This is a fairly easy one to organize, too.

Decide on a day early in the school year. There are a couple reasons for this:

1. If you live in a colder climate, it will still be warm in August and most of September;
2. There should still be a sort of “new school year eagerness” going on for children and parents.

The best way that I’ve found to get this going is by getting to know your child’s homeroom teacher. After talking to him/her a few times, you may feel comfortable enough to her about putting a sign-up sheet on the door – or wherever the homeroom bulletin board is. There’s usually something like that for parents to look at for each classroom.

The only real tricky part of this is finding out the names of all the parents. And if you can’t, just get a class list and use that. In fact, that might even be better, depending on your taste. Simply create a sheet with all the names on it and leave a blank space after their names where parents can write in what they’d like to bring, like accessories, picnic baskets, etc. Simple.

You’ll need a basic cover sheet that lets parents know where and when the picnic will be and whom to contact should they have any questions. Just put your name and phone number on it, and you’re all set.

You’ll be a hit!