Classroom Snapshots: August 2015

I'm back for Week #2 of the Back to School Bash with some of my friends..

Week #2 is ALL about Meet the Teacher!

I'm going to be honest with ya. Meet the Teacher freaks me out. Seriously.

A whole bunch of brand new 3rd graders are coming to my new (and not even decorated.. yet) classroom with their parents and/or guardians to meet me. I've never been good with small talk of any sorts, much less with a person I don't know. I do much better speaking with 8 years olds than I do adults anyways. Yikes.

I knew that I needed to simplify this night for myself, to at least decrease anxiety somewhat.

I tried to picture what my perfect Meet the Teacher experience would look like and then went from there. My dream was for it to be fun, informative, and self-guided.

So how in the world do I make THAT happen?

The first thing was to take care of the self-guided part. I bought these frames from Amazon. They are actually from Ikea. They were super cheap and came in packs of 3.

I decided to make signs to guide parents and students around my classroom for various things that had to be done. I figured I can also reuse these signs for table numbers after Meet the Teacher! I used Neon Paper to match my theme and I love the way they turned out. Simple, yet effective.

To increase my self-guided MtT extravaganza, I made the parents and students a "To-do List."

This lists everything that has to be done while they are there! They can use the signs to guide them as to where everything is!

Now to make the night informative, I display a PowerPoint on the board with everything that will happen in 3rd grade.

I also set out a Meet the Teacher book with information all about me!

Parents leave with a contact card that can be placed on the fridge for easy access.

I also use a flipbook that I purchased from Heidi Neels (Flipping for First) that you can purchase HERE. It is awesome! I have already entered all of my information and it will be ready to go for MtT.

So on to the FUN! If you follow Classroom Snapshots on Facebook (which you should, by the way!), then you saw my purchase of my fabulous new Selfie Stick. I swore up and down that I would NEVER buy one. Well, jokes on me. We take LOTS of pictures in my classroom so this was a necessary item to have. I am putting that bad boy to work on Meet the Teacher with a fabulous selfie station! I have props that I bought off of Etsy a few years ago that I am going to include.

I will also give them a goody bag or (this year) a goody CUP! I bought dome cups like this for super cheap on Amazon. I have enough now for next year too!

I am going to fill them with shredded paper, a red tootsie pop, candy, an eraser cap, and a neon pencil to top it off. I can't lie. I did't make up this idea. I saw it on Instagram.

*I CAN'T REMEMBER FOR THE LIFE OF ME WHO THIS CAME FROM. IF YOU KNOW, PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO THAT I CAN GIVE THEM A SHOUTOUT!*

So I guess with simplifying this for myself, I am getting more excited for Meet the Teacher. I feel super prepared and am really looking forward to meeting my new kiddos. I guess now that everything is in order, it will help me relax.

How do you feel about it? Are you prepared? Do you need help getting your Meet the Teacher night off the ground? Meet my Meet the Teacher Pack! Seriously. It has everything you need to hold a successful Meet the Teacher! Postcards, Contact Cards, the Signs for the Frames, the PowerPoint, the Meet the Teacher book, Sign in Sheets, Volunteer Forms, a Banner, the To-Do List...And it is compeletely EDITABLE! WOOHOO!