Tag: Founders Day

Membership Monday: Spread Warmth and Grow Your PTA

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by Membership Services Commission

MEMBERSHIP TIP: GROWING MEMBERSHIP CAN BE AS EASY AS A CUP OF HOT CHOCOLATE

Today is National Hot Chocolate Day! Spreading a little warmth and joy can help you build community and grow your PTA membership. Offering a cup of warm cocoa or coffee/tea can be a great conversation starter as you continue to meet new parents (parents with students in different grades and staff). Set up a membership table if you can and serve coffee or hot chocolate as a way to remind your parents and students of the support and work your PTA is doing on their behalf. Try a virtual coffee or cocoa chat if the in-person table is not possible at your school.

Throughout February, there are many celebrations that can give you ideas on how to connect to your community. Every time you have an event you can use it to encourage membership! 

For more ideas, be sure to read Ways to Increase PTA Membership on the California State PTA website.

February Can Be A Membership Cultural Celebration

Connecting to your community is essential to increase membership in PTA and will help your PTA  recruit members in a way that is inclusive of all of our families and students. February is a time to celebrate Lunar New Year, African American Heritage Month, and Black History Month. See what your school and community are doing and sponsor or plan events to support these causes. In the process, your PTA can also build educational awareness and learning around these cultural celebrations.

Boost Membership With Healthy Lifestyle Awareness

February is also National Children’s Dental Health Month, National Bake for Family Fun Month, and National Snack Food Month. Remind your membership that healthy and active lifestyles are a part of PTA values and give them ideas of what they can do as classes, a PTA, or a community whether in person or virtual. Encourage families to be diligent about dental health for their children and find ways to do easy baking ideas that bring the family together to do constructive and team building activities. Virtual cooking (baking) classes have been a big hit in some communities.

Celebrate all PTA has to offer by honoring PTA’s founding. See all the ways PTA has been advocating for children and families for 125 years and is still relevant today.  You are part of the PTA legacy. Share your story with us! Learn more ways you can celebrate PTA’s founding.

Celebrating February Holidays and Events as a Family

Posted on by CAPTA IT

By: Family Engagement Commission

It’s almost February! Get ready for a month full of important holidays and events including Black History Month, Presidents’ Day, Safer Internet Day and Valentine’s Day. Schools will be focused on these events in a variety of ways. Here are some things you can do as a family to learn more about these events and acknowledge them at home. 

  • Black History Month- February 1-March 1, 2022. The theme this year is “Black Health and Wellness”
      • Attend local events celebrating Black History Month — there are often concerts, parades, exhibits at museums, or book readings at your local library that highlight the contributions of African Americans.
      • Read books about important African Americans including Mae Jemison, Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson. We can also read about important African Americans in the field of science and medicine like Dr. Patricia Bath an ophthalmologist who has done remarkable research around cataracts and blindness (The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath), learn more about biologist Ernest Everett Just (The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just), or read about George Washington Carver (there are loads of great children’s books about his fascinating life). 
  • Safer Internet Day Celebrations – February 7-11, 2022
  • Valentine’s Day- February 14, 2022
      • Cut out a batch of paper hearts — 14 for each family member.  Each day of February leading up to Valentine’s Day write down one thing you love about each person in your family. You can either read these to each other at dinner or tape them to their bedroom door.  
      • Work together to create a family meal with heart-shaped foods. Cut your sandwiches into hearts, or make heart-shaped pizza or cookies. Not only will this be yummy, but cooking together is a great way to reinforce math skills.
  • PTA Founders’ Day- February 17, 2022
  • Presidents’ Day- February 21, 2022
      • Write a letter to the President or send them a picture your child has drawn. You can find the address at WhiteHouse.gov and sometimes you will get a response.  Here are some tips for writing your letter. 
      • Begin to memorize the order of the presidents. There are lots of fun ways to do this — there are songs with the order, videos on YouTube, or mnemonic devices to help you learn different chunks of information about our presidential leaders. Not only is this important information for our civic education, but it can help you in trivia competitions. 

As always, you can find more activities to do at home by searching the California State PTA’s Resource Library. You can search by the age of your child, around a specific topic (including but not limited to: “Activities you can do at home”, “Early Childhood” or “Family Engagement”), or just use a keyword in the search bar.