3 Fun & Easy Ways to End the School Year

It’s that time of year again! The weather is getting warmer and everyone (including myself) is getting squirrely. As teachers, we juggle so many balls during this time. We want to celebrate our students and do fun activities while still having them to do things independently so we can get all of the tedious tidbits taken care of. It takes some forethought, but it is definitely doable…and worth it!

Here are the 3 ways I keep my classroom fun and focused at the end of the school year:

Interactive Notebook Scrapbook

I love using this scrapbook every year because it gives my students a chance to reflect and it gives me a lot of time to get things done! #sorrynotsorry

Because the pages are interactive, it takes more time than just a plain ol’ worksheet, and it’s a lot more fun! I usually play some Kidz Bop on YouTube in the background and let them go to town. The directions on each activity are kid friendly so once I’ve given the rundown, students are able to complete it independently.

I like to use student writing notebooks for these interactive activities because it’s already a portfolio of sorts for their writing. We use the blank pages at the back for the activities, glue in any pictures I’ve taken throughout the year, and add a new label to the cover.

Countdown Those Days

This end of year countdown is a fun way to keep students engaged throughout the end of the year. You can choose to do all 20 days, or start the countdown whenever you like. I normally start the countdown at 10 days because 20 can be too long for my 8-year-olds. Students have to meet the behavior expectation for that day to be able to participate in tomorrow’s activity. I typically would flip to the next activity at the end of the day so that students can bring in items to celebrate activities like “Slumber Party Day” or “Flashlight Reading”. I’m a big fan of the free activities like “Paper Airplane Contest” Day.

Celebrate Your Students

It’s award season! To be honest, student awards can be SO time consuming that I have actually skipped this some years. I definitely get teacher guilt when I skip giving out awards because my students always love it so much. That’s why I created awards that can either be customized or printed and used in a snap. When I sat down to make these awards, I knew I wanted to create something that would last over the years and have many options, so I made 65. I tried to crate awards that celebrate students with strengths over various different areas.

Interested in any of these activities? They are all available in my store, just click the pictures below.

How do you celebrate and engage your students at the end of the year? Leave me your favorite activities in the comments.

Talk to you soon,

Adrienne