Find tons of end of the school year activities for the classroom in this post. Plan the end of school with themed days, a countdown, gift ideas, games, bucket lists, and more!
As the end of the school year approaches, it’s time to plan some fun activities, lessons, and gift ideas for your students. I’ve searched high and low and came up with 30 end of the school year activities for the classroom. I think you’ll enjoy these creative ways to celebrate and close out the end of the school year too!
30 End of the School Year Activities
End of the School Year Themed Days
1. The weather is hot, and the kids want to go on vacation. So, why not create a vacation within the classroom? Here’s an idea for a beach-themed day.
2. Themed days are so much fun for kids and throw some excitement into your normal daily routine. Here are 12 theme ideas such as camping, STEM, water, game, holiday, sports, decades, art, travel, and more.
End of the School Year Countdown Ideas
3. A countdown chain is just a simple paper chain that you can use as a visual reminder of the days remaining. But with a cheery cloud and bright colored paper, it will be a fun daily task.
4. During the final days of school, celebrate with “Days of You.” Each child gets a day devoted to them and receives kind words written on an anchor chart as well as special privileges on his/her day.
5. Another way to countdown the last few days is by popping a balloon each day. Inside is a special privilege or activity to do together.
End of the Year Arts and Crafts
6. The end of the school year is conducive to activities that keep excited little hands busy. What better way than art activities such as these!
Play Games at the End of School
7. Minute to Win It is a popular game based on the TV show. Here are some fun tasks to try out in your classroom to replicate the game.
8. Kids love candy, and this candy ball game is a blast. The laughter and screams of delight will make the other classrooms down the hall jealous during this fast-paced challenge to get the candy out of the ball.
9. Get kids chatting about their summer plans and even learning things about each other that they may not have known, in this fun end-of-the-year BINGO game.
Student Celebrations for the End of the School Year
10. If you teach kindergarten, an alphabet party is the “P”erfect “P”lan! Just label items with the letter they begin with, and you’ve got “P is for Party”!
11. Students’ hard work deserves praise. They will love these certificate awards and brag tags that show how proud you are of them.
12. Brighten up your bulletin board with a display that celebrates each child in the classroom. The Garden of Greatness wall will remind students of their uniqueness and individual accomplishments.
End of the School Year Gift Ideas for Students
13. Create goodbye stars with your students, and include them in their goodbye bags on the last day of school. They provide each child with positive encouragement and kind thoughts to take home with them over the summer.
14. Use Windows Live Movie Maker to create a gift DVD for your kiddos. They will enjoy watching a slideshow of photos from the year set to music. You could even show the movie during an in-class celebration of learning at the end of the school year.
15. Looking for a unique keepsake idea? Try this fun photo idea. It includes a FREE printable survey to get teachers organized and kids writing!
16. Create a “Then and Now” bulletin board. Not only is it a great way to decorate the walls of your classroom at the end of the school year, but the photos also serve as a nice gift for your kids (or their parents) on the last day of school.
17. A sweet little gift is a character rock, on which you write a word that describes a child’s character. Paint the rock with bright colors and bold lettering, and the child has a keepsake that also bolsters their self-esteem.
18. Don’t have much time to make a DIY gift? These slap bracelets are fast and easy to put together and a slappin’ good fun!
19. A resourceful gift is to encourage kids to have a bright summer with these sunglasses.
20. Tell your kids how proud of them you are with the sentiment “You blew me away” and some bubbles.
Summer Bucket List
21. Give your kids summer packets in buckets! Buckets are a creative way to take home some things you hope they’ll continue to practice over the summer to avoid the summer slump.
22. Make those buckets extra special for kids with some of these ideas!
23. Avoid the summer reading slide with this summer reading resource booklet. It includes a bucket list of creative places to read that kids can check off as they do them.
24. Keep them writing and practicing word work over the summer with these printables stuffed into their buckets!
End of the School Year Outdoor Activities
25. Go outside for the simplest ways to make the last few days memorable! Try blowing bubbles, creating with chalk, and more!
Fun Learning
26. Science and Language Arts can be all about summer, too! Try out this summer unit where kids can learn all about the honeybee, sunflower, and starfish.
Getting Organized the End of the Year
27. Let kids clean their desks with bubbles! Not only does it get the desks clean, but it is also fun!
28. Get ready for back-to-school NOW! Here are some tips to start thinking about ahead of time.
29. Go ahead and organize, print, and prepare supplies and resources for the beginning of next year. You can even let the kids help you!
30. If you want to create an end-of-the-year portfolio for your kids, why not make it spectacular?
These 30 fun ideas for planning the end of the school year in your classroom will keep you and your students busy during those last weeks of school. As the countdown to summer begins, try some of these activities and let me know what you thought of them!
Classroom Resources for the End of the Year
End of the Year Social-Emotional Learning Resource
The end of the year social emotional learning resource is the perfect companion to your last few weeks of school lesson plans. It includes mini-lesson ideas and engaging activities that reflect on the connections made in the classroom and introduce a discussion about how they’ve used important social and emotional skills throughout the year.
The SEL end of the year resource and activities will encourage discussions amongst your kids about kindness, memories they’ve had throughout the year, friendships they’ve built, and goals that they have for their future.
FREE Summer Reading Booklet
Download and print these Summer reading booklets to encourage your students to read over the break. You can download it for FREE by clicking the image below.
PIN for Later
More End of the School Year Ideas
End of the School Year Photo Keepsake
Last Day of School Activity: Goodbye Stars
Thank you for sharing my post!! 🙂 This is a great round-up!!
You are so welcome! Love your bucket ideas!
Excellent ideas. We can even pick some ideas to gift out students on upcoming children’s day celebration. Our school throws a big party every year and we kept on thinking what to gift but this post will really help many of us. Thanks
Wow, these ideas are SO awesome! My assistant and I will definitely include several of your suggestions (along with our final day Bubble Run)! Thank you heaps!!!!