Juggling balloons and playing disc golf were two of the events Thursday evening at Eisenhower Elementary School’s first “Silly Olympics.”

Eisenhower’s Family Engagement Coordinator Taylor Gobin said each activity could be considered educational but her main purpose in organizing the Silly Olympics was to create fun memories for students. All Eisenhower and Little Panthers Preschool students were invited, along with their families.

“We haven’t had a family night for a while,” Gobin said. “Tonight was to get the families out, engaged with each other, and to create memories.”

The students weren’t competing against each other. There were games to play throughout the gym and school hallways, and small rewards at the end of each activity. For one challenge, called “Face the Cookie,” participants had to place a cookie on their foreheads and try to get the cookie into their mouths without using their hands. At another station, they rolled a die to see how many miniature marshmallows they would have to stack by only using a straw. 

Each of Great Bend’s five elementary schools employs a family engagement coordinator and plans its own version of family night.

“I have been planning the Silly Olympics family night since last year but due to the COVID outbreak our family events had to come to a pause,” Gobin said. They resumed last October when the school hosted Community Night.

For the latest event, 19 staff members signed up to help. “We ended up having around 50 people attend, which is great considering this event took place on a Thursday evening right before Spring Break,” she said.

“Silly Olympics consisted of various games which included STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) in some way, shape or form, whether that was counting, hand-eye coordination, team building, critical thinking or social-emotional learning,” she said.

“Our main goal for all family events that are planned is to help keep families engaged with their child/children’s academics, help create those memories they can remember forever, and continue building the positive relationship between staff and families. I want to create events that all members of the family can participate in, from toddlers to great-great-grandparents.” 

This is Gobin’s eighth year in education; before becoming the family engagement coordinator (FEC) for Little Panthers Preschool and Eisenhower she was a preschool teacher with her own classroom. “As a preschool teacher we hosted multiple events on our own, so those events have helped me stay organized for my FEC job. Silly Olympics and our Community Night held in October were the biggest events I have held so far.”

The next event for Little Panthers Preschool and Eisenhower will be a Family Formal Dance from 3-5 p.m. on April 1.