A back-to-school party is more than just a good time. It’s a way to alleviate much of the stress and fear that comes with starting a new school year. And with almost 50 million students heading out for another year of learning, a back-to-school party might be just what they need to get back into the swing of another school year.
As a teacher, back-to-school parties are also a good time to share information about the upcoming school year to better prepare your students. It’s beneficial for everyone! But you have to do it right. Here are six tips to help you organize your back-to-school party.
Promote your party with back to school flyers
Parties are only fun when people show up. Make sure the students know about your party with plenty of colorful and fun back-to-school party flyers hung all over school. Make your flyers look as fun as your party will be, and you’ll be sure to get full attendance on the first day!
Planning parties is fun, but you’re a teacher, and the first day of school is coming up. You’re busy! So don’t worry about designing your flyers from scratch. There are thousands of free back to school flyer templates available from websites like PosterMyWall.
All you need to do is choose the template that best fits your party’s theme, customize the information in the easy drag-and-drop editor, and you’re ready to print or post! It’s the best way to get professional-level graphics without needing professional-level designs skills — or free time to develop them.
Pick an engaging theme
The theme sets the mood for your party. A bad theme sets a bad mood — and you definitely don’t want that! The key to picking the best theme is to think about your attendees (the students). Different aged students like different things.
For example, elementary school students might like the idea of a dinosaur day where they can dig up some plastic fossils. High school students, however, likely wouldn’t enjoy that theme as much. Perhaps they’d prefer something more like a build-your-own pizza party.
Your theme doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s just a simple idea to tie all parts of your party together.
Make fun invitations
Yes, everyone in your class is welcome to your party. But it’s still fun to get a personal invitation! Before the first day of school, make some themed invitations to “invite” students to your back-to-school party and your classroom for the year. Using your back-to-school flyers is a good start for the invitation designs.
To make things extra fun for your students, mail the invitations to their homes. Students don’t get much mail, and it’s always fun for them to find something in the mailbox that’s addressed to them. It’s a great way to introduce yourself as their teacher and make them feel welcome for another year of classes.
When making your invitations, also consider your overall guest list. Is this an in-classroom party for just the students, or can they bring their parents and friends? More people means more planning, but it also could be more fun for everyone!
What’s a party without food?
A party is only as good as its menu. Your menu should do at least two things:
- Relate to your chosen theme
- Interest your students’ age demographic
Naturally, your menu will also need to fit your budget and time. High-quality steaks cooked in-house by a private chef likely aren’t in the budget — as nice as that’d be. And depending on the party you want to throw, a full hot meal might not be the most ideal choice.
In many cases, your back-to-school party will do just fine with a few snacks and finger foods prepared in advance. With a little creativity, you can easily make your menu fit the theme. For example, if you want to throw an animal themed party for your kindergarten class, you can decorate cookies to look like animals’ faces.
Think about activities
What are the students going to do at the party — besides eat your delicious snacks, of course? Activities are a great way to get the students engaged not only with their new classroom and teacher (you) but also with the other students in the class. It gives them time to interact and make new friends.
With activities, keep in mind the two main considerations for your back-to-school party: the theme and student age demographic. If you’re planning an outside-of-school event, don’t forget about the parents. It’s fun for them to watch their kids have fun, but it’s even more fun if they can participate too!
Back to school is also the end of summer, so feel free to make your back-to-school party almost a sendoff for the season. It could be the last chance to throw water balloons and play outside. But if you do opt for an outdoors party, make sure you have a rainy-day plan as a backup. You never know with these fall temperature and weather swings!
Find a fitting party favor
Every party should end with a favor! And as a back-to-school party, your party favors could do more than just signal the end of a good time. You can give away favors that could actually help the students in the year to come.
Think about providing simple school supplies like pencils, notebooks, mini calculators, or anything else that might help the students through the next year — and that fits in your budget. You could even theme the favors to your party, like getting pencils decorated with the same theme as your party.
Start the school year on a high note
The start of a new school year is a time of excitement but also anxiety and maybe fear for many students. Break the ice and make students feel welcome to your classroom with a great back-to-school party.
If you want to organize the best party possible (which, of course you do), start with plenty of eye-catching back-to-school flyers, pick a fun theme, send welcoming invitations, craft the perfect menu, host age-appropriate activities, and send them off with a fitting party favor. A great back-to-school party is directly correlated with a great school year! (Research pending)