Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Parent Wish Jar (Freebie)

I'm linking up again with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!  I know...it's Tuesday.  Better late than never. Thank you, Tara, for hosting!
In addition to doing lots of printing, copying and laminating, I made a few things for my classroom this week. We have open house on Wednesday (the week before school starts). I guess it's kind of like some of your "meet the teacher" events, but we don't have to do another open house later in the year.

When my new families come to open house, I am going to ask parents to write down a "wish" for their child's year in 1st grade to add to our parent wish jar. I will take the wish jar home with me over the Labor Day weekend to help me get to know my families (and their wishes) before the first day of school next week.  I don't share their wishes with anyone.

My Parent Wish Jar


 Here are the labels that I made.  The picture shows the one I used for my own jar, but there are a few different designs.  Just click on the image if you'd like to download it. 



Here is the slip  I ask parents to fill out with their wishes.  You can click on the image below to download this document as well.  If you download, please follow and/or leave me a comment.  I'm heading into 2 full days of professional development and I'm going to need something to read. :)


Counting down...
Today is my last official day of summer.
Tomorrow is our first day of required professional development.
Tomorrow evening is our Open House.
Next Tuesday...my students will start.   Let's get this party started!

25 comments:

  1. I love this idea, thanks for sharing. Today is also my last day, then tomorrow it's back to work!

    Jennyfer
    www.teachinginthecouv.blogspot.com

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  2. I absolutely love this idea!! Thank you so much for sharing :)
    Elizabeth

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  3. This is such a sweet idea! I really love it!
    ❤Teri
    A Cupcake for the Teacher

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  4. I love the wish jar! Such a cute idea! Now I just have to find something for my parents to put their wishes in...I'll add that to my to-do list =) Thanks for the idea!!

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  5. I love this idea!! We started school almost 4 weeks ago, so I'm trying to figure out when I can use it, but I LOVE it. Thanks so much for sharing :)

    Kelly
    First Grade Fairytales

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  6. I really like your parent wish jar. I'd also like to invite you to join my new linky called "Fun Friday." It is all about the fun things we do in our classrooms. I'd love for you to stop by and link up!

    Kelly
    Teaching Fourth

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  7. What a sweet idea! I think it would be so telling to hear what their one wish would be.

    Amy
    http://whathappensinfirstgrade.blogspot.com

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  8. Just saw this on Pinterest. This is pure. genius., chica! I am going to tweak it a little bit and let parents write those 100 things they are always wanting to stop and tell you (i.e. dominate your time *ahem*) on Open House night about their child. All while other parents (who want to do the same thing! haha!) are standing around getting frustrated! So not just their "wishes", but their "whatever-you-wanna-tell-me-about-your-kid"! Love it!

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  9. Where did you get your wish jar?

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  10. Thanks so much! I know that my kindergarten parents will enjoy this (as I will reading them!!)

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  11. Such a sweet way for parents to express what's in their heart. For Kindergarten parents letting go for the first time, this is priceless. THANK YOU for sharing. Have a wonderful year!

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  12. I can't wait to use this at Open House! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  13. Where did you get your wish jar?

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  14. This is great even for middle school teachers! Unfortunately, parent involvement decreases dramatically. This is a good way for me to solidify that we still need parents to be involved with their children and especially during these rough years. Thank you so much!

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  15. What an interesting idea! I might just try this at our next open evening for parents. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. love this idea! it will be in use tomorrow for my open house :) thank you.

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  17. What a great idea to start building rapport with parents! Thanks so much. I will definitely be using this.

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  18. I teach ninth graders, but this year I have a section of mostly "return" students. Some I know, some I have heard about. Some are several years older than the standard ninth grader. I am seriously considering trying this out to ease concerns and create rapport. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. Read this blog, some good points are indicated here. really good Parent Wishes.

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  20. thank you so much for sharing i will use in my first grade class

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  21. Kimberly, I am so thankful to discover your blog. This year will be my first year teaching. I am super excited, however I don't have a sound idea of how to plan the first week. I will 'favorite' your site! Thank you and have a great school year!!!

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  22. I am going to use your Parent Wish slips this year during Meet the Teacher night. Thank you for the resource!

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  23. Thank you! I'm going to use it during our Orientation night!

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