Back-to-school season is here, and that means it’s time to tackle one of the most nerve-wracking events of the year: open house! In this episode, we’re sharing a strategic, stress-free approach to help you skip the Pinterest overwhelm and focus on what really matters. You’ll learn six essential goals for a successful open house, how to use simple stations to create a welcoming and engaging environment, and why this event is more about connection than perfection. Let’s turn open house into a moment of belonging for students, families, and you.

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/open-house/

Resources:

• Open House/Back-to-School Night Resource
• First Day Wishing Star Kit
• Cluedle
• Oh Happy Dani Classroom Posters
• Join the Teacher Approved Club!
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 205, Use This One-Hour Teacher Trick to Start the School Year Calm and Ready
• Episode 207, No Class List? No Problem - Here’s What to Prep While You Wait
• Episode 209, The Most Important Back-to-School Prep No One Talks About
• Episode 211, The 3 Questions Every Student Needs Answered in the First 3 Days of School

Mentioned in this episode:

Try the Teacher Approved Club free for 10 days and get one perfectly timed, research-backed strategy each month—plus support from Heidi and Emily to help you actually use it when it matters most. Start your free trial at https://secondstorywindow.net/trial

Get dressed without the stress! Visit https://fashionfixmn.com/secondstorywindow for a special offer featuring a personalized body shape analysis, style quiz, and free closet clean out workbook just for teachers.

This is episode 213 of Teacher Approved.

You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping

educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story

Window, where we give research based and teacher approved

strategies that make teaching less stressful and more

effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from

each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to

the show.

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's

episode, we are sharing the six goals every teacher should have

for back to school night, and sharing a tip for adding a

little celebration to your first day of school.

But first, it's time for try it tomorrow, a favorite

quick win that you can try in your life right away. Emily,

what is our suggestion for this week?

Since it's August, now, send a quick text to one teacher

friend or other school staff member just to check in. At this

time of year, there is a lot of comfort in knowing that someone

else understands everything you're juggling.

And while strengthening relationships is always

beneficial, this can also help you manage your stress level.

When you are overwhelmed with your own to do list, reaching

out to connect or even commiserate with someone else is

a really effective way to make a heavy burden seem a little

lighter.

If you like this idea or anything else we share here on

the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star

rating and review?

Over the years, Emily and I have created an extensive

library of back to school products. To help you find the

tools that will make the start of your new year easier, today

we are spotlighting our first day wish resource. Tell us about

this one, Emily,

I love this. It's so cute. We've created something so

special to help ease those back to school jitters and start

building connection before the year even begins. Our wishing

star kit gives you everything you need to reach out to

students with a simple but powerful message, that you are

thinking of them, you're excited to be their teacher, and you

believe in them. This is one of our newest resources, and so you

might not have seen it yet, and it is perfect for the first day

of school, especially if you're looking for, you know, a mess

free alternative to jitter glitter or ready confetti.

Oh, no joke, don't do that to yourself or your

families. The kit includes a sweet poem, and we offer lots of

flexible options depending on how you want to connect. If

you're going to be seeing your students at back to school night

before school starts. You can pair the poem with a squishy

like anxiety relief star. You can buy them in bulk, they're

very cheap. So the kids can squeeze it, whenever they need a

little comfort, they can squeeze it and make their back to school

wish. If you're not going to be seeing kids in person, there are

templates so you can mail little glow in the dark stars attached,

because, you know, kids love getting mail, and I love getting

mail. It's just bills all the time.

I'll send you a glow in the dark star too.

Please do. You can prep this whole thing in just a few

minutes, but the impact on students is huge.

What we love most about this resource is how it

immediately shows students that you're the kind of teacher who

cares about their feelings and wants them to succeed. Plus, it

gives you a gentle way to track which families attended your

back to school night or open house, and which students you

might want to reach out to individually. It's one of those

small gestures that makes a big difference in how students feel

about walking into your classroom on day one.

And if you're interested, you can grab the first day wish

kit from the link in our show notes.

So here we are, early August, some of you are already

back in your classrooms, and some of you are still savoring

those last few weeks of summer break.

But regardless of where you are in the back to school

timeline, there's one event looming on the horizon that can

make even veteran teachers feel a little bit anxious. It's back

to school night.

