Add a Fun activity to your children's program for a minimum investment of time and cost with a Parent's Nite Out or Parent's Day-Off. After your Friday night or Saturday morning class, plan for the younger students, ages 5-11, to stay for another 2-3 hours. The Parent's will appreciate the gesture of this respite and the children will have more time to bond in an informal atmosphere with the other students and the dojang (martial arts school).

Ask the Parent's sign their children up ahead of time so that you can plan games, prizes, snacks and chaperones for the number, gender and ages of children expected to attend. Make sure that they write down a phone number that they can be reached at during that time, in case of accident or injury. Parents often use that time to shop, go out to eat or to the show, so you would want an alternate or cell phone number in addition to their home phone. Charge a nominal fee ($5-7) to cover cost of supplies.

Have the students bring a sports bag with playclothes to change into after class. Take attendance and review rules at the start. Minding the Instructor, being kind and courteous to each other, and not leaving the building until their parents return, are examples of some rules that need to be spoken loud and clear and repeated by the children.

Play active games to use their energy and foster a sense of excitement: obstacle courses, relay races, soccer, Pin (wrestling) and balloon sparring (tie balloons to ankles), are examples. At least an hour before the parents return, slow down the pace by switching to quieter activities: videos, board games, card games.

Provide a buffet of a finger foods for a snack: grapes, bananas, crackers and cheese, popcorn, small cookies, juice, punch or chocolate milk. After Friday evening class, you may want to provide these after the active games, and during the videos and quiet games. After Saturday morning class, you may want to serve this first, as it may have been awhile since breakfast.

And lastly, you can have inexpensive prizes for the students to take home with them. These can be purchased at any Dollar store. Make sure that you have a wide selection to suit the ages and genders of the students who are attending.

Other things to consider: students may ask you if they can bring a friend. I prefer to limit the event to my own students. Being responsible for and left alone with them, I find it easier with students whom I am familiar with and know their parents. Also, the students will spend time building a rapport with each other, rather than sticking only with their guest. If you don't have time to host Open Houses though, this may be an opportunity to introduce new kids to your program.

Our school schedules these nights about four times a year; twice in the winter and twice in the autumn. How often you host these "parties" depends on your schedule and the interest of your students and their parents. I have discovered that listing these events on your monthly and yearly calendars on a regular basis creates anticipation and a group of repeat attendees.