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Homeschool Presentation Night Committee Heads
COMMITTEE
COORDINATOR: This person
coordinates all the committees, assists the group in deciding which
committees are needed, and is in charge of set-up. Committee heads report
to him or her. She makes sure each desired committee has a head or the
committee is defunct. She is the one who makes sure everyone knows what
their jobs are and that they are doing them. (In other words, if I am the
Coordinator and no one volunteers to head up the Refreshments Committee,
then we will not have refreshments.) I highly suggest that she be
someone who can say: "I will not
burn out to take up the slack of any job. I am called first to homeschool
my family. If all in the support group do their part, as called by God,
then none of the members will burn out; but if a few do the work for many,
they will burn out. The "80/20 Principle" that says "80% of
the work is done by 20% of the people" does not hold true
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PROGRAM
COORDINATOR: This person
coordinates just the program itself, which is actually
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REFRESHMENTS:
Each family is asked to bring a plate of home-made goodies to offer a
homey feeling and show the talents of the child, or the joint efforts of
parent
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LOCATION:
This chairman finds a suitable location for the event. Short of
"suitable," we'll even take "available"! A place with
a microphone is a must unless you have a very
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MAKE
PROGRAMS: The
person who does this could be the Program Coordinator because these
two jobs are closely intertwined. I've done both at the same time, but
it's easier to have
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CLEAN UP: People who do not sign up for any of the other above committee heads or committees are automatically on this committee if they want to be part of this program. (I know, this sounds like I'm pretty hard-nosed. Actually, I am. But if you want to have a "healthy" group with no burn-out, you've got to be hard-nosed.) You definitely want to make sure that ONE person (or couple) is actually IN CHARGE of clean-up, not just have several ON the committee, or they are likely to help a little, and then leave even if things are not done. And then guess WHO will get to finish! (Just for the record, since most of you reading this don't know me very well, I am happy to help, but since I am the head of the group, MANY MANY things have already fallen on me, not only through the course of the evening, but for the days and weeks prior to the actual event. By the end of such an event I am ~ not just usually, but always FRIED!!! And usually with a headache well underway. So I NEED someone else to be in charge of cleaning up, or I will be a basket case for the next few days after the event.)
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VIDEO-TAPING:
This job is pretty self-explanatory. The only thing I'd add is
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ROOM
SIGNS: We have each
family make their own family name sign (at least 8" high, and
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INFORMATION
TABLE: I like to include
two features when putting one of these together: a
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DECORATIONS:
We've never gotten too elaborate on these. Most of us have been too
preoccupied with just putting the event together to have much time for
decorations. The kids,
Some years we had a theme of some sort for the event, like "Let's Glorify God" and "The Bi-Centennial." One year, for our Bi-Centennial theme, we put flags all around the room. (One of our member's husbands had run for Washington State Representative, and had a bunch of flags left over from the campaign!)
One
year we divided up the twelve verses of a poem among twelve families. The
poem was one I had written called "Heart-Strung Treasures" about
each of the months of the year; one month per verse. The families
illustrated these verses, one verse per family, on large sheets of white
poster board. These were then mounted across the front of the room, six on
each side of the stage. Or you might have them all around the room,
unless you have your program in the same room as the table displays are
set up, in which case the tables will take up a considerable amount of
wall space. This
is a relatively simple undertaking because the work is so spread out just one art project
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M.C.:
The Master of Ceremonies needs to be someone who has a pleasant way with a
group. If the person can hardly wait to mumble his words and shrink into
his seat as fast as possible, a similar impression of homeschoolers will
be presented.
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M.C.
PROCURER: Obviously this person
finds, hires, bribes or otherwise coerces someone into being the M.C. It's difficult, unless you have a resident "ham" in your
group, to convince likely candidates of their hidden talent. You could try
the verse about not hiding your talents
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RESERVATIONS
CHAIRMAN: This person is the
one members call to report the number of
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DISPLAY
COORDINATOR: The Display
Coordinator passes around (at one of the spring meetings) sheets of paper
with the titles of the various displays the group might want to have to
see what the actual interest is. Someone might suggest a Science table,
but if only one person signs up to bring something for that table, it
would be a scrawny looking table. A few ideas for tables are: Science,
Math, Penmanship, P.E., History, Spiritual Training, Art/Crafts,
There are also a few non-academic ideas: How about having a Grandparents' Display? with of all the families' logos, assuming, of course, they all ~ or at least several ~ have one.
This person would be responsible for rounding up tablecloths for all these tables (delegate!), for telling the Room Signs Chairman which signs she needs made up (unless she prefers to do this herself), and for setting up the tables and signs that afternoon. If she thinks she needs help, she needs to make sure she lets this be known early on. Everyone is so busy setting up their own tables on the day of the event that she's unlikely to find anyone available unless they had committed themselves to it earlier.
As families are signing up for these tables, they need to remember that they need to save enough material and projects to fill up their own tables.
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APPRECIATION
CHAIRMAN: It's more convenient
to have one person be specifically in charge of this than to leave it to
chance or to the Coordinator. Thank you notes could be made by children
who have volunteered, signed by the whole group (at a meeting prior to
H.S.P.N.)
Perhaps this person could see to it that special honor is given to the committee heads, those who worked hardest on the event, and especially to the Coordinator. You might even want to expand it to expressing appreciation to the President (or Coordinator) of your support group and the various officers. They might have all of the officers come up at one time, say what their roles were and have everyone give a round of thankful applause.
