The last two weeks of October are busy in our house! The kids are finishing up their fall sports. Halloween is just around the corner with parades, festivities, & more. There are field trips, book fairs, and team parties. Add all that into an already jam-packed schedule of school, meetings, and more and it’s going to be a crazy couple weeks.
In order to survive the madness, I often plan ahead and prepare as much as I can beforehand so I can actually enjoy the moment when it arrives. This year, I am taking on the role as room parent for my son’s kindergarten class. One of the room parent’s first tasks of the year is to organize the fall class party. I love doing these types of events for my kids and today, I am going to share a few helpful and easy tips to help make room parties run as smooth as possible.
1. This is the MOST important rule when planning a class party. Keep It Simple. As a former elementary teacher, I know that it’s better to keep things as simple is possible because even with the most simple directions, it never turns out to be super easy with twenty five students doing the same thing at the same time. Kids will have fun no matter what you are doing, so please keep it simple!
2. Plan parties into stations. This will allow volunteers to work with small groups versus the whole class (so much easier to manage six students versus twenty six). Also, it keeps kids moving to a new activity every ten to fifteen minutes.
3. Plan a variety of activities. Some students love crafts. Other students love games. By planning a variety, every kid will have their favorite & look forward to what may be next!
4. Keep your shopping at a minimum. For this party, I picked out almost everything from Oriental Trading. When I was a teacher, I used this website to buy supplies, incentives, and more. Now as a parent, it’s a great place to shop when planning class parties because the prices are low and you can buy in bulk which makes it easy to buy for large groups. The only thing that I needed to purchase in addition to what I have below is the snack supplies!
5. Print out directions for each craft and game so they are easy to read and understand. This allows volunteers to easily run the activity without any additional guidance.
6. Plan some time after the stations to wind the students down before they move back into their regular classroom. A good way to do this is to read a festive book while having a small treat.
Below, I am sharing the activities that I have chosen for the fall party this year. The party I have planned is for my son’s kindergarten class. Again, you will see that the crafts and games are simple and easy to do. If you are in charge of planning a fall party this year and you still don’t know what to do, you can just follow this plan!
1. Thumb-Kin Pumpkin Patch:
This simple craft comes in a super easy kit of twelve from Oriental Trading. I ordered three kits so we would have more than enough for every student. The kids get to make their very own thumb-kin patch with orange thumbprints. It’s easy for the kids to do on their own & super cute. All you need in addition to the kit is glue!
2. Candy Corn Beaded Necklace Craft:
This super cute craft also comes in a kit of twelve from Oriental Trading. The kids can add the google eyes with glue & string their candy corn and the included beads onto the yarn. My kids always love creating things that they can wear so I know this will be a hit with the class!
3. Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss:
For this game, the kids try to throw the candy corn bean bags into the pumpkins. As a small group, within the time alloted, the kids will work together to get as many points as they can. Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss is a game that you could reuse year after year, if needed!
4. Pin the Tail on the Pumpkin:
This is a spin-off from the classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey. The kids will take turns getting blindfolded and try to put their nose on to the pumpkin in the game, Pin the Tail on the Pumpkin.
5. Fall Coloring & Stamps
This is a super simple station to create & always a favorite for kids. Print out free coloring pages. Add markers and some festive stamps. The kids can have fun creating their own fall coloring page!
Last, but not least, it’s always fun to wrap up with a fun fall book for kids. Here are a few of my favorite books to read aloud for younger students:
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Leaves
While the kids are listening to the story, they can also enjoy a fun and festive fall snack. We have shared some of our favorite Halloween snacks & here are some fun picks for classroom parties: ghost string cheese, creepy crawler pudding, and spooky Oreo spiders.
Last, but not least, we are going to finish the celebration with a fun fall goody bag. Inside the bag, there will be a few donations from other families as well as these festive pumpkin stickers & these candy corn owl characters. We hope that these ideas help you organize a fun and festive fall class party this year!
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