FRIDAY CLUBS

     My elementary school has decided to start Friday Clubs.  We will use the last hour of school on Fridays to split the entire school (except Pre-K) into clubs.  I "volunteered" to help with the organization of the clubs.  I had no idea how much work that was going to be!

     First, we decided to limit the clubs by grade level groups.  Having 500 or so kids needing to move to different classrooms for the last hour of every Friday would be challenging to say the least.  So we have limited to the clubs to K/1, 2/3, and 4/5.  For the first round, we asked the teachers to stay in their grade level group since they know most of the kids and can better help with the transitioning of their own students.  We are planning for two nine-week Club sessions this school year.  Round one will go from December to March (right before Spring Break), and Round two will go from after Spring Break to May.  We will offer different clubs for Round Two, although some teachers may decide to have the same club both times.

     Each teacher chose their club and had to write a brief advertisement to encourage students to join their club.  I created a bulletin board display in the main hallway with clip art about the clubs to generate interest before the information went home.  Letters went home with the students this week for them to place their Club choices in order.  Once the teachers have everyone's letter back, I will collect them.  We have a Club Committee that will help me put all 500 or so kids into their Clubs!  Hopefully the students will be able to have their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice Club.  We'll have to see how that goes though.

Kinder/1st Clubs

Dance

Fitness

Yoga

Clubs

Balloon Animals

Art

Games

Games

Wii/Kickball

Environmental Art

2nd/3rd Grade Clubs

Handyman/How to Fix Things

Paper Crafts

Paper Crafts

Origami

Board Games

Spanish Reading Club

Author Study

Puzzles

Dance and Rhythm

Library Lovers

Healthful Living

4th/5th Grade Clubs

Bead Crafts

Origami

Table Games

Table Games

Dance

Dance

Newspaper

Newspaper

Readers Theater

The Kindness Club (INOK)

     This has taken a great deal of organization to get set up.  We still have almost a month before we start, but we'll need most of that time to build the clubs, create rosters, and figure out the last minute issues that will come up.  As for me, I chose a really easy Club for this first round!  I will host the Puzzle Club!  I have plenty of jigsaw puzzles of varying sizes perfect for 2nd and 3rd graders.  For Round Two, I am thinking about hosting a Lego Club!  I'll need to create a Donor's Choose project for Legos if I decide to do that club though.  Legos are expensive!  But the students would really love it!  And adding clubs to our school is all about the kids! So Legos it is then!