The central theme of this podcast episode is the exploration of effective open house strategies for educators, aimed at fostering meaningful connections with students and their families from the outset of the academic year. We delve into practical and innovative approaches that teachers can employ to create an inviting atmosphere, thereby setting a positive tone for the school year ahead. Among the notable anecdotes shared, one particularly memorable experience involves a powwow at a local school, where the speaker participated in a dance to honor educators, illustrating the profound impact of cultural engagement on community relationships. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of personal interactions, such as offering compliments to students and engaging them in interactive activities that promote a sense of belonging. Ultimately, this episode serves as a comprehensive guide for educators seeking to enhance their open house events, thereby enriching the educational experience for both students and families alike.

The podcast episode presents a compelling narrative of Mr. Funky Teacher, who exemplifies a contemporary and culturally responsive approach to education. The discourse takes a closer look at the traditional open house event, reimagined through the lens of cultural integration and personal engagement. Mr. Funky Teacher recounts his remarkable experience at an open house where he not only greeted students and families but also participated in a powwow dance—an act that symbolizes his deep respect for the Winnebago tribe's heritage and his commitment to fostering a strong community spirit. Throughout the episode, he shares invaluable insights on how educators can create meaningful connections with their students and their families from day one. Suggestions include the strategic use of welcoming gestures such as rolling out a red carpet, engaging in positive conversations, and providing interactive activities that resonate with students' interests. By prioritizing relationship-building and cultural awareness, Mr. Funky Teacher encourages fellow educators to embrace creativity in their teaching practices, emphasizing that these efforts are essential in inspiring greatness among young learners and establishing an inclusive classroom environment. The overarching theme of the episode advocates for the transformative power of education that respects and celebrates diversity.

Takeaways:

• The episode emphasizes the significance of fostering connections with students and parents from the very outset of the academic year, as this foundation sets the tone for future interactions.
• Listeners are encouraged to create engaging and interactive experiences during open houses to enhance familial engagement and student enthusiasm for learning.
• A unique approach discussed is the incorporation of personal experiences and cultural appreciation, which can deepen relationships with the community and enhance the educational environment.
• The speakers reflect on the value of being vulnerable as educators, as this openness can foster trust and rapport with students and their families, ultimately enriching the educational experience.

Links referenced in this episode:

• beafunkteacher.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Be a Funky Teacher
• Winnebago

Yeah, he's Mr. Funky.

He's Mr. Funky Teacher.

Mr. Funky Teacher inspires greatness.

Makes you feel good.

Like your favorite playlist.

Keeping that fresh and funky.

Yes, he does.

He got some funky cool ideas to share for all you teachers.

He can empower others, students and teachers.

It's all about hard work and creativity.

He brings out the kindness in everyone.

He's got the passion to teach.

You hear it when he speaks.

He knows how to build strong relationships.

If you're seeking the best bunkiest, he is it.

He will empower you to improve.

You'll be helping others and loving it too.

He's Mr. Funky Teacher.

Yeah, he's Mr. Funky Teacher.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is Mr. Funky Teacher with Be a Funky Teacher dot com.

I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.

Today we're diving into open house tips for teachers.

Simple, practical things that you can do to connect with students and parents from day one and set that tone for a great school year.

But first, three things I'm thankful for.

One of the things I'm extremely thankful for is time with kids and family.

I just got had an opportunity to go to late one afternoon to a train museum with my youngest son.

He loves trains.

He's nine years old.

He just loves trains.

Got to spend time with him there and also got to go with my, my brother.

My, I have a brother who, who has a disability and he went along with my dad.

And so it was the four of us walking around and exploring.

I just am so thankful for that time with my dad, brother and my, my son.

This great family time.

So thankful for it.

The second thing I'm thankful for is good food and good food that my wife makes.

My wife is such a great cook, man.

She makes some delicious food.

And it's just not just the food.

It's like comfort food.

It's just so delicious.

We had some delicious corn and some barbecue ribs just recently and it just was like heaven on earth.

Oh, it was good.

She is such a good cook.

There's so many different things that she's willing to try and make.

And I'm just so thankful for everything she makes for us.

It's.

It's truly am appreciative of all she makes.

The next thing is chilly mornings.

It is, you know, sometimes I wake up and I go outside with it being summer still as we're transitioning into the school year.

It's still summer and it.

