Hello Calkel, the info for Chrylser Drive For the Kids is. . Program Headquarters
1381 Oxford Rd.
Grosse Pointe, MI 48236
Phone: (313)881-9308 or
FAX: (313)881-9125
I hope it works well for you, good luck.
I love this forum too - there are some great ideas. The Chrysler drives for kids sounds like a good program. I am interested in having them at our Fall Carnival too. Who did you contact at Chrysler??
At our Fall Carnival we usually raffle baskets donated by the classrooms. Each classroom is given a basket theme and the children in the class bring in related items to fill the basket. The PTO then fixes up the baskets and they are raffled at the carnival. This works well for us.
Wow! I really appreciate the ideas! Keep 'em coming. I'm having so much fun organizing this and learning at the same time, once it is done, I'll let you know how it went. The Harvest Party is on a Sat., 2-4 p.m. We are going to have a raffle, and The Chrysler Drives for Kids fundraiser. I got this suggestion from my sister who had them at their carnival, it was fun. You "test drive" one of the new Chryslers the local dealer brings, they had a PT Cruiser, Jeep, and a Van. With absolutely no sales pressure (I like that part) fill out an evaluation form and for each form filled out, your school receives $5.
I love this PTO Discussion forum! Thanks again for the great suggestions!! T. Barnhart
We do a Pioneer Day each year for the 5th grade and just finished one a couple of weeks ago. Since our class is small, we probably did things you could not do, but I'll tell you anyway and you can improvise. We started by making breakfast. This consisted of cornbread and butter from scratch. The kids used a mixer to make the butter, but they could use a shaker to make it more realistic. They also had beef jerky prepared earlier by a mom. For lunch, they prepared hobo packets: hamburger and chopped vegetables put into foil and baked. The kids did all the work themselves and we baked them in an oven, but you can cook them on the grill too. They also made fresh lemonaide and orange juice. Watermelon was the dessert and we had a seed spitting contest. Our crafts included soap carving (with plastic knives), punched tin candle holders (cans and nails), potpouri sachets, picture frames from sticks, leaves, beans, dried flowers, etc..., mini-rag rugs, stenciling, and paper quilts. Cornhusk dolls are fun. You can make candles. Making leather (using paper sacks). We had planned on taking their pictures dressed as pioneers and using black and white film, but we couldn't find the film here. You could use a bonnet and a shawl for the girls and a hat or coonskin cap and a jacket for the boys. Run the film to the 1/2 hour printer and have the pictures ready for the nature frames.
Hi T. Barnhart,
Do you only have parent volunteers to draw on or will you be able to enlist the teachers as well? Is it during school hours or after? If it's not really a for money thing, will tickets be involved or just walk up and play?
Our school does a special day for 3-5 graders after the EOG testing.It's during school hours. They can earn tickets with various things--all homework turned in,good behaviour etc. PTO generally provides something for this. This year, it's going to be free popcorn and freeze pops.The teachers take care of whatever activities they want to do.( It's pretty much a family field day with parents invited)
In re-reading your post though, it sounds as though you're doing a "regular" fair and making money is just a bonus.How long is the event? We've found that you can get more volunteers if you don't expect anyone to stay in the booth for the entire time. That means you need more volunteers. Stagger the times so you have some overlapping and try not to leave one person alone--it helps to foster friendships when you have someone to talk to when it's not busy & nice to have help when you are busy.Most volunteers appreciate being able to enjoy the fair with their children too. If possible, "recycle" the volunteers--maybe have one work a booth for 30 minutes, have 30 minutes off and then do 30 minutes in a different booth.
And of course, food! Do you want to keep that in the pioneer theme? Once you've decide on what you want to serve, start approaching donors--grocery stores, restaurants. Try not to ask for everything from one place. Most are happy to give something small and are agreeable.This is more work for you, but it keeps the goodwill there for the next time you might have to ask for something. MOST IMPORTANT--don't forget to send thank you cards to any donors after your event!!I keep a record of the names, phone # and address of all donors in a notebook that can be referred to next year( or the next time. It also lists what we received/amount.Bear in mind that most prefer a 30 day lead time & a written request generally on school letterhead. We have our principal draft a letter that we copy for how ever many places we need to go. It tells what the event is, when it is and thanks in advance for any assistance.
Good luck on your fair! Post back and tell us how you did.
I guess the use of a computer may not be wanted at this event, but there is a game called Oregon Trail that is so great! We had this game at my school on those flimsy disk, now I think it is in it's 5th or 6th edition. We learned alot from it. I would like to have it for my kids.
