Member-only story
Mastering the Art of Field Days
From planning to execution
Remember the magic of field day?
The relays. Class vs. class competitions. Tug of war. The end of the year games. I love field days!
I also want to create an amazing experience for my students.
Our field days (yes days!) are at the end of the school year. In the past, I have done some in the middle near Christmas time (see the above picture), but I enjoy the end of the school year. It brings a nice closure and a way to celebrate our time together.
We have three field days (FD) to break up the total number of students in our school (about 1,000), and to ensure everyone gets enough time at each station. We have field days for:
- Kindergarten and first grade
- Second and third grade
- Fourth and fifth grade
This also helps with games that are two classes at a time, like tug-of-war, where a 4th grade class could be with a 5th grade class. Imagine 5th vs. kinder! That might not work so well.
Full disclosure: I put out cones and a few items the night before our first FD, but I show up before the sun comes out to set up that morning. It helps to have paras that are invested in helping, but I haven’t had that in a long time. It’s on…