Or meet the teacher night, or open house. You know,

whatever your schools call it. It's that crucial first

impression event where families get to see your classroom and

meet the person who's going to be such an important part of

their child's life this year.

But can I just get on my soapbox for a minute? This puts

so much pressure on teachers and then most other professions,

probably any other profession, if you were asked to plan and

host an important event to make a great first impression, you

would probably get some dedicated work time to pull this

together. You'd probably even have a budget to go toward this.

Yeah, wouldn't that be nice? Because for teachers, it's

just one more thing on top of setting up your entire

classroom, planning your first week of lessons and learning the

names of 25 new little humans.

Yeah. And I think that pressure leads to a lot of

teachers spending way too much time online trying to figure out

what they should be doing for back to school night. Should I

make a presentation? Should I have activity? Should I decorate

everything so it looks like Instagram?

Yeah. And the problem with just browsing ideas without

a clear purpose is that you can end up doing things that look

cute but don't actually serve you or the families. You might

spend hours on something that's fun but doesn't help you build

the foundation for a successful year.

So today, we want to give you a framework of six specific

goals for back to school night that will help you use your time

and energy strategically.

Once you know what you're trying to accomplish, you can

evaluate every idea through that lens, and then we'll talk about

how you can use stations to make the event flow seamlessly.

So funny story about stations. Early in my teaching

career, I actually got my friend and teammate, Cassidy, in

trouble for doing stations instead of making a formal

presentation at back to school night.

Oh my gosh, I can't believe you did that to Cassidy,

and she's still your friend. What happened?

Well, it was totally unintentional. I had seen the

idea in a scholastic teacher book, you know, the kind that we

used to spend all that money on back in the day. Because that

was the only resource! And it had suggested doing stations for

the back to school open house. And I had done it for a couple

years, and she was a brand new teacher, so I suggested it to

her. But Mr. Oluson, whose wife taught at our school, and yes, I

am going to out him, because it's been 20 years, he didn't

like it, so he complained to the principal.

Wait, was that like a parent or who was that?

Oh, so his daughter was in Cassidy's class.

Ah but he didn't like the stations.

Yes, he had to come to the open house because his wife

was obviously running her own open house, and he was

unimpressed with stations apparently.

Imagine being a parent on back to school night and you're

gonna already attack your kid's new teacher for how they ran it.

A brand new teacher at that.

Oh, mercy.

So after a few years, I did get to go back to stations,

and it goes so much better. I just hated talking at families

from the front of the room. It's so impersonal and it's so boring

for everyone involved.

Oh, amen. As a parent, I do not want to go in and stand

there awkwardly while the teacher talks to like 30 parents

crammed in there, because sometimes you've got both

spouses there and then kids and sometimes younger siblings, and

it is the worst. I so much prefer it when I can go in and

do stations, because I do not want to be sitting in that tiny

desk while someone reads their classroom policies to me, like

that could be an email. Tell me about it on my own time.

Oh, exactly. I had no idea we had such big feelings on

this, but apparently we do.

I've sat in too many un air conditioned classrooms

packed in with too many other parents. I'm over it.

Kids losing their minds because they're so bored.

And they want to go to their class and yep.

It's too much. Well, let's do better for everyone.

And these days, if you look at any teaching blog or any back to

school advice online, everyone recommends doing stations. It's

become the gold standard because it's so much more personal, it's

so much easier to manage, and it's so much more informative.

Yes, like, it's no surprise that everybody says to

do stations, because it is by far the best way to do it. Heck,

we even did it for meet the teacher when we taught

preschool.

Oh yeah.

They kind of came in and they had their own little

checklist that they did, and it's just the best way to do it.

So this way, the families can arrive whenever they're going to

arrive. They can move at their own pace. The kids can explore

the space, and you actually get to have a real conversation with

people, instead of just talking to a room full of faces.

Right. Absolutely. 100% cosign all of this. So don't be

afraid to buck tradition if it means creating a better

experience for everyone. And to help you do that, we're going to

dive into the six goals that should guide your back to school

night planning. They are build connection, gather important

information, familiarize families with the classroom,

welcome students into the space, manage supplies and spark

excitement for the year ahead. Should have come up with some

catchier titles.

