Question: Movie Night

Our PTO group sponsored our second movie night this fall with the hope to hold another this Spring. This 2nd movie night we held early evening on a Friday, we picked an older Disney movie thinking it would be something the kids may not have just seen and it would be interesting and hold their attention. Kids held out for awhile but then restlessness set in and they was a lot of running around, talking and distractions. It made our group re-think holding another movie night this year even though it's a great family event it was just hard to manage the chaos towards the 2nd half of the movie. Any suggestions on a change of time, making the movie earlier, should we have snacks (we did popcorn but then it was all over the place at the end), maybe stick with more current movies? Any successful movie night tips on a fun but less chaotic event would be appreciated.

Asked by Jcadran

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi there!
Sorry to hear the event didn't go well. Sometimes that can happen. A couple thoughts: Try doing some kind of short physical activity program before the movie starts. So, have everyone come at sat 6:30 and do 15 or 20 minutes in the school gym. Have the kids dance or play games. Helps get some of the energy out. Also, I think the newer movies tend to capture their attention more that some of the older ones that we loved as kids (sad to say). As far as snacks being all over the place, some of this is up to the parents and asking them to make sure their kids are well behaved. That's a delicate thing, but you can try to casually and gently mention this. Something like: We all want to have a great night and we ask that you help your kids to not run around during the movie.

As an alternative, have you take a look at our Family Science Night Kit? It's another one of our free kits and it helps you put together a really fun family night that doesn't require kids to sit! Here's the link: http://www.ptotoday.com/sfn#science-night

Hope this helps!

Rose