Star Wars Party

Have you ever had one of those programs that you started planning and after it was over it looked nothing like the way you planned?  That was our Star Wars party.  When I originally began planning the program I talked with my supervisor and we decided on reserving our large meeting space and offering a number of stations for kids to rotate through.  After coming up with ten ideas, we talked again and decided to pair it down a little to make it more manageable with only five stations.  So I paired down the list and came up with some great ideas!  We set our registration to 40 participants and the day of the event came and we only had 18 registered.  I’m still shocked at the number because I really assumed this would be a hit program, especially with all the promotion about the new movie coming out.
So, I gathered my supplies and headed to the large meeting room about an hour before our event was supposed to happen and it was set-up for another meeting.  With only an hour to re-configure my plan, thankfully our storytime room was empty (minus the painter’s tape outline of a large dreidel on the floor for Hanukkah storytime).  With only an hour of time and a limited space, I decided on offering our R2-D2 craft (template and inspiration) and Lego Star Wars Bingo.  The craft had a lot of cutting out to do (perfect scissor skill craft) and kids LOVE Bingo.
So frantically, before the kids arrived I created ten more bingo cards and overall the program went really well.  We only ended up with 13 kids showing up (which ended up being a blessing) and they spent at least 25 minutes working on the craft and then we played 3-4 rounds of bingo before it was time for snack and the kids headed home.  It definitely wasn’t what I expected, but I’m glad I was able to roll with the punches, so to say, and adapt the program as necessary!