Welcome Back Letters – With a Twist

 

Do you send Welcome Back to School letters to your students before school starts?    I LOVE taking this opportunity to welcome my students to my classroom!  As a parent, I also love it.  My two girls anxiously await their letters each year.

Last year I added something special, and gave it a technology twist.  I have had amazing feedback from teachers everywhere wanting to do this for the coming school year, so I wanted to share it with you again.

Welcome Back to School Letters by Fun in First
Have you heard of QR codes?  I’m sure you have seen them around because they are on almost everything now.  I decided to add a QR code to my Welcome Back letter.  The QR code is linked to a recording of me reading the letter to my new students.
Go ahead…try it out.  If you do not have a QR reader on your phone, you can download a free one in your app store.
So, want to make one for yourself?
Such a creative way to welcome students into your classroom for the following school year.
1. Download the app Cloud QR.  I believe that I paid $4.99 for the app, but it was worth it to me.  I will also be using this for other things in my classroom.
2.  Record your audio.  Click SAVE.
3.  It will automatically bring up your QR code.  Then, you can save the QR code directly to your phone.
4.  Send the picture to your computer and insert the QR code directly into your letter.  DONE!
If you would like to download the template from my letter, click HERE.  I have placed text boxes on the pages for you to type into, but you can delete the text boxes, move them around, or add new ones.  In this download, I have included Pre-K through 5th grade.  I also included a plain one to help my Aussie friends.
I love that this gives my students an opportunity to learn a little more about me as well as hear my voice.  It’s all about establishing those relationships with your students right from the start.
Want more teaching tips?  Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
*THE FOLLOWING IS FROM A PREVIOUS POST WHEN AUDIOBOOM WAS A FREE OPTION.  THEY NOW CHARGE FOR THEIR SERVICES.
1.  Download the AudioBoom app, and create an account.
2. Record yourself.
3.  Go to www.audioboom.com and login to your account.  You will find your recording.  Click on the “QR Code” tab.
4.  Download the QR code and save it to your computer.
5.  Insert the QR code into your letter.  Done!
 If you would like to download the template from my letter, click HERE.  I have placed text boxes on the pages for you to type into, but you can delete the text boxes, move them around, or add new ones.  In this download, I have included Pre-K through 5th grade.  I also included a plain one to help my Aussie friends.
I love that this gives my students an opportunity to learn a little more about me as well as hear my voice.  It’s all about establishing those relationships with your students right from the start.
Want more teaching tips?  Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

Welcome Back to School Letters by Fun in First

 

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41 Comments

  1. Hi Jodi! I have loved the look of this every time I have seen it! Thanks for sharing the freebie. Anyway you might be able to post it without the language for the QR code? I would love to put my wish list in the same spot. Thanks so much!

  2. I love this! Thanks so much for creating and sharing this precious letter and the directions to create the QR code. I am so excited to try this.

    Would you please share the names of the fonts you used? I want mine to be as cute as yours and so far it is a boring fail. Thanks!

  3. Thank you so much for sharing! I never would have thought of this. Just made my own for this year and the audioboom app was so easy to use. Planning on using the same app to record my voice for my listening center this year and using QR codes with the book's cover next to each one. Can't wait to get started!

    1. I'm trying to create mine. I was able to create the recording and save it to drafts… but then I can't find the drafts anywhere… not on the app or on the website. I tried to search for how to create the QR codes and the audioboom website says it doesn't allow private recordings any longer. Am I doing something wrong? I think this is a fabulous idea and I'm so excited to do it, but I can't seem to get it to work. 🙁

      1. Michelle, I did it and the post was under my profile. Click on your name in the top right corner of the website, then click profile. When you do, the post should come up! Hope that helps!

      2. Hi Michelle,
        I had a very difficult time making the recording work also. I had to publish it once it was saved in my drafts and then log out of audioboom and log back in before it showed up under my profile. Once I did that I could click into the recording and create the QR code. I wasn’t able to save the code to my computer but I could cut and paste. Hope this helps!

      3. I think this is really cute but I cannot figure out how to record on Audioboom. Did you have to pay for an account? When I signed up I was assigned a free listener account.

        1. I didn’t have to pay for Audioboom. I record directly from the app on my phone. Then, I get the QR code from the website using my computer.

          1. I recorded from the app on my phone. But when I go to my dashboard on the website (on my computer) I don’t see a QR code tab. Do you know where to find it or can I delete the last line on the newsletter that talks about the QR code?

  4. What a great letter with the technology piece built into it! I am excited to use this letter with my students this year. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Hi Jodi~
    As always I love everything you do!. The time, and effort really shines through on your products. I was wondering if you could help me? I love your Welcome Back Letter, and the idea of the QR code…but I don’t think it will work for me this year. How can I take the QR portion/note off of the bottom of the letter?

  6. This is fantastic! My first time using QR codes and quite easy to do following your instructions. Thanks!

  7. You are not only incredibly creative, but incredibly generous! Thank you for taking the time to show us how to create this for our own classrooms! I plan on trying this with my preschool class this fall. I think it will be a wonderful tool for parents as they ease their children into school for the first time! To listen to their teacher’s friendly voice is an amazing idea!

  8. Love this idea. However, AudioBoom won’t publish QR code if you disable location services. I don’t want to publish where I recorded this – especially since it is at my home. 🙁

  9. Jodi,
    Thank you so much for this awesome idea! My letter has just been mailed to my incoming K students, and I love the idea that they will get to see my picture and hear my voice to ease any anxiety they may have about the transition!! What a fabulous idea. Thank you again!!

    1. The majority of the text is MTF Big Ideas. The other fonts I used were KG Drops of Jupiter, MTF Jumpin Jack, KG Party on the Roof, KG Say Something, KG One Thing, KG Pay Phone, and KG When Oceans Rise.

  10. This is my second year doing t his for my students. It is so much fun. I followed your directions & it worked perfectly. Thank you, thank you, for giving us the steps. My principal told me one of my parents even said:
    That Kindergarten teacher “really has it going!” You are the best!

    1. The majority of the text is MTF Big Ideas. The other fonts I used were KG Drops of Jupiter, MTF Jumpin Jack, KG Party on the Roof, KG Say Something, KG One Thing, KG Pay Phone, and KG When Oceans Rise.

    1. The majority of the text is MTF Big Ideas. The other fonts I used were KG Drops of Jupiter, MTF Jumpin Jack, KG Party on the Roof, KG Say Something, KG One Thing, KG Pay Phone, and KG When Oceans Rise.

  11. This is without a doubt THE BEST back to school letter I’ve written in my 22 years in the classroom. The QR code works great and I think I’ll be using Audio Boom for other things in my classroom. Thank you for such a great resource!

  12. Thank you for the template and directions! It took me awhile to create, but my letter came out great. Your willingness to share is so appreciated.

  13. Hi! Thanks so much for sharing. Is there any way you could post without the QR stuff at the bottom? I would super duper appreciate it.

  14. Love this so much! Thank you for walking me through this! 🙂 Just set my welcome back letter and QR code up for Back to School night on Tuesday! You rock!!

  15. HI Jodi – I, too, love your ideas and the Welcome Letter was such fun to use last year, but I too cannot use Audiboom without purchasing… Did you have any other suggestions that popped up on the radar??

    Thank you so much!

    Terri

  16. What program did you use to create the actual newsletter? This is my first year teaching first grade. : )

  17. Jodi, your material is darling and so spot-on! I use a lot of it with my lower learners! I wish you’d move to second grade so there would be more options for me!!!!! =)
    Liz

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