How to Plan an EPIC Elementary Field Day (7 Easy Steps)
Get ready to easily create the ultimate fun day with this Elementary Field Day 7-Step guide.
Perfect for K-5 PE teachers, PTAs, and school leaders, these 7 easy steps make your epic field day a stress-free hit full of relay races, teamwork challenges, and unforgettable outdoor fun!
Elementary Field Day
In this blog post Love 2 Teach and Learn (Mrs. T.) will break down everything you need for planning elementary field day success, from exciting field day games and activities to simple organization tips that keep kids active, teachers happy, and everyone smiling the whole day long.
Hi there, it’s so great to meet you! I’m Mrs. T. or you can call me Jen – a Michigan mom, wife, new grandma (aka “Jemma”) and K-12 PE teacher who is on a mission to MAKE SCHOOL FUN AGAIN!
Field day is one of the absolute best days of the school year, however as a PE Teacher responsible for planning the entire event, it can definitely get overwhelming if you don’t have a solid plan.
Which is why – PE Teachers, I GOT YOU! I’ve planned a bunch of elementary field day events that I am quite proud of.
And I am so excited to share my simple 7-Step Plan, as well as my very favorite field day games and ideas and tips and tricks, with all of you today.
READY! SET! LET’S GET PLANNING!
STEP 1: Choose A Date
TIMELINE: 3+ Months Before
First and foremost, it is important to choose a date for your elementary field day. After choosing a date make sure to:
- Clear the date with your principal or administration
- Add it to your school calendar
- Notify your PTO or PTA (This is a good time to ask about any “Field Day Money” that might be available to you)
- Pick a “Rain Date” as a backup if your field day is outdoors
- Communicate and send a “SAVE THE DATE” email to all teachers and staff
- This is also a great time to secure a substitute teacher for the day (if your district has the budget and allows for that)
📌BONUS TIPS: I have found that THURSDAY is an Awesome day to have an elementary field day, with the following day (Friday) being your rain date, if needed.
📌You will be completely exhausted after the day so having it toward the end of the week means you only have one more school day to go before the weekend. Or, better yet, (if you have the days to take) I suggest rewarding yourself by taking the next day off and enjoying a nice long weekend. You totally deserve it!
STEP 2: Choose 6-8 Station Activities
TIMELINE: 2 Months Before
The next step is the fun part of planning field day. Choose between 6-8 station games and/or activities that you want to have at your elementary field day event.
If you are stuck, don’t worry, I have 105 Awesome Field Day Station Ideas for you RIGHT HERE.
The possibilities really are endless when it comes to choosing fun stations for your big day.
A few of my ALL-TIME FIELD DAY FAVORITES are:
- Rented Outdoor Waterslide Station
- Rented Bounce House
- Relay Races Station (3-Legged Race, Sack Race, Pizza Box Relay, Giant Beach Ball Relay)
- Water Games Station (Slip and Slide, Dunk Tank, Sponge Relays, Duck Duck Splash)
- Tug-Of-War Station (Class Vs Class, Teachers Vs Class, Parents Vs Kids)
- Parachute Games Station (Sharks and Lifeguards)
- Snow Cone or Popsicle and Playground Station
- Slime Run Station (My Favorite For Sure)
My 5 Favorite Field Day Activities
*FREE* 105 Field Day Station Idea Guide
Snag your FREE FIELD DAY IDEA GUIDE Right Here!
📌BONUS TIPS: When choosing field day stations, be sure to choose games or activities that are appropriate for ALL GRADES (K-5) participating. This will save you tons of planning time and will make the stations run much smoother too.
STEP 3: Create a Rotating Schedule
TIMELINE: 1 Month Before
Honestly, I think this might be the trickiest part of the entire field day planning process. You will need to decide a few things like:
- How long do you want your field day to be? (All day for all students or All day split into two separate AM and PM sessions)
- Do you want your students to have their regular “specials” for the day and teachers to have their “planning time”?
- How many students, classrooms, and teachers will be participating in field day?
As a PE Teacher planning Field Day for about 400 kindergarten through fifth grade students I have found that running about a 2-hour morning session and a 2-hour afternoon session has worked beautifully.
I like this schedule because:
- Lunch and recess schedules are not disrupted
- Students still get their regular “specials” class for the day
- Teachers are happy because they don’t have to miss their “planning time”
- It’s much easier to get volunteers for a 2-hour chunk of time, as opposed to a full day
- Kids can get cranky (especially if it’s a hot day) really quick and sometimes ALL DAY is just TOO LONG for EVERYBODY!
How Do I Create a Rotating Schedule?
FIRST, when creating my 2-session field day schedule I assign all of my afternoon specials classes to the Morning Field Day Session and all of my morning specials classes to the Afternoon Field Day Session.
THEN, make sure that you have the same number of station activities as you do teachers/classrooms rotating for that session.
NEXT, I create a table in Google Docs with TEACHER NAMES typed vertically down the left side of the table.
FINALLY, I simply fill in the boxes across (horizontally) with the different STATION NAMES and TEACHER ROTATION TIMES.
Here is a sample of one of my previous Field Day Schedules.
My morning elementary field day session ran from 9:00-10:48 AM and my afternoon session ran from 1:22-3:10 PM.
I left about a 2.5 hour break in the middle for lunches and recesses to run as they normally do.
I had six elementary field day stations and six classes rotating at each session – Each session was 18 minutes long.
