Hooray! It is the last week of school! The final days of school can be both exciting and chaotic. As a teacher, I love to plan fun activities with my classroom family, while also maintaining some level of productivity and structure. After 11 years in the classroom, these are my 15 favorite ways to spend the last week of school.
1. Easy Countdown Activities
There are many variations of how to count down to the last day of the school year. Perhaps the easiest way is to simply create a countdown chain. Cut strips of paper, write an easy activity on each piece, and create your chain. Take one strip off each day to reveal the activity. These chain ideas are easy for both you and parents!
- Outside Picnic
- Movie Day
- Pajama Day
- BUBBLES!
- Chalk
- Game Day
- Stuffed Animal Day
- Sit with a Friend
- Extra Recess
- SLIME!
Balloon pop countdowns are a little more involved but also SO MUCH FUN! For this activity, you roll the activity strip and slip it into a balloon. Blow the balloon up and pin to a bulletin board. Pop a balloon each day to reveal the activity.
2. A Book a Day
Reading a special book each day is another way to celebrate those final days as a classroom community. Some years I chose to start our morning meeting with a read aloud*. Other years I chose to read these favorites when coming back from recess as a way to recenter our learning for the afternoon. Here are some of my favorite End of Year Read Alouds.
- Last Day Blues by Julie Danneburg
- Goodbye, School by Tonya Lippert
- Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the Last Day of Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
- Goodbye for Now by Madison Rowe
- A Letter From Your Teacher on the Last Day of School by Shannon Olsen
- Just the Way You Are by Max Lucado
- I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
- I Wish You Happiness by Michael Wong
- The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin
- And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner
3. Buddy Picnic
Every year, my 2nd grade class got paired up with a 4th or 5th grade class. We would always have our last "meeting" of the year outside so the students could eat lunch and play with their buddies. This is an easy, free way to enjoy quality time together.
4. "Preview" the Next Grade
Take an "in school fieldtrip" to the next grade. The end of the year can be emotional for many students. Allowing them to meet the next grade's teachers, talk to students a year older and touring potential new classrooms can ease worries and boost excitement about moving on to a new place in the fall.
5. Write Letter to Future Students
After touring the next grade's classrooms, invite your students to write to students younger them. What advice would they give them? What will they learn about? This is a fun way to reflect on all they've done and boost confidence in the fact that they are now "experts" of their classroom.
6. Make a playlist.
Compile a list of your students' favorite songs from the year. Share it with parents for a fun way to remember the year.
7. Create an End of Year Bulletin Board
Use simple crafts to celebrate the end of the year. Name Crafts and Math Crafts are fun ways to incorporate Graduation or Summer themes into the final weeks of school. Pop the crafts off on the last day for students to take home.
8. Shaving Cream Clean
This is a favorite! Use shaving cream to clean the desk tops. I prefer to use unscented cream. Let students draw their names, math facts, spelling words, pictures and more in the cream.
9. Puzzle Play
Hands on learning is essential to maintaining a productive learning environment in the final weeks of school. Whether you use traditional puzzles or academic mystery puzzles (below), puzzles are a great way to promote problem solving and keep little learners busy.
10. Classroom Library Organization
Teachers hate this task. Kids LOVE it! This is one of those activities that can be a little chaotic but is well worth it to have your library cleaned and organized for the Fall. Follow these steps to keep this task running smoothly.
- Assign each table group (or small groups of students) to each section of your classroom library.
- Create a bin for books in the wrong section and a separate “Book Hospital” bin for those that need a little TLC.
- Have students sort through their section of the library.
- Once books have been discarded, you can start to find their proper home.
Once complete, label that section (or bin) with a DONE post it so it is ready to be used when you return to school.
11. End of Year Reflection
This can be done in so many ways. The easiest way is to give students a blank piece of paper for them to draw (and/or write) about their favorite part of the year.
If you are looking for a more structured activity that takes students through the writing process, this End of Year Writing Craft is a great option, too. This craft also comes with editable rubrics for Kindergarten through 3rd grade, making it easy to assess those final skills before report cards are due.
12. Create a Summer Bucket List
Brainstorm all the things you and your students hope to do this summer. Type up the list and send it home on the last day as a fun, free keepsake. Click the picture below to grab this freebie.
13. Last Day of School Pictures
Grab a cute sign (or make one) and document their final day. As a parent, this was really special to see how much they’ve physically grown.
14. Yearbook Signing
Hand out yearbooks and have students sign each other's books. If your school doesn't do yearbooks, have students fold a piece of paper in half, decorate the cover and then have peers sign the inside of their "yearbook card".
15. A Final Acknowledgement of Accomplishments
End of the Year Certificates are such a special way to acknowledge all the ways your students have grown this year. I NEVER just pass these out. I always take the time to say something about each student to highlight their accomplishments. To make it even more fun, I have their peers guess who I am talking about. It always ends up being one big "friendship fest" as they compliment and cheer each other on, leaving me (the teacher) in a puddle of tears and warm fuzzy feelings. :)
These last week of school activities can be used for a wide variety of ages, including preschool through 5th grade students. Whether you are cleaning with shaving cream or reviewing the writing process one last time while reflecting on the best part of the year, I hope these activities leave you feeling proud and accomplished as you wrap up the year.
Wishing you a wonderful summer! You earned it!
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