Summer holidays are over and here comes the hectic part of the year. Many kids and parents alike have every reason to feel excited and anxious after a relaxing vacation time. One way to make a painless transition to school routine is to embrace the new start with a celebration!
Whether you opt for a casual family get-together for your kids’ first year of school, or you’re organizing a big bash at one of the indoor amusement parks in Phoenix, you need a clear plan. Read on to find out how to make this experience rewarding and memorable.
What is a back to school party?
Back-to-school events are a neat way to mark the end of summer holidays and the beginning of a new school year. It’s also a great opportunity for the classmates to reconnect and have a fresh start without the usual hassle. Enhance this with some fun activities, exchange gifts and make a nice photo-album.
For younger kids who are just about to start school, it’s vital to mark this as an important milestone. They’ll be more likely to associate schoolwork with a positive experience and view learning as a rewarding activity, if you set the stage right. Of course, this will also be beneficial for their social and emotional development and their well-being in general.
How do you host a back to school party?
At first, a back-to-school bash might seem like a formidable task, but if you have the enthusiasm and skill, you might just pull it off! As you have decided to be in charge of organizing a bash, you should first try to answer four vital questions: “where?”, “who?”, “how?” and “when?”.
Location
First off, you need to choose the location of your kids’ back-to-school bash. If the weather is nice, choosing an outdoor playground, park, or your backyard is a good idea. If the weather is too hot, humid or if it’s raining, it’s better to opt for any indoor space: your house, garage, or more conveniently, an enclosed play area in Phoenix with a lot of fun amenities.
Guest list
If you’re going large, make sure to invite all of your kids’ classmates and close friends. It’s up to you if you wish to include parents and other siblings. If you have school kids of different ages, try to make a larger, combined party, but in that you’ll probably have to coordinate with other parents. If you wish to have a small sit-down, invite only the closest friends from the class.
Decorating
The decor can include many things that can be easily made from affordable materials or repurposed school supplies. There’s no need to be extravagant, just remain consistent. Stack up notebooks and textbooks, hang flags and balloons with letters and numbers, decorate the space with a couple of chalkboards or transform the dining table into a school bus.
Food
As school snacks are usually simple, limit the menu to sandwiches, popcorn, sliced fruit and muffins. Be creative when arranging food, for instance:
- create a row of yellow muffins to resemble a school bus,
- use chocolate coating, raspberry sauce or fruit slices to write messages,
- serve food in brown paper bags or lunch boxes, like at school, and more.
Activities
You don’t want to let the kids get bored, without an idea what to do next. Plan ahead and include a variety of fun activities that resemble a daily school routine. Put emphasis on interaction and have a time slot for each activity. Here are some examples:
- Trivia quiz – mix some general questions from the school curriculum with some everyday experiences to make it fun for kids of all ages
- PE Class – this is a wonderful time to introduce your first-graders to tetherball, dodgeball and kickball, which will become the norm in their first school years.
- School-themed pictionary – let kids guess and draw objects and events that happened in the previous school year or during the Summer break
- Charades – another all-time classic: kids can compete in acting and guessing.
- Scavenger hunt – sprinkle school supplies all around the backyard, and let the kids collect them until everything is gathered. You may include: rulers, pencils, crayons, markers, erasers, pencil cases and many more.
- Backpack stuffing – this can be a fun activity that can be engaging for kids of different ages, even teens. Filled backpacks can be donated or exchanged between kids.
- Back-to-school time capsule – make a list of wishes, photos, some artwork, a couple of funny messages to remind you of this Summer and open it in a year.
Music
Make a creative mix of popular back-to-school hits with your kids’ favorite music playlist. If one of the children plays a musical instrument, leave some space for a mini-concerto. What’s better, if there are more musical talents among the kids, why not make a small jam session? Encourage singalongs, provide custom-made percussion instruments: shakers, maracas, bells, tom-toms and whistles, and record the event.
How can I find indoor amusement parks in Phoenix, AZ?
Apart from many activities that your kids engage in outside or at your residence, you can save your time and energy by going to well-equipped indoor amusement parks. Here’s where you can count on Uptown Jungle. If you reside in the thriving Paradise Valley Village or any of the surrounding neighborhoods in Phoenix, you can find one of our facilities easily.
In addition, you can book and organize a variety of events on our premises: if you need to celebrate your toddlers’ second or third birthday, or just to find a way to spend some quality time with your family, you can count on our dependable staff members and plenty of cool amenities. Your kids will enjoy our trampolines, obstacle courses, ball pits, climbing towers and many more. Pay us a visit today to see what we have to offer!