We have hot, hot and humidity where we're at and sometimes that spills over into the morning where it just.

You go outside and it feels yucky and it feels sticky outside still.

Well, it is a treat when you go outside and there's a little bit of a chill in the air as you, as you walk out to your vehicle.

I've been getting some early morning starts and I love that little bit of a crisp chill in the air.

It.

It lets me know that, hey, it's.

We're getting into the fall season with.

Well, it might not be autumn yet.

We are getting into those, into the time of year where seasons will slowly start to change and we'll be getting a little bit more crisp mornings.

Now, I, I won't be necessarily thrilled when, when I walk outside and my car's coated with snow.

Right.

But I'm still thankful for a chilly morning.

Not freezing morning, but a little bit of a chill in the air morning.

What a great way to start the morning, as I did this morning.

Well, all right, let's talk open house.

I do have some quick, no fluff list ideas and that you can use right away to help you at open house.

Before I do that, I do want to talk about the open house that I had, though.

What a great experience.

I experienced something, y'.

All.

I experienced something that has never happened before.

23 years in the game, 23 years of teaching, and something brand spanking new.

I danced at open house.

Now you might be sitting, saying, what is he talking about?

Oh, yes, I dance well.

So Winnebago is.

The Winnebago public school is on a reservation.

It is fascinating, the journey that I've had as the school year starts.

Learning about the school, learning about the school district, learning about the community, learning about the Winnebago tribe, the Ho Chunk culture.

I'm loving it.

I am just absolutely loving it.

Well, what Winnebago does is that they kick off the start of the school year.

They have like a family fun day in the morning on the football field where families and with kids can come and they have different, almost like a carnival type of a feeling, which is such a cool thing.

Teachers aren't necessarily required to go out to that and I think it's run by some other people.

And so that's cool.

It kind of, you know, get kids there by the school, get them excited.

But they.

Then it was so cool because 1 o' clock to 3 o' clock they have a powwow, a welcome back to school powwow.

And I got to dance at it, y'.

All.

I did.

I've been learning about powwows I. I just recently went to a community powwow, a homecoming powwow for the.

For the community.

Well, this is a.

Specifically for the schools and.

And.

And where kids that are in school are invited to dance at it and compete, and I love that.

I.

That alone was super cool.

Very enjoyable.

I just was loving every second of that.

Went out in the stands, was watching it, was enjoying it.

They actually had.

They had food for us.

Boy, did I eat.

They.

They had a whole table full of food.

I. I ate.

I. I watched.

I just enjoyed it.

And if that wasn't wonderful enough, then they had this special dance for teachers to honor teachers, to celebrate teachers, because as we were walking out to the field, they were saying how teachers are part of their culture now.

Like, if you're teaching in the schools, you're part of them because you're contributing to their community, to their culture.

You know, over 150 years ago, the last war chief of the Winnebago tribe, he gave the command, educate our children because they are our future.

And with this powwow, it really showed that they're trying to keep this vision alive and well today.

The.

The tribe shared that educators are part of the Winnebago culture, and that's why they are honoring them at the powwow with this special dance.

So I got to go out into the field and walk in this circle around the.

The drums that were doing their.

Their drum song.

There's different songs that they do, but this particular song was for teachers and a way to honor teachers that, hey, we thank teachers.

We.

We appreciate teachers.

We celebrate and uplift these educators to.

Because they're so important to our tribe, to our community, to our children, to our families.

And I love doing that.

I got to walk all of the teachers, the administrators, went out onto the field, and I just absolutely loved it.

It was.

It was truly very touching to me that, hey, to go out there and.

And just.

Just to become part of the powwow, I did not expect to become part of the powwow like that, but there I was.

And that's not the funkiest thing.

I mean, that was very touching.

But then I, you know, in Mr. Funky Teacher style, I got to really let loose in a teacher dance off.

Oh, my good.

I found my.

Y'.

All.

I found myself in a teacher dance off, because after this special dance where they.

We walked in a circle and they were honoring us as educators, they had a teacher dance off where, I guess, powwow.

In powwows, you can, like, win money.

And when you dance and compete.

I found myself in a.

In a teacher dance competition where ultimately what they said in powwows, when you're dancing, you know, there's.

There's sometimes certain ways you move your body where what they told us teachers is just move your body to what feels right.

Whatever makes you happy, just move your body.

In a teacher dance off, they encourage you to really let loose, moving your body to the.

