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We're having *homeschool* open house...

Aubrey

By Aubrey,
in General Education Discussion Board

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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The kids are finishing up a bunch of projects, & friends & family are coming to eat cookies & ooh & ah. It's our first "open school" type thing & I'm a little nervous, a little excited. The boxes are not all unpacked yet, but I'm only aiming to get the front rooms usable. Kids' rooms will be bonus.

 

So I'll be baking tomorrow (unless I can get dh to do that). Today I'm hanging art work & looking for lost craft sticks.

 

Oh! And since we're doing it on Sun, the kids' costumes are part of the open house: Indians for the girls & the Wright bros for the boys. When asked what he was going to be for Halloween, 9yo went on a 3min rant about how one of the Wright bros wanted to invent a motorcycle & the other one talked him out of it. :svengo: :lol: He's making 2yo be *that* bro. :D

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Spy Car

Spy Car

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I think that is a terrific idea. I wish I could drop in for a moment.

 

This is a wonderful thing to do for the children, and yourself. My best wishes for a beautiful and well-remembered evening. The good work (on all parts) deserves a little recognition and celebration.

 

Cheers to you!

 

Bill

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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My in-laws are the type that like to have something visible to support, so I'm kind-of hoping this helps them to be excited about hs. They do try, but when we were applying to teach in Malaysia, mil couldn't hide her excitement. Nevermind the fact that we'd be on the other side of the world & she wouldn't see her dgc for a min of 2yrs--at least they'd have a *school* experience. LOL

 

Anyway, we've been trying to involve them more this yr. There was the Oregon Trail thing, & they got to give the kids advice by telephone. Next mo we'll be reading Angel on the Square, & some of the family's going to read along for a digital book club.

 

Maybe we should add in some fund raisers for a more full "school" experience....:D

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Spy Car

Spy Car

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My in-laws are the type that like to have something visible to support, so I'm kind-of hoping this helps them to be excited about hs. They do try, but when we were applying to teach in Malaysia, mil couldn't hide her excitement. Nevermind the fact that we'd be on the other side of the world & she wouldn't see her dgc for a min of 2yrs--at least they'd have a *school* experience. LOL

 

Anyway, we've been trying to involve them more this yr. There was the Oregon Trail thing, & they got to give the kids advice by telephone. Next mo we'll be reading Angel on the Square, & some of the family's going to read along for a digital book club.

 

Maybe we should add in some fund raisers for a more full "school" experience....:D

 

LOL at the fundraiser :lol:

 

In fact I recently wrote impassioned letters to parents and teachers (the latter to "pitch" the parents for Annual Fund contributions) at our recent Back-to-School Night.

 

Say.....this should be Back-to-School Night if you want to be all "schooly" :D

 

And at Back-to-School Night in addition to all the impressive student work displayed (mounted on colored paper with proper borders :tongue_smilie:) it is nice to get a brief (and that means short curriculum geeks) overview of what the children will be studying this year, the goals and methods. Wow them!

 

Power Point and a projector???

 

No pressure or anything ;)

 

Bill (who could forward a good fundraiser letter you could adapt to use on the in-laws)

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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LOL at the fundraiser :lol:

 

In fact I recently wrote impassioned letters to parents and teachers (the latter to "pitch" the parents for Annual Fund contributions) at our recent Back-to-School Night.

 

Say.....this should be Back-to-School Night if you want to be all "schooly" :D

 

And at Back-to-School Night in addition to all the impressive student work displayed (mounted on colored paper with proper borders :tongue_smilie:) it is nice to get a brief (and that means short curriculum geeks) overview of what the children will be studying this year, the goals and methods. Wow them!

 

Power Point and a projector???

 

No pressure or anything ;)

 

Bill (who could forward a good fundraiser letter you could adapt to use on the in-laws)

 

Um...no goals & methods. One must remember his/her audience. ;)

 

But, yes, the art is framed w/ construction paper borders, although I was boring & only used black. And scrapbook paper for the bigger pieces. (We're using Phonics of Art this yr & I LOVE it!)

 

For fundraisers...forget the impassioned letters & chocolate bars & coupon books. I'm putting the kids' artwork on my blog, to auction off to grandparents. :D Maybe I should specify that Amazon giftcards will work like money? ;)

 

Anyway, it would be fun if you guys could drop by. Just think...you're one body scan & a quick flight away. :lol:

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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We've had "Grandparent's Day" at our home school last spring. We gave an update on how my big girl did for the year and a preview of materials she was going to use this year. We also had snacks too!

 

I'm SO tempted to do watered-down Kool-Aid, to make it more "schooly." But I figure coffee & homemade cookies will be less painful for me. And maybe some authentic Native American food from our craft book.

