School Carnival Games & Ideas - Fabulously Fun

Fabulously Fun School Carnival

Ideas

A FREE VolunteerSpot eBook

Ideas for how to organize a carnival for Schools, Churches and Community groups

Suggestions for games, activities, food, and fundraisers

Tips for making the carnival fun for all ages!

Inside this eBook:

© 2011 by VolunteerSpot DOING GOOD Just Got Easier!Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative Commons License, Attribution 2.5.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

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VolunteerSpot Philosophy

At VolunteerSpot, we believe that volunteers should be rewarded for stepping forward and sharing their time and talents with those in need. All too often, volunteering means putting up with a certain amount of hassle or frustration – whether that is late night emails, reply-all messages, reminder phone calls, or searching for a parking space. Our sponsors enable us to provide FREE tools that simplify volunteering, powering your good work in schools and clubs, in your congregation and neighborhoods. We can’t find you a parking space, but with VolunteerSpot, DOING GOOD just got easier!

Carnivals are FUN!

Many schools and congregations hold carnivals every year because they are fun, involve the community, and can be a profitable fundraiser.

We’ve collected ideas from carnival veterans to help you plan your event. Whether it is your first or 50th, we hope you will find some ideas to make your carnival a fresh success!

Carnival Ideas / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

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Carnival BasicsMore stuff means more money. Offer a variety of booths and activities attractive for all ages. Once you have a theme, let it guide your booth and entertainment choices.

Good publicity and signage drives attendance. Start spreading the word 4‐6 weeks before your event. At the carnival, hang brightly colored signs identifying booths and concessions stands. (Kids can help make them.) Prominently recognize sponsors on banners and signs.

Share the work and have more fun! Create subcommittees with a chair responsible for key teams. Use VolunteerSpot for simple volunteer scheduling and parent signups!

Ticket SalesConcessionsRentalsSponsorshipsPublicityBoothsRaffle or AuctionMusic and EntertainmentSetup/Cleanup


Choose a theme to tie the carnival together. Your carnival can be planned around any theme, for example:

The CircusBeach PartyFuture/Outer SpaceHollywoodMardi GrasSportsFiesta

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Example: 4th Grade Balloon Pop Booth Signup

Once volunteers have picked a shift, VolunteerSpot sends automated

confirmations and reminders to help everyone keep their commitments.

Save time, Plan your Carnival Online with VolunteerSpot

Example: General Carnival Committee Signup

VolunteerSpot’s simple online signup tool makes it easy to get the help you need.

Volunteers signup on‐the‐go, from their smartphones!

Where should we hold our carnival?

You can hold your carnival anywhere that is safe and has enough room.

Either indoors or outdoors

Any area that's safe for kids

In a space that is big enough to fit all your booths and activities

A backyard

A big garage

A church or school

A playground

Need Permission? Need Permits? Plan ahead!!


Our school holds a carnival every year. The kids, teachers, and parents, all look forward to it. It’s such a fun way for our families to spend time together while

raising money.

-- Parent, Campbell, CA


How can we turn our carnival into a fundraiser?

• Sell Tickets! Offer tickets for sale in the weeks before the carnival at a discount. This builds interest in your event while earning a base of funds. Avoid cash handling at all the activity booths and concessions stands by having a few designated ticket booths. Set a ticket price (# tickets) for each booth or food item.

• Sell student designed t‐shirts, community recipe/cookbooks, arts and crafts, etc.

• Keep costs down. Ask local businesses to donate food or supplies. Purchase inexpensive prizes for the games at party stores.

• Add a bake sale or cake decorating contest.

• Hold a silent auction or raffle. Include themed baskets where each class parent donates one small item for a collectively generous basket. Possible themes:

Family Games, Backyard Fun, Cook’s Delight, Gardener Goodies, Puzzles, Arts & Crafts, Pampering, Slumber Party, Water Fun


Don’t forget to give recognition and send a “Thank You” note to those businesses that helped!


What else can we do besides games?

