The Mission: Attract your school families to the school for an Evening Family Reading Event.
The Solution: A Very Magical Family Reading Night with Magical Storyteller and Reading Ambassador,
Mark Daniel!
Highlights of The Evening
Charlotte the spider weaves a Special message for your kids and their families throughout the visit for a surprise reveal at the end!
Mark and Steggie the Stegosaurus share the hilariously fractured fun of Pete The Cat and The Bad Banana!
Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's heartwarming book Extra Yarn comes lovingly and magically to life through a visual and musical retelling.
Not a Box by Antionette Portis arrives in an unexpected delivery and brings joyful surprise after surprise!
Plus, more great books, fun, inspiration and Kenny the Bunny stops by too!
Add in a strong family read aloud message and terrific music all combined for a fun and impactful Very Magical Family Reading Night! It's a home run for the success of your family night.
About The Program
Mark is invited throughout the country to present this unique and impactful evening.
A Very Magical Family Reading Night grew out of a desire to connect parents and their children with the notion that a good book shared is a treasure for the whole family. In the day to day hustle and bustle of our lives, it's so easy to put aside the good intentions of read aloud. Sports, homework, video games, and technology in genreal all vie for our attention today and our beloved books often get pushed aside for later.
The sweet, fun, and powerful message of Mark's program serves as a wonderful refocus and exclamation point for your families.
Throughout the school year Mark is invited to share his program during: Family Reading Night, PTA Meetings, Book Fair, Literacy Festivals, Family Enrichment Night, RIF and Title 1 night.
Whether as a part of a full day visit that boosts evening attendance through promotion at the daytime assemblies or as a stand alone event, A Very Magical Family Reading Night is a powerful message and fun event for your school.
A Family Affair
A Very Magical Family Reading Night Program is indeed appropriate for the whole family. Books come to life through puppetry, magic tricks, storytelling, book talking, and interactive audience participation and the virtues of at home read aloud. The program closes with a powerful, and motivational finale that kids will think is cool and adults will find inspirational.
After the program Mark meets the kids and their folks, chatting, autographing, and finding out about their favorite reads.
It's time well spent!
Literacy Nights, Book Fair Family Night, Family Fun Reading Nights, and Title 1 PAC Meetings can be great fun and important evenings for your families. Mark loves being invited to be a part of them with A Very Magical Family Reading Night. Actually, having participated in hundreds of these events here's some ideas he's seen that work well with the flow of the evening. You may want to draw from some of them for your event. You can keep it simple or turn it into a full blown reading festival, your choice.
Simple and Lovely Turnkey:
5:30 PM Folks start checking in
6:00 PM A Very Magical Family Reading Night presentation with Mark in concert begins, sometimes with a 10 minute PAC/PTO/PTA meeting up front. Visiting and autographs afterwards, and generally the Tittle 1 team has arranged for a book for the kids to take home.
Evening is complete by 7:30.
The Deluxe: add Food
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5:00 PM Families check in and have pizza or hot dogs, etc.. (Pizza seems to be the #1 favorite), plus above (Remember kids eat and are finished in about 15 minutes)
The Fantastic: The Literacy Festival
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5:00 PM Families check in and have pizza or hot dogs (Pizza seems to be the #1 favorite), then fan out for any and all of these activities (Remember kids eat and are finished in about 15 minutes):
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Make a Bookmark craft table/s (10 minutes)
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Guest reader stations with kids rotating throughout the school. (Local popular sports and civic leaders are always a hit. This is best at a full blown literacy festival)
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Book Swaps (Bring a book, take a book) 10 minutes
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Free Book Distribution (at the beginning or end of evening) Kids pick from a table of selections separated by grade level) 10 minutes
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Between 6:00 and 6:30 PM Gather the group for Mark's presentation: A Very Magical Family Reading Night (50 minutes)
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Afterwards visiting and autographs. (10-15 minutes - This is a very meaningful time, by the way, visiting and talking with kids and their parents about the books they like or might enjoy)
The Evening is completed around 7:30-8:00 PM. It's a wonderful event for your families, just have lots of helpers to make everything run smoothly.
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You can even add in the Book Fair for a huge festival like atmosphere.
A Family Reading Night can be a valuable, meaningful and impactful evening for kids and families. Sometimes in ways we can see, sometimes beyond what we will ever know.
I have seen the impact first hand. And it's a passion and a mission of mine to shine a positive light on reading and perhaps affect change in a good way, one reader at a time.
I know it's your goal as well. It's a noble aspiration!
Planning Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the material in the family night program differ from your daytime assembly?
Yes, and in conjunction with the daytime assembly, it's one of the great selling points for your students. Children want their parents to share in the incredible event that they've experienced during the day.
It also helps make sure their folks bring them back that evening to see an all new program. There are some underlying themes that carry through from one program to the next, which empowers kids through familiarity.
How long is the performance?
When Mark is "in concert" presenting the full program it is a powerful approx. 50 minute presentation. The performance can be customized for a shorter time frame to fit your needs due to PTA/PTO meetings or the need for multiple performances. Just let us know your needs.
Can Mark come to our school just to present
The Family Night Program?
Certainly! While the ultimate way to build attendance for the evening program is by promoting it through the daytime performance, which many schools do, it stands alone fine. As a promotion helper, we can provide a promo flyer for duplication to send home with your students or post to your social media outlets.
What's the best way to use the program?
The Family Night Program is great to tie in with a PTA meeting, Family Reading Night, The Book Fair, Title 1 Family Night, RIF night, fundraising dinner, and even just for fun!
Please give Tami a call at 1-800-848-5634 or markdaniel@magicalstoryteller.com
and we'll help you plan an
Awesome Family Reading Night.
A Note to Title 1 Teachers
Title 1 Reading Specialists frequently use Mark's Family Reading Night and READasaurus programs to bring fun and inspiration to their Parent Involvement Meetings whether "in school" or as evening Family nights.
Note: Based on our travel schedule, you'll always hear from us within 24 to 48 hours. (aside from Holidays) If you haven't noticed a reply please check your spam folder. Thanks!
Looking for more Unique Family Involvement Ideas?
The Dino Scavenger Hunt with Traveling Dinos, Dino Squad & The Sea Monster Adventure are fantastic Evening Family Events!
