I will be in charge of Programs for our PTA this fall. I am planning on such things as: “How to Help Your Child Succeed†and "40 Developmental Assets". A PTA trainer will come to do these. PTA has many programs available. Check out their site. Or go to peopletrainers.com (in Texas).
This past year I helped on the "4th Friday Family Fun Night" committee. We had Patriotic Bingo (right after 9/11), and Chili Night with Karaoke. We had a great lady who went out and got great prizes, including a Boom Box, tickets to a concert, Bikes, etc etc. Walmart was a great Sponsor. Sonic gave us like 500 hotdogs with buns and the condiments. Last year they did a Lauau, too.
Hope these help,
Lisa @ Tx
Your position seems like a lot of work for one person. Do you have any assistance?
Our school has not had book bingo, but the children's librarian at the public library does them sporadically. My kids are actually signed up for a session next week, but we've yet to attend one so I don't know how it's run.
Any parent workshops that our school offers are usually offered by the school itself, not the parent group. For instance, our kindergarten reading teachers have evening sessions discussing phonemic awareness. K parents come in and are taught the games the teachers use to prepare children to read.
As far as I know, we haven't done the other programs you mentioned. We have a very large student population (2400+ kids in two adjacent schools) and it's quite a feat to put things together for them. One thing that has been quite successful for us is a partnership with a local supermarket. Every spring there is a night set up at the store for 1st & 2nd graders and their parents. Math and science activities are set up throughout the store, with scavenger hunts and hands on activities. It's an absolute blast, but a lot of work, especially the first year. It requires a lot of volunteers the night of the event and planning the event, and a big committment from the store.
Thanks so much for all of your ideas and suggestions. As far as I know, I will be in charge of both in-school assembly programs and family involvement programs. In the past, the person in this position has concentrated on in-school assembly programs. I would like to continue bringing quality educational programs to our school in order to support the current curriculum. With this said, I also believe that family involvement is extremely important I would like to strengthen this area as much as possible. Any ideas on other family fun night ideas? I am considering math and science nights, a health and safety fair, a cultural type festival, parent workshops, "Bingo for Books", and having in-school assembly performers give family presentations during the nights of the in-school programs. Have you ever tried any of these other than the math and science nights? I am trying to develop some of these ideas and think of others. Once again, thanks for all of the input.
Are you looking for demonstration type programs or involvement programs? We do both types. A demostration type would be something like a Mad Science program (check out Mad Science.org for info). They come to you and put on a program- the kids are involved, find it funny and educational. There is a sub group of our organization, an educational arts council, that books all the in-school assembly type programs. We offer 3 per grade per year. They do work with the administrators or curriculum specialists to make sure the programs are curriculum related.
We also have things like 3rd Grade Math Nights. These are completely organized by parents and/or teachers. The math program our schools use (Chicago Math) has many games that are used. During math nights, stations are set up and parent volunteers explain the games and parents and children play them. These programs are more time consuming For the first year, you have to choose the games, get and sort materials, and find enough volunteers to staff the event. Our third grade nights alone run for 4 consecutive nights- big school. If done well, they're worth it. A project book can be kept so everything can be repeated the following year, and parents were brought into the school to work with their children.
My daughter will be starting kindergarten in the 2002-2003 school year. I have been nominated for the PTA Board in charge of Programs. I am very excited and am trying to get a jump start on planning for the upcoming year. In the past, this position has been responsible for bringing assembly type programs for the students during school hours as well as family nights and a beginning of the year ice cream social. I have been told that I will have alot of freedom in planning these events. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for me? Has anyone every held a Family Math or Science Night? Any ideas? How about other parent involvement events? Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.
