How Do I Prepare?
Meet the Teacher Night can be a nerve-wracking experience. But, with careful preparation, planning, and experience, it becomes easier each year. Here are some things that you need to consider before you start planning for that special night. Remember, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. So, dress nice, put on a smile, and have fun! Oh, and don’t forget to brush your teeth or chew a lifesaver! I hope that your Meet the Teacher night goes great! If you’ve never had one before, don’t worry- I’ve got your back!
Here are some questions that you need to ask yourself:
1.) Do I need to call my parents ahead of time to introduce myself?
2.) What do I want my students to do with all of their supplies? Do I want them to bring them along?
3.) Do I want to give my students a gift? If so, what should I get them?
4.) Do I want to have a wish list? If so, what should I put on it?
5.) What forms do I need to hand out to the parents?
6.) Do I want to give out transportation tags?
7.) Do I want to take pictures of the families?
8.) How to prepare my classroom?
9.) Do I need to put everything away right then?
1.) Do I need to call my parents ahead of time to introduce myself?
First and foremost, If your principal allows you to call your parents, please do! This is such a great icebreaker for you and the parents! Remember, it’s not just you that’s nervous, they are probably more nervous than you! By making this simple yet impressive first impression, you are setting the stage for the entire year! And, above all, it really shows the parents that care enough to take the time to call them and introduce themselves. Here is what I say when I call them:
Hello, Mr. or Mrs. ….. this is Kara Rickman from Fabra Elementary and I’m going to be …. first-grade teacher! I just wanted to call and introduce myself and see if you were going to come to our Meet the Teacher Night on Thursday. Do you have your student supplies that you can bring along? Don’t worry about putting your child’s name on their supplies, just their supply box. Do you have any questions about first grade? How does ….. feel about coming to first grade? Is there anything you’d like me to know about your child? I’m looking forward to seeing you at Meet the Teacher Night!
This is the time to allow your parents to ask you questions about first grade or tell concerns about their child so they will not bombard you with these things at Meet the Teacher Night. The last thing you want to do is have a parent following you around the room telling their life story or concerns about their child while you are trying to greet everyone that comes through your door.
Believe me, when I first started teaching I didn’t call my parents beforehand and this was extremely hard for me to multi-task with all of those parents in the room. You want this experience to be happy, uplifting, and exciting for your families!
Meanwhile, this eliminates a lot of stress from me and the parents because you have already talked with them and you don’t need to worry about having a conversation in front of other parents. It really makes me feel uncomfortable having an intense conversation at that time with others around.
If you don’t have a chance to talk to your parents and they want to tell you their child’s life story at Meet the Teacher night, just simply say: I’d love to talk with you let’s schedule a parent/teacher conference so we can have some privacy. This is a polite way to let them know you really want to hear what they have to say but now is not the right time.
2.) What Do I Do with all the Supplies?
Absolutely! Use this opportunity to collect ALL of your student’s supplies on this night if you can! Remember, when you call the parents, you should remind them to bring ALL of their supplies if they have them. I set out my crates in the hallway labeled with pictures of the school supplies that my students will bring. This is also a part of my scavenger hunt, so the parents know what to do with the supplies as they come in.
Therefore, I don’t worry about organizing all the supplies that night, but I wait until the next morning to organize and put all the supplies in their designated areas.
The only supplies I let my students keep at their desks are their supply boxes, scissors, crayons, and markers. The rest of the supplies will go outside in the crates. This system also helps with the traffic in the room so I don’t have everyone in my classroom all at one time. It gets pretty crowded really quickly! Later, I will label all of their journals and folders with their names and correct labels. Click here for my school supply templates!
3.) Do I Want to Give My Students Gifts?
For example-your gifts don’t need to be fancy! Just simple- like these cupcakes! I stuck a toothpick inside of them with a Post-it note with the student’s name on it. Easy and quick!
Candy is another big hit! Another cute and simple gift is set up a place where I have a sign that says “Thanks for Popping In!” I stick blow pops inside a flower pot filled with foam. It’s a really cute and simple arrangement and the kids LOVE the candy! It helps them feel more at home! I even let the siblings take a blow pop as well.
On the student’s desks, I have their take-home folder with my cover page on top. Since I have a Farmhouse Theme, my cover page says: Mrs. Rickman’s “Farm”tastic First Graders. Inside are the parent forms from the office that they can fill out at home and return on the first day of school.
