Note from the editor: Beth (our teacher contributor) says that teachers DO NOT expect gifts for Christmas or at the end of the school year. However, I felt like our children's teachers were STELLAR this
End of Year Art Activities that require little prep and use minimal materials. End of year art lessons that quick, fun and engaging.
Use this free printable teacher questionnaire to get to know the teacher. Find out exactly what to give the for birthday, Christmas and end of year gifts.
End of year reflection for teachers is key for making changes and celebrating the positives. This post shares ideas for reflecting on the end of the year.
End of the school year activities for students to reflect back on the year with their class community leading up to the last day of school.
A list of fantastic end of the year activities for creating a relaxing, yet fun and memorable ending to your school year.
Working on growth and seeking out opportunities with end-of-year teacher reflections!
STEM Tips, Ideas, and Resources! Ways to maintain engagement and stay busy and involved with these end-of-year projects! Take the stress out of your last month.
Well, we are approaching the middle of May, which means the end of the school year is drawing near (some of us sooner than others) for many of us. Keeping students engaged and doing something worthwhile can be challenging in those last few classes! Here are some of my favorites: 1. Hula Hoop Conductor I got this idea here last year and my students and I loved it! Basically one person is the conductor and the rest of the class follows them, usually on instruments. But instead of waving their arms to conduct, the conductor moves in and out of hula hoops laying on the floor. If they are inside the hoop, they play. If they step out, they stop. I used 3 hula hoops in different colors and assigned groups of instruments to each hoop (green is metals, red is skins etc). The best part is getting the class to intuitively follow the conductor's movements while they are in the hoop, like playing softly for tiptoe, one big sound together when you jump, or loud when you reach up high. I always conduct the class first so they can get some ideas, and I get a good workout doing it! The only thing I tell them is which hula hoop is for which instruments, and I let them figure out the rest. I start slowly by stepping in and out of one hoop at a time, then I start mixing it up by jumping in and out of two or three at a time, running across, tiptoeing, and doing crazy dances. Once they get the idea I start having students come and conduct and see what they come up with. This activity is great because it keeps students focused, there is an element of silliness, and it involves playing instruments, which students always appreciate. One way to have students play more than one instrument is to have the conductor take the instrument from someone to become the next conductor. 2. Going Downtown I like to do lots of dancing and movement games at the end of the year but "Going Downtown" is my favorite. I took an activity I saw at a conference and modified it. To set up the game, separate students into two lines facing each other, with at least 5 feet between the two lines. Try to make the lines even but if there is an odd number of students it will still work. The students are the sidewalks, and the space between them is the street. I tell students to imagine they are on their way to a really awesome party. They are walking down the street with their friend to get to the party. If they're really excited about the party, they aren't just going to be walking calmly down the street- they would be skipping, jumping, doing cartwheels, dancing... One person from the front of each row will be going from the front of the line, down the middle, and joining the back of the line, but they won't be just walking. One person, whose name I call, will be coming up with a fun way to go down the street. The other person (from the other row) will copy them. But they are going to the party together, so they will be going down the street at the same time- not watching the first person and then copying after. Everyone else on the sidewalk moves forward as soon as someone leaves their row to make space at the back of each row. Keep taking turns until the end of the song (I used to have a CD with a song called "Going Downtonwn"- hence the name- but now I use "Walking On Sunshine", which is equally appropriate!). These are the rules I give my students when we play: wait until I call one of your names to go, keep the street wide, only do things your partner can physically do, and if you can physically do something you should go for it. I remind them that we don't want any traffic jams, so I make sure the next pair doesn't start going until the previous one has gotten to the end of the row. Often the people waiting get busy watching the others walking past them and they start to move in, making the space too small. To avoid injuries, make sure the space stays wide! For the person picking the movement, I give the example of someone who can do back flips and another cannot. If the leader chooses something that their partner can't do, they are disqualified from the game. If the person copying can do something (like maybe a somersault) and chooses not to, they are disqualified. Obviously you as the teacher will have to be the judge of whether something is truly too difficult or not, or if someone is trying to embarrass someone out of spite rather than fun (I've never had that happen, even in my most challenging groups, but it is theoretically something that I am prepared for). 