I create many items for free to the community! However, I do also have a TPT store, so if you feel inclined, any purchases allow me to justify to my wife the time spent on projects. Help me send my kids to college...or just to buy a coffee!
I've put together 20 field days thus far in my career. Running one is often the perfect combination of anticipated fun and surprise issues. A huge event that many teachers have to endure planning and implementing all by themselves. Parents always volunteer to help me set up in the morning, but it's been hard because we often have a personal vision for each activity, and having to go back and correct mistakes can be worse than just setting it up yourself. What I do now is get there really early to set up the station signs/numbers (stakes in the ground, etc), and then give incoming helpers a list of equipment to bring out to each activity area. I then set up the activities while they set up a drinking station, fill water items as needed, help with electrical cords and DJ needs, and other odds and ends.
I've tried using only parent volunteers to run the games, and that didn't always work very well because many really just wanted to hang out with their kids, and not be stuck at a game for hours. I've used 6th grade helpers (the oldest group in my school), and while that went well, it's overly dependent on the group maturity (plus they miss playing games for their final year). By far my favorite is using high school helpers to run the games. I either get them from a high school P.E. teacher friend who comes with them, or from one of the school leadership groups. They are usually wonderful and energetic, and many are former students, which creates an amazing feeling of community togetherness.
Check out the individual page tabs for the different themes I've focused on in recent years.
I've tried using only parent volunteers to run the games, and that didn't always work very well because many really just wanted to hang out with their kids, and not be stuck at a game for hours. I've used 6th grade helpers (the oldest group in my school), and while that went well, it's overly dependent on the group maturity (plus they miss playing games for their final year). By far my favorite is using high school helpers to run the games. I either get them from a high school P.E. teacher friend who comes with them, or from one of the school leadership groups. They are usually wonderful and energetic, and many are former students, which creates an amazing feeling of community togetherness.
Check out the individual page tabs for the different themes I've focused on in recent years.