Glow Party during Covid

SHARE
TWEET
PIN

Let me first say that depending on your school or district Covid policy, some of the activities that will be shared in this blog post might not work for you, your school and your students. Coming up with meaningful and engaging activities during a normal glow party is quite simple, but in the middle of a pandemic there are different challenges to consider. With that being said, a safe and exciting Glow Party during Covid Pandemic is still possible.

Glow Party ideas in the middle of a COVID Pandemic.  How to set up a safe and fun room transformation for primary students.

Prepare Your Room

To begin, decide how committed you are to this glow party. You can do as much or as little as you wish. If this is your very first time ever throwing a glow party, I suggest starting simple. Glow Party during Covid Pandemic might be a little tricky like mentioned above. A few black lights, dark out your curtains, and prepare some fun and engaging activities listed in this blog post. If this isn’t your first glow party you might decide to do a little bit more. This year I had a photo backdrop for students to take pictures in and send to their parents. Since parents are not allowed in our school this year, I tried to make sure that they feel a part of every fun activity we do by snapping pictures and sending them to the parents. You can create this backdrop using the items linked in my Amazon shop.

Here are a few tips to make sure you get the best glow during your glow party…

  • Cover all windows and doors with black paper
  • Place a black light in every corner or along every wall of your classroom
  • Use glow in the dark dry erase markers to draw on hard surfaces and create more color
  • Encourage your students to wear bright colors
  • Use neon paper or card stock
  • Use glow in the dark paint and add dots or lines
Glow Party ideas in the middle of a COVID Pandemic.  How to set up a safe and fun room transformation for primary students.

Sight Word Practice

Each of my students has an individual list of sight words. For students who have already completed all of their sight words, they worked on vocabulary words from a chapter book that they are reading in their book club. Everyone had something on which to work. In each of the centers students had individual materials. There were no shared supplies. For morning work students wrote their sight words down on an index card with a highlighter. They would keep this with them as they worked.

Here are a few station ideas…

  • Write the words in a Target Dollar Book with a highlighter.
  • Spell words with letter tiles (again each kid has their own set).
  • Create and unscramble game using post it notes. Students wrote one letter per post it note in a black marker. They would mix up the post it notes and then unscramble to spell the sight word or vocabulary word.
  • Build the words with chenille pipe cleaners. Bend the pipe cleaners to form letters. Each student will need about 10.
  • Play-Doh also glows! Students can roll out their words. Each would need a tub of Play-Doh.
Glow Party ideas in the middle of a COVID Pandemic.  How to set up a safe and fun room transformation for primary students.

Math and Number Sense Activities

Math stations are slightly more difficult to come up with due to restrictions and guidelines. I did have to recruit some extra help with the stations by asking my student teacher to come on a day she is normally off, as well as a parent who works within the school system.

Here area few math activity ideas…

  • Take a large piece of white bulletin board paper and represent numbers with tallies, dots, simple addition sentences, etc. Then write the numbers on bright colored Post-it notes. Divide the post it notes out between the students and allow them to cover up numbers represented on the white paper. By dividing up the Post-it notes, the students aren’t touching the same materials, and by taking turns at the white paper they maintain social distance.
  • Use paint sticks, pipe cleaners, and glow-in-the-dark beads to make rekenreks for the students to use at home.
  • Students can create numbers using glow in the dark tape, sticky notes, and glow in the dark objects, such as counters or stones.
  • Number games can be played at a student’s desk with a teacher or a para calling out the numbers and monitoring student movement.
Glow Party ideas in the middle of a COVID Pandemic.  How to set up a safe and fun room transformation for primary students.

Have Fun

Yes, it is going to be stressful! And yes, you’re still going to need to clean with spray and wipes. But, can you host a Glow Party during Covid Pandemic? Yes! It is an opportunity to remind yourself and your students that learning can be fun and school can still be engaging. While the preparation can be overwhelming, the memories and stories that your students will have moving forward will make it all worthwhile. Don’t our students deserve just a moment of magic? Help them GLOW by giving this a try in your classroom.

Click here to see my entire Amazon list full of fun suggestions and items you might need or want!

Read other classroom transformation Glow Party ideas from previous years. Click here!

SHARE
TWEET
PIN

Hey, I'm Meghan!

Are you a VIP?

Teachers are VIPs and I want to celebrate that by giving you access to my library of FREE downloads!

NEED MORE PHONICS RESOURCES?​

Sign up to receive a free sample with games you can use right away in your small groups.