Did everyone play the same game at the same time or did you rotate? If you rotated, how did you rotate people between games (time limit, etc)? I am trying to do this at my school and until every I is dotted and T is crossed, they won't approve the activity. Thanks!
At our school we have held family game night within the first three weeks of school. This has been a very simple evening. We send a flyer for families to bring their own dinner (take-out, pizza, brown bag); bring some board games from home; bring their families and meet other families of your child's friends. This year we gave away a few "door prizes" that were small like yo-yos, dominos, etc.
We have a yearly Family Math Night (actually 4 nights) for the third graders. Since there are over 400 third graders, we have to split into consecutive nights.
This is not using board games, however. Our schools use the Chicago Math program, which really incorporates a lot of games to help kids master the skills. We set up dozens of these games in the cafeteria, and children come with a parent and rotate to each game.
We live in the northern midwest and to get people to come out in January is a challenge.
We had our first Board Game night in January, 2003. We had a good turnout of 60 people.
Keep It Simple!
We had it on a Tuesday night, no admission charge, bring your own games from 6pm to 7pm.
We made a nice flyer with a list of suggested games everyone should bring. (This also counted as a Math night for one of our grants).
We borrowed two Stir-crazy popcorn poppers and popped popcorn for everyone to eat. We bought juice from our local McD's and rented their coolers.
We brought in our local High school Honor Society Students (they need the volunteer credits for graduation) and they played with families who were short any players.
The NHS students also helped serve popcorn & juice and also helped clean up.
Note: Word caught on about our board game night with the NHS students - pretty soon we had more than we could handle!!
Game Night can be really fun. You need to be organized and have a lot of volunteers. Send out a flyer with a reply of the # of adults and children so you know approx. how many people to expect. Last year we hosted a Family Game Night that included make your own ice cream sundaes. Ice cream and toppings were donated by local merchants. Estimate 20 people to a gallon. Trust me it's plenty. We customized some regular games like Pictionary, 20 Questions, Wheel of Fortune (hang man), Family Feud, Taboo, and Scatagories. We used large chalkboards and large dry erase easelboards. Tickets were given to the winners (children). Based on the # of tickets redeemed, they were able to select a prize at the end of the evening. Trust me no child went home empty handed. We had tables set up with various items from Oriental trade, dollar stores and donations. We also had raffles which covered the cost of prizes. Good luck and have FUN!
