Is Your Energy Sink Coordinating a BIG Event?

Is there a large event you’re responsible for planning? A math night? A science night? A reading night? These events are great at creating memories that last for a lifetime. Does it seem to take a lifetime of planning to coordinate activities, gather materials, prep volunteers, hold the event, and then clean it all up?

I have some advice for you to consider.

• Recruit colleagues, capable students, and parents to help with the event. That might be obvious but my suggestion is give each person just one task to do – this can avoid anyone feeling expected to “do it all” or wondering how to do a task that was given.
  • Would you put together the flyer? I found a cute cartoons online we could use for the images.
  • Would you print the flyer? We need it posted on our bulletin board, and handed out to teacher mailboxes.
  • Could you pick up helium balloons the day of the event? They’re pretty cheap at the local dollar store.
  • You have an amazing new camera. Could you take pictures of the event so we know all the activities are represented?
  • You have a great voice, I would appreciate it if you could do the announcing during the event so I’m free to move around.
  • If I give you a few pictures, could you upload them to our website?
  • Would you mind hanging out after and helping put everything in the boxes I’ve already labeled? I’ll send you home with free balloons. Thanks!
• I like to ask during the first of the year meetings in late summer when everything seems possible. It’s easy to agree to hold an event in April and if everyone knows it’s coming they can plan their part in the event.
• Can you find online suggestions or purchase the resources you need instead of generating them yourself?
  • Has anyone in the school done the activity so you can build on their work? Education World has suggestions for a Literature Day and Night.
  • You could host a Painless Science Fair. Every student is represented but you leave it to students if they want to present an individual project.
  • I created a very comprehensive Math Night you’ll want to check out at my TPT Simply Math store. I have to admit I spent hours setting up math nights for different schools and then MORE HOURS refining the resources to be easy to use to create a fun math night for families.
• Is there time in the summer or over a long weekend (maybe a volunteer?) to find resources, put them in a file (printed or online), so that planning is easier instead of trying to plan when you’re in the middle of teaching every day?

Do you have other suggestions for ways to save energy when you’re planning a big event??