I know I can't believe we didn't use alliteration.

Or an anagram or something.

Yes.

We'll work on that for next summer.

Yes. These goals work together to strategically build

the foundation for a successful school year. So let's break down

each one and talk about how to make them happen. First goal is

to build connection.

And this is all about letting families get to know the

person behind the desk. They are entrusting you with their most

precious possession, their child, so they need to feel like

you are a safe, caring adult who truly cares about their kid.

And this really isn't about impressing the parents or

proving how amazing you are, even though obviously you are,

it's about showing them your heart and your teaching style.

The goal here is we're just trying to build trust. One of

the easiest ways to do this is with a looping slideshow that

runs in the background while families are exploring your

room. You can include photos of yourself, your family, your

pets, your hobbies, anything that helps them see you as a

real person. You could also include slides about your

teaching philosophy, what a typical day looks like in your

classroom, or even just some fun facts about you. The goal is to

help them feel like they know you just a little bit when

Another simple option that I think a lot of teachers

do is to have a bio sheet available. You could either

print that out and hand it out at back to school night, or it

could just be something that you send in an email, which is

probably the easier option, but either way, it helps parents to

know that they aren't leaving their child with a complete

stranger.

The second goal is to gather important information. So

you need details to help keep kids safe and supported, and so

open house or back to school night is the perfect time to

collect that information while families are still in their

eager to help mode, because, spoiler alert, they won't stay

in that mode.

Oh yes, capitalize on that window if there's something

you need back from families. So think about all of the forms

that you need, emergency contacts, transportation plans,

allergies, any kind of accommodations. This stuff is

too important to leave to chance or hope that it trickles in over

the first few weeks.

You can make this so easy by setting up a dedicated

station in your room with all your forms clearly labeled. Or

if you want to go digital, you can have QR codes that link to

online forms that families can fill out on their phones right

there in your classroom.

Or make it really easy, if you have access to

Chromebooks or tablets, you can set up a station where families

can fill out the digital forms right then. However you're

collecting this information, just make sure there's a clear

way for people to turn that in. If they're turning in papers,

have a clearly marked basket. If you're doing it online, have all

the steps printed out so you don't have all the questions.

Yeah, one year, my son's teacher had it where, when we

got there and we were going through the checklist of things

to do at the open house, one of them was for him to get out a

Chromebook, login for the first time, like so he was getting it

all set up for himself, which I thought was really smart to make

the parent help do that.

Yes, that's so clever.

Yes. And then on his computer, I filled out the forms

I needed to fill out. And so I was like, that is actually, I'll

be honest, it wasn't necessarily slick, because it was a pain in

the butt to help him get logged in, because, of course, there

were issues, but I can see from the teacher perspective why it

was so smart to do it that way and have the parents help get

through the tech issue, instead of you trying to help 24 kids do

that on their computers all together.

That is ninja level teaching, right there.

I know, clever. So anyway, the key is, whatever

you're doing here, make it obvious and easy. You don't want

families wandering around wondering where they're supposed

to put things or what they need to fill out.

Goal number three for back to school night is to help

families, both the students and their caregivers, feel at home

in your space. When families understand how your classroom

works, it eases first day nerves and it shows them that you run a

structured, student friendly room.

This is where that station approach really shines,

because instead of just talking about where supplies live and

how routines work, your families can actually see and explore for

themselves.

This is where you can have a lot of fun. You could

create a self guided scavenger hunt with tasks like find the

classroom library and browse the books, or locate the supply

station and draw a smiley face with a marker.

Or you could simply have clear labels and signs

throughout your room with short explanations, like you could

have a little sign by your reading corner that says, This

is where we gather for read alouds. Or, students can choose

books from these bins during independent reading time.

Your fourth open house goal is to welcome students into

the space and to create a moment of belonging before the year

even begins. Students should be able to see their names, find

their spots and leave a little piece of themselves behind.

This is so important because you want kids to walk in

on the first day and think, Oh, yes, I belong here. This is my

classroom too. This is why having names visible in the room

is so important. Even if you use student numbers, make sure each

child's name is visible somewhere in the room. A good

rule of thumb is that it should be visible in three places,

especially one of them being the door or right outside the door.

