end of the year activities Archives

5 Fun Ways to Celebrate the End of the Year with Your Students

April 20, 2024 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

Can you believe it’s already time to start planning end-of-the-year activities? Time really does fly when you’re having fun. It’s the perfect time to celebrate the hard work, growth, and accomplishments of our students! If you’re looking for end-of-the-year activities to do with your students or ideas for your end-of-the- year party, you’re in the right place!

Here are some fun and creative end-of-the-year ideas to wrap up the school year with a bang:

Class Awards Ceremony

Celebrate the unique talents and achievements of each student with personalized awards. From “Most Creative Thinker” to “Super Scientist” or “Kindest Heart,” recognizing their individual strengths will make each student feel special.

Try this! End of the Year Awards Certificates | Candy Awards | Superlatives

Outdoor Picnic

Take advantage of the warmer weather and organize a picnic in the schoolyard or local park. Bring along some games, snacks, and music for a relaxing afternoon of fun and camaraderie.You can also work on a memory book together!

Try this! End of the Year Memory Book | Google Slides™

Have a Themed Day

Celebrate the last days of school by organizing a themed day! Let your students vote on a theme, whether it’s pajama day, superhero day, beach day, or favorite book character day. Encourage them to dress up accordingly and plan themed activities and games throughout the day. It’s a fantastic way to foster creativity, teamwork, and a sense of community as you bid farewell to the school year in style.

Try this! End of the Year Theme Days BUNDLED | Activities

Take a Virtual Field Trip

Just because you can’t physically travel doesn’t mean you can’t embark on an exciting adventure! Take your students on a virtual field trip to explore faraway places, historical landmarks, or even outer space. There are countless virtual tours, museums, and educational websites available online, offering immersive experiences that will captivate your students’ imaginations.

Try this! Virtual Field Trip BEACH DAY | Google Slides | End of the Year

Classroom Movie Marathon

Set up a cozy movie corner in your classroom and let your students vote on their favorite movies to watch together. Don’t forget the popcorn and comfy blankets for a cinematic experience they won’t forget! Add some coloring pages for extra fun!

Try this! Fun Coloring Pages | Growing Bundle (SPECIAL PRICING) | April | Seasons

I hope you have a lovely time celebrating the end of the year with your students.

Don’t forget to celebrate all of your hard work too, you deserve it!

Want more end-of-the-year activities? Check out my post here!

Summer Practice for Kids

March 14, 2019 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

Activities for Kids that ENHANCE Summer

If you have ever worried about your kids suffering from summer brain drain, then there are some easy things you can do to keep them motivated to learn all summer.

Kids Reading, Relaxing, Kids On Vacation, Summer

Here is a list of things to tell children’s parents to do with your child at home:

Helpful Tips

1.Crack open a dictionary. Ask them to find a hard word like, “integrity” in the dictionary. Then, have them explain the meaning to you.

2. Teach your child how to do the laundry.

3. Play a board game with your child.

4. Teach your child to set the table. Have them count all the silverware. Reinforce the “game” by offering desert for the right answer. Continue with teaching them how to make a special dinner.

5. Children at any age love to paint! Give them water colors and paper outside. Let them go crazy with splattering/flicking paint on the paper. If they have an outdoor playhouse, let them paint it with water colors. When it rains, it come right off.

6. Encourage your child to tell you a prediction to an ending to a movie or story.

7. Tell your child they can only watch TV or play a video game if they can tell you the time on the clock. (not digital…)

8. Encourage your child to do a garage sale with you or open a lemonade stand to earn a little extra money. Tell family members to come visit so they can not only participate, but test them on giving change for items.

9. Father’s Day is often overlooked during the school year, so let your child make a project or go shopping for dad and give them a budget.

10. Ask your child to come up with words that rhyme and challenge them to make a rap using the rhyming words.

11. At bed time, ask your child to sequence the events of their day.

12. Create a new dance move or hand shake with your child.

13. Do some wood working with your child, but letting them use a hammer and nails to build something like a birdhouse with your supervision.

14. Ask your child to show you a Jumping Jack, Push Up, or Skipping.

You would be surprised how many kids can’t do these tasks.

15. Use chalk outside to make Hopscotch. Teach them how to play.

16. Teach your child figure out how to play frisbee or tennis.

Summer Practice for Kids

Sending home summer practice packets for kids is a great way to keep kids actively learning all summer too!

Over 90 printables to review what students should already know from 4th Grade to practice on before they enter 5th Grade. It has math, literacy, and writing activities. There is a summer weekly journal for kids to write daily about their summer events. Parents have suggestions and directions they can do to keep their kids prepared for the next level!

CLICK HERE FOR:

Related Products

☀️ End of the YEAR Summer Packet From 1st grade to 2nd

☀️ End of the Year Summer Packet For KINDERGARTEN to 1st Grade Review

☀️ End of the Year Summer Packet Pre-K to Kindergarten

☀️ Summer Packet for 2nd Grade to 3rd Grade

☀️ Summer Packet for 4th Grade to 5th Grade (NEW)

End of the School Year Themed Days in the Classroom

May 3, 2018 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Hopefully, you have all that testing behind you now and are freed up to do some educational activities that are engaging for your students! I always have a theme-based end-of-the-year celebration with my students. I also have an end-of-the-year celebration where the parents are invited to share some special moments with their children before the summer heats up! Here are some theme ideas that I usually let my students choose from:

Hawaiian
Spy Day
Beach or Ocean Day
Pirate Day
Circus
Mad Scientist Day
Craft Day
Super Hero Day

We do activities with items I purchase from Oriental Trading Co. usually. I also ask parents to donate items for the day. We make a t-shirt to go with the theme. All the activities are educational, but they are theme-based. This is a day just for kids, but I do have a couple volunteers helping me with activities.

When I invite the parents to the room, we have a slideshow showing pictures taken throughout the school year. Each year, (20 so far) I’ve made individual photo albums for all my students and present them to the parents as a parting gift. Even though these cost me a lot, they proved to be priceless! Many students return years later with that album in hand. They tell me how meaningful the albums are to them. One even said, “When I’m down, I can look at it, and it always cheers me up.” I’m glad I invested in them. Then, I have parents bring in a dish to share. They can also bring in footballs to play outside with the kids after we all eat. It’s a great day! To make it really special, I also give every child a candy certificate as a keepsake.

The end of the year is a busy time for teachers, but it is also the best time to make memories that will last a lifetime with your students. You can build connections with the community, and celebrate the time you shared together as a class!