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

Getting It Together, For Getting Together

Are your Parent-Teacher Conferences coming up soon?

Do you need a few fresh ideas to help them run a bit more smoothly?

One thing that was really nice for us, was that for a week’s time parents could call and schedule appointments with our school secretary.

Each teacher blocked out 10-minute conference times for 3 evening days. Parents would call to make an appointment, and a master list would be given to the teachers.

Anyone not calling for an appointment, teachers would assign a time to, and send a note home with that appointment time, and a note about calling to reschedule if that was not good for them.

I kept a crate with examples of my student’s work as they progressed through the year.  Each student had a file folder that I kept in alphabetical order.  So that it was easier to put back in order, I also numbered these folders.

During conference time, I took these folders out of that crate and put them in another crate, in the order of whom I would be seeing for the conferences.  I also included student's report card and any papers I would be sending home with them.

I had several chairs sitting outside my hallway for parents to sit on and I covered 2 long tables with seasonal tablecloths, with student-made books and photograph albums displayed on them.

A basket with mints with a sign “Parents are worth a mint!” was on the table along with a clipboard for them to sign, so that my principal knew who attended.

Our hallway was always decorated to the hilt, so I had signage that informed parents to check out our “Walls of Fame!” to look for their child’s work.

I had a soft timer that would let me know when 10-minutes were up, and so that I kept parents on the mark, I would graciously stand up and thank them for coming and walk them to the door to get the other parent that was waiting.

If they weren’t quite finished, I’d let them know that we could meet after school, or that they could call me later with more questions or concerns.

You also need to be prepared for parents who bring siblings. I had a laundry basket of easy-to-clean up toys and books in the hallway, as well as in the corner of my room. It was a lifesaver.

This 12 – page Parent-Teacher Conference packet will help your Parent-Teacher conferences run a bit smoother and hopefully give you some ideas as well.

The packet includes: 2 different forms you can send home for parents to fill out.  Choose which one suits your needs.

It can give you a heads up about student behavior, as well as help prepare parents for conferences, giving them a checklist of things they want to remember to discuss.

I’ve also made a "Sign in" sign, with a sign in sheet, so you can keep track of who attended. There’s a “Thanks for coming!” as well + the Parents are worth a mint" sign discussed above.  You can get a bag of peppermints at The Dollar Store.  This sweet surprise is  definitely worth the effort.

There’s also a discipline tip sheet that I handed out to parents, whose children had behavior issues, + a variety of Happy-Grams for parents to take home for their child who will be anxiously waiting to hear what happened at conferences.

Finally, I wrote a conference cookie poem, as I sometimes made conference cookies and sent home 3 in a Baggie with the poem.

Click on the link to view/download Conference Help Packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

“Persistence propels potential to perfection.” –Soichiro Honda