5 Family Fun Night Tips for Your Elementary School PTA/PTO

I’m Virginia-based school assembly presenter Joe Romano. For over 30 years I’ve presented fun and engaging assemblies on Math, Stem/Science, Character Education, Reading, and more. Schools in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington DC rave about my ability to combine entertainment with education for school-age children.



This article will outline some of the benefits family fun nights bring to your students, their families, and your school faculty.

Family Fun Night Benefit #1: Community Outreach

Plan an effective family fun night and you’ll draw parents and students to your evening event. This is important. Events like these serve as a wonderful way to engage the community. When everyone comes together as a community, it helps everyone bond. And when community members bond, they form connections that help people look out for each other.

This can turn into pride. People feel good about themselves and getting involved with their local school. Fostering these good feelings helps your PTA/PTO in other ways, too.

Family Fun Night Benefit #2: Parent Engagement

Most educators know that getting parents involved is key to keeping students’ grades high. If parents aren’t involved, children often become lax in their homework. Grades falter. Pretty soon, the students are in trouble. Combine that with excess absenteeism and you have a serious situation.

But getting parents involved can help change that. Disengaged or distracted parents may find it easier to just send kids off to school without follow-up or showing any interest in what their children are doing in school. Getting them into the building changes the equation.

Once parents see their kids’ daily environment and the excitement in their faces, they become more engaged. They put faces to names. They understand more what their children are doing.

Family Fun Night Benefit #3: Fundraising Opportunities

Every parent-teacher group in school needs funds to operate. Without funds, the PTAs and PTOs of schools can’t accomplish much. And while traditional fundraising is effective, there are benefits to changing things up.

Many fundraisers involve kids selling giftwrap, cookies, or other items to family and relatives. For many families, it’s one more duty the parents need to help their kids with. Compare that to an evening family fun event.

With nighttime magic shows, contests, raffles, and more, a fun night offers fundraising opportunities that are more fun for families. They can help you raise funds for your organization while having a fun night out with the entire family.

Family Fun Night Benefit #4: Re-Engage Children

Maybe your school has students who are not applying themselves in a certain subject. Their parents are involved, but the children in question just don’t seem interested in part of the school curriculum. What if your family fun night is focused on a specific subject?

Math, STEM/Science, Reading, and other subjects have been wildly successful themes for family fun nights across the country. In these events, the goal is still fun for all, but with a focus on the selected topic.

Games, contests, live demonstrations, and full shows performed by professionals can help these disengaged children see the topic in a new way. With the right event, your group may just help these kids become interested in a subject for the first time.

Family Fun Night Benefit #5: Connect Parents and School Faculty

For many reasons, some parents develop an adversarial relationship with school faculty or their child’s teacher. Maybe they feel their child did not receive a fair grade. Maybe there were problems between their child and others in school. But a family fun night can help break down barriers.

The right event can help these parents see the school faculty in a different light. They can see the school’s teachers and administrators as real people. Seeing these professional educators donate their time after regular school hours may help parents appreciate what they do.

Bring a Fun-Filled Educational School Assembly Program to Your Event

Are you looking for a centerpiece attraction for your upcoming family event? One that will entertain and educate both children and parents? My daytime assembly programs are just as effective at night! With kid-friendly humor, jaw-dropping magic, join-in fun, and fun educational lessons, my ultimate school shows are truly the ‘ultimate’ in-school assemblies!

Want to find out more? Contact me today while you’re thinking about it. You’ll receive no-obligation free assembly information instantly when you fill out any contact form on this site.