As the school year drew to a close, the excitement among students reached a fever pitch with the arrival of the much-anticipated themed days. As a room mom, I had the pleasure of playing a part in preparing for this joyous event, along with the week-long festivities leading up to it.
Throughout the last week of school, each day was themed to add an extra layer of fun and excitement. From Reading Campout Day to Beach Day, the children eagerly embraced each theme, bringing their creativity and enthusiasm to school each day.
For Carnival Day, in the middle of our week-long celebration, the atmosphere was electric with anticipation. While I couldn't be there in person, I had the privilege of preparing the snacks and crafts that would contribute to the day's festivities.
Our teacher asked if I could plan a craft, game, and snacks for carnival day. Since I was planning snacks for all five days, and activities for most of the other days as well, I tried to come up with some ideas that would be fairly quick for me to prep.
When I think of carnivals, aside from the rides, I instantly think of treats like popcorn, candy apples, cotton candy, and snow cones! Room moms at our school aren't allowed to cook, or I definitely would have made candy apples! If you are planning a carnival-themed party, and do want to make candy apples, you can check out my recipe and technique on my Enchanted Movie Night post!
I knew snow cones wouldn't work well for a class snack, if you can find them store-bought, they aren't as good and require a freezer. I did think it would be fun to make something that looked like a snow cone though! I decided to get Snow Cone Paper Cone Cups and Styrofoam Balls and let the kids paint them to look like snow cones. When the supplies I ordered arrived, I had a fun thought. What if they could make the snow cones, into ball catcher toys? Then it could be both a craft and an activity/game!
Snow Cone Ball Catcher DIY
Imagining the children's excitement as they transformed these simple materials into vibrant catchers filled me with joy and anticipation. I loved the idea of the kids crafting something they could then have fun playing with too!
Supplies Needed
Snow Cone Paper Cone Cups (White or in a fun print)
3 inch Styrofoam Balls
Bambo Skewer
Hot Glue
Acrylic Paint
Foam Paint Brushes
I always prep the crafts in advance to keep things simple for our teachers. Sometimes that means making individual kits for each student, and sometimes it means doing the parts in advance that aren't practical in the classroom, like working with hot glue.
I did a few test cones in advance to determine the best length for the twine. I wanted it to be a fun game for the kids to try and catch the foam ball inside the snow cone cup, but I didn't want it to be too easy or too difficult to catch the ball. After testing a few different lengths, I decided that a 22-inch piece of twine worked great.
I used a bambo skewer to poke a hole in each foam ball. I then added some hot glue to the hole and used the bambo skewer to push the twine into the hole. The hole was approximately 1 inch deep to keep the string firmly attached. I took the other end of the string and fed it into the paper cone and used some more hot glue to secure it to the bottom.
The kids could now paint the foam ball to look like a snow cone! I sent acrylic paints, foam brushes and some paper plates (to serve as a paint palate) to school. The kids were able to paint their snow cones in the morning, and take them to the playground at recess to test out! 
In addition to crafting, I curated a selection of snacks to delight the children's taste buds. Bags of popcorn and cotton candy were chosen to evoke the nostalgic charm of traditional carnival fare, providing a sweet and savory treat to fuel their energy as they immersed themselves in the day's activities.
I repackaged large party-size bags of store-bought popcorn into these cute Popcorn Bags to evoke all the carnival vibes!
I found these Individual Cotton Candy Bags on Amazon that required no prep from me, which was nice during this week full of themed snacks (and the same week I was prepping for my oldest daughter's Groovy Graduation Party)!
As I reflect on Carnival Day from afar, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to such a special occasion. Though I may not have been there in person, knowing that I played a part in creating moments of joy and connection for the students brings me immense satisfaction.
As the school year comes to a close, I look back on the memories we've created together with fondness and gratitude. Here's to celebrating the end of another successful year and the beginning of new adventures ahead.
If you want to read about some of the other fun days we had at the end of the school year check out Reading Campout Day and stay tuned to hear about our Big Beach Day party!
**I have included affiliate links to the products I used and can receive a small commission if a purchase is made after you click on a link in this tutorial. All items used in this tutorial were purchased by me and I did not receive anything in exchange.
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