Back to school time is filled with parent nights and parent open houses! Here are three great parent night at school resources to get you started on preparing for the parents. You’ll find free presentation resources, ideas on materials to send home and cute student displays. Parents appreciate the effort and work we put into our classrooms for these evenings, so lets look at some ways of making it easier and less time consuming for you!

Every school has their own way of doing a back to school night. Some like to keep it an open house format, while others like the opportunity to talk with just parents to lay it all out for the school year. No matter what style your school does, these ideas will help you feel prepared, inspired and organized… without feeling overwhelmed. Think of these ideas and resources as a blueprint that you can tweak to fit your classroom, your style and your grade level.

Parent Night Presentation and Printables

With these great tools and even a free editable parent presentation pack, you’ll love reading more on how Kristen sets up for parent night. Kristen likes to show a powerpoint presentation that lays out the basics like a schedule, about the teacher, classroom procedures and curriculum. Add your own bullet points to make this a presentation that you can use with very little effort!

She also includes a template to print and make your own magnets. These magnets give information for the school, a website and the teacher all in one convenient pack.

More Ideas:

• Don’t have a parent night? You can record your voice while you go through the powerpoint presentation using an online recorder tool like screencast-o-matic. You can record up to 15 mins., email a link to the video and send home the magnets with students.
• Add a picture of two from your first few days of learning. Full page photos showing engaged students will add meaning behind what you say.

Open House Organization and Printables

Setting up for an open house or parent night doesn’t have to be tons of work in addition to making your classroom ready. Plan and organize so you can work smart and still make a great impression! Here is one teacher’s example on how she sets out parent printables at each child’s space and labels what to do for new kindergarten parents.

Find out how you can gather classroom supplies before school starts using bins. The bins can easily be put away the night before school starts so your classroom is instantly transformed from parent night room to ready for the first day room! If you collect classroom community supplies, then students also know where items are stored and can get them independently since everything is already all in an organized set of bins.

Back to School Student Display

Parents and students alike appreciate seeing student work on display during a parent night or back to school event. Have students create a piece of work that is on a slightly larger scale in order to stand out. Here is a great idea to get your wheels turning. This teacher ties in poetry and has an almost life-sized display for each student’s space. A smart way to combine showing work and turning it into a display for parents.

More Ideas:

• Show off poetry through artwork {blow up larger}
• Create “How To” Books with a Back to School Theme
• Display Student Work on a Easy Bulletin Board
• Use Student Photos to Write a “Screamin’ Good Story”

Teach Junkie

Leslie {aka the original Teach Junkie} loves learning new things to make teaching easier and more effective. She enjoys featuring creative classroom fun when she's not designing teacher shirts, making kindergarten lesson plans or planning her family's next trip to Disney World.