📌BONUS TIPS: It is extremely helpful if you have the same number of stations as you do teachers or classrooms rotating.
📌Additionally, over the years I have found that 15-18 minutes is the sweet spot for station rotations – anything less makes it difficult to complete the game/activity and anything more than 18 minutes the kids start getting a little bored and ready to move to a new activity.
STEP 4: Recruit Volunteers – Ask For Help
TIMELINE: 1 Month Before
If you want your elementary field day event to be truly epic you definitely can’t do it all on your own.
Don’t be afraid to ASK FOR HELP!
And if you make your field day loads of fun you’ll never have a problem getting volunteers to agree to help you out – year after year.
I would start by asking the following people to help out:
- PARENTS
- OLDER SIBLINGS
- GRANDPARENTS
- TEACHER AIDES
- HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS (Many need community service hours)
An online sign-up tool is a great option when planning an elementary field day.
In the past, I have always used SignUpGenius to create and organize my online field day volunteer sign up sheet.
It is super simple to create and navigate and they have adorable field day themes available. It’s also free to sign-up for an account.
Whatever online tool you decide to use for your field day volunteer sign-up, be sure to create sign-up slots for:
- Station Volunteers (run the station)
- Station Equipment Needed (water balloons, hoses, air horn, buckets, etc.)
- Volunteer’s Full Name, as well as their child’s full name (so many kids have different last names it can get confusing)
- Volunteer’s Email so you can easily contact them
Then, once you have created your volunteer sign-up, share the link with your principal, teachers, and PTO.
📌BONUS TIPS: If you have a school Facebook page, this is a great place to share your volunteer link. Ask your administrator to share it in the school newsletter and your PTO parents to share it, as well.
📌Additionally, an AIR HORN works amazing for signaling when it’s time for students to rotate to a new station. Don’t forget to create a volunteer sign-up slot for your air horn blower.
STEP 5: Create Field Day Folders
TIMELINE: 1 Week Before
About one week before field day you will want to make up some folders for the teachers.
In the folders you should include:
- Field Day Rotation Schedule
- Field Day Station Map
- Reminder Notes for Volunteers (Parent Volunteers of students in each teacher’s class)
- Reminder Notes for Teachers to Pass out and send home with students the day before field day (Reminders include: Field Day is Tomorrow, Wear Sunscreen, Bring Your Water Bottle Labeled with Your Name, etc.)
📌BONUS TIPS: It is extremely helpful to include colored wristbands in your teacher folder. These can be ordered from Amazon.
Then ask your teachers to split their students into 4-5 different equal groups.
Finally, ask your teachers to come prepared, with students wearing the colored bracelets when they come to field day.
📌This saves so much time when you need to make teams for relay stations and games, etc. Additionally, classroom teachers know their students best so they can separate students that shouldn’t be in the same group together due to behavior or social issues.
STEP 6: PREPARE (Gather Supplies)
TIMELINE: 1 Day Before
I’m not gonna lie – this day is going to be CRAZY but it will pay off for sure. The day before your field day you should:
- Gather all Station Equipment. I like to use the big 5 Gallon Tubs and place the materials for each station in separate tubs. I then set them out in the gym so they are ready for parent volunteers first thing in the morning.
- Send a reminder email to all teachers.
- Send a reminder email to all volunteers.
- Make a quick call to any/all outside vendors that you are planning to use just to make sure you are all set.
- Create station expectation and direction sheets for your parent volunteers. Here is an example of one of mine.
- Create a Fun Field Day PE Games Music Playlist (I take my large bluetooth speaker outside and blast fun, clean, upbeat music all day long!
- Make sure your PE sub plans are ready for your substitute teacher
📌BONUS TIPS: I like to create station signs for my field day event, staple them between a wooden stake and stick them in the ground at each station.
Additionally, I hang a colored helium balloon from each station sign. This helps rotations run smoothly and cuts down on “where do I go” confusion.
📌I highly recommend getting a good night’s sleep before the big day!
STEP 7: Enjoy the BIG DAY
You did it! It’s time to relax and enjoy all of your hard work because your elementary field day is going to be TOTALLY EPIC – I know it!
It’s a good idea to arrive at least an hour early just to make sure you are good to go.
Once your volunteers arrive:
- Have them sign a check-in sheet (this is great for sending thank-you’s later)
- Give each volunteer a “My Name Is” Sticker Tag
- Give volunteers the station equipment and have them set it up, ready to go
Then, spend your day overseeing and enjoying the giant smiles that YOU created.
So, what do you say? Are you ready to plan the most epic field day event ever?
Your students will definitely THANK YOU over and over again!
Got Field Day Questions for Me? If so, please reach out. I’d love to connect and help out if I can.
HAPPY FIELD DAY to You!
If you’re looking for more easy, fun, and super unique (not boring) Low or No-Prep physical education resources and games, I’ve got a bunch more for you.
As a matter of fact, I have a GIANT BUNDLE of Elementary Physical Education Games.
You can grab your Physical Education HUGE GROWING BUNDLE Right Here!
Hey – Thanks so much for stopping by today to check out my Elementary Field Day Planning Guide.
I really appreciate it and I hope that you have a TRULY BLESSED And BEAUTIFUL Day filled with plenty of FUN and FITNESS!
Be sure to check out my other unique and fun Teacher Resources (Instant Bulletin Boards, Fun Classroom Decor, Learning and PE Games) in my Love 2 Teach and Learn TPT store RIGHT HERE!