3. Soundscapes Soundscapes are, as I tell my students, like landscapes (a visual representation of a scene) with sound. We are trying to evoke a certain image with a combination of sounds. There are so many ways to use this concept, but I have used and love the following versions: Kindergarten/1st: Introduce a set of classroom instruments (at least one more different kinds than there are students) and have them listen to each one. Read a poem, and assign a word or phrase to each student, and have them pick an instrument sound to match the word. Practice having them play the instrument at the same time as you read the word, then see if they can "play the poem" without you reading. Having them sit in the order they play will help :) 2nd/3rd: Assign small groups to a specific location (like the playground, zoo, downtown city, airport, etc) and have them come up with sounds they would hear in that location. Then they need to figure out a way to recreate each of their sounds using instruments, found sounds, voice, or body percussion. You can make it slightly more challenging by telling them they have to have at least one in each category of sound source. It's really fun to have groups draw a scene out of a hat and practice secretly, then have the class close their eyes for the performance and guess the location. 4th and up: The basic soundscape activity for 2nd and 3rd graders still works well with the older students, but for more of a challenge you can extend the concept to less concrete subjects. Since we have an emotional literacy curriculum in our district, I like to give each small group a "feeling word" to describe with sound. You can also connect it with writing by having them write a short story and then tell the story with sound (no speaking words!). 4. Silly Songs There are some songs that I save for the end of the year because they are just pure fun. Others from the beginning of the year are great to bring back for an encore! "Kobuta" is a fun song from Japan that is fun and easy because it has very few words and it is an echo song. I do silly motions for each animal (like push my nose up for the pig). The best part is when you start creating variations- I have students suggest different feelings and do the song in that feeling. The all-time favorite is always the very, very sad one! "Pizza Daddy-O" is one that I use at the beginning of 2nd grade to experience call and response, and I love to bring it back at the end of the year. You can have students come up with new dance moves for the ending to make it even funnier. The list of songs goes on and on, but I'll share one more favorite: Miss Julie Ann Johnson. In the link you'll find the sheet music for the tune, but scroll down to the bottom and you'll see the suggestion from "reader Elizabeth C" (me! that's me!) for how I use the song to make up ridiculous stories and reinforce good singing tone and posture. Update: if you're looking for end of the year lessons that take up a bit more time (over several class periods), check out this post! What do you like to do at the end of the year? Share your favorites in the comments!
Unique teacher appreciation gifts to show how much educators are valued! Find thoughtful gift ideas to express gratitude for their hard work.
Do you want to empower your students to be able to teach you something, that they feel confident teaching about? This activity is perfect for that! Students will be teaching a lesson on a topic they love to talk about. What is included in this product: - A mini lesson on what makes a good lesson. - A template on how to plan your lesson. - Directions for the teacher and students.
Hi friends, I truly wanted to blog about these sooner, so you could use this idea for your end of year gifts if you wanted… however, I teach middle school and most of my students are fascinated with finding their teacher on social media. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise for my students. This ... Read more
It was about this time last year I took my third graders outside for a paper airplane competition. We had spent a half hour working in te...
I finally pulled myself out of my “creative slump” and came up with an end of the year FREEBIE to share. I think it was the excitement of me getting to go back next week that sparked it. I cannot wait to hang with my little darlin’ babes and this seemed like a perfect activity
Looking for meaningful end of school year activities for middle school or high school English? These digital activities will have you at hello...
Inside: End of the year games for Spanish class. The end of the year can be… interesting, right? Everyone is tired, you have run out of ideas, testing has already been done, and summer is on everyone’s mind. Here are some ideas that work with ANY unit or theme and put all the summer energy to
With the end of the school year around the corner, it’s time to start planning out the final few weeks. Here is a look at some teaching resources that will
And suddenly it was May! How does this happen? I mean, one minute we are coming back from Christmas Break and then it's March, and you blink and it's May! I know we all have a secret countdown for the days that are left, but I also know this for sure- It is panic-time
Have you ever had a class that just tried your patience day after day? Have you ever felt like you could walk away from teaching forever tom...
Figuring out end of year gifts for students can be tricky! These ideas will be a hit - without breaking the bank!
How to move classrooms with less stress. 5 easy steps teachers can take to help them with end of year classroom pack up and tidy.
These end of year activities, games, and lessons help teachers keep students engaged during the last weeks of school and last day of school.
