Take5: It's Time to Party...Classroom Party Planning

.This week we are focusing on party planning, especially for elementary classrooms. Maybe that's because both of us are in the midst of planning/helping with our own children's winter parties. We know that sometimes teachers are the planners and sometimes parents are the planners; sometimes it's very much a joint effort. We wanted to give everyone a list of party ideas for different seasons in the hopes that it can be a resource for future planning or spark ideas.  We have collected these ideas from years of attending and helping with kid parties, and in conversation with other educators. We'd love to grow this list, so if you have an idea to share please post it in the comments.

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Oh and one more thing: We are fans of stations at classroom holiday parties. Less time for kids to get bored and off task. Plus it keeps them collaborating in small groups (so these ideas fit best in a station model with small groups rotating through the stations and one or two parents guiding each station activity). So make some stations, throw on some themed music, add some decorations, and have fun. Your students definitely will! 

Halloween 

• Mummy race (using toilet paper, kids race to turn their teammate into a mummy)
• What's in the box? (kids reach in to touch something creepy (eyeballs - grapes); you get the idea. This one grosses us out beyond measure but kids love it.  Older kids? Have them fill out a sheet with their guess of what the item actually is.
• Witches brew - dry ice in a cauldron, a parent dresses like a witch, and tells a scary tale (maybe read Room on the Broom for younger kiddos). 
• Decorate a pumpkin . If you want to get messy -- buy little pumpkins and let kids decorate with markers (sharpies will work) or paint.  If you want to be really bold, add glitter and glue to the mix. Be sure to bring smocks for kids (old t-shirts to save their clothing).
• Guess how many. Put something Halloween themed in a jar and see if they can guess how many using the power of math. The team with the closest answer wins the contents of the jar. Candy is an obvious choice - but some schools don't allow it.
• Make Halloween Goodie bags for seniors complete with a homemade card and a treat. 
• Broom Battle:  If you have outside access or access to a hallway, kids can race one another; they have to push a balloon around an obstacle course using a "witch's" broom.
• Halloween photo book: Create  a backdrop and bring in Halloween props -- think costumes for kids to wear. Snap a few photos that you can share with the class for their bulletin board or the yearbook

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Winter Celebration

• Pin the Nose on the Snowman -- the new and improved version of pin the tail on the donkey
• Make a holiday card or care package for seniors or soldiers (put out colored paper, markers and stickers or use our lined templates).
• Snowman race -- students race against one another in groups to turn a classmate into a snowman using toilet paper, hats, scarfs etc.
• Crafts (avoid glue and glitter to prevent well, a mess) -- order picture frames that have little stickers to add on...easy, fun, and they can be personalized. Here's a sample. 
• Story Corner -- read picture books with winter themes (this is also a great way to end the party if your school still does treats. Kids get their treats, have a seat, and then it's story time). 
• Holiday BINGO --  design a bingo card with a winter words or pictures.  If you call it off and they have it, they can mark it with a sticker, pen, M&M, etc. We are using a set of winter BINGO boards and calling cards from Little Red Window for a 3rd grade party this week! Or you can build your own boards here!
• Jingle Bell Toss -- put cups out and a line of tape, kids have to toss the jingle bell into the cup.
• Winter photo booth -- collect fun props and start snapping pictures! Upload to a Google slide show for a presentation while the kids eat snack at the end of the party.
• Have kids, teachers, and volunteers wear PJs to celebrate.

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Valentine's Day

• Create Valentines (for parents, for our troops, for seniors -- you get the idea). Just load a table with templates, paper, markers, and lots of stickers. 
• Design bags or boxes for collecting Valentine's at the of class.
• Graphing activity (kids can survey one another about each student's favorite candy and then graph the results). 
• Cupid practice: Set up a giant target, blindfold kids, and have them tape a heart on the Target. Whoever gets closet to the bullseye wins. Yes, another take on Pin the Tail on the Donkey. 
• Play telephone with Valentine's Day themes (Choose lyrics from Motown Love songs. "I guess you say what can make me feel this way....my girl; "Stop in the name of love, before you break my heart, think it oh-oh-over.").
• Craft; make butterfly Valentines with pre-cut paper templates that can be colored and a lollipop as the butterfly body.  Feel like making a mess? Have kids make hand print cards in Valentine Day colors for a favorite relative. 
• Be Heart Healthy -- create an exercise station where kids do a mini little workout challenge posted on a chart. To add fun, have them race to see who finishes first.

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​St. Patrick's Day​

• Rainbow Art: create a giant rainbow using colored construction paper. Each student feels out a goal for the spring and then construction paper is hung up on a bulletin board to make a rainbow leading to a "pot of goals." You'll need to plan out in advance so you know how many blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and purple pieces of paper to use.
• Pot of Gold: Create clues to lead kids on a hunt for treasure. This can be a scavenger hunt activity or you can use "your getting hot, warm or cold" to lead them to the treasure.
• All you need is a little luck -- have kids make shamrock shaped cards wishing someone love and luck.  These can go to parents, teachers, or community members.
• Read Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato and then play hot potato with a green ball or other Irish themed treasure.
• Word Search Race: give kids a word search (with St. Patrick's Day themed words) and then have a race to see who finds the words first. 

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End-of-Year Party

• Summer reading book exchange -- have each student bring a $5 or less book to exchange white elephant style. Pick up some extra books at a local library book sale or ask for donations to ensure lots of choice for the kids.
  
• Paper airplane competition -- students make planes and test them out! Give prizes for longest distance, closest to the target, and best loop-de-loop.
• Build a memory book -- each student completes one page and then compile together for teacher (you can even make a copy of the finished product for each student or scan and share it electronically).
• Write thank you notes to the classroom teacher (and other important adults in the building). 
• Park nearby? Walk to a park as a class (with parent chaperones) and play board games, water games, bubbles, and of course playing on the playground. Kids can eat a picnic lunch.
• Create a class mural with sidewalk chalk. Students could personalize by depicting their favorite memory and their favorite hope or dream for summer. 
• Contact your local fire department and see if they can hose down the kids from a high ladder at the end of the day. One of our local elementary schools does this creating a giant sprinkler for the kids. They love the muddy mess it makes!

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Well, this is barely the tip of the iceberg... there are just so many ideas floating out there. But, we hope this list gets you thinking or that it could be a resource for you to give to parents who are getting their party planning on.

Until next time,
Corey and Gretchen