Ask each student to bring in a pair of pants and a shirt. Have students stuff the clothing with newspaper to create dummies. Provide them with card stock to draw and cut out faces. Encourage students to make the faces look like their own. Glue craft sticks to the faces and attach them to the bodies. Have students place their dummies at their desks. When parents arrive, ask them to look at the dummies and use them to find their child's desk.
Create a scavenger hunt for parents to complete. Provide each parent with a page outlining objects or areas of the classroom to find. Use the scavenger hunt to show them things such as the calendar, reading area, homework board, daily schedule and their child's artwork. You may also wish to extend the scavenger hunt to introduce parents to other areas of the school such as the gym, library, computer lab and office.
Create a slide show for parents to view. Include a few details about yourself such as how long you have been teaching, family members and hobbies. Outline important information about your classroom such as curriculum objectives, homework policies and the class schedule. Include information on how parents can contact you. You can also include pictures of other staff members that will be working with your students.
Ask students to write letters to their parents welcoming them to their classroom. Brainstorm information to include in the letters, such as topics they are learning about and upcoming events they are excited to participate in. Have students leave their letters on their desks and ask parents to read their child's letter when they visit the classroom. Kristi Thomas recommends asking parents to write responses and leave the letters at their child's desk to read the next morning.