Field Days: The Best Memories Come From Going the Extra Mile

(2 Minute Read)

When you think back to your elementary school years, what do you remember most? I remember the field days that left me both exhausted and also with the feeling that I just had the best day of the year.  All of this was because my physical education teacher put in a lot of hard work and extra time to plan this special day.

Here are some tips on how to organize an unforgettable field day experience for your students:

1. Start planning early: It’s never too early to start brainstorming and getting ideas down on paper for an end of the year field day. You’ll feel more prepared the earlier you start organizing.
2. Seek input from colleagues and students: Some of the best field day activities have come from my colleagues and students. You want the students to feel like they have a voice in their field day, as this helps keep behavior problems to an all-time low. To run an efficient and quality field day, you will need to request specialists and classroom teachers as volunteers for stations, so making them feel like you’ve listened to them helps.
3. Utilize middle school and high school students to facilitate stations: If possible, it can be advantageous to recruit responsible older students to run the stations. I have found the middle school and high school volunteers to be life-savers. I could not run a field day without them. The adult is there to supervise and handle any behavior problems, while the middle and high schoolers set up and facilitate the stations, and clean up the stations.
4. Pre-teach the activities/games during PE class: Teaching students most of the activities before field day will help make the field day run smoothly.
5. End of field day treats are a must: There’s nothing better than ice cream or a popsicle at the end of a field day. It may seem like a little thing, but kids love sweet treats! It’s a big deal to the younger students and honestly helps motivate my older students who are volunteering to give their best, too. You can always ask your Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) to donate the treats.

Field days are a lot of work, it requires extra planning, and leaves you feeling exhausted. However, the smiles, laughs, and memories are well worth the time and energy invested.  When you hear middle and high school students reminiscing about their field days, that’s when you know you went the extra mile to make field days one of their best memories from elementary school.