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for our
group, especially for the Home School Presentation Night that I am
chairing." We
even had a whole support group fold one year because of this very
thing! It happened only after waiting on God, but then He raised up
an entirely different type of group.
quite a
chunk of the work involved in doing a H.S.P.N. Everyone in the group who
will be doing a performance of some type gets a form from the Program
Coord. to fill out regarding what they'll be doing, names and ages of
children (for the program), whether they'll have a table, etc. She (he?) also gets the program started and
keeps it running smoothly the actual evening of the event.
INVITATIONS
MAKER: This person,
possibly a mom and child duo, are responsible for making the invitations.
Not from scratch; just an original that's what copy machines are for!
And she doesn't even have to know how to operate one; just be able to ask
how! We have a standard form we've come up with that makes this job much
simpler, and gives the invitations a traditional touch. If you're having
your H.S.P.N. in May, it's a good idea to start invitations and take
orders for them in March, then bring them to
an April meeting to give
families plenty of time to do the artwork on them and get them
distributed. Set your R.S.P.V. date for one week prior to the event. 
and child. I don't restrict it to a mom and child because my
husband and our son, Tory are better cooks than I am! (or than I care
to be!) These goodies are placed on each family's table. As guests,
and we ourselves, walk around and view the tables, treats are picked up at
each table! So the Refreshments Chairman (Chair *person*?) is responsible for coordinating all the ingredients and
supplies for beverages. A simple punch is nice. 
small group. But, even then,
it's difficult to hear little ones past a couple of rows. It has worked
well for us to hold the presentation part of the program in a sanctuary
and the table viewing portion in a nearby "fellowship hall" one that has plenty of space for people to roam around in. Or you
might try to get a community center.
someone with either talent or a computer
or both
do the actual making of the program flyer. This will ease the job load of
the Coordinator. We have kept the same general format for the cover from
year to year, just for ease and tradition. We print them at a copy machine
using colored and/or parchment paper that we purchase at a print shop.
that,
since others always want copies of the event, this chairman needs to
decide ahead if he wants to be in charge of that too. If not, a
"Chairman of Video Duplication" needs to volunteer, or the video
taper will be the only one who gets a copy of the event ~ unless
the taper doesn't mind loaning out his original copy to be
duplicated. Whoever does the duplicating needs to pass around a sign-up
list of those wanting copies. These people need to bring a blank tape the
night of H.S.P.N. which they have labeled and written their name on the
cover and the tape. Otherwise it will be difficult (as in impossible) to
keep it all straight!
mounted
over their table at least 7 feet off the floor, so it can be seen from
across the room over the head of all the browsing people. But we also need
signs for the "Refreshments Table," and the various group
displays, like "Science Table," "Art & Crafts,"
"Penmanship," "Math," an "Information Table"
if you have one, etc. Someone could do these on a computer, or they might
be done by hand by a child for an art project.
poster of
"Homeschool Facts & Research Quotes" and brochures of
homeschool information, local, statewide, and general. I tack the poster(s)
on the wall and then arrange the brochures on a small table below the
quotes. See page 30 of this chapter for how to put one of these together.
their presentations and displayed work really don't
need much, if any, enhancing anyway!
per family. The coordinator does no more than
coordinate unless her family wants to make a poster too. To make it as
simple as possible, and to insure uniformity, I purchased twelve sheets of
poster board and gave them to the participating families. I also wrote out
each verse of the poem in larger letters on separate sheets of parchment
paper (available at print shops) and mounted these under the appropriate
posters. Since families kept their own posters, and since they would have
been a little large to assemble into a booklet anyway, I took a picture of
each, and then mounted these into my poetry journal! They were priceless!
A
more elaborate idea for decorations is to make or rent four imitation
trees, one for each corner of the room, and "decorate" them as
each of the four seasons.
DOOR
HOSTS: Kids, couples, and whole
families could do this. They need to be outgoing enough to greet people
and make them feel welcome as they hand them a program.
CHILD
CARE: This person checks with
the host-church or facility as to whether a nursery is available and takes
care of getting sitters. Talk with your group to see if this is even
needed. If so, you'll need to decide whether the group or the parents of
the children will pay the sitters. We like to keep the babies out with us
during the program and then have child care only after the program
during the somewhat hectic time of
table viewing
~ when little ones could
easily escape or be trampled underfoot amidst the traffic and siblings who
are now ready to release some nervous energy. However, we make a point of
subduing this energy, especially with "so great a cloud of
(potentially skeptical) witnesses surrounding us."
We
have had moms, dads, and our older (homeschooled) boys do this job. One
year my son and a friend, at age 10 and 11 did it, and told one-liner
jokes between each presentation. Moms may very well be able to do a more
finessed job, but my own preference is a homeschooled child or a dad.
Since this will be the first impression of homeschooling that many
relatives and friends will have, some of whom will be skeptical, the M.C.
is an important job that will need some coaching from someone with a knack
for "P.R." It doesn't have to be "polished" or
perfect; just "well-done" and in good taste.
lest they be taken away. If that
fails, you could always pray and ask the Holy Spirit to move on someone. A
wise move since one of His ministries is to "convince of
righteousness, judgment, and sin." Of course, it wouldn't exactly be sin
for anyone to decline the job of M.C.'ing, but you'll probably want to
pray anyway. It may very well be the only way you'll get an M.C. other
than yourself!
guests they will be bringing, or
if they are attending or participating in any way. The Coordinator or
Invitations Chairman could do this, but if they already have a
heavy workload, and you have enough people in your group, this is one job
that can easily be delegated to help spread the tasks more evenly.
and
Spelling/Phonics/Grammar.
and given the evening of the event. Or they could be simple,
store-bought cards written and signed by the Appreciation Chairman on
behalf of the whole group. Be sure to express appreciation to the host
facility, sound man, babysitters.
