Last year officially marked the beginning of my journey to becoming a “room mom”. I was fortunate to have a knowledgeable and well trained room mom that helped me learn the ropes last year, and this year I am officially on my own! Yes, this year I am the official organizer, go-to gal for all of the classroom parties, and everything in between. Some may say that’s easy, and I suppose for some it may be, but somewhere along the line my “organizing” gene was magically left out – therefore making me the least qualified person for the job and I admit, I still need some guidance.
Because we have larger class sizes this year, we have to pull together parent support for upcoming activities and parties. That typically means that I have to draft a letter to send home to parents and figure out a way to organize donations in a way that keeps everyone happy without ending up with 30 packages of juice boxes and nothing else.
Here enters SignUp Genius.
What is SignUp Genius?
SignUp Genius is a FREE (yes, free!) online tool for creating and managing group sign up lists. It’s a simple wizard that allows users to create lists such as:
– Sports team snack lists
– Meal sign-ups for new mom’s
– Church coffee schedules
– Community festival worker lists
– Potluck sign up sheets
– Holiday Party RSVP lists
The lists above are just a small sampling of what SignUp Genius can do to make organizing an event easier, and the best part is that SignUp Genius allows users to customize each and every sign-up so that it works for you! There’s hundreds of unique templates to choose from, and even a swapping ability for schedule changes. SignUp Genius will even send out automated email reminders in advance of the sign-up date as a reminder to the participants.
Here is an example of a classroom party list that I created…
Now I can just simply email this list to all of the parents and they can sign-up to donate an item for the party with just one click! This way there are no duplicate donations and it’s so quick and easy that even the busiest of parents can take part with just a minute or two of their time. SignUp Genius has made it easy for me to stay organized and maybe, just maybe, no one will even notice that I’m a “room mom rookie”!
To create your own lists, access free planning resource articles, and find more tips on coordinating volunteers for any type of event, head over to SignUp Genius and sign-up for a free account now!
I was provided with a gift card for my time in writing this post. My thoughts and opinions remain my own and compensation did not impact my positive or negative review.
Henrietta
Wow! I think that this is a wonderful way to help room moms and teachers organize classroom events! So much easier (and less hectic!) than the teacher having to remind every parent to sign up on all of the party sheets during open house!
valmg @ Mom Knows It All
I wasn’t familiar with this.
So much more effective then a note going home with everything needed but noone knowing what anyone else is bringing.
Off to check it out!
{Not Quite} Susie Homemaker
That is completely genius! SO bookmarking.