Open House:
This is a time to share the space with guardians and children, this should be a more fun and lighthearted time about an hour in length. this should be a time to give a general run down of the program the research incorporated and general outline of the schedule and then where all the activities will occur. It would be beneficial if the rooms were set up for the classes with fun quick activities and games to participate in. This way the children can participate in something else while the guardians can ask questions. This is something we want to have practiced and prepped as well as often. The open house for gym and learn should happen before 509j school starts (late august early September) and then during Friday night of week ten based on OSU's class schedules for fall winter and spring term. By doing this we will give opportunities, at different times in the year, for potential guardians to come in and get a feel for the facilities before registrations.
Posts and Posters:
Posters are a great way to reach different groups of participants, these can be beneficial in many different spaces some at listed below:
Benton County Public Library
Elementary Schools
Corvallis Community Center
Local Businesses (wacky indoor bounce house or local gyms)
Posts are also a great to reach different audiences, while the posters will reach people in person a compelling post will be able to engage different people online. Great places to post are:
Appropriate Facebook groups
Potentially TikTok
Emails
Electronic Billboards
Other great way to market the program is to go out into the community and table, places where it is common for children to go with their guardians is a great idea (local event spaces, gyms with childcare, campus as well)
It is also important to keep in mind the community you are trying to reach when you are marketing because different communities will desire different aspects of the program. Some of the main draws this program has been working with boundary setting, socialization, behavior regulation, letter recognition, number recognition, name recognition, trying new things, and empathy. these skills can help to draw in different groups of guardians and children so that we are better able to reach a diverse range of children.
Monthly Newsletters:
A monthly newsletter is a great way to continually make our presence known in a fun way. this should include some activities and some information, a fun and impactful read for guardians and something to help engage the youth we are targeting. this could look like us sending out a letter tracer activity or a craft of some sorts and then including some sort of information we may be learning in the classroom or gym and then some general interesting fact relevant to the rest of the newsletter.
KidSpirit Website:
It is important to keep the website up to date with current information. Schedules for Gym & learn should be put onto the website within a few weeks after the past year ends (around finals week of spring term). By doing this we will be able to remain constant in our communication with the public and those looking. in addition to updating the information this soon after the end of the previous year we will be able to prepare and properly plan different events and way to market incorporating the website. It would also be good to make sure to read through the website at this time to make sure that the information is current and up to date as well as the photos.
Emails or Postcards:
Emails are a great way to keep parents engaged and wanting to come back for a second year but also to engage with guardians from other programs. Informational emails or reminder emails would be a good thing to consider sending out a month before registrations close and or the program begins. The emails should be fun and short while also incorporating all needed information. As for postcards these may be a good resource for our friends in the "tiny tots" and "head over heels" classes to try and incorporate those already in our system and those in the right age range (3-5)