Open house and Orientation Ideas

Open house and orientations or better still an ice cream social are a great way for students to show their parents/guardians their daily life in school. Meet the teachers and ask questions. It is also a social event. However, there are teachers which especially if it’s their first even can be extremely nerve wrecking.

A question I have seen being asked is what do I do on these evening? Well, here are some of my top tips which I hope will help make the evening more enjoyable for you and them.

Tip 

Plan ahead! you need to plan for this. Throwing together just any old stuff isn’t good. Your students need to know what they are doing also.

Planning

Take some time to go through your kiddos work and look at your displays. Do they showcase your students best work? English and Maths are a big one (every parent likes to see their child’s work on display!) If its not showing their best, change it!

These events usually last for around an hour and believe me you will get students who want to show their parent/guardian everything so be prepared in advance.

Ideas

** Wall displays – These are a great way for parents’guardians to see the work your students have been doing
** Show and tell – Your students can show them where they store and access the facilities they use in class
** Quiz time – Create an interview of questions for your students to ask their parents/guardians – Do this as a class if possible
** Last but not least, your kiddos will love to show off. Be approachable and smile. Good luck and enjoy!

Over on Twitter, Stephanie Marino, also came up with an excellent idea. The principal of the school wants the teachers to showcase a bit of their day somehow. As she has a smart board in class she came up with the brilliant idea of a running slide show.

This does take some planning but what a fantastic idea!

Finding the right material to display can be tricky. Head over to the website for some great resource pack and ideas. Some are also free to download!

Above all, remember you cannot please every parent/guardian no matter how hard you try. This is not a reflection on you so don’t take it personally, try and have fun and remember this is your moment to also shine!