Get Glowing! Glow Day Activities for the Classroom
Looking for a new and original theme day for your classroom? Brighten things up with a Glow day!
You might be wondering what is Glow Day? It’s a special theme day that radiates through your classroom with all things glow in the dark! Imagine a glow day classroom transformation!
To make this fun theme easy to plan, check out this Glow Day Pack! With special glow day activities, shopping lists, set up pictures, and more…everyone will not only be beaming with fun, but will be learning a thing or two along the way too! You could even follow a lot of the tips and activities at home, for a fun glow in the dark party.
Want to learn more about this bright idea and all the Glow Day Pack has to offer? Below are some great tips to help you prepare some glow day activities to make your Glow Day the best it can be.
Glow Day Classroom Preparation
How to prepare for Glow Day Classroom transformation? Let me light the way!
First thing is first, plan ahead of time. I am not going to lie to you, this is not an easy-peasy or quick-prep theme day. It takes a bit of time to organize and set up the space, but trust me, it is worth it! I prepare for this a week or more in advance. I also “darken” my room, set up all my centers, etc. the day before so everything is set and ready for the morning of the special day. You do not want to leave this until the last minute!
The first mission to a successful glow day is darkening your room as much as possible. The least amount of natural light coming in is better for the black lights. I used black tablecloths and black bulletin board paper to cover my classroom windows and glass openings that see into the hall. Try to find the thicker tablecloths that have a fabric/flannel on the back to allow them to be reused each year (this will help with cost). The thickness of these, compared to plastic tablecloths, allows for a much better block of light too. I used a mix of duct tape and velcro to hang my tablecloths up on my windows. You can also put adhesive hooks along the top of your windows and make holes in the cloth to “hang” them up and allow them to drape down. You may need to add a bit of tape to close any gaps, but this trick will help to prevent the fabric falling down. These hooks can then be used to hang up different colors as decor for other theme days throughout the year.
Once everything is super dark, the most time consuming part is out of the way- yay! Next up, black lights! My classroom is an average size. I used 5 black lights (24 inch models) in the space and it was the perfect amount. I would adjust this number based on your space. I truly wouldn’t use less than 5 unless you are in an extremely small space with a small class size (less than 10). Spacing the lights out around your room is vital. Put them in main locations where your activities will be taking place. Behind your teacher desk is not necessary, but putting one near your small group table is a must for center activities. I also added a small, super powerful party light that truly made the day amazing! It is the number one tool that is a MUST HAVE. The final touch for decor were glow in the dark balloons, these gave the room a party feel and made it feel special.
I just simply blew them up myself and taped them up around the room. Keep in mind, you do not need to do all of the things your first year doing this theme day. Maybe start with just the black lights and work your way up to more decor. It is definitely a theme day that costs money. Applying for grants, donor sites, and/or asking for donations from family/friends can be helpful. You can also look at it as an “investment” because most of the items purchased can be reused year after year!
Next up is to be sure to set the tone for Glow Day as soon as your students enter the room. Printing the banner in the Glow Day Pack for your door or wall. (There are a few versions of banners to choose from!) All you have to do is print, cut, and hang! Print it onto white or neon paper to really make it pop under the black lights! You can also hang the signage in the hallway or on the classroom door to hype up the excitement of the special day as the kids are approaching the classroom in the morning. Then keep the excitement going by projecting the sign ‘Welcome to Glow Day’, which will give an extra bit of needed light for your kiddos to see, but not enough to take away from the overall glow in the room because YES, your regular classroom lights are off the whole day!
Setting up your glow centers is next! I first got all my copies ready. The Glow Day pack makes this part easy because they are all labeled and organized! Once I copied and gathered any supplies needed for each one, I sorted them into center bins. This helps stay organized and allows quick clean up and swap out of activities throughout your Glow Day! The pack includes shopping and supply lists for each of the centers, crafts, and more!
Two other things to do ahead of time, in order to make your Glow Day amazing…hype up the special day by giving your kids their Glow day wristbands (included in the pack) to wear home the day before! These will not only get them excited, but they will also remind the parents of tip #2. Tip #2 is my favorite one, let the families know about Glow Day so they can have the option to dress up for the occasion! Wearing white is the easiest way to dress your best on this day, the white will pop under the black lights. Some of my other kids made shirts with glow and the dark paint, more neon clothing elements, and/or wore shoes with light up elements!
Glow Day Centers make your Classroom Transformation POP!
Make your classroom glow throughout the entire room by creating glow day centers! These are one of the most exciting parts of Glow Day! You want to make sure students get a chance to spend time with as many glow day activities as possible so, center style is the way to go.
There are so many glow day activities centers to choose from! Each center is thoroughly explained and pictures/examples are provided in my pack. Inside the pack, you will find resources to create centers like Glow Day bowling, Glow Egg toss, Glow Rings addition up to 100, Write the room, Glow Jenga, Glow Stem, etc. This pack offers signage for each center so students know exactly where they belong and what their job is! To top it off, there are center contracts to hold your students accountable for their Glow Day work and to potentially work their way towards some cool Glow day prizes!
Bonus Glow Day Content Included
The Glow Day Pack is full of printables and ideas in order to make your Glow Day successful. Here are some other things included that you can use:
* Parent letters
* Science experiments
* Book lists- and yes some books even GLOW!
* Class books
* Crafts
* Websites, a Spotify playlist, and WAY MORE!
The best part is, there is no research involved. All your Glow Day activity planning is done for you! You’ll find a shopping list that will take you directly to my Amazon link where you can purchase glow sticks, bracelets, necklaces, art paper to cover your windows, UV glow paint for experiments, party lights, neon party balloons, and much more. {affiliate links apply}
Check out the pictures of my glow day classroom transformation as inspiration for yours!
Customizable Glow Day Activities
The Glow Day Pack has tons and tons of alternative options. In order to feel in control of your Glow Day, check out the editable versions of all things Glow Day! Areas you can edit include contracts, letters home, wristbands, center templates, sight words, and more.
So what are you waiting for? Get glowing! And have the best glow day ever.
