A Graduation Celebration

We had a wonderful celebration for Jesse this weekend! Dancing by Asha, music by Michael, and a lovely keynote address from Rev. Dr. Royeese Stowe. Jesse received a certificate for completing a great year with Entertaining Education, and then everyone enjoyed dancing to Jesse's party playlist. Here are some pictures from the joyous event. Congratulations, Jesse!!!

Jesse shows off his hard work and portfolios to Mrs. Leapheart

Alyssa, Jesse, and Julie

The guest of honor with mom

The guest of honor with dad

Borrowing the party hat :)

If you have other pictures that you would like to share, email them to me (Alyssa) at athadle@emory.edu. I will put them on the blog for everyone to see.

A Year in Review

It has been an exciting year filled with "entertaining" and "educational" assignments at Entertaining Education! For your final assignment, create a portfolio of the work you have done this year.

1) What parties have you learned how to plan and create?

2) Which activities did you enjoy the most?

3) Which parties would you most like to plan in real life in the future?

4) How will you use what you learned this year?

The Greatest Show on Earth!

With clowns, elephants, trapeze artists, and more, the circus has been called "the greatest show on earth." How can you use a circus theme to plan one of the greatest parties on earth?

There are some great ideas for circus-themed party games here:

http://www.partymerchant.com/circus_party.htm

On this website, people sent in descriptions of parties they threw with circus themes. Which ones do you like best?

http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/html/circus_party.html

Other ideas:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4686429_plan-fun-circus-theme-party.html

http://www.suite101.com/content/a-circus-themed-party-a32230

http://www.party411.com/theme97-corp.html

Remembering Our Ancestors: Family History Month

"We inhereit from our ancestors gifts so often taken for granted... Each of us contains within... this inheritance of soul. We are links between the ages, containing past and present expectations, sacred memories and future promise." - Edward Sneller

What gifts did you inherit from your ancestors? What ways did they shape who you are today? October is Family History Month! (See here: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/holidays/p/FamilyHistoryMonth.htm)

One way to honor and remember ancestors is to remember the special moments in their lives and celebrate them in your life. For example, in the traditional Chinese culture, families keep pictures of their ancestors on a special wall in the room that is used for family gatherings. This month, plan a celebration to honor your ancestors in some way.

Make a list of special days in your family's history, including your ancestors' birthdays or weddings. Turn this list into a family tree or a family history calendar.

Here are some websites to get your started on compiling a family history to remember your ancestors:

http://www.genealogybeginner.com/

http://kids.familytreemagazine.com/kids/default.asp

http://pbskids.org/wayback/family/tree/tree_tips.html

Safety First!

An important part of planning parties for children is ensuring the safety of your pint-sized guests. Young children are naturally curious and adventurous, and while this makes their parties fun and exciting, it can also make it difficult to monitor everyone.

This month, plan a children's party that will be fun for children AND adults. What will you do to make sure that the children are having fun, but that the adults do not have to spend the whole party watching the kids? How will you plan activities that keep the kids engaged and safe?

Here are some websites about child safety:

http://www.safekids.co.uk/ChildSafeParties.html

http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/psc_english_02/intro.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/first-aid-for-children.html

Cowboys and Art

Great job planning a cowboy party at the Western Art Museum! What a great day!

Halloween Party Pre-planning

It's never too early to start planning a Halloween-themed party! Think of traditional things associated with Halloween: ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, monsters, spiderwebs, and more. What ways can you plan a Halloween party in your own unique way, putting a twist on those traditional themes?

Here are some websites to help you:

http://www.halloween-website.com/themes.htm

http://www.ehow.com/halloween/decorations.html

http://www.celebrations.com/halloween-party-ideas

http://www.halloweenhowl.com/