What Worked Well Wednesday - Meet the Teacher!

Hey y'all!! Emily here, from Carnes' Corner.  I know MANY people are just now preparing for the beginning of the school year, but today is already day 9 for me!  This school year has truly gotten off to a great start, and I am excited to share some Meet the Teacher tips that I feel really helped get the year started on the right foot!

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Meet the Teacher is such an excited time for me, but it's also super stressful!  All those parents in my room at the same time? They all want to talk to me? How do I get all of that info to them at the same time?  What about those kiddos who are running around playing in my classroom?  Here's what I found works really well to accommodate all of those parents, but still make the day (or night) all about the kiddos:

*Use a scavenger hunt
This way, parents and students are kept busy, get a feel for the classroom, and there's a bit of structure. :)  (I even set it on a small desk right outside the door, so that they had something to do immediately and wouldn't have to awkwardly stand and wait for me if I'm busy talking).

{I made a quick scavenger hunt which sent them to the supplies sorting station, to the classroom bathroom, to find the book bag hooks, to the calendar, the library, to find their seat for paperwork, and finally to me!}

*Put them to work!
Most families were urged to bring supplies during Meet the Teacher, so I set up a sorting station and put the parents to work!

*Have an info packet for parents to take home
This way, you can have them read through the packet FIRST, before bombarding you with questions!

*Give cheesy presents!
I gave the students "Ready Confetti" and the parents got some popcorn!

{Ready Confetti}

{I can't remember where I got the popcorn tags...ahhh!}

(I know it's the beginning of the year, but a tidbit to help you for NEXT year...save all of your Meet the Teacher templates, and edit them/make your copies at the end of this year.  That way, you already have those copies made and won't need to fight people for the copy machine at the beginning of the year next year!)

What do you do to make Meet the Teacher flow smoothly?? Have you started school already? What activities have you done that you and the kiddos LOVE?!  Link up below, and let me know!

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Please be a friendly blogger and go "meet" at least two new bloggers who've linked up.  This is such a great way for us to get to know each other and encourage each other!