The end of the school year is an exciting time for both teachers and students. As a teacher, it’s important to make the last few days of school memorable for your lower grade classroom. Here are 6 ways to celebrate the end of the school year:
- Class Awards Ceremony: Create certificates for each student with fun categories like “most creative,” “best sense of humor,” or “kindest heart.” Have a mini ceremony where you can present each certificate and take a group photo to commemorate the event. I personally love coming up with specific rewards based off of fun inside jokes we may have a class for the year, or for specific achievements all throughout the year.
- Ice Cream Party: Who doesn’t love ice cream? Treat your students to a fun ice cream party on the last day of school. You can have a variety of ice cream flavors and toppings to choose from. This is a great way to celebrate their hard work and dedication throughout the year.
- End-of-Year Memory Book: Have your students create an end-of-year memory book. Each student can write a letter to their future self, draw pictures of their favorite memories, and collect autographs from their classmates. This is a great way to reflect on the year and create a lasting memento. I love using this one every year that I have created. Find it below:
4. Classroom Scavenger Hunt: Create a scavenger hunt for your students that takes them throughout the classroom. You can have clues that lead to different parts of the room and have them solve riddles to find hidden treasures. As you go to different parts of the classroom have them share their favorite memories of something that happened in that part of the classroom!
5. Countdown Chain: I love a good old countdown chain! When there is about 2 weeks left in the year, cut up colored pieces of paper and make them in to a chain. Every day, tear off one of the circles to help countdown. For added fun, grab this FREE countdown chain. I wanted to make it more colorful and fun for summer break. Print, cut out, assemble and start to count down!
6. Countdown to Summer Preschool Theme: My favorite way to countdown to the end of the school year, especially in younger classrooms, is with this countdown to summer preschool theme. It keeps your students learning and growing, reviewing and preparing for future grades, but it is fun and helps them look forward to summer! You can purchase the different activities separately or in a big bundle by clicking the button below:
The end of the school year is a time to celebrate and reflect on all the hard work and accomplishments of your students. These 6 ways to celebrate the end of the school year can bring fun and engaging activities into the last few days of school, you can create lasting memories for your lower grade classroom.