To the music, to the drum, beats of the drum.

And so in this teacher dance off.

I. I didn't, you know, I didn't know if I was going to.

Now, keep in mind, this is part of the open house here.

I didn't know if I was going to or not.

I was really like, like, oh, do I.

Do I not?

I was really hesitant.

I don't know why I was hesitant.

Maybe because I'm so new.

I. I didn't want to do something that would be disrespectful to the culture.

If I do some sort of dance move, that, that.

Because I didn't know.

I didn't.

Don't know what.

I don't know.

And so that.

I was really cautious at first, and I.

Several people, like, go for it, go for it.

They were very encouraging.

And so I did it.

And actually another new teacher to.

To the district, too.

She's been teaching a while too, but she did it too.

And that was so great to see another new teacher to the district also get out there and do it.

And we had some.

Some veteran teachers do the d teacher dance off.

We didn't have quite.

We.

We didn't have all of the teachers who were.

And administrators who were honored didn't do the dance off, but there was still a nice number of us out there.

And I did it.

And I.

And it was so funny because I was.

I moved my body.

I was lifting my leg up and kind of spinning and doing my thing and just feeling it.

I loved it.

Oh, my goodness.

And the crazy.

Even crazier yet, now I made it to the final because what they do is they kind of go through the line of teachers and have you cheer as you're facing the drum or the center of the arena, and you cheer for the educator that you thought did the best job dancing.

Now, keep in mind, you can win money, too, because a bunch of people put down money for the best dancer.

And so I guess we're like, dancing for money.

I was just kind of going with this because I didn't know this was so new to me.

And, and you.

You dance to get into the final comp.

Dance off or get to the final round after this.

And so I.

And so I made it to, like, the final four teachers in this teacher dance off.

And so then.

Oh, and mind you, I am exhausted.

I have a mad respects for individuals who dance at these powwows.

It is.

Boy, does it.

Does.

Does it get your heart rate up?

It gets your heart racing.

And oh, my heart was racing and I was tired because I put it all out there on the first song of the teacher dance off.

Then we went to the final four that I made a part of.

And I'm like, I'm tired.

I'm tired.

But you know what?

The crowd was cheering, students were cheering, the community was sharing, Other educators watching were cheering.

And so I just lay it all out there and I'm dripping wet of sweat already.

But I.

And it was, you know, it's hot outside.

I let loose, though.

I let loose and.

And really try to leave it all out there in the line for the.

For the final four dance off song.

And.

And.

And they handed me this ring, too, to use in the dance off.

I keep in mind I've never danced in a powwow in my life.

Y.

And, and so I. I was like, okay, I'm gonna keep going here.

And I do.

And I do.

And.

And.

And they get the next song going, and I just.

I kind of do some of the same type of dance moves and I.

And.

And get spinning again, y'.

All.

At one time.

I get spinning so much where I think I'm going to.

I'm getting dizzy.

I'm getting dizzy.

I'm spending so much at this pow.

As I'm spending.

And I heard somebody say, the announcer say, he's.

He's.

He's soaring like a bird because of how I was kind of spinning.

They must have.

They must equate that type of dance move to, like, what a bird does when it flies.

And I think they were talking about me, and I was spinning so hard, I almost face planted, y', all right there right in the middle of the field, right on that Astro turf, right down.

I didn't.

I caught myself, but I thought I was going to go down.

It was.

It was such a fun experience.

I just.

I. Yeah, I don't know.

I don't know how that would have gone over had I base planted and, like, broke my nose.

Started bleeding all over.

They'll have to do a disclaimer on it for.

For educators in the future who come in because of me, right?

No, no.

All kidding aside, Though I did almost fall, but I was spinning.

I was exhausted, I was dripping a sweat and I was loving every second of it.

Oh my goodness, it was so much fun and I just put it all out there now.

I did not win.

I did not win actually.

The, the, the.

The teacher dance off.

I was still made it to the top four and I think I, I think I might have been a runner up.

I don't know, some others might say that too.

Which.

That's.

It's all in fun, right?

The teacher that won actually, she, she.

She's actually has run one three years in a row.

So you can't feel so bad when you have someone out there who she was, had this, I think it's called a ribbon dress on.

And she was out there doing her thing and dancing doing and just feeling too.

And she was pregnant too, but she knew how to move out there and she won.

I, you know, she's pregnant.

