Call me CrAzy but I love Parent Teacher Conferences! As a teacher, I love parent teacher conferences! As a Parent I love Parent Teacher Conferences! It is that one time of the year that I get to spend talking about just your child or hearing only about mine.
At our school we have conferences for 2 nights. This year we had conferences on Wednesday and Thursday nights. It was about a 12 hour day, but well worth it!
I love to share with parents all of the great things about their kiddos. I also feel parents get a chance to know the real me. Maybe I should be, but I am not a formal type of teacher. Don't confuse my lack of formality with a lack of professionalism. I want people to walk into my conferences and feel comfortable. I want parents to feel like we can talk, they can trust me, and I want them to know that I care. I feel that building that comfort level is important because parents don't feel judged (because I am not judging) and they tend to be more receptive. I am a hugger not really a handshaker. Do I hug all parents...NO! That would be a little weird but the ones that I know from volunteering or stopping by might get a hug. Our conferences are fifteen minutes long. I do the talking at first. You wouldn't believe what I can accomplish in about 7-8 minutes. I am like the Speedy Gonzales of talking! I talk and then give the parents a minute to take a breath and take it all in! :) Like I said I talk fast and cover a lot!
So this is how it began.
Before school on the first day of conferences I was getting ready...
Now lots of people feel that it is important to dress up. You know wear nice dress pants, blouse, and high heels. I am a kindergarten teacher so I need to be comfy. My wardrobe reflects me! Fun & colorful! So when getting ready for conferences I choose to pick my clothes like I do any other day. I wanna wear something fun! As my husband says I have Flare! (Check out my 180 days of Flare page above - it is all about what I wear!)
Okay so back to getting ready. I was brushing my teeth and I thought hmmm... I need something catchy for my parents to do while they are waiting. Something clever. The third grade teachers in my building do cute little trees and have parents write little notes to their kiddos to hang on the tree. I loved that idea but I needed to add my own touch. My Gardner flare!
And then it came to me! At this point I need to point out how AWESOME my assistant is! She humors me no matter what crazy idea I come up with. She is always excited and willing to do anything I ask! So on the morning of conferences I came up with my Hats off To You product. When I told her about my plan prefacing that she was gonna kill me. HAHA! She said (with a smile) I was hoping you would come up with something fun! How great is she!?!?! She cut it out, made the banner, decorated my table and then cut out 50 hats. SO BLESSED!
So here is the final product.
How cute is this?
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| This is after the first night of conferences. |
Here are few other pictures:
As parents are waiting for their scheduled conference they fill out one of each hat for their kiddo. I had planned on handing them out on Friday but they looked SO cute outside of my door I figured I would wait until next week. I am a sucker for cuteness! Cute Bulletin Boards and decor!
Here is my bulletin board on the wall right next to my door. (To the right of the Hats Off)
So I was in love with the combo of the two... they had to stay!
Okay so how cute was that little kindergartener!
That is my kindergarten school picture! AWW!
Here is a link to my product if you are interested!
