Fun Activities for the End of the School Year

Do you need some fun, low-prep end-of-the-year school activities to fill up those last few days of school?

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1. Research Projects

Have students research a topic they are interested in.  You could have them create Google Slide Shows, videos, or traditional posters and reports.

I have some ready-made research projects that are print and go!

President Research Report

Countries of the World Research Report  

2. Jelly bean and Toothpick Towers

The end of the year is a great time to work on STEAM collaborative activities.  I have previously shared blog posts about a Jack in the Beanstalk and a reading ottoman building project.

Another fun activity is to have your students build towers out of toothpicks and jellybeans.  Give each group of students one box of toothpicks and one bag of jellybeans.  The group with the highest standing structure in 3 minutes wins.

You can add additional time or criteria (must include certain shapes or angles) to make the activity take longer.

3. Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are always a fun way to review previously learned material and have a little bit of fun!  You can find some great ones on Teachers pay Teachers.

4. Special Days Countdown

Countdown the last few days with special themed days.  Some ideas could be: movie day, craft day, reading day, electronics day, board game day, Lego day, etc.  

5. Color by Number

Color by Number activities are a great way to keep your students busy and engaged those last few days of school.

I have a ton of these in my Teachers pay Teachers store including these:

Sports Color by Number

Unicorn Color by Number

Summer Color by Number

6. Mental Math

My students always love these Mental Math task cards and the end of the year is a great time to bring them out!

7. Scoot Games

Scoot Games are a great way to get your students up and moving!

Check out this Sidewalk Scoot Game that is perfect for the end of the year!

8. Teach the Teacher Day

Have your students create lessons and then teach them to the class! You can have them create lessons over things you have learned during the year or some of their hobbies.

9. Bucket Lists

Have your students create a bucket list for their summer!

10. Write Letters of Advice for Next Year

Have your students write letters of advice for your new students coming in the fall.  They could also write letters to their future teacher with advice for teaching them.

11. Minute to Win It Game Day

Have a game day with Minute to Win it Games.  I love this freebie on Teachers pay Teachers!

12. Frisbees

Give your students a Frisbee as their end-of-the-year gift.  Have Sharpies available so that they can sign them for each other.  Then take them outside to play catch with them!

13. Kickball Tournament

Challenge another class in your grade level to a kickball tournament.

14. Classroom Awards

Have your students vote for each other to win classroom awards.  You can read more about hosting a Kid's Choice Awards here.

Do you have any fun activities for the end of the school year?  I'd love to hear about them in he comments below!

And, before you go, don't forget to enter our weekly giveaway for teachers!

End of the School Year Checklist Freebies

There is nothing that strikes panic and fear in teachers more than the principal handing you a packet of year-end procedures as you look at your already overflowing calendar and wonder how you are going to get everything done! Well, take a deep breath, grab your beverage of choice, and join us for a summer countdown blog hop filled with tips and freebies to help you have a smooth ending to the school year!

My tip and freebie for saving your sanity is to plan out your last few weeks of school with the goal of getting it all done without staying at school until the wee hours of the night!  If you are really ambitious, you might be ready in advance!  Wouldn't that be nice?

Step 1:  Create a list of any and all task you know you need to do in the next few weeks. I have listed a few possible tasks below to help you get started. If you can think of anything I might have forgotten, feel free to leave a comment below (your comments will also get you an extra entry into my giveaway!)

• Report Cards
• End of Year Awards
• Student Gifts
• Volunteer Gifts
• Memory Books
• Next Year Prep (binders, lesson plans, etc.)
• Cumulative Folders
• Packing Up Classroom 
• Field Day
• Field Trips
• Assemblies
• End of Year Parties
• Shred IEP forms/send to new teacher
• Return borrowed supplies
• Supply Inventory

Step 2:  Grab a calendar and start plugging in deadlines and due dates for all of the items you came up with in Step 1.

Step 3: Break down tasks by the weeks you have left.  Plan smart so that you won't have to stay late, but you'll also be able to get everything done in time.  You might want to schedule several sessions for tasks that are particularly tedious like grading, report cards, or student gifts.

Step 4:  Hold yourself accountable to getting the things on your list done, and reward yourself if you do accomplish them.  (My favorite reward this time of year is an iced latte from Starbucks).

You can find the checklists pictured above along with a few others in my freebie for you! 

 Download it here.

Now, enter to win a $25 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Certificate, and then follow along with our blog hop to get more tips and to collect your other freebies!

End of the Year Awards - Kids' Choice Awards

Our school has quarterly awards ceremonies to honor students with perfect attendance, honor roll, citizenship, etc., but I wanted to do something a little different for the end of the year.  My own boys love the Kids' Choice Awards on Nickelodeon each year, so, I thought this would be a fun way to do my end of year awards/celebration.

The kids had an absolute blast as well!

We decorated our sad end of the year room with balloons (from Dollar Tree) and a red carpet (bulletin board paper).

One of the students wrote this on the board to kick us off.  I need to work on apostrophes apparently, but I have the same kiddos next year, so we have time! LOL!

The packet comes with pages for the students to vote for each other.  I asked them to vote for one of their classmates for each category.  The top nominees were then tallied by some of my fast finishers, and checked by me to make sure that each student received an award from their peers.  They really took the voting seriously and even had a few spirited debates.  I loved the time and thought they put into it.

In keeping with the Kids' Choice theme, I also had them run the show during the "ceremony".  Each student chose an award to give out.  I purchased small Dollar Tree items to go with each award.

The students really took their presenting jobs seriously and they were genuinely proud of each student award winner!

I really got a kick out of how on the spot their winner choices were!

This little one gave an acceptance speech!  Her category?

And, last but not least, my little fashionista who manages to look stylish even in uniform with her fabulous accessories and shoe changes! LOL!

Updated April 16, 2018

Since I posted this original blog post, I have created these adorable editable awards!

They come in both full color and black and white for your printing preference!

If you are still in school and looking for some end of year fun - try a Kids' Choice Awards!