She, she won some money at this teacher dance off she can use for those diapers and.

But she did, she, she did a great job.

All four of us, all the teachers who, who did the teacher dance off, even who didn't make it to the final four did a wonderful job.

You put yourself out there, you be vulnerable for the kids.

You have some fun.

That's what it's about.

I just think about had I not done that, that would have been a missed opportunity for me to connect with the community, to connect with my future students, connect with the tribe, with the Winnebago culture.

Had I not done it and I just watched.

Now there's nothing wrong with if had I just chosen to watch, that was okay too.

But wow.

I, I'm so thankful I chose to be a part of it.

And dancing, it was just fun.

Oh my goodness.

I'm just so thankful for it.

That that is a memory that I'm gonna keep with me and I do hope that I get to be a part of other.

And I know I would.

I don't just hope.

I know I'm going to be included in other powwows they used, I guess I used to do the powwows at the end of the school year, but they've moved them now to beginning of the school year as like a kickoff to the school year instead of celebrating the end.

I almost think they should do one at each but you know, it.

It's.

I know there are a lot of work to set up.

There are a lot of work to put together, but I'm so thankful that I got to be a part of it and, and celebrate and be included in the dance.

And that, that made me feel connected to the, to the tribe, to what, to what that war chief said 150 years ago about educate our children.

Because I am coming there to educate the children.

I know that education, the children are the future.

Education is such a powerful key to success for young people, not just on a tribe, but anywhere.

Education is such a powerful tool that's critical for young people.

And, and I'm so excited to be there.

This was so, so keep in mind to you.

I, I'm, I get done with this dancing.

I, I once again I had the, the teacher honor dance.

Then I had the first song of the teacher dance off.

And in the final four teacher dance off song.

Dripping with sweat.

Now the powwow is coming to a close.

I'm dripping sweat.

I go, I have to go in now.

I'm going inside to a building that they like their air conditioning.

They keep think the building cool.

I was like, oh my goodness.

I'm going to be going into this building now where we're going to continue the open house where families can come in, students can come into the classroom and, and it's gonna be chilly.

Thankfully, I, I, I had brought actually a change of clothes just in case I gotten sweaty at the powwow.

And so I was able to go into the bathroom and get changed with clothes.

I still kind of smell a little bit from being outside dancing, but I was able to swap up my clothes, kind of get myself cleaned up and then we had a three hour open house.

And so what a kickoff.

That powwow kicking off the open house.

What a treat.

I, I can't, I, I cannot stress enough what a powerful way that was to kick off the open house.

All right, so I'm gonna share some, some things that you might want to consider in your open house.

Now you might not, you might not be having a powwow to kick off your open house, and that's okay, but you can still bring energy and excitement to your open house, whatever that looks like.

And, and, and I'm going to share some tips here that might help give you some guidance on hey, how, how can your open house look like when we now my room was spot on.

I got my room really set up the way that I wanted it to in my classroom, y'.

All.

I rolled out the red carpet.

I got this, it was at this like party supply store, this red carpet that I rolled out and I taped down for kids and the, their families rolled out the red carpet.

And I had so many families comment on the red carpet.

So many parents came, they said, there's a red carpet.

They would say, and yes, indeed, I thought to myself, there is a red carpet here.

And I would tell them.

I'm like, that's right.

I rolled out the red carpet for y'.

All.

This is for all of you, for families, for, for the kids, to celebrate them, to honor them.

Coming into my classroom to kick off the school year, it was important that I make that point, that this was for them.

And so I encourage you to do something special and unique like that where you kick, kick off this kickoff open house with, with something that's really unique to, to, to that will catch their attention and say, whoa.

I.

It made me smile when I heard families comment about the red carpet.

And I think they really appreciated it.

I think they really enjoyed that.

Super excited about that, that, that the comments came in about that.

And then the next thing I would say is, is to skip the did you have a great summer?

Comment, because some kids did not have a great summer.

Instead, you know, maybe say something like, hey, what's one thing you did this summer?

Or say, what's something you're looking forward to this year?

Or, or, hey, what's your favorite subject?

We want to be very careful with our language because there might be kids have, you might have some students who had a miserable summer, but when you ask, hey, what's one thing you did this summer?

Well, hey, you know, maybe you walked in the neighborhood, or maybe they did something.

Everybody did something.

Even if it, if it wasn't much of anything, everybody did something.