A carnival isn't complete without at least a few good shows. Feature

your community talent and charge tickets for admission. Some ideas:

Magic ShowPuppet ShowTalent Contest

Skateboard Freestyle DemoDance Performances

Short PlayChoral GroupsLocal BandsArt Show

Ask teachers and staff to support the talent show by allowing

students to practice during lunch period or after school.



Activities for Little Kids• Learn a cheer with a High School Cheer

leader (in uniform)

• Diva Center – paint nails, glitter hair, face painting, etc.

• Dress‐up corner

• Face painting

• Decorate a flower pot and plant a seed

Carnival Ideas / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just g

• Football throw or soccer kick (with a uniformed HS player helping)

• Basketball toss

• Tackle the quarterback (with a uniformed HS player as the tackle target)

• Water balloon toss

• Knock stacked cans with a ball


Activities for Older Kids• American Idol –like Karaoke Stage (charge per song)

• Who Wants to be a Millionaire – like Trivia Stage

• Hot dog or pie eating contest

• Chalk mural, Group Graffiti Canvas or Trash Sculpture – group art project where everyone contributes

• Temporary hair coloring, hair braiding and tattoos

• Dunk Tank

• Balloon dartboard

• Corn Hole Toss

• Cake Walk

• Basketball Shoot (Miniature for indoors)

• Silly Photos (Create painted character panels with head slots cut out. Have a digital camera and printer on site.)

• Guess how many pennies in the jar – closest number wins the jar!

• Chicken Drop (Create a numbered checkerboard in a 5’ x 5’ space. Sell tickets for each number. The number the bird ‘drops’ on wins.)

• Cow Drop (same as chicken drop, but section the football field into a numbered checkerboard.)

Carnival Ideas/ VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

I love going to my church carnival. It reminds me of when I was a kid!

-- GrandparentFreehold, NJ


Activities for kids of all ages!• Silly string corral (sell small cans of Silly String and rope off a fun zone)

• Shaving cream/bubble corral

• Cascarones (confetti eggs, kids smash them on each other)

• Box maze (made out of refrigerator boxes from a retail warehouse and lots of tape)

• Hula Hoop/Jump Rope contests

• Pick‐a‐pop

• Fishing booth

• Duck race

• Ring toss

• Dime toss

• Water gun targets

• Balloon Pop Relay

• Fun fortune‐teller or palm reader

Please visit our blog for more volunteering suggestions and

to share your carnival ideas and stories.


http://blog.volunteerspot.com/


Creative Carnival Game IdeasPotty Toss

Players try to toss toilet tissue rolls through toilet seats hung from the ceiling. Each seat is marked with a different point value.

Human Slot MachineSetup three large refrigerator boxes in a row & cut out a large window in the front of each. When a player pulls an imaginary lever, a volunteer standing in each box tosses possible wax fruits (orange, banana, apple) up and down, finally picking one. Three in a row wins!

Dinosaur Dig/ Treasure DigPlayers dig in shallow boxes of sand for plastic “dino” eggs. Each egg contains a slip of paper with a number. Players can redeem the prize assigned to the number found on their paper. Pirate variation: hide chocolate gold coins & trinkets and players dig for buried treasure.

End of the RainbowDraw a rainbow in chalk on an outdoor surface. At the end of rainbow place a miniature pot (or fake cauldron). Players try to flip pennies into the pot from a designated point. Prizes increase depending on the number of pennies the player tosses into the pot.

Quack ShackA costumed volunteer pretends to be a mad scientist and decorates the kids with fake scars and wounds.



Fun for Rent!Carnivals are a good way to teach kids how to work in teams, make decisions, and get organized!

Organizing a carnival is a fun way to use math, art, music, science, and language arts skills.

With a few simple clicks, VolunteerSpot can help you organize your next carnival – and it’s free!

Just log on to www.Volunteerspot.com to get started!

You don’t need a big budget to have a successful carnival; however, adding a few well‐selected rentals can

increase ticket sales and expand the fun.

Bounce castle

Giant slide/ Water slide

Photo booth

Pony rides

Petting zoo

Dunking Booth

Video game trailer

Lazer tag

Go carts

Test your strength – hammer game

Sumo wrestling

Jousting

Transportable Carnival Rides




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Spreading the Word


Having a big turnout is key for your Carnival fun‐raiser! Getting people to show up takes planning and effort.

