School Fun Day Activities

School fun days are an important part of student educational life at any level. Allowing students to enjoy a day of fun activities to break up the routine of school work is healthy and makes school more enjoyable for students and faculty. Student fun days can be small or large depending on the budget of the school and the size of the student body. They can be planned indoors, outside or off the school campus.

A fun day can be as simple as having a party in the classroom or gymnasium. Activities for fun days involving younger students should be appropriate to their age. Direct young students in classic games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, bobbing for apples or three-legged races. Coordinate team-building exercises and cooperative games such as relays and The Human Knot for older students.

Speakers can be invited as a fun and educational fun day activity. Choose speakers on subjects relevant to the age of the students. For a fun day, lectures should center on enjoyable topics such as music and art. Performers can be hired to entertain the students if the school budget will allow. Choosing a popular local band is a good choice for high school students. If the fun day is for older students, avoid entertainment geared toward young children, such as clowns.

If the weather and school facilities allow for an outdoor fun day, the possibilities expand greatly. Most of the activities that can be done inside can be done outdoors as well, but being outside has the added benefit of allowing for larger group activities and giving the children a chance to get some fresh air.

Team sports and scavenger hunts are great group outdoor activities for school fun days. Organize a game of touch football or softball on the school athletic field. Scavenger hunts can be done anywhere on the property that it is safe for the students to go. Make a list of simple objects for the students to find and have teams race to come up with them. If the school property is large enough, take a nature walk to teach students about native plants and animals.

If the school budget allows for transportation, fun days can be a great day out. The difference between a fun day and a field trip is that a fun day is not always meant to focus on a particular educational subject.

Great ideas for fun days out can be trips to amusement parks or arcades, where the students are allowed to enjoy themselves in a setting where the staff are used to dealing with children. These destinations are meant to be purely recreational. The students can play games, ride attractions and socialize.

Fun day activities are mostly limited by the size of the class and school budget. The age of the students plays an important role as well, since older students can be taken to a wider variety of places.

If fun days are planned off school property, parental consent forms will usually have to be signed and returned. Ask for parent participation in fun day activities. Parents can often be volunteer chaperons, reducing the number of paid staff that have to accompany a large group of students.