Winning Open House Curriculum Ideas

A successful open house for the parents of your elementary school students can be achieved with a few clever ideas. First, give the students something to do! Being that this is the first night they will meet their teacher (most likely), make sure you start them off on the right foot by allowing them to show you what they are capable of from the beginning. I usually have the students make their checkbook cover for their "Behavior Bucks" checkbooks. Not only does it set the tone for the remainder of the year, but it also is tangible evidence of who has attended that evening (it sometimes becomes a blur).

Another great idea is to have the families pick up a "classroom scavenger hunt" as they enter the door. The families then have to work together as they try to find all the items listed. I like to add items such as "find the bulletin board where you will hang you incentive chains" or "find the first word on page 86 of your math book." This gives an opportunity for students and parents to take a self-guided tour of your room at their leisure. It also frees up the teacher to talk with the groups as they finish up. I usually give a small trinket as a prize for finishing the scavenger hunt so I know who has seen everything in the classroom and who has not.

Lastly, if the students are engaged in an activity and the parents are not, I will have the parents fill out a short
"How well do you know me?" survey about their child. The parent(s) then leave the survey for the child for an opening activity on the first day of school. It becomes an ice breaker and the students are less homesick by having that connection to their families on their beginning day. It becomes a fun-filled lesson to plan before jumping right in to work.

Whatever you decide, keep the evening fresh and fun. It is the first opportunity for the parents and students to meet a new face. They want to feel comfortable with the person who will be guiding their child's education for the next year. Meet and greet, and then go home and put your feet up. The year will be over before you know it!