How about something centered around a gardening theme, with spring flowers and children planting seeds?? Everything in nature is reborn in spring, would nature be a possible theme for you, like a discovery hike or planning a school garden??

How about square dancing? We have one school that has a father-daughter square dance night--I think it is a middle school. Very popular.

I like the dance - a sort of mini-prom, kinda cute, lets the kids get dressed up for something special with their parents. father/daughter, mother/son, just the whole family. It's very spring.

Another idea..
At DS's old school they did a cultural arts fair in the spring. It was organized by the music teacher, she really put a lot into it. It was no small project, but it was sort of her brainchild and pet.

She had an open talent show for all the kids to enter if they chose. A lot of kids were able to demonstrate a dance or song from their family culture. No prizes, just for demonstration.

She also had performance groups from other schools (elem, middle and high or local dance/arts schools). So there was a percussion group from an elem, the dance class from the school of the arts, the jazz band, on and on. Groups did performances highlighting a culture/nationality. So the percussion did an African thing, the dance group did a Spanish thing.

Then she invited teacher to have their individual class do a performance -some did, some didn't. Those that did chose a culture and learned about it and did a performance - storytelling, costumes, etc. Some classes set up tables of activities, cultural games or crafts.

The art teacher had the kids do some very special projects leading into this, then the library was made into the art studio where the projects were put on display and sold (part of the procededs went to art dept. and kids actually kept a buck or two).

There was food - egg rolls, pizza, tacos, (see the cultural theme) whatever could be purchased cheap in bulk to sell.

And she ask all the families if they had items from their homes - traditional cultural heirlooms, souvenirs from travels. She put those on display. She has some sort of waiver for permission to use them, a tag system to reclaim items, and put them on hands-off kind of displaying. If someone had an instrument in this collection she asked them to play it. Or clothing to model it.

It was fun, involved a lot of families, and was education. It was, however, labor intensive as far as planning/organizing. I don't know if they still do it, I hope so, it was very impressive. It lasted hours and you still couldn't see everything there. She had a program so full (because so many people wanted to participate) that there wasn't a lot of time to stop and eat or look at her exhibits. So, it was almost too good!

It was awesome, worth the effort, I think. But the dance would be easier!

Any updates??

Here are a couple of ideas that we have done:

1. Spring Fling-Along with a Spring book fair, we had lots of free activities for the kids to do such as kite flying, bubble necklaces, butterfly magnets, hula hoops, and a long jump contest. Of course, the main event was the book fair, but everyone had a great time at the other activities too. They were simple, inexpensive activities that were available to whoever wanted to participate.

2. Family Fun night-We sponsor these 3 times a year. Basically, we have Bingo, basketball, board games, and jump ropes at each one. Then, we have one thing that is different at them too like a costume parade in the fall, a soup supper in the winter, and a book fair in the spring. The events are always free (except for buying the books, of course). The object is to give families something to do together.

Astronomy nights are popular here. The PTA sets up telescopes. Sometimes they bring in an astronomer to do a lecture first. Sometimes the teachers are teaching astronomy, and then share their telescopes that night on a darkened spot on the campus where star gazing is good.