My “All About Mrs. Rickman” letter is also inside these folders. This tells my parents and students all about my interests, hobbies, family, contact info, and my favorite thing about being a teacher! If you’re interested in taking a look at my EDITABLE back-to-school forms, click here. This resource includes editable templates for parent night, meet the teacher night, scavenger hunt, getting to know you, transportation templates, and more!
In addition, I also put Ready Confetti on the student’s desks so they can take it home and put it under their pillow. This is another version of Jitter Glitter. There’s a really cute poem that goes with it too! Click here for your Ready Confetti template from The First Grade Parade!
4.) What Forms Do I Need for Parents?
My podium sits outside my classroom door and I put my class list and scavenger hunt on it. My parents sign next to their child’s name and then take a scavenger hunt to get to know the classroom and put their supplies away. My forms have changed over the years, but you get the idea.
Are you interested in my EDITABLE Back to School Forms? Click here.
5.) Do I Want to Have a Wishlist?
Having a wishlist at the beginning of school is the best thing ever! What better way of getting the extra supplies that you need so you don’t need to spend your own money? I di-cut these cute hands or use Post-It Notes and write different supplies on them. I ask the parents to take a hand off the wall if they wish to donate. These extra supplies come in handy if some students don’t bring anything, or I get a new student in the middle of the year. Here’s my wishlist that I ask the parents for:
Hand Sanitizer bottles
Extra composition books
Extra colored folders
Extra markers/crayons/scissors
Treasure Box items – gently used toys, stickers, books, happy meals, trinkets, party favors, keychains, etc…
6.) Do I Want to Give Our Transportation Tags?
This is a BIG ONE folks! This trick will either make or break your first day of school and you must have this completed before then! I lay out my tags on my table and have the parents put the correct tag on their child’s backpack with a safety pin or a small zip tie. I also have some Sharpies there so they can write their name on the back of the tag. This is a HUGE relief to have finished before the first day of school! We have a joke at my school, we say “Just get the kids fed and home safely on the first day, and then you’re good to go! ” This is so true!
If you’re interested in checking out my transportation tags, click here.
7.) Do I Want to Take Pictures of Families?
My families LOVE this! I set up their Seesaw account a couple of days before, and then upload their pictures to Seesaw! Speaking of Seesaw, I have their connect forms in their take-home folder so they can connect as soon as they get home.
Another fun thing you can do is record yourself reading a story on Seesaw that your students can listen to the night before the first day! Some really great stories to read are: The Kissing Hand, First Day Jitters, You’re Finally Here, The Night Before First Grade, and Wemberly Worried. I’m sure there are a lot of your favorites too! The families LOVE hearing your voice and getting to see you on Seesaw! This is a great way for your students to feel less nervous too!
The final thing on my scavenger hunt is to have Mrs. Rickman take a picture of their family. Here are a couple of pictures from my classroom and my daughters’ teachers we well.
8.) How do I prepare my classroom for those touchy/feely hands?
This is the part that I dread. I have a lot of fragile and expensive things in my classroom that I worry about when I have small children walking around and touching everything. For instance, I put away those fragile things that I don’t want to get broken and hide them until the next day. I also put Post-Notes on all of my centers that say: DO NOT TOUCH! This helps when the kids are going around the room and the parents might see these signs everywhere. Most parents immediately tell their child to not touch and that way I don’t need to do it. If they don’t, then I say: Let’s not touch the centers until it’s school time. I’m very picky about my things and want to take care of them- this really helps keep my sanity!
9.) Do I need to put everything away? NO!!! Go Home!
Above all, after it’s all over, you have to leave everything as it is and come back to it in the morning. If you start straightening things up and putting things away, you will be there all night long! I’m very OCD, and this is the hard part for me. But, I have to close my eyes, turn off the lights and turn away from all of the supplies not put away and walk out. I know it will all be there the next day for me to be rested and have the energy to organize. I know it’s hard, but you need to take care of yourself! If you don’t have your rest and health, you can’t teach and be your best!
I hope you learned some great tips and tricks about Meet the Teacher Night! If you’re interested in reading some more blog posts about back to school, click here.
Until next time, let’s take your classroom to the next level!
Happy Teaching!
