As we all are starting to think about open house, I want to share for you what I did last year that WORKED!
First, my objective was to have parents express an interest in their child's art education.
Second, I wanted to show parents the importance of art to their child's social and emotional development.
Here's what I did.
1. MUSIC!
I drew them in with music! I always play music in the art room for open house. It makes people feel welcome and draws them in.
2. PICTURES!
Because there is not a ton of finished art work the first few weeks of school (I focus on procedures and building classroom rapor the first few weeks) I take tons of pictures of what we do the first few weeks. I take pictures of the kids practicing mixing colors, putting on smocks, whatever it is that we are doing I photograph it. Then I put them together in a quick slideshow on my iPhoto. Some parents stood 20 minutes just to see a picture of their child! When their child's picture came up their excitement was palpable! It was so simple and so effective. The kids were so proud too.
3. BROCHURES!
I created this little brochure that I will update this year. It gives people something to take. Maybe they will actually read it at home and it will keep them thinking about the importance of art class. Also when you are busy talking to parents it is an opportunity for you to quickly connect with parents who enter the room. In the brochure I put an About Me section where I tell some personal information like my favorite things about our city and my educational and teaching background. We work so hard for our higher education it's nice to let parents know that we are highly qualified to teach their children. I also add a wish list and teaching philosophy. There is a section that describes my RULES and a frequently asked questions section.
Warning on Art Activities: Some years I put out art supplies (play dough, drawing materials, blocks) but it has made the room become a babysitting zone with children not accompanied by an adult. So I have scaled this back last year (just blocks) and it worked much better. I had more time to talk with families, which is the point!
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR LINKS TO GREAT IDEAS FOR OPEN HOUSE! I WOULD LOVE TO ADD TO THESE IDEAS. THANK YOU!
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| This is my brochure for art! I blurred out information for privacy reasons, but you can get the idea. |
First, my objective was to have parents express an interest in their child's art education.
Second, I wanted to show parents the importance of art to their child's social and emotional development.
 |
| This is the inside of my brochure. |
Here's what I did.
1. MUSIC!
I drew them in with music! I always play music in the art room for open house. It makes people feel welcome and draws them in.
2. PICTURES!
Because there is not a ton of finished art work the first few weeks of school (I focus on procedures and building classroom rapor the first few weeks) I take tons of pictures of what we do the first few weeks. I take pictures of the kids practicing mixing colors, putting on smocks, whatever it is that we are doing I photograph it. Then I put them together in a quick slideshow on my iPhoto. Some parents stood 20 minutes just to see a picture of their child! When their child's picture came up their excitement was palpable! It was so simple and so effective. The kids were so proud too.
3. BROCHURES!
I created this little brochure that I will update this year. It gives people something to take. Maybe they will actually read it at home and it will keep them thinking about the importance of art class. Also when you are busy talking to parents it is an opportunity for you to quickly connect with parents who enter the room. In the brochure I put an About Me section where I tell some personal information like my favorite things about our city and my educational and teaching background. We work so hard for our higher education it's nice to let parents know that we are highly qualified to teach their children. I also add a wish list and teaching philosophy. There is a section that describes my RULES and a frequently asked questions section.
Warning on Art Activities: Some years I put out art supplies (play dough, drawing materials, blocks) but it has made the room become a babysitting zone with children not accompanied by an adult. So I have scaled this back last year (just blocks) and it worked much better. I had more time to talk with families, which is the point!
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR LINKS TO GREAT IDEAS FOR OPEN HOUSE! I WOULD LOVE TO ADD TO THESE IDEAS. THANK YOU!
2 comments:
All great ideas! I'm jealous that your open house is after the start of the school year. Ours is before school starts so my bulletin boards are pretty much empty... but at least my room is clean! Last year I handed out a letter introducing myself (1st year last year) so I haven't figured out anything new for this year. I like the brochure idea!
We did a group mural with tempera paint. This year, I drew a grid of 6" squares on a 6' sheet of bulletin board paper around a large 18" x 4' blank space in the middle - I added an artist quote in that area. The squares were painted w/concentric circles (aka Kandinsky). I only put out primary colors but let them mix on the paper. Worked out pretty well- the mural will be hung up in the school hallway...
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