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School family fun nights serve many purposes in your school. They help children see and appreciate what their parents do for their school. School family fun nights are also a great bonding experience for families. Most importantly, they serve as a way to increase parent involvement in the school. But how do you plan a great school family fun night?
I’m Georgia-based school assembly presenter Ken Scott. Each year, I perform school assemblies in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee. Many of the schools I visit host one of my programs for their family fun nights. So, I’ve seen what works, and what doesn’t. This article will reveal some simple tips for planning a school family fun night that goes off without a hitch!
A good family fun night is not something you can put together at the last minute. You’ll want to give you and your committee plenty of time to plan everything. Consider two months, or eight weeks, as the ideal amount of time.
When selecting a date, the biggest issue you’ll run into is conflicts. Be sure your date does not conflict with sporting events, plays, or other special evening events at your school. But don’t just check your school calendar. Check your community’s events as well.
Finally, when selecting your date, consider a weekday event. Weekends often mean a hoist of other obligations for many families. Hosting your event on a weeknight ensures a better turnout.
What’s your family fun night theme? Choosing a theme is important! The theme can influence your decorations, activities, and more. Once you have your theme, it’s much easier to fill in the details. If your family fun night is in October, consider a Halloween-themed event. But the right theme offers many opportunities for creativity!
Sticking with the Halloween theme, you could plan a costume contest. Or maybe a mini-haunted house. Or wrap the Halloween theme around the Goosebumps book series. Written by author R.L. Stein, these books remain delightful spooky-themed fun for elementary school-age kids.
The last thing you want is a poorly attended event. You gotta get the word out! But how? First, don’t try to rely on one method. Try multiple ways of reaching people. Different people respond to different methods. Using multiple ways to publicize your family fun night helps ensure more people see your message.
Start by hanging posters around your school. Arrange for the morning announcements leading into the event to contain quick ‘blurbs’ reminding the kids of the event. Also, be sure to send flyers home with each child…multiple times.
Don’t forget technology. Be sure to put details about your event front and center on your school’s website. Post about the event often on social media. Be sure that each post comes from a different angle. People won’t want to read multiple posts written the same way. Remember to send emails to parents, too.
When planning your event layout, look for potential trouble areas. One of the biggest is the food. Keep the food and refreshments in a separate area, away from the entrance and away from other activities. It’s too easy for food to cause bottlenecks as people select their food and stop to chat with other attendees.
And remember, kids have short attention spans. Being at school at night is thrilling for them. They’re walking into the building with a different perspective. Have a wide variety of activities. Consider including some activities that help kids bring their energy down with quieter events later.
On the big day, make sure everyone on your committee has everything they need. Also, remember that attendees might not know what to expect. Hand out flyers to attendees as they enter. The flyer should detail where specific events are being held along with their start times.
And go into your event with a plan for when things go sideways…because they likely will. Have extra tech-minded volunteers to handle equipment breakdowns. Be sure to know how to reach each other. Smooth communication can help ease any problems.
Want an easy way to boost attendance at your event? A way that creates an instant ‘centerpiece’ activity for everyone? Be sure to check out my Family Fun Night Magic Show. It’s filled with jaw-dropping magic, kid-friendly comedy, loads of join-in fun, and much more. Contact me today for more details.