Month: April 2019

April 26, 2019

Are you in charge of planning and managing your school’s events? If so, then you know how stressful planning a big event can be. You have to be able to handle many tasks all at once, which can be overwhelming for a lot of people. My School Dance understands what you go through. That’s why we wanted to provide you with different ways to manage event planning stress. So next time you can’t catch a breath when planning your school’s Prom, make sure to remember these tips below:

• Prioritize– When planning an event, you’re thrown with a million tasks to do. Create a schedule and prioritize the level of importance of each task. You can make a timeline to figure out what tasks you need to accomplish by each week so you stay on schedule.
• Boundaries– Make sure to give yourself time in your day to relax or do things that you enjoy. If you don’t you’re just going to get consumed into tasks for your event, which isn’t healthy for you.
• Meditate/Yoga– Either of these options is great to relieve stress. They’re both done in quiet environments and allows you to relax in peace. Forget everything that you’re doing and just get out of your head for a little.
• Walking/Going Outside– Just being able to get up from your desk and go outside for some fresh air will give you a sense of relief. Take a quick 10 minute walk to clear your head and then get back to planning.
• Sleep– Make sure you’re getting enough sleep each night. Lack of sleep will just make you more tired and stressed out. That is never a good combination. 

Planning an event may seem super easy to some people, but it truly is a lot of work. Not a lot of people realize the event management stress that comes with the job. Little things like the ones we listed above will work wonders for you. It’s important to take care of yourself and make sure you’re in the right mindset when planning.

My School Dance strongly believes in helping out our school activity directors as much as we can. We know your job is difficult and exhausting. We created My School Dance to assist with the event management process so it takes some of the stress off of you. If you feel like your current management process is too overwhelming and taking up too much of your time, reach out to My School Dance. We’ll be happy to provide you with our tools for free.

If you liked reading this blog post, be sure to check out some of these: 10 Actionable Tips to Manage Prom Better, How to Cut the Ultimate Prom-Planning Timeline in Half, and Tips for Running Extra-Curricular Activities!

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Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

April 19, 2019

Now that the weather is starting to get nicer and we’re feeling the sun come out, students are eager for it to be summer. Why not plan a Spring field trip before the school year comes to an end? I know that there’s so many local places you can take your students to that will be educational and won’t cost a lot of money! If you can’t think of any I’ve got you covered. Here are a few of my favorite Spring trips below:

• Museums– A lot of museums offer student or group discounts to schools that reach out to them. Plan a visit to a museum to have the students learn more about the history and have fun while doing it!
• Career Day– For a “Career Day” experience bring your students to the local fire or police departments, radio stations, factories, or hospitals. They can get more information about jobs and explore the buildings.
• Plays– Bring students to a play or musical. These can be extremely educational and enlighten a lot of students.
• College Campuses– Bring high school students to the local college campuses. This will help them get a feeling of what being in college is like and might even inspire them to attend that campus.
• Environmental Location– For a science class, take your students to the local beach or park to have them explore the environment. They can learn about the different plants or animals out there.
• Historic sites– If your town has local historic sites, take your students there. Have them learn about the history and write a paper about it. 

Field trips are times for students to make memories they’ll never forget. Be sure to plan one before the end of the school year, even if it’s something simple. Students will just be happy to see a new environment and be with their friends. If you’re worried about having to deal with managing a school field trip, don’t be!

Planning and organizing a school field trip shouldn’t be that hard. If you’re looking for an easier way to manage a trip, whether it’s a field trip or a class trip to Disney, reach out to My School Dance. We’ll help you manage your ticket sales online, promote your event, collect and sign all permission slips online, and more!

If you enjoyed this blog post, be sure to check out some of these: 5 Fun-Filled Easter Activities for the Classroom, 4 Rainy Day Classroom Activity Ideas, and 5 Simple Fall Field Trip Ideas!

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Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

April 12, 2019

Easter will be here before you know it! Doesn’t it feel like Christmas just happened or is that just me? This year is flying by and soon enough the school year will be over. Since finals and last minute tests are approaching, let’s plan something fun for the students to do to celebrate the Easter holiday. I’ve included some of My School Dance’s favorite fun-filled Easter activities to test out in the classroom!

• STEM Parachutes– For all STEM classes, have your students create their own DIY parachutes. Give them half of a plastic Easter egg, some straws, a coffee filter, tape, and some tongue depressors. This will get them thinking, engineering, and building. 
• Test Prep Egg Hunt– Write test questions and put one in each egg. Then hide the eggs around the building. Have students group up and search for the eggs. Once they find an egg, they will work together to try to figure out the answer and record it on their piece of paper. The first group to finish first with all correct answers wins. 
• Egg Drop Activity– Have the students get in groups and compile an assortment of materials to create a “packaging” for the egg. Once the students finish with their protective packaging, test their creation by dropping the egg from a certain height. Whichever group’s egg didn’t crack wins.
• History– Have students research the “Easter egg” and present their findings to the class in a quick 5-10 minute presentation.
• Balancing the Eggs– Have a contest to see who can get the tallest “egg tower.” Give students halves of plastic eggs and have them pile them up without their towers breaking. Add a time limit to add pressure to the contest.

Personally, my favorite is the test prep egg hunt because it gets students moving, thinking, working together, and puts them in a new environment rather than just sitting in the classroom. Any of these activities would be perfect for all ages too! It’s nice to have a holiday themed educational activity every once in awhile! My School Dance hopes that these activities will help you with your lesson plans and bring some joy to the students as well!

If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll want to read some of our similar blog posts as well! Check out some of our recent posts: 4 Rainy Day Classroom Activity Ideas, Decorating Ideas for your School’s Spring Fling, and 3 Useful Tips for My School Dance Users!

Follow us on social media as well: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

April 5, 2019

The month of April is consistently known as the month of rain. To forget about the gloomy spring days, have some activities prepared for your students to continue the excitement in the classroom. Sometimes when the weather is gross outside, student’s moods become bored and dreary as well. Spice it up a little and throw in a 10 minute game every once in awhile. Below I’ve listed some fun activities you can throw into your lesson plan for a rainy April day:

• Board Games– There are so many different kinds of board games that are educational, yet fun. Bring in some old ones and new ones for the students. Have them get in small groups and give them 20-25 minutes to get a quick game in and I assure you their moods will be better.
• Art Activity– Doing some type of rainy day painting or a DIY craft activity is great for students on a cold day. It gets their creative juices flowing and is calming to a lot of students.
• Password Game– Have two students go up to the board at the same time and show the rest of the students the “Password.” The two students at the front can call on the rest of the students to get clues to what the password is. Once they figured it out, whoever writes it on the board faster wins. Incorporate what your students are currently learning into the game, so it helps them study!
• Classroom Yoga– Yoga has been proven to be extremely helpful to many people. It’s a way to get rid of stress and calm yourself. Have the students do 5-10 minutes of simple yoga exercises to clear their brains. 

There are endless options when it comes to rainy day classroom activities. You don’t have to go all out and buy anything either. Many games don’t require a lot of materials. Plus, any of the activities listed above can be used for all ages. Test a few of them out and see what your students like best.

My School Dance wants to help out our teachers in any way that we can. If you liked reading about these activities, make sure to read our other blog posts. You’ll find lots of helpful tips/ideas there that you will benefit from!

Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656