Back To School Night ???

Just one parent going is fine and good enough. If you want something to worry about : ) here are few things:
- will dad make it home in time.
- parents have to sit in the tiny low first grader chairs. (but you are fit and trim, so not a worry, )
- sometimes they have a sign-up sheet to sign up for the parent-teacher conference time slots. worry: how to get to that sign-up sheet first.
- there will be one parent who will pull out his/her phone and slowly consult the calendar of a month 2-3 months away while holding up the line. worry: how to smoothly tell this parent, "excuse me I have my time already chosen, can I quickly write it in."
- entire school's parents are at the school, often mom and dad coming in separate cars. worry: where to park.

Honestly, you are new to the elementary school business, so go to the back-to-school night, otherwise there is not much lost by one or both parents skipping it. It is pretty routine information. After 2nd or 3rd grade, it is even more OK to skip.

Don't: collar the teacher and ask her/him, "how is my child doing?" The email must have specifically said, "this is not a time to conference with the teacher." At the end of the presentation, while other parents are falling over themselves and sprinting over the low furniture to get to the teacher, you can go around the classroom, take a look at the stuff on the walls, the open cabinets, the reading area, the cabinet/filing area, and so on. This will make you familiar with where your child spends 4-5 hours each day. Feel free to even take pictures though avoid including kids in the pictures if they are in the classroom.

Don't: look at all the work put up on the walls, and worry that your child's handwriting, vocabulary or drawing are not up to the mark.

Also, each parent sits at his/her child's seat. Feel free to explore your child's desk. Maybe even leave a note she will find there the next morning.

Remember to sign the parent attendance sheet. Often the next day, kids whose parents came to the back-to-school get some brownie points.

After dinner, compose an email to the teacher. Something like:
Dear Ms. Jones,

"It was nice to attend the back-to-school night and get to see the classroom and meet the teacher that Johnny has been talking about so much. Thank you for taking the time to present the information. In particular, my husband and I appreciated your talking about "< fill in something specific that teacher covered in presentation>" because < a nice reason >. It is very useful for parents like me who grew up outside the U.S. and whose first child is now in 1st grade.

<Include something complimentary or positive about the classroom. I had once mentioned that I liked how the teacher gave the students numbers Z-A of last name, instead of A-Z as it is normally done.>

<Mention that you are currently a SAHM, and are available to sign up for helping in classroom and school, and will be on the lookout for sign-up emails. Say that you are not yet ready to be room-parent, but if ever she is ever short of volunteers or chaperones, you will be more than happy to help.
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In the subject or the first line of email, include "Thank you from Johnny's mom" so she doesn't have to search up who you are.

OK hope all this gives you some information rather than more to worry about. : )

In general, keep in email touch with the teacher through short positive emails once in few weeks so that when you have some real issue to write about, you already have an email rapport with her. Just a short one line: "Johnny was telling his dad all about the seeds that students have planted in little pots. It gave us an opportunity to talk about how plants need sunlight." or "Johnny was so excited and could not stop talking about the visit to the library. Thank you for the information about the reading levels and how kids can choose books."

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