5 Easy Activities for Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week is coming!  Red Ribbon Week is coming!  Did you feel like Paul Revere was here for a minute??  I’m not Paul Revere, BUT it is true that Red Ribbon Week is coming!  This is a great way to educate our students concerning the dangers of drugs and alcohol.  While it is rewarding for the counselor (or the lucky person in charge of Red Ribbon Week at your school), it can be exhausting.  That is why we are sharing our time-saving tips to make sure that you have the BEST Red Ribbon Week yet!

We used the national theme of “Life is your journey.  Travel drug free!”  as a guide for all of our plans, lessons, decorations, and dress up activities.  This makes the week feel more organized.  We believe it makes the message stick with the kids better, too.  Maybe after Red Ribbon Week they will think of staying drug free when they see a passport or luggage!

With so many things on the counselor’s to-do list, it can be really hard to stay calm and stress-free.  Have you seen this picture floating around the internet of Teacher Barbie?  Do you feel like this is an incredibly accurate depiction of teacher/school counselor Barbie, and it’s only September?  This absolutely cracked us up, and yet Teacher Barbie, you are our spirit animal.
But back to Red Ribbon Week…  You want the week to be fun, meaningful, and educational for your students, but you probably don’t have a ton of extra time to create Red Ribbon school activities.  These ideas we are sharing will help you go into the week feeling prepared.  Your students will love them, and your faculty will hoist you onto their shoulders and carry you around the building singing, “For (s)he’s a jolly good fellow!”  Too much?  Ok, that last part may not be 100% accurate, but I am certain they will be impressed.

1.) Dress Up Days: These fun days get students at every age level involved.  The days should relate back to the national theme, or at least joining the fight against drugs.  You’ll want to knock this out at the top of October and get the message to parents so that they can begin gathering items needed for dress up.  Feel free to use our dress up list and parent note in order to save yourself some time and energy!

2.) Decorations: Decorating the school brings awareness and excitement!  Some tried and true ideas include positioning giant red ribbons at the entrance of the school.  You could also get teachers on board with a door decoration contest.  What about sponsoring a Red Ribbon poster contest?  Take advantage of available bulletin board space and decorate with a Red Ribbon message.  Here are some free posters to hang up around your school.  While you’re grabbing those, take a look at our bulletin board/door decorating ideas.

3.) Daily Announcements: Take advantage of having the whole school as a captive audience!  Bring awareness through these announcements each day.

4.) One fun activity that takes relatively little prep work is to hide red ribbons around the school and award daily prizes when they are found.

5.) Educate: At the heart of Red Ribbon Week is the opportunity to share with students the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.  This interactive lesson keeps students engaged as you provide them with facts and thoughts about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

What other Red Ribbon Week activities do you do?  We’d love to hear your ideas!