(Sorry such a long post but there's lots of stuff we do so thought I'd share...some we alternate every other year to keep things fresh)
1. Minute-to-Win-It - as seen in other posts....at the end, all come to main stage and raffle tickets (which were free to all who attended, 1 per person) are drawn for folks to come up on stage and do a Minute-To-Win-It game in front of everyone. Each stage presence is given a nominal prize afterwards (ie. old trophies picked up at 2nd hand stores cleaned up and filled with a marble game, donated games, or coupons donated by Dairy Queen for a free Blizzard).
2. Pancakes, Pages, & Papa - our Dad's Club reads to kids in various classrooms, some which allow parents to see how SmartBoards work, and there's a professional Pancake guy who handles the food and entertains as he flips, and then an Irish Story-Teller finishes out the night with a story for all. The Media Center is also involved, with reading incentives and a book cover poster contest for kids to enter.
3. Fall Sock Hop & Scarecrow raffle - DJ & dancing, popcorn & cider, and each class makes a themed scarecrow and folks put raffle tickets in the shoebox for which one they hope to win.
4. Get Movin' Night - Various games, a bouncer in the small gym, crazy relays in the large gym, HEALTHY food (ie. Subway, sliced apples, and water bottles) offered at a nominal fee for dinner, and a raffle for donated sports equipment.
5. Winter Wonderland - winter themed crafts, homemade donated goodies via bake sale, hot chocolate w/marshmallows, live reindeer (if before winter break), some kind of movement activity in a room (ie. local martial arts studio comes and instructs or local dance studio or PomPon team comes and teaches), and some simple games (ie. ring toss, tic-tac-toe toss, etc.) It is run via a raffle ticket system to cover costs....ie. 1 ticket for a hot chocolate, 1 to 3 tickets for a craft depending on cost, etc. Each classroom does a themed basket of goodies for raffling (via ticket in the shoebox).
6. Various off-site activities:
- rent movie theatre for a showing
- fundraiser at local arcade with unlimited play per person tickets sold at the door and PTA hosts pizza by the slice sales
- high ropes course at local Tennis Club
- go-carts/trampolines/arcade at another local venue
- restaurant nights monthly (or almost) - advertise local restaurant for a specific day & restaurant donates 10-20% of sales back to the school); can also do with Dairy Queen, bakeries, etc. We have one of these each month for community building & a few extra bucks for the PTA.
7. International Night:
Folks sign up to host a table representing a country or a culture. Various food, crafts, and dance activities relative to the theme are also brought in. The Kindergartners sing a couple of songs about different cultures or countries after student volunteers perform short (ie. 3 minute) skits or dances to share their cultural background. This is a free event with most items donated from restaurants or covered by the folks who host a table. The PTA pays for the craft supplies and makes the "Around the World" passport that kids get stamped as they visit each country table. Our Student Thoughts & Thanks Committee also distributes papers with a picture of a globe on it for students to color/decorate and write down what about their country/culture they are thankful for. These are display during International Night.
8. Fiesta Night:
Hispanic/Mexican food with open gym and area for board game play.
9. Science Fair:
The traditional boards but also includes robotics demos & show of what students created via local provider for robotics enrichment afterschool (timed for just before the Science Fair), Cub Scouts bring their water bottle rocket launchers to the playground for kids to try (adult supervised), local Science Center or Hands On Museum hired to bring in hands-on experiments (this can also be done for free by local high school science or robotics clubs) or the local planetarium brings in their blow up planetarium for all to experience the night sky. We also extend our second book fair to be open this evening.
10. A School themed week of events in March:
Ours is called "I side with Hillside". It was formerly Turn Off TV Week, which we stopped doing due to the political nature of that organization. We continued the other events during the week and changed the name.....including "Lunch with a Loved One" so parents/grandparents can come in during lunch and eat with their student, an offsite event one evening during the week, Student Council opens up their popcorn machine and sells/delivers pre-ordered bags of popcorn to classrooms, Spelling Bee occurs on the Saturday at the end of this week. It is usually P/T Conference week and the PTA hosts a potluck buffet for the teachers after school and before conferences begin on Tues/Wed. This is also the Thursday when Pancakes, Pages, & Papa takes place.
11. Carnival -
Outdoors, petting zoo, pony rides, simple carnival type games, cake walk, inflatable bouncers, the Dad's Club hosts "Dads & Dogs" hotdog stand, the local bank brings their sno-cone machines, the Student Council brings out their popcorn machine and sells bags of popcorn, one local Boy Scout Troop donates the use of their dunk tank, the school's Green Team helps with prep and clean-up, etc.
12. Girl Scouts host a Sweetheart Dance...Daddy/Daugher, Mother/Son -
DJ and dancing, photos, desserts. Simple but fun.
13. Earth Day/Green type family night (April) -
Various crafts using recyclables, folks who know how to make lanyards from plastic grocery bags teach this, etc. Plants, planting, and anything to do with Earth Day and being Green.
14. Talent Show - yes, the standard fare. The PTA/staff does an opening act (ie. basic step dance or crazy comedy) while students are back stage getting ready.
15. Bagels with a Buddy in fall and Muffins with Mom in May - these are hosted by the PTA and the Proud Dad's club. These occur for about an hour before school for parents to come in and have breakfast with their student. The fall Bagels with a Buddy is also when the PTA Reflections Program entries are turned in. We request students (A-M and N-Z) to attend one of two mornings but all are welcome either day.