Maybe, hey, I, I, maybe they went for a bike ride in a neighborhood, or maybe they went for a walk down the street, or I hope they maybe did some reading, but you can't always count on that.

But they did something.

Maybe they watched a TV show they liked, you know, so I'm trying to take the, the high stakes away and make it very where, where or if, if they didn't go in some big family vacation, not a big deal.

That's okay.

So, and so I don't ask the question like, did you have a great summer?

Because, boy, that sometimes that in your first encounter with students, that can be sometimes defeating.

If they had a miserable summer, the next thing is to give every parent one positive comment about their child before they leave.

Now, you might not know much about their child, but it might just be something like, hey, you know, I appreciated your smile coming in.

I'm really looking forward to working with with, with your child, you know, you know, comment the child, hey, what a smile you got coming in here.

And then let the parent know right there, hey, I'm really looking forward to working with your child.

If you somehow incorporate a positive comment about the child before they leave, that.

That can build that rapport, that connection, that relationship pretty quickly.

Yeah.

So some.

That's something to think about and have something interactive for students.

There's some teachers who do scavenger hunts or find your desk activities or a question wall.

I like to have it where students go around and look at the.

Find the different mascots in my classroom.

From Ligament Larry.

It's a skeleton in my classroom.

And they go, look at him.

I have my, my OG Mascot, Cocoa Puffs.

Coco is the mom.

Puffs is the baby.

They're.

They're a kangaroo combo.

Puffs is in Coco's pouch as, as.

As a baby kangaroo.

They've been with me since the beginning because I, I used to really go by Cleaves Kangaroos before students kind of gave me the nickname Mr. Funky Teacher.

And I, you know, Cleaves Kangaroos.

I, I still, you know, embrace that name still.

But that goes back over 20 years.

The cleaves Kangaroos.

And I love the kangaroo.

The, The Cocoa Puffs.

And students gave Cocoa Puffs a nickname.

But.

And there's other mascots too.

I got Bonehead.

That's like a skeleton head.

It's just fun things in the classroom.

The.

That.

That students can go and look for and we can talk about the.

So I like to stand during open house.

I don't sit down.

I think if you're sitting behind a desk, greeting and meeting parents, it kind of creates that barrier.

I encourage you to be the stand and move around.

It's much more welcoming and encouraging to families and students.

Hey, a quick handout can be really beneficial too.

There's some years that, that.

That I have given a.

What to expect this year, like a one pager or a little introduction about me that I've given an open house.

I didn't do that this year.

I was kind of filling things out.

I could have, though, but I didn't.

This year.

I spent a lot of time trying to set up my classroom.

That took a lot, lot, lot of lot more time than I anticipated getting my classroom set up.

And so I just kind of ran out of time to get like a one pager done.

Next year, I think I'll be able to do that more because I won't have to spend quite as much time setting up My classroom.

Just because, you know, setting up a new classroom in a new place.

Oh my goodness, it took so many hours.

I spent a lot of time staying late and coming in early to make sure that it was ready for Open House.

And if you're a new teacher or a teacher in a new place, you may have to do that where that first doing some what you can in the summer.

But then still you're going to find that still leading up to Open House.

You're pushing it, trying to get everything done.

And that's okay, that's okay.

But some sort of quick handout or maybe it's a class schedule, some sort of handout or a couple of handouts that's not overwhelming and not just like a pile of paperwork that's just going to go in the recycling or trash.

I encourage something that will be meaningful and useful for students if you do decide to do some sort of handout.

We actually had thinking about it.

There was a handout at our open house with, it was about, with the parent handbook and it actually had a QR code on it where parents could sign in and get the handbook that way.

And you know, just so, so that was an option that we had for parents, but that came from the office, not something that I had created.

All right, let me think here.

Ah, sometimes you can display student work from past years, show, maybe show different things that maybe students are going to do for work in the classroom.

And that's something that I'll be able to build, build up some stuff and hold on to that they can maybe showcase to get kids thinking about, hey, I'm going to get to do this in Mr. Cleeve's classroom.

So that's something to consider to build up a supply of past work from students that you can show at Open House, possibly maybe create a photo spot where families can take pictures.

I, I, I've had plenty of parents.

I, I've done a red carpet before and, and, and so I, I've had some parents take pictures of their kids in a red carpet as a backdrop.

