<p>Tomorrow is S’s family day at his school. I’ll be making the trek with his GF. Looking back at last year’s and then previous years at his now-graduated sister’s school, it wasn’t very often that we went and actually participated in the planned school activities.</p>
<p>Both their schools are drive-able in a day, so we never stayed overnight and didn’t usually stay for any late night activities.</p>
<p>Did the football game at D’s school the first year, but it was ungodly hot and that was the last game we attended! S has to work the football games (his D3 sport at the school earns $$ for their spring trip that way) so doubt if we will stay tomorrow night for theirs.</p>
<p>Seems a lot of the activities are kind of “silly” - relay races, photo t-shirts (ok, that MIGHT be fun), etc. We tend to drive to another small town nearby and eat and shop, stroll around campus and just visit. </p>
<p>Do you participate in the planned activities or are the campus clubs wasting their time and energy planning them???</p>
<p>I haven’t gone to either of my children’s parents weekends. One, I’m not big on “organized fun,” and two, they’re a tad too much of a fundraising schtick. That said, I do enjoy visiting their campuses, and seeing them, and their students in “real life.”</p>
<p>I have gone to visit my daughters during parent weekend , but not participated in any events organized by the schools. It was a good time of year to visit Boston , so we enjoyed it on our own terms</p>
<p>H and I went to one last year. MEH. Not may parents there at all. Now know it is better to go to see D participate in events like games, shows.
Year before, at another college, it was great- we got a mini-school day and got to meet all her teachers, met many parents.
Take a look at the program they offer.</p>
<p>Never went to any Parents weekends with either son. Both chose big state u’s where football Saturdays are a big deal. Both told us “don’t bother”. They stayed instate for college so we saw them regularly anyhow. Plus both went to colleges that DH and I attended so there wasn’t much for us to explore. I was pretty sure they’d rather spend big football game day with friends, hence the “don’t bother” advice. It was easier to see them on a “regular” weekend when no special events were planned.</p>
<p>Same here. We are going again this year but I should add that it is both mine and my husband’s alma mater also and we regularly go down for the football games. It’s hard to get my workaholic husband to slow down, so I’m using this as an opportunity to have a laid-back weekend with him and son. We’ll go to a few events, out to a nice restaurant on Friday night and the football game on Sat. night, honors college picnic on Sunday.</p>
<p>We went to D’s the first year. The whole family went, even the two dogs. We had a blast - we even came in second and third in the family trivia contest. There were so many of us, we had to make 2 teams!</p>
<p>We didn’t go last year and we aren’t this year, but D has invited us to come up for Veteran’s Day weekend. I think we might go even though she’ll be home two weeks later. </p>
<p>Her school works hard to plan some nice activities, none of which involve football. We had a good time. We even got to hear our D sing with her a capella group.</p>
<p>I’m going, not sure if my husband will come with me or not. We went to our daughters for the first year, second year we chose to go to a comedy improv performance she was in instead, third year her Grandparents went and senior year we just went for graduation. She was too far for more then one visit a year.</p>
<p>Second child I went for freshman and sophomore years, he was abroad Junior year and Senior year we (again) went for graduation.</p>
<p>All three kids attend(ed) small LAC’s with little or no sports, and the family weekends had pretty laid back events, like mountain hikes or a comedian at night, walks around campus, brunch on the lawn, etc,. The only fundraising event was an optional golf tournament at son #1’s college and a 5k race at #2 son’s. I/we don’t do those. I enjoyed them all of the family weekends and am looking forward to next months.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of attending my junior’s in a few weeks. It will be the first time I’ve gone and will probably take my sister and her family as well. In prior years as she always came home every 6 weeks or so but now she has her own apartment and stays there for summer classes as well. D has two big tests the following week so won’t be able to spend a lot of time with us but there are many things to do/see in the area. We’ll probably do a few on-campus events that sound fun…potentially a zoo as it’s a very big school, but they are ticketed events and other “mobbed” events I’ve attended there have gone very well.</p>
<p>Our son is a freshman and we’re going next weekend. There are some organized activities, concerts, shows, tailgating events, etc., but we’re just going to take it easy and enjoy the quietness of campus (I hope) while 100,000 people are at the home football game! We really just want to spend time with our son.</p>
<p>One, if not both of us, go to the Family weekends at our kids’ colleges. We live out west, the kids go to college back east. It gives us a reason to make the trip and visit our kid.</p>
<p>I find that the colleges try to put special entertainment, tours and lectures during that weekend that may not be available on any other weekend. But mostly I’m there to touch base with the kids and take them to an expensive restaurant to eat.</p>
<p>If we lived within driving distance we would, but we’re living on a different continent. We moved her in freshman year, and that’s all we’ve been able to manage.</p>
<p>We have always enjoyed going to these - the planned activities mean that our student has not felt obligated to “babysit” us for an entire week-end just because we have made the effort to get to their school. And, they have gone to school at places too far for a casual week-end visit between breaks. Yet, they have always seemed happy to see us for a dinner at a nice restaurant, perhaps a shopping trip, and to introduce some of their new friends to us.</p>
<p>My college’s “parent’s weekend” was this weekend and my parents didn’t participate; in fact, I came home for the weekend. Too crowded, loud, and too many generally pointless activities for the money they want. Nope, I’ve had much more fun being home :)</p>