It just goes a long way toward helping everyone feel included

and comfortable.

But you can even take that a step further by having an

activity where students can contribute to their classroom

right away. Maybe you have them do an all about me drawing

activity where they create something that they can display.

Or you could do a shared class goal chart where everyone adds

their hopes for the year.

Or you can have a station where students can vote on which

book they want you to read aloud on the first day. These are

little touches, but they help students feel like they're

already part of the classroom community and not just visitors

in the space.

Goal five of your back to school planning is all about

managing supplies and your support systems. First, make it

easy on yourself by making it easy on families to drop off

school supplies. Have clearly labeled bins or areas where they

can leave their items.

Yeah, I've been surprised the years that I show up with,

you know, bags full of supplies to donate, and there's no,

there's no clear place of where I'm supposed to put it. And it's

like, hey, hey, where do you want these? You got to think

about these things. And if you have a classroom wish list, this

is a perfect time to share it. You could create a take a tag

display where families can choose an item to donate if they

want to.

And also, don't forget about volunteer opportunities.

Having a simple sign up sheet for things like field trip

chaperones, classroom helpers, party planners or special event

volunteers can be really helpful all year long.

Oh yeah, and I love having these out to sign when I

go to open house. Obviously, just keep it simple and pressure

free. Some families are going to be eager to help, and others

might be dealing with work schedules and other constraints,

and that is perfectly okay. We don't want anyone to feel like

they're not contributing if they can't sign up for a volunteer

opportunity.

And finally, goal six is to spark excitement for the year

ahead. You want people to leave this event feeling like

something wonderful is beginning. This is where you can

really lean into that sense of fun, make some memorable magic,

but with a purpose. We're not doing cute activities for the

sake of being cute. We are strategically building

anticipation and joy.

You could set up a photo station with props where

families can take a picture together. And also, I was

thinking, open house is the perfect time to take a picture

of each one of your students. Even better if they're, like,

holding a name tag that has their name on it.

So smart.

So that you can practice their names before the first day

of school. Because I would always take pictures of my

students on the first day of school and then go home and,

like, cram looking through the pictures. And I would get them

pretty good with, like, basically doing it like

flashcards. So it'd be even smarter to do it for open house.

Plus it would just be fun for the families to be able to take

pictures at a photo station as well. Or you could have your

students contribute to a banner where they write or draw their

hopes for the year and then clip it onto the banner, which will

be waiting for them when they come on the first day of school.

And of course, if you want to send people home with a

little bit of magic, don't forget to grab our first day

wish resource. One thing I love about this is that the poem

prompts kids to hold the star and make their wish for the new

school year, but they're also supposed to imagine that their

teacher is making their wish for them at the same time. I just

always think that's such a heartwarming little thought of

you know, the teacher and the student are still having this

connective moment, even though school hasn't officially even

started yet.

Yes, I love that, and the point is to end this open house

or back to school visit on a note of joy and anticipation. So

whether it's their first year at your school or their last, every

student deserves to feel like they're about to embark on

something amazing.

Okay, so those are your six goals, but let's talk about

the how. How do you actually structure this evening so you

can accomplish all of this without losing your mind?

We recommend creating a simple checklist that covers all

six areas and gives families a clear path through your

classroom. So just think of it like a little roadmap that

guides them from station to station.

As families arrive, you greet them at the door, and you

hand them the checklist, and they can move through the

activities at their own pace while you float around the room

having real conversations with people.

Your slideshow can be running in the background,

providing that connection piece we talked about. And meanwhile,

families are checking items off their list, filling out forms,

exploring the classroom, finding their child's desk, dropping off

supplies, or just pausing to watch the slideshow.

There's so much to do in just those few minutes. But the

beauty of this approach is that you are not trapped at the front

of the room giving the same presentation over and over. You

can actually talk to families, get to know your new students,

answer specific questions, figure out how to say some

unfamiliar names and start building those important

relationships.

And like I said earlier, families love it too, because

they're not sitting passively in those little desks listening to

you talk. The kids can explore and touch things. The parents

can ask questions as they come up, and everyone can move at

their own pace. If they're in a hurry, they can get in and out

quickly. It's just so much better for everyone.

