Back To School Open House

Remember your good old school days?  Well, Open House night at your kid’s school will take you back.  This is the night parents visit their kid’s classrooms and take a turn sitting in their desks a getting a first-hand view of what our little ones will be doing everyday until summer vacation.

I am always scrambling at the open house at my kids’ school since I have to somehow be in two classrooms at the same time.  I cannot imagine how those parents with three, four or more students are able to get it done.  I usually try to anticipate which class will either have the most adjustment for my child or which grade I think will need the most help with homework routines.  Well, this year that was both classrooms.  The last couple years I had lucked out and my younger child was with the same teacher my older one had the previous year.  That made it less stressful for me, just to know what the expectations were from experience.  Not to mention I already knew the teachers and their routines.

This year I felt that I had to sit in on my son’s orientation so I made sure I told a friend of mine to take notes from the older child’s class.  Of course I went there as soon as the first one finished but had missed most of the information shared.  I did make contact with both teachers, made a point of letting one know I would like to conference as soon as she was available and let the other one know I missed the detailed orientation but introduced myself so she knew the reason I wasn’t there the entire time.  I believe it is important to put a face with our famous title “so and so’s mom.”

Be sure to take a pen and paper with you. This is usually the night to sign up to volunteer in the classroom as well.  Teachers rarely turn down an offer of help.  One of our teachers even handed out supplies that night for projects parents could do at home to help out.  That makes a great impression when you send completed projects back with your child.  Be sure to ask questions regarding expectations and routines but remember that conferences for individual concerns will have to be made at a later time.  Keep in mind, open house days are at least a twelve-hour day for your teachers.  So keep it short and sweet! Read more Back to School posts.