It, it's, you know, not an optional thing, but it kind of creates, not only does it create an area that is welcoming to families, but it can also create that a photo spot for a fun spot where families can take pictures.

I've, I've actually taken pictures of whole entire families on the red carpet and just kind of smiling.

You know, if I wanted to lean into that and make it even more dramatic with a photo spot in a room up by the board, I could, if I wanted to, absolutely.

I mean the sky's the limit, but that could be kind of fun too.

Hey, do some sort of photo spot with unique things to your classroom.

I'm trying to think too.

Not only a photo spot where people can take photos.

Another thing that I've created in my classroom is I have a little display area that are actual.

There's actual photos there that are relating to things that are show my family and show activities I like to do with stand up paddling and with biking and hiking and playing in the water.

And it's like a little display area that have photos that kind of humanize me.

So that's another idea that you might want to consider having in your classroom.

An area that, that personalizes you with actual pictures from.

With actual pictures, I guess from your life or thing.

Things that are interest to you that you can refer to and you can connect with.

Now the next thing.

Oh, I'm trying to think here.

Oh yeah.

Some background music.

I, I did play some background music.

I think I pulled up something off of like a streaming service.

Just I don't know if I, I, I think I, I think it was Apple music I used where I just pulled up some like kid, kid dance music and then I kind of turned it down low on a speaker and it kind of played in the background just some fun music that I could just kind of let it just kind of keep running over the course of like an hour, over the hours rather and just kind of like this set it and forget it type of a thing and not loud enough where it was overpowering talking but enough where just brought a, it just affected the vibe.

I know it did.

So that was kind of cool.

Another thing that I'd like to do in the future is maybe do some sort of wish list board or maybe parents who want to help maybe can grab a sticky note with something that our class needs.

I don't know how that would go over or not.

I don't know the community well enough.

I don't know if there'd be families who would be willing to do that or not.

I've never done that before but I know there's teachers who have.

It's something I've wanted to do but with setting up a new classroom I just didn't get get it done.

But I got like a wish list board like for of needs offering some sort of maybe small takeaway can be kind of powerful too.

I've done this in some years where you know, maybe it's a bookmark or a pencil Or a sticker or some sort of welcoming message they can take with them.

But there's been some years I've done that.

A small takeaway that each kid that's going to be in your classroom gets something.

And so that's something that you might want to consider playing around with and bringing into your classroom or not.

I know, because another thing that, like, oh, another thing you got to do, right?

But it's something that if it's meaningful, I know that you can get some really cool pencils that have like welcome to fifth grade or welcome to fourth grade or something that you.

I think you can even customize them even more depending on what, whatever website you go on that I think students would really get a neat kick out of seeing if you had done, if you do something like that for your students.

So I'm just thinking it was, it was.

I'm just reflecting on the, the, the whole open house.

I think those are my big takeaways there as, as I reflect there.

So once again, kind of be very careful interacting with students when you know, did you have a great summer?

Be careful with that, you know, so choose your words wisely.

Working with students.

Give parents a positive comment about their child.

Have something interactive in the classroom.

Stand and move around.

Sign up sheet is important.

Some sort of quick handout.

Possibly display student work from past years.

Have a photo spot where students can take photos.

Have some sort of personal photos that students can look at to make you more personable.

Maybe a quick handout of some sort.

Some sort of background music.

Have a wish list board.

Give some sort of small takeaway.

Those are some of my top tips, I would say, for a successful open house.

Oh, one more tip.

If you have an opportunity to dance in front of students, their families, in the communities, they do it.

Absolutely do it.

You know, not everybody's going to have a powwow like I did.

But don't miss out that opportunity to connect.

And I had to go back to that dance and I had several people tell me that, that just there a lot of community members were.

It kind of endeared me to the community that, hey, he's willing to put himself out there as a new teacher.

That put them, just putting them on being vulnerable, right?

As people, as educators, sometimes being vulnerable can help us build rapport with our students, our staff, the families of students and the community.

And that's what I did.

So there you go.

Open house tips for teachers that can help you connect with students and parents.

From day one, try one or two.

Make them your own.

And watch how it changes the energy in your classroom before the first bell even rings.

Remember to inspire greatness in young people.

And don't forget, be a funky teacher.

Bye, now.

He's Mr. Funky Teacher yeah he's Mr.

Funky Teacher yeah, yeah, yeah Sam.