Now, if all of this sounds great in theory, but

overwhelming in practice, we have got some news for you. We

have created a brand new open house, back to school, meet the

teacherresource that is designed to help you meet all six of

these goals without having to start from scratch.

Yes, this resource includes everything from a meet

the teacher slideshow template, and welcome letter, to classroom

labels, volunteer signups and even those wishlist tags we

mentioned. The whole thing is designed to make your back to

school night both meaningful and manageable.

You can find that resource in our shop, and we

will be sure to put a link in the show notes. But whether you

use our resource or you create your own, the important thing is

having those six clear goals to guide your planning.

So to recap, at your back to school night or open house,

you want to build connection, gather important information,

familiarize families with the classroom, welcome students into

With those goals in mind, you can evaluate every back to

the space, manage supplies and support systems, and spark

excitement for the year ahead.

school night idea through that lens and use your time

strategically to create an event that actually serves you and

your families.

We would love to hear how you manage meet the teacher or

open house. Come join the conversation in our teacher

approved Facebook group.

Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where we share an

actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and

simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is a

classic one that we've shared before, but we're revisiting

again because it's so timely, and it's about starting the year

with a celebration. So Heidi, will you tell us about this one?

Yeah, unfortunately, we can't take credit for this. This

comes from Joanna at Head Over Heels For Teaching, and she has

a tradition every year that we absolutely love. So the first

day of school comes to a close, she distributes Happy New Year

hats and horns, and the class does a countdown to the bell

ring at the end of the first day.

It's such a whimsical way to kick off the new year, and we

want to help you make this happen in your own classroom. So

we have a set of Happy New Year headbands, glow in the dark

glasses and horns to give away. So come join us in the Teacher

Approved Facebook group and comment on the giveaway posts,

and you will be entered into a drawing to get your own class

set of Happy New Year supplies so that you can try out this

tradition this year.

To wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're sharing

what we're giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets

your extra credit?

I'm giving extra credit to the cluedle kids activity

books. So I just got one of these for my son for his

birthday, and it has been a massive hit. I got him the first

one, which is the case of the dumbleton diamond. And so the

book has like, case notes and evidence to read, and then you

evaluate, you know, what you're learning as you go through to

try and solve the case. And then there's 50 puzzles to solve

throughout, yeah, like, it's jam packed, and I'm sure I'm gonna

end up getting the next one when he finishes this one, because

he's enjoying it so much. And there's other books like this.

Like, there's one where you're solving a murder, and it's

called Murdle, and there's a whole series of that, and

there's kids versions of that too. I think this is a fun new

genre of activity books that are out there. So if you have a kid

that likes solving mysteries, this will be right up their

alley.

Yeah, this sounds like it was just made for him.

Yep. What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

Well, my extra Credit goes to Oh Happy Danny's

classroom posters. I know we've talked about her designs in the

past, because everything she does is so cute. I know she's

got some really cute like affirmation signs you could put

on a mirror in your classroom. But these new posters are top

notch. They have encouraging messages about kindness and

bravery, and they show lots of different hands all working to

make a difference, and we will put a link in the show notes, so

you can check them out if you're interested.

But one thing that I really appreciated with these is that

if you live in a state like Idaho, where it's now illegal to

tell children that everyone is welcome, on her Instagram, she

made a post breaking down the riskiness of using her posters

in different learning environments. So if you do live

somewhere that that might be a problem, I'm so sorry, but you

still can get a positive message across without getting fired for

it. It's possible.

Yeah, it's handy. It shows like which posters are

more, would potentially be more risky. It seems ridiculous that

we even have to say that, but she she's there to help out too.

She doesn't want to get any teachers in trouble.

Yeah, especially because it is all just like, be kind, be

brave. We build a better world together. But, this is where we

are. So, don't lose your job over it.

Yes, but go check out Oh Happy Danny, her designs are

beautiful and so fun.

That's it for today's episode. Use those six goals to

guide your back to school night planning, and don't forget to

grab our open house resource if you want some ready to use

materials that align with everything we talked about

today.

And make sure to come enter the Happy New Year

giveaway in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow

or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an

episode.

You can connect with us and other teachers in the

Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.

Bye for now.

Bye.