Orientation AND Open House

Our school has Open House BEFORE the first day of school, so students can meet their teachers and check out their classroom. At "my" school, there are only 2.5 kindergarten teachers. Lucky for us, we have a lot of say in how we conduct our classrooms, so we (I) decided the mornings of Open House each year should be dedicated to a Kindergarten Orientation. At Orientation, we go through all of our classroom policies, in hopes to clarify confusion regarding homework and behavior expectations. It really does work! I use a Powerpoint presentation so I remember ALL I have to say.

I have the parents sign-in so I can send home a "Thank You" for attending.

At the Open House, I have a cute jar filled with Hershey's kisses and the parents/children have to estimate how many kisses in the jar. The person closest gets to keep the whole thing! I also give out these mints...

Welcome Handouts

Every year I make manila envelopes for each student containing a massive amount of forms for the parents to complete. These forms help the parents get to know me, the rules, procedures, and the forms give me a lot of information. I read every form and take note of allergies, trnsportation to and from school, which children have NOT been to preschool, and which parents want to help. :)

The forms are...

Welcome Letter (Syllabus)

Help Wanted - Volunteer Sign Up

Allergy Information

Child Pick Up Info

Snack Calendar

Questionnaire for Kinder Parents

School Supplies List

Below is the Questionnaire.

Orientation Information

Here are the PowerPoint slides I show during Orientation. Orientation is different from Open House. Open House is much more casual as families walk around the classroom and I simply greet them.