Using Sign-Up Genius to Help with Mystery Readers

One of my favorite parent volunteer opportunities I use each year is Mystery Reader. You can read more about the program HERE and find a packet to get you started on TpT HERE.

One part of the program that I always have to keep up with throughout the year is the sign-up and sending reminder emails, since parents usually have only one slot a year. It can be tricky to rearrange readers, too, when scheduling conflicts come up either at school or with a parent's schedule.

Our school uses SignUpGenius.com for Parent-Teacher Conferences, so I wanted to try it for Mystery Readers this year to see how it goes. So far, I am really excited about it!

I signed up for the free version, which has ads, but still has plenty of features to make it work for this program. Here's a finished look at my sign-up site:

I created this sign up as a "Recurring" event since we host Mystery Readers after Friday morning recess each week. 

One of the new features they have is the "Calendar View" when you are on the "Slots" page. I love this since it gives a great visual to parents (and to me!) of the month. Because we only host parents once a week, I really like how this looks instead of the default list view.

Some of the other features I liked was encouraging parents to write their picture book of choice when they sign up so that others can see and not make the same selection later. I also added a request in the Advanced Settings in "Settings" tab to have parents email or send their clues to me as soon as they could. This is a great way to get a lot of clues upfront.

Sign-Up Genius will also email the parents a few days in advance (I selected 5 days) to remind them of their date. Again, this saves me an email and having to remember myself. I get notified when someone signs up, so I don't have to worry about constantly checking the calendar throughout the month.

At the end, I have the option of sending out invites by entering in emails, or I can publish it and copy the link to add it to our class website, Open House materials, Back to School Night presentation, an email, and more!

I am really excited about this setup this year and I hope that if you're using my Mystery Readers packet, you can try this system out for your own class schedule and feel the relief of getting these items off of your checklist!

Do you use Sign-Up Genius in your classroom? What other uses have you found?