Open House Success & My 2012-2013 Classroom

Why is it that every year I feel like everything is ready until the day that Open House arrives? All of a sudden, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off as the clock ticked away towards 4pm. It wasn't big things, it was all the little tiny things like sign in sheets and welcome letters that kept me busy right up to the last minute!

Well, my open house was a great success! I had 20 out of 23 parents in attendance, my biggest turnout ever! I am sure that I am new to the school didn't hurt, as that always piques curiosity, but I was thrilled either way!

It was a tad overwhelming at first. I wanted so badly to chat with each parent endlessly as I am quite the talker, but because I had so many parents show up all at once, I tried to walk around and greet each parent and child, and then move on to the next. I received lots of compliments on my room. Parents loved the Peanuts and Polka Dots theme! Everyone thought it was colorful and inviting, a great place to learn and I have to say, I agree! My hard work has definitely paid off in what is now a beautiful classroom, probably my best one yet visually. I am sure I have Pinterest to thank for much of it :-)

Here are some pictures:


My entrance: used a bit of my dots on turquoise to keep my relaxing blue color theme. I attended a workshop last year that talked about the best colors for learning and they talked about calm colors so I went with lots of blues this year.









Couldn't get maintenance to come in and get
 that extra bulletin board for me...but it will be up and
decorated soon!
Their desks are ready! On desks I have welcome letters for students on polka dot paper, an All About Me paper for students to fill out - also on polka dot paper, and their welcome goodie bags with their poem on polka dots too. There are also other supplies on the desk. When students or parents asked what they could take home, it was easy to tell them to take anything with a polka dot, leave anything without! I also put their name on the cut out apples on their desk instead of writing them on their name tags. Because I buy the expensive removable adhesive name tags from Really Good Stuff each year, I always wait until the end of the first week to add their names to the tags in case of spelling corrections, name changes, etc.


 I received a lot of compliments on my reading area. I bought 5 ottomans and a dish chair from Target. We have lots of foam pieces for the floor so I put those together underneath, adding a couple of body pillows with covers (which I wash once a week), and found a bargain beverage tub ($5 - woohoo) that I filled with stuffed animals. The stuffed animals were from Walgreens. You know the ones that are always above the front counter area? Check it out next time you go...are there still bunnies and reindeer up there? Managers are happy to give you a discount to clear those items out. I love paying $7 for a $20 jumbo stuffed animal and students love reading with them!


 Here's another view of our reading area.














I've organized everything in colorful bins and have labeled as much as I can at this point since some bins are not filled yet.













 My calendar area above my desk filled with some of my favorite classroom posters. On the board are tons of magnets....hooray for having a whiteboard again! You will also see beads hanging under the magnets. I use these as recognition when students wow me. I make a big deal of putting the beads on them and letting them wear them for the day. At the end of the day they trade them in for a certificate to take home.







If you've read my blog for awhile, that chair should look familiar as my summer DIY project! My students have cubbies this year, which is new for me.


 Our Hopes and Dreams will go on the cubby doors. I plan to take pictures of the students holding up a wipe off board with their names on it.

At open house, I had a letter to parents and students displayed, and then various information including a sign in sheet, transportation checklist, a letter for parents, sign ups for classroom parties throughout the year, a communication info sheet for parents to fill out, and a list where students could list alternate student names or nicknames they go by. I also put out apples for the parents with cards on them.


If I could change one thing about my room, it would be that my reading area would be where my classroom library is, but I made it work! Books are separated by genre, then leveled with stickers and the front of the books is roped off with a Coming Soon sign. I will try to take a close up of this to share.












One last view of our fabulous classroom!



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1 comment

  1. Your room looks so beautiful! I can see why you got so many comments from Parents! Good luck starting school in the morning, I am sure it will all go swimmingly!

    Alison

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