I was so excited about getting to host my first Tryazon kids party! I won the Kids Sculpey Bake Shop Party. The first thing I did when I got the box of goodies from Sculpey was try out making some the adorable sculptures that the kids would be making. I think as an art teacher, creating my own example is always an important step in the planning process because then I can try to anticipate what the kids will need to know and do in order to be successful. I made one of the glow in the dark monsters and a panda bracelet. They were so easy and fun ! The directions made it simple and I could tell that the kids (who were my son's age; 9) would have no trouble with it.
I created an invitation using PicsArt and then I created a Facebook event so I could send the invitations electronically.
I invited about 10 kids (4 parents). 
But as the event grew closer, I realized that Trying to host a party in the year 2020 is VERY difficult ! I had a few parents mention that they were hesitant to come because of the COVID-19 virus. It is July, as I am writing this and there has been A LOT of tension focused on what schools are going to do in August. Being a teacher, I see both sides of it. I think a lot of teachers are terrified and upset about being forced to return to school for in person learning. Each state has the authority to decide what type of school setting will be enforced so there is a lot of variance throughout the country. I get the feeling that a lot of (but not all ) parents want their childrent to return to traditional school.
With all that being said, I decided that if I was going to host a party- it was going to be the safest party possible, to hopefully quell any fears that parents might have. I started by reading the CDC guidelines for schools and gatherings. The first thing I wanted to ensure is that the kids would have 6 feet of work space to comply with social distancing. So I held our party in the clubhouse of our condo neighborhood. It is a large area with several long tables and chairs, bathrooms, and a kitchen area right next to our community pool.
It is also recommended that kids do not share supplies - so I opened the sculpey packages and cut them into the correct sizes for the project directions (after washing and sanitizing my hands ). Then I placed the clay, toothpicks, the coupon card and a plastic knife into each ziploc bag. I also covered the tables with brown paper and got a container of baby wipes for each child. The baby wipes alone won't kill the virus /germs but i made sure each table had a bottle of hand sanitizer. I laminated the directions in case they got wet/ clay on them.
I got water bottles, individual bags of chips and fruit by the foot for snacks. We also had popsicles .
I sent a message ensuring that all the CDC safety measures would be put in place but unfortunately, we still only had four kiddos show up! So with my two kids that meant that we only had a total of 4 kids. Our clubhouse is bigger than the typical classroom and even with only 4 kids and 5 adults, it was still hard to ensure 6 feet of distance and spacing. I can see why teachers are so stressed out about trying to logistically start school while ensuring they are complying with safety measures. As I was setting everything up, I thought about how hard it would be to prepare all this for 18- 25 kids. The time it took is just not time that teachers have. It is going to be difficult and I can understand why they are very anxious about the upcoming school year.
Our party started at 3:00pm and ended at 5 pm. The kids had a blast making their creations and got to make at least two items each. We play4ed music and were going to swim but they were so focused on their sculptures that they ran out of time for swimming! That's always a great sign!
While I wish more of my son's friends could have come, I understand parent's hesistation. I hope that this virus goes away soon so we can socialize and enjoy the company of our friends and family like we used to without fear for our health and safety.
