Meet the Teacher

Meet the teacher went pretty well this year. I didn't have as many students/parents show up as last year, but the students and parents that I did meet were amazing! Here are a few of the things I did this year for Meet the Teacher. 

I try to always set up a student station. During Meet the Teacher, parents usually have a lot of paperwork to fill out, things to read, and a teacher to talk to. I learned my first year of teaching that during this time, their children are not very patient. I've seen parents get REALLY frustrated. I do not have children of my own (yet) but I thought about what would make it easier for my parents to have the time to talk to me, and fill out the appropriate forms. I came up with a coloring station. I posted a prompt "What was your favorite part of your summer?" As I met students I asked them to draw their favorite part of their summer, so I could post it for the first day of school. I ask them to write a couple sentences (if they can) and tell me about it when they are done. I can loosely gauge a students abilities here too. Parents really appreciated it. I had whole families and siblings coloring and talking about their favorite parts of summer. Students were literally dragged out of the classroom to meet other siblings teachers. SUCCESS!

The first stop for parents was the sign in table. I placed my wish list here, with fingers crossed. I definitely had more takers last year but I had more parents show up last year too. There is no harm in asking. My first year I didn't put out a wish list because I knew the poverty level at my school was very high. But I just place them in sight and do not pressure anyone to donate. If they can, they do. My wish list sign said "Please lend a helping hand... pick a hand to donate that item to our classroom. We would greatly appreciate it. - Ms. Lemos" 

I placed all name tags on the board so students (and parents) could pick their seats. After Meet the Teacher, I was able to figure out who didn't make it and place the rest of the students where I wanted them. 

Believe it or not, every student picked a seat as close to the front as possible, without their parent telling them. I was shocked. Once their student picked a seat, the parent would get to work filling out the student information form on that desk. 

Each desk had a bottle of water, a gift bag, a student information sheet, a pen, a book, my classroom management plan, and a letter from a student from my 2014-2015 school year. I am so happy I decided to have my students write these letters last year to the incoming 2nd graders. Reading these letters was hilarious! I laughed and laughed at the tips and advice my old students wrote to my new students about being in my class. One of my favorite quotes "Ms. Lemos is so fun. Don't break her rules, you will not like it." LOL! Sounds awful! 

I gave each student a chapter book to keep. I received a donated box of High School Musical chapter books from A Gift for Teaching. Some of my students cannot read chapter books yet, but I gave them a goal that by the end of the year they will be able to read them by themselves. For now I told them to ask a parent to read it to them and use it for homework. 

Welcome bags...this was something I was adamant about doing this year. Growing up, I always helped my Aunt set up her classroom for MTT. She always had a bag for the student/parents to take. I believe hers may have been an emergency school year kit. I wanted my welcome bags to act as my welcome letter. I wanted everything in the bag to somehow be incorporated into the letter as well.  This was harder for me than I thought it would be. Each bag had starburst, smarties, a bag of wise chips, and a bottle of water. The welcome letter read "Welcome to Ms. Lemos' reading class! I am so glad you are here! I was bursting with excitement to meet you. I know you are thirsty for knowledge and ready to learn. I am so lucky to have so many smarties this year! Have a great last weekend of summer! See you on Monday, wise guys! -Ms. Lemos"

Overall, MTT was a success. Despite the storm and crazy parking, families came to our classrooms with smiles on their faces. 

It was a great start to the 2015-2016 school year!

Keep it up for the little hands and continue working on those lesson plans!

- Amber