Open house (AKA curriculum chats, AKA whatever else your school might call it) are typically one of those nights that I spend in my classroom, hanging out by myself. Or maybe helping parents that are lost in the hallway. Or in one inclusion room missing all the other parents I work with. Or some other lonely way that I definitely don't feel like an included educator. Is that too many ors? Possibly. But the truth is, not a whole bunch of parents are knocking down my door because…well…because the focus is on talking to the teacher. And it's not because I'm not important, but I know I'm not the main focus. And that's ok.
BUT, I want to meet them. I want to talk to them and tell them what I am excited about this year. I want to shake their hand and tell them, YES, I'm replacing the speech lady who has been here for millions of years and she was great…but so am I. And I'm gonna love your child and work my tail off making sure they meet those IEP goals that I slave over. Because I'm their SLP now.
So instead of hanging out in my room all by myself, I placed these signs on each of my student's desks this year so that those parents would come by my room and I could chat with them. And I felt like hugging each adult who walked through my door that night, because several of them did. I connected with them, I smiled, I listened, and took notes. And as tired as I was after a 13 hour work day, I was stoked that made that effort. And I know there were some parents that were equally stoked to meet the new speech lady who was excited to take care of their baby.
If you want a free copy, snag it here. How do you spend your school's open house nights? I'd love to hear!
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I did the same thing this year because I was also tired of sitting alone. I felt like I was missing a valuable opportunity to meet some of my student’s parents. Sometimes this was the only face-to-face contact I would be able to have with them. I handed out my slips to the classroom teachers during the day, that way the teachers knew to remind the parents to come and see me as well. Here’s the form I used.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/500040364854076495/
Those are super cute! Thanks for sharing!
I am new to my school as well this year and love your idea. I printed these out today to give to the teachers for our open house next week. I want the parents to know where to find me! I also asked all grade level teachers to include me in the powerpoints they made for their grade level. Hopefully some parents will find me! Thanks for the freebie.
That’s awesome Tara! Love the idea of asking teachers to include you in their presentation <3
I can’t seem to reply on the email from work. It is blocked because it is a blog. I want to post but they say not able to connect because a firewall keeps it from connecting. I hope there is a way for you to work without me confirming my email at work. I can give a home email to confirm.
Becki BUrrows
I love all of your products. We have Open House/Conference day next week. I am looking forward to handing these out to my teachers. Thanks!
I love young SLPs. You guys rock. I should have thought of this years ago. Thanks for teaching a veteran SLP a new trick.
I’m a CFY in a low-income, high needs school. I’m not sure what to expect at my first parent-teacher conference night, but if the parents of students on my caseload come to school that night, I hope they will also come to talk to me. These cards will help direct them.