The Annual Room 1113 Open House
3/28/2018
I love my open houses! Open houses you say? Those things we have to do when no one knows anyone or anything, and it’s all crazy and stressful at the beginning of the year?
No. Not that. They have their moments, but that’s to talk about another time.
Do you mean conferencing? No, not that either!
So, what are my Open Houses all about?
Right around Spring Break, I invite parents and children to our class open house. This year, I got smart and did two nights - two classes each night. The gist is this, the kids are hosts - not me. Although, of course, I am the purchaser of the cookies and lemonade 🙄😂. They arrive within a 2 hour window (I did 6-8pm, it worked well), and as they arrive I let them know that the kids are in charge! I set up a scavenger hunt on Google Classroom with 11 things to complete. The more they finish, the greater the reward.
Reward?
Side note - in room 1113 class we earn bow ties. This goes along with our Dr. Who theme. They can earn them in various ways and then may use them in other ways - from using my rolling chair to buying pencils - and then the ultimate, two of them mean a shopping trip to the British Bonus Box (thank you Dollar Tree!).
Anyway, they earned bow ties according to how many are completed.
See a copy of the Scavenger Hunt below!
As you can see, the parents are directed to visit various assignments (always fun when kiddo hasn’t completed work, it was amazing how much work is always submitted in the days following!),. They also compare new work with old work, which is occasionally a risk for me as the teacher - after all, there had better be some change there! Still, if you don't take risks, you don't better yourself.
It’s such a rewarding night. The first one I hosted, I didn’t have ‘stuff’ to do. It was a nightmare. I had a line of antsy parents out of the door, wanting to conference. No! That’s not why we’re here. So I set up the scavenger hunt - and it was a WIN 🏆👍
The Results:
Parents grinning and gleaming. So excited to see what their kids didn’t show them all year. Fascinated by Bin Books and Class Folders.
Kids proud and in charge. Taking that host job seriously. They need to learn that as well as how to use a comma!
Parents learned how to use Google Classroom (oh! This needs to happen earlier in the year too!) and to see their kids navigate between apps and programs.
