Hosting an open house for your childcare business is your chance to advertise your services to parents who are looking for the right place to send their child. Your open house is a fun, effective event where you get to show off your facility, connect with new families, nurture relationships with existing customers, and increase your enrollment.
As a childcare owner, you have to demonstrate what sets you apart from other childcare businesses in the area. For tips on how to plan, promote, set up, and follow up on a great childcare open house, keep reading. Daily Connect is here with a step-by-step guide to help you make your open house a success, leaving a positive impression on guests and potentially growing your business.
1. Plan Your Childcare Open House
To host a successful open house for your childcare, you first need to have a plan. Start by choosing a realistic date and time for your open house. Since your main customers are working parents, choose a time that families are most likely to attend—ideally, outside the typical 9-5 workweek. Consider hosting your open house in the evening (after dinnertime) or on the weekend.
Additionally, you must set clear objectives and goals for your event. Do you want to grow your enrollment for new students? Do you want to promote your business as a reputable childcare center that parents will recommend to their friends? Do you want to attract a certain demographic based on a particular specialty or educational philosophy you uphold?
Hosting an open house event can cost money. Plan an open house budget for things like:
- Complimentary snacks and refreshments
- Marketing materials (online ads, paper brochures, flyers, etc.)
- Fun activities or events (such as a bounce house for the kids)
- Gift bags or promotional packets to hand out to parents
- Decorations that showcase your classroom’s best light
- Paying your staff overtime to help work the event
If you plan to have your staff assist with the event, you’ll also want to assign them specific roles and responsibilities. Set the expectations not only for yourself but also for your employees.
2. Prepare Your Classroom for the Event
First impressions are everything. While you want your childcare facility to look natural and authentic, you also want to put a little extra work into cleaning and decorating to make a great impression.
How can you make the space look warm, welcoming, and inviting? Intentionally choose cheerful and educational decorations, setting them up in different areas of the classroom. For example, you can clearly label the arts and crafts section with beautiful artwork from students. For the reading area, lay out your nicest, cleanest, and most vibrant children’s books.
More importantly, make a point to highlight your classroom’s health and safety protocols. Parents want to send their children to a daycare that takes care of their kids’ safety and well-being. Post a colorful list of classroom rules and a pretty binder full of any childcare policies that families often ask about.
3. Promote Your Open House to the Public
The last thing you want to do is spend time planning and setting up an open house only for nobody to show up! You’ll have to promote your event locally to attract curious parents and incentivize families to join the fun.
Here are some ideas on how to effectively market your open house:
- Use your social media accounts to post event dates and details.
- Send personalized invitations to families on your waiting list, email marketing lists, and contact lists.
- Post paper flyers about your event in family-friendly public spaces like children’s libraries, church lobbies, coffee shops, community centers, etc.
- Spread the word about your upcoming open house to your existing network, both professional and personal—you never know who might be interested.
- Encourage existing customers to invite their neighbors, friends, and extended family to learn about your childcare center.
Additionally, if you have a website for your childcare business, consider creating a landing page for more advanced marketing efforts. You can implement organic and paid promotional strategies like SEO and display ads to further your reach.
4. Set Up Your Childcare Open House Experience
After you promote your event for several weeks leading up to the big day, it’s time to start preparing.
Some childcare owners set up a “check-in” area or welcome table where guests sign in with their name and phone number. In exchange, you can provide them with free information packets that detail the offerings and features of your childcare program.
Think about how you want the classroom to flow during this event. After parents walk in, where is the first place they should go? Will your setup be a “free for all” or more structured, where employees offer small groups of families a cohesive tour of the facility? Be very intentional with it and consider how you would want to experience an open house if you were an inquiring parent.
Plus, what activities will you have available for kids? They need to be entertaining and engaged, too! This is also a good opportunity for parents to see how their child might interact with you and your childcare center once they’re enrolled.
5. Talk About Your Childcare Program
Take some time to present the main benefits and features of your childcare program. Talk about:
- Your background and how you got into childcare
- What your teaching philosophy or “mission” is
- Some examples of the curriculum you use
- Daily routines, schedules, and activities children experience at your daycare
- A story on how you’ve had a positive impact on families
- A brief Q&A segment to answer parents’ questions
You can also wrap this section up by having some of your employees talk about why they love working in your program.
6. Engage With Your Guests
Before your event, prepare yourself (and your employees!) to interact with families and guests. Engaging your guests in meaningful conversation is a crucial part of the open house. They want to get to know you and your staff—the people who will potentially be interacting with their kids every day.
You can prepare talking points and address common concerns about your program to ease anxiety and interact with confidence. Be open to exchanging phone numbers, emails, social media handles, and other networking details with parents who seem interested. Make yourself available for them not only before and during the event, but also after.
7. Follow Up After the Open House
The purpose of the open house is to make connections and spark new leads. But the work isn’t over as soon as the event is! After the open house, you may want to:
- Send personalized “Thank You” notes or emails to attendees
- Provide additional information to parents who had specific requests
- Offer incentives for new enrollment (such as “First Week of Tuition Free” or a waived processing fee if parents sign up within 20 days)
- Schedule private tours for parents who want to enroll their child
- Reach out to families who made a lasting impression on you to ask if they want any more information
Additionally, you can post fun, candid photos of the event on social media and your website, expressing a general “thank you” to all who attended. If you have any fun videos or cute pictures with the kids, you can publish those as well (as long as the families consent to their photos being shared).
More Childcare Success Tips from Daily Connect
We know that hosting a childcare open house can bring up some nervous anticipation. But with careful planning, classroom setup, parent communication, and follow-up, you can make your event the most worthwhile open house ever, leading to greater enrollment and meaningful connections.
While this event is your chance to lay a solid foundation for new parent-teacher relationships, there are many ways to strengthen this engagement as your childcare business grows. With the Daily Connect childcare management app, you can organize new contacts, send automated emails, manage staff, optimize your enrollment, and so much more.
Want more tips on childcare events and everyday classroom management? Check out Daily Connect today and get a free trial of our platform for your childcare center.
