yourself."
While doing research on the web, I came across a variety of similar ideas, including this adorable poem that was all over Pinterest in various forms.
There was no link to who the original writer was, so I decided to jazz this sweet sentiment up, with a bit of clip art and my original saying.
Add a bit more color by mounting the poster on construction paper, then laminate and file away in a folder to use each year. This is a really inexpensive way to express your appreciation, as The Dollar Store sells bags of mints year round and you can pick up all sorts of little baskets at garage sales.
For that finishing touch, and to draw attention to your basket, I've included some large mint patterns, so you can reproduce my entire display pictured in the photo.
Run the candy circles off on card stock and then tape them to long wooden skewers. I tacked on a red bow using glue dots and then stuck my "peppermint balloons" into the basket.
One of the nice things about using peppermint, is that it's definitely NOT a favorite of children, however, it is something that adults enjoy. (No worries about a few kids eating the entire basket.)
If you'd prefer a smaller "bite size" mint, Sam's Club and Cost-co sell the mini butter-mints (pink, yellow, white and green) in bulk. They have a long shelf life, so I always had plenty on hand.
Click on the link to view/download the Families Are Worth A Mint packet.
Thanks for visiting today, feel free to PIN away.
I hope you are enjoying your summer and starting to get excited for back to school. Here's to the best year yet!
"Some beach somewhere, there's a big umbrella casting shade over an empty chair. Palm trees are growing, a warm breeze is blowing. I picture myself there, on some beach somewhere." -Unknown
1-2-3 Come Make Open House Extra Special With Me
Each year for my Open House, as well as parent-teacher conferences, I put up a small table, covered it with a seasonal tablecloth and set a basket of mints on it, along with a sign that said: "Families Are Worth A Mint! Help yourself."
While doing research on the web, I came across a variety of similar ideas, including this adorable poem that was all over Pinterest in various forms.
There was no link to who the original writer was, so I decided to jazz this sweet sentiment up, with a bit of clip art and my original saying.
Add a bit more color by mounting the poster on construction paper, then laminate and file away in a folder to use each year. This is a really inexpensive way to express your appreciation, as The Dollar Store sells bags of mints year round and you can pick up all sorts of little baskets at garage sales.
For that finishing touch, and to draw attention to your basket, I've included some large mint patterns, so you can reproduce my entire display pictured in the photo.
Run the candy circles off on card stock and then tape them to long wooden skewers. I tacked on a red bow using glue dots and then stuck my "peppermint balloons" into the basket.
One of the nice things about using peppermint, is that it's definitely NOT a favorite of children, however, it is something that adults enjoy. (No worries about a few kids eating the entire basket.)
If you'd prefer a smaller "bite size" mint, Sam's Club and Cost-co sell the mini butter-mints (pink, yellow, white and green) in bulk. They have a long shelf life, so I always had plenty on hand.
Click on the link to view/download the Families Are Worth A Mint packet.
Thanks for visiting today, feel free to PIN away.
I hope you are enjoying your summer and starting to get excited for back to school. Here's to an outstanding open house!
A Simple Trick To Get Kids Excited For The First Day Of School
I think that if students count down the days til school starts, they have an opportunity to get excited.
It's also a "teachable moment" for parents to work on numbers, counting, and introducing a calendar or how to keep track of time.
A fun and inexpensive gift that helps you do that, that you can quickly make and pass out at your Open House is something that I just dreamed up.
Our Open House is the week before school starts, which is wonderful, because it gave me a chance to meet my students and help dispel any fears they might have.
Whip these kits together and toss the Baggies in a basket.
Set them on a table with A Special Gift For My Students Take One sign.
Click on the link to view/print one.
Making these "count down necklaces" help students count, use their fine motor skills, review all of the basic colors, follow a color pattern, + get excited about coming to school as they count down the days!
My Y5’s also had to learn to count backwards from 10-0 as a report card standard. (I call this blasting off.) This is simply another fun way of doing that.
What a nice keepsake for them to have of this special time in their life!
Here's how to make the necklace kits:
Click on the link to print the back-to-school necklace poem.
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything you think might be helpful to others.
Be sure and check back tomorrow for another easy countdown idea that not only nails report card standards, but helps get your students excited about school, as it chases away any anxiety first-timers may be feeling!
Do you have a back-to-school tip that you'd be willing to share with us? I'd enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com
"A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn, is hammering on a cold iron." -Horace Mann
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful.
Do you have an activity that you do for Open House? I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com or leave a comment here. Thanks in advance!
I hope you can stop by tomorrow for more back to school ideas.
"Use what talent you possess: The world would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." -Henry Van Dyke