FIRST FIVE DAYS OF SCHOOL...CHECK!

Well everyone....I MADE it through the first five days of school and through parent night! I am so excited for this school year! I only have thirteen babes this year! Crazy!!! I wanted to share a few things (tips and tricks) from my parent night that I really loved doing this year (AND that made a huge difference)!

1. Make a power point presentation!-- This really helps you stay on track of what you want to talk about! We only have twenty-five minutes to meet with our parents. We usually do two sessions so that parents with multiple children can get to both classrooms. Anyway, with only twenty-five minutes time FLIES by! AND if you're like me-- you may get off subject and talk talk talk! Ha!

2. Make colored copies!-- this is HUGE! Not only does paper just look more interesting/pretty when its on neon paper, parents are more likely to read what it says. When the non-OCD people go home white papers sort of just get lost. I am guilty of just setting stacks of paper down and then not ever going through them! You want parents to LOOK at what you gave them! I also find that the more "cute" you make something- the more it draws parents in! :)

3. Make a gift for your parents!-- Sure, maybe you are sucking up just a little..but do it! The parents ranted and raved over the little water bottles I gave them. It does not have to be anything expensive or big, but parents like that you took the time to think about them! After all you want to establish a good relationship with your parents right away! It not only reflects positively on you--it shows what kind of person you are! At the end of the day we are in this together! We want the same things for our school babies that they want.

4. Tidy up your classroom!-- Yes, you would think that everyone does this! But it is really important to make sure your room is presentable! Everything in my classroom is not exactly how I want it yet but that is okay! I could probably work on my room for two more years before I thought it was perfect! Ha! But anyway, parents notice how organized/clean your room is. If you have stacks of papers everywhere...hide them! You want to make a positive first impression on parents!

AND last but definitely not least......

5. BE YOURSELF!-- Be confident in your ability as a teacher! After all we didn't go to school to return to school for fun! The best part of being a teacher is that most of us LOVE our job! Unless you are a teacher you will never understand the love we have for our job. We develop little people's (some big) minds!