I love the poster toss idea especially for older students. I just don't know where to buy the posters.

Depending on how much you want to spend or make on the game, you can purchase posters at Walmart, Kmart etc. Our fall festival wasn't a fundraiser, we just wanted to break even.

Oh there's lots of things you can do - but first ask the kids!!! It's their carnival isn't it? We have book walks (like cake walks but much more health department friendly ), a duck pond - little plastic duckies with numbers matching prizes ... our second best grossing game, fortune telling, mini golf, "camp crafts", makit-plates, face painting, balloon man, rope/net climb in the gym -yes the kids pay to climb the rope/net from gym class (parents will too but they pay double ), fishing pond (top grossing room), the general store - a room full of kiddie treasures that we all send in to clean out our houses and kids purchase with cash or tickets - you know like a huge garage sale but for kids - a top grossing room and didn't cost us a thing, football toss, and so much more. Start brainstorming early and GET THE KIDS INVOLVED! Don't pay for anything but the prizes --- if you use a carnival company they'll make the money that you are supposed to be spending on the students through PTO purchases... you can do these things on your own!

Does anyone have idea's for wooden games- or games that older children can play-i like th fortune telling idea, but how does that work? Our sixth graders have a dance in the library-you need tickets to enter, also we have a haunted house, hosted by the fifth graders and their parents. Our best seller is face painting though.

For the fortune telling, there are lots of ways to go - your kids probably have some neat ideas. The most important key is the person who portrays the fortune teller and how good they are at playing it up. As far as methods, some ideas might be:

1) something like a crystal ball or palm reading where the fortune teller just makes it up as he/she goes along.
2) the ever popular Magic 8 ball
3) Buy a kit/book like Madame Boskey's Fortune Telling Kit (Amazon.com @ about $12).
4) Use one of the games the kids make or do verbally ("cootie catcher", game with steps - list 3 boys names, 3 houses, 3 cars, etc.)
5) Go hi-tech! If you could do it in the library or somewhere with a computer connected to the internet - there are lots of fun sites to hit. The computer becomes the crystal ball: www.priven.sf.ca.us/fortell.html
kidsinternet.about.com/kids/kidsinternet/library/bl8Ball7.htmwww.ecrush.com/cootie/ec_predicts_main.phtml www.facade.com/iching/

Good luck!

One of our Spring Carnivals most popular booths is when the children pay tickets to have thier hair colored. We use a hair styling cape to protect their clothes and buy many different cans of colored hair spray (you can buy them at party stores,costume stores or beauty supply shops) the children love to have their hair colored in many different combinations and it washes out.

Hope this helps,

Cheree