Fliers. Hand out information about your carnival at school or congregation and to everyone you know. Include the date, time, location, what kinds of things you’ll have at your carnival, and a list of sponsors.

Newspapers, newsletters and local websites. Ask your local newspaper, congregation, or school newsletter to run a free announcement about your carnival.

Posters and Banners. Make colorful signs that tell people about your carnival. Tell the date, time, location and all the things you’ll have: “Games! Prizes! Food! Entertainment! Silent Auction! etc.” The more posters you put up on telephone poles, at school and at nearby businesses, the better.

Word of mouth. Tell all your friends and their parents.


Food and Drinks

Carnival Ideas/ VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

• Popcorn

• Snow‐cones / snow balls

• Hot dogs/hamburgers

• Cotton candy

• Soft Drinks & Italian Soda

• Peanuts

• Cookies

• Candies

• Pretzels

• Churros or Doughnuts

• Trail mix

• Fruit

• Caramel or candy apples

• Ice cream/ Italian Ice

Many local restaurants and businesses will donate food in exchange for sponsored publicity.


Tips for a Successful Carnival• Print maps of your carnival space.

• Share the fun! Give each class or group the responsibility of planning and staffing a specific booth. That team should consider decorations, setup, cleanup, and prizes.

• Have plenty of lined garbage cans and a trash team to keep them ready. Set the trash cans back away from your serving area to avoid flies or odors.

• Price your tickets so a typical family can have a lot of fun and enjoy multiple activities. Give discounts to people who buy 20 tickets at once, or pre‐order. Consider selling fixed‐priced wristbands if your carnival is more of a community‐builder than a fundraiser. Wristbands are simpler than tickets, but typically not as profitable for the carnival.

• Offer both substantial food and treats. Hungry carnival goers appreciate something filling like pizza or hot dogs in addition to candy and popcorn.

• Give out prizes right away at each game booth, or kids can collect ‘point tickets’ redeemable at a prize booth.

• Ask yourself, “Can everybody play this game?” You may have people come to your carnival who use crutches , wheelchairs. or have less strength in their arms and hands.

• Set aside a safe, shaded area for babies and toddlers to crawl and play without having big kids around. A few gym mats, some baby toys, a fence of some kind, and chairs for parents could be all that you need.

• Cash Sense. Keep cash‐handling locations to a minimum and staffed with two or more people. Have locked cash boxes on hand, and a process for moving and storing large sums of money. Many banks and supermarkets provide an auction and carnival service and can help with your cash process.



Helping parents, teachers and volunteer leaders coordinate activities and events simply and easily all year round!

• Soccer Snacks

• Scout Campouts

• Walk‐a‐Thons & Fun Runs

• Swim Meets

• Sports Tournaments

• Vacation Bible School

• Girl Scout Cookie Booths

• Neighborhood Clean ups

• Coat, food and toy drives

and more . . .

Simplify ALL Parent Volunteering

Class Parent Carnival Ideas / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!


Click here for Sample Class Parent Letters: www.budurl.com/BTSSampleLetters

See our other free eBooks with ideas andbest‐practices for:

• School Carnivals

• Teacher Gifts

• Family‐Friendly Volunteering

• Fundraising with Kids

• Bake Sales

• Talent Shows

and more . . . www.VolunteerSpot.com/ebooks

Additional Resources

Class Parent Carnival Ideas / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

http://www.volunteerspot.com/ebooks


http://www.budurl.com/BTSSampleLetters

ThankYou!

Thank you for downloading this FREE eBook from VolunteerSpot.

We take the hassle out of volunteering and make it point-and-click simple to schedule all your volunteer activities with our

FREE powerful real time calendar signup tool.

© 2011 by VolunteerSpot DOING GOOD Just Got Easier!Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative Commons License, Attribution 2.5.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

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Used some of the ideas in this eBook, or came up with some of your own

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School Carnival Games & Ideas - Fabulously Fun

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