Before planning any classroom activity, remember to discuss your plans with your child’s teacher and educate yourself about school policies regarding classroom events. Once you have done so, here are some tips for party success.

Attention Grabber

Plan something quick and interesting at the age and developmental level of the students in the class. This can be a story, a song, telling jokes, asking questions, etc. The point is to engage the students and get their attention.

Craft

Unless you will have one adult for every 2-3 children, plan a craft where the students can complete at least 90% of the project independently. Keep in mind that very young children (i.e. preschool, kindergarten) are not likely to cut independently and are still learning how to glue.

Some of my favorite craft websites:

• Crafts for Kids @ BellaOnline
• Kinder Art
• Arts & Crafts @ Family Fun
• Enchanted Learning (fee based)

Game or Activity

Have a game or activity planned to overlap the latter part of the craft for the students to play as they finish up their projects. Keep the the game going until most or all have completed the craft and are ready to move on to the next activity.

Treat

Depending on how much time you have planned for the party, you can either provide a ready-made treat or you can plan for a treat the students can make themselves. Again, remember to keep in mind the developmental level of the students when planning a make-your-own treat activity. Easy clean up is a plus, too.

Wrap Up

Briefly draw a close to the fun. What you choose to do depends on the reason for your party and the activities you chose. You might have each student show off his/her craft, sing a song, reiterate the point(s) you wanted to make, etc.

Helpful Tips

As you plan the party schedule, remember to add in set-up and clean-up times. Try to have as many parents as possible arrive early and stay after. Perhaps have half come early for set up, and half arrive on time and plan to remain after for clean up

The age of the students, the size of the class, and the level of difficulty in the activities all determine the number of adults needed for the party. Generally, a class of 25 children will need at least 3-4 adults in attendance. If this is not possible, go with the number of volunteers you have and plan accordingly.

Photo Credit: Guillermo Ossa