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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Other than the fact that dh announced the AM of open house (& Halloween) that he wanted to let the kids carve pumpkins *right then,* it was a brilliant success. (And luckily, there was a bad pumpkin crop this yr, so the pumpkin carving was nixed.)

 

My kids have the best grandparents in the world. I'm sorry for everybody else, lol! Fil sat w/ the littles the entire time he was here, playing trot little horsey & spinning them in my spinning desk chair until 2yo announced that he couldn't take it any more & was going to bed. In the middle of a *loud* party. :lol:

 

Mil & dh's aunt walked around the room, reading every word of everything, asking questions, commenting on *everything,* & completely filling the kids' hearts up w/ the feeling that somebody is immeasurably interested in ea of them.

 

Even dh commented later that this was the first time he's really gotten to see the full pic of what the kids are doing & their enthusiasm, etc. At the dinner table, he asks what they're learning, & they shrug, lol.

 

Dd read her book about immigration, & mil & dh's aunt told her about their grandmother coming over to America when she was 19.

 

My grandmother told them about her uncles & brothers in WW I & II, her experiences seeing Eleanor Roosevelt on newsreels at the theater as a child, etc.

 

My only regret is that we didn't have them over one at a time so the kids could have heard more of their stories. And that my dad & granddad couldn't be there to tell their stories. And that fil & the littles were SO loud. :lol:

 

For *me,* this was a truly meaningful & memorable experience. :001_smile:

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MissKNG

MissKNG

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I'm SO tempted to do watered-down Kool-Aid, to make it more "schooly." But I figure coffee & homemade cookies will be less painful for me. And maybe some authentic Native American food from our craft book.

 

I had regular cheese/crackers and cookie stuff. Nothing huge!! For this fall, I'm going to send the Grandparents some progress reports and do another open house in the spring!

 

Your open house sounded GREAT!!

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74Heaven

74Heaven

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We had a "Homewchool Open House" a few years ago and invited all our long time neighbors and all the aunts and uncles. My sister's son was about 4th grade and he had a sign called "Stump the Noah" and he had a can with strips of paper with questions on it - math facts, history, science, etc. that guests could ask him. I think you got candy if you stumped him? It ended up being really fun and we joke about it 7-8 years later.

 

One of the neighbors still jokes that it was so refreshing to see the kids' papers had "red pen" marks on them because nowadays she said (I have no idea?) that teachers don't use red pens because it hurts a child's morale.

 

We also had cookies and juice and coffee and each kid had a table with their exhibits, workbooks, sports ribbongs, trophies, etc.

 

I wish I had the energy to do this every year, lol. IT was fun and it did "legitimize" homeschooling for some of the relatives!

 

Lisaj

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lisabees

lisabees

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What a great idea. Have loads of fun! :001_smile:

 

eta: Ooops - just read the updated post. Love this:

 

"Mil & dh's aunt walked around the room, reading every word of everything, asking questions, commenting on *everything,* & completely filling the kids' hearts up w/ the feeling that somebody is immeasurably interested in ea of them."

 

Just wonderful.

Edited by lisabees
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*Jessica*

*Jessica*

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Other than the fact that dh announced the AM of open house (& Halloween) that he wanted to let the kids carve pumpkins *right then,* it was a brilliant success. (And luckily, there was a bad pumpkin crop this yr, so the pumpkin carving was nixed.)

 

My kids have the best grandparents in the world. I'm sorry for everybody else, lol! Fil sat w/ the littles the entire time he was here, playing trot little horsey & spinning them in my spinning desk chair until 2yo announced that he couldn't take it any more & was going to bed. In the middle of a *loud* party. :lol:

 

Mil & dh's aunt walked around the room, reading every word of everything, asking questions, commenting on *everything,* & completely filling the kids' hearts up w/ the feeling that somebody is immeasurably interested in ea of them.

 

Even dh commented later that this was the first time he's really gotten to see the full pic of what the kids are doing & their enthusiasm, etc. At the dinner table, he asks what they're learning, & they shrug, lol.

 

Dd read her book about immigration, & mil & dh's aunt told her about their grandmother coming over to America when she was 19.

 

My grandmother told them about her uncles & brothers in WW I & II, her experiences seeing Eleanor Roosevelt on newsreels at the theater as a child, etc.

 

My only regret is that we didn't have them over one at a time so the kids could have heard more of their stories. And that my dad & granddad couldn't be there to tell their stories. And that fil & the littles were SO loud. :lol:

 

For *me,* this was a truly meaningful & memorable experience. :001_smile:

It sounds like a smashing success! Supportive family is the best! This is such a lovely idea, and I'm totally stealing it! :D

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