Celebrate a fantastic school year and help your students to remember it forever with this engaging and meaningful end-of-year puzzle poster! The completed puzzle is sure to become a treasured memento for years to come. Engage your students' artistic flair with the wide range of activities provided in this resource. Display the amazing puzzles and wow your school! When you download this resource, it comes with both US English AND British spellings and printing sizes. In this pack you will receive: 15 puzzle pieces with a range of artistic and writing activities: Autographs Highlights End of the Year Calendar Improvements Funny Memory My Teacher Name Display Next Year... All About Me Right Now My Favorite Things/My Favourite Things Favorite Field Trip/Favourite Class Trip Proudest Moment Favorite Recess Activity/Favourite Lunch Time Activity Feelings About Moving Up A Grade/Feelings About Moving Up a Year Level Plans for Summer These puzzles come in two sizes. Choose the size that fits your purpose! ✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫ You May Also Like: End of the Year Memory Book Summer Writing Prompts June PowerPoint Journal Worksheets USA Summer Digital Writing Prompts for Google Drive ✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫ We really appreciate your feedback! Leaving feedback earns you TPT credits! If you're interested in upcoming Top Teaching Tasks resources, click here to FOLLOW us. ✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫✫ Stay in touch: Follow us on Facebook Take a peek behind the scenes with our Instagram Pin with us on Pinterest Follow us on Twitter Subscribe to our Youtube channel
It's hard to believe it's already that time of the year again! The End of the Year Countdown is on and I wanted to share some EASY and inexpensive student gifts for the end of the year! Let's get this party started!!!! And, at only $3.88 for a pack of 6 these Bubble Sticks from Wal-Mart are an AMAZING deal! I am giving my sweet students these bubble sticks this year and I am going to personalize them using my Silhoutte Cameo! Another option are these adorable popsicle bubble blowers from Dollar Tree! Sand Buckets make a great end of the year gift because they can be used to hold ANYTHING! My own kids play with sand buckets all the time for anything and everything, not just at the beach! I gave my students each a sand bucket a few years ago and personalized them with their names! You could also put some fun items inside! You can find these anywhere, but I found some great deals at Dollar Tree and Michaels! My kids LOVE water bottles and the great thing about these is how easy they are to find for pretty cheap! I found these ones at Dollar Tree and last year I personalized them for each of my students using my Silhouette! I've also seen great options at Michaels and Hobby Lobby! When I was in third grade, my teacher gave my entire class a book for our end of the year gift. But, she didn't just give us any book. She picked out a different book for every single one of us that would mean something to that student. I STILL remember that gift, and I'm sure I still have the book in a box in my parent's attic. One simple little gift that has truly made an impact on my life! One year I hope to do that for each of my kids! It is definitely not a cheap idea, but one that might impact a future teacher! Books are ALWAYS a good idea to give! And, even if you don't want to choose a DIFFERENT book for every student, you can easily purchase a class favorite for the class! Make sure to check out the Scholastic teacher section for dollar deals, and if you are lucky enough to have a Scholastic Warehouse near you, their sales are AMAZING! When I was a little girl, I LOVED playing school! So, giving dry erase boards as an end of the year gift is always a good idea in my book! And, there are so many different options! I have these plastic trays and dry erase board paddles from Dollar Tree! But, you could also go to Home Depot and have them cut pieces of Shower Board for you! I did this my first year teaching and STILL have the same boards TEN years later!! It would also be cute to personalize the backs of the boards using a permanent marker! What kid doesn't LOVE sunglasses!? These are such a fun gift for the end of the year! These are also a pretty inexpensive gift and would make the cutest picture of your entire class wearing them all! You can grab these options from Dollar Tree! And, these NEON sunglasses are only $15 for a 24 pack on Amazon! I am all about some memories, so giving a picture frame with a class picture inside is a great gift idea in my book! I can just imagine this sweet little picture frame sitting on a night stand for years to come! And then maybe one day it'll be placed in a box and bring back lots of memories and smiles! I grabbed this little frame from Dollar Tree, so it was a great deal! I just love the idea of giving students beach balls at the end of the year! And, these work out perfectly because you can have your class sign each ball with a permanent marker as a fun little memento to keep for years to come! And, at only $1.00 a ball they make the perfect gift! You can find these at Dollar Tree! You can also grab this 12 pack of beach balls for under $10 on Amazon! For all those crafty teachers, I bet you could come up with something CUTE to put on a t-shirt! I'm thinking tie-dye or some Heat Transfer Vinyl! And then you could also have students sign the backs and have a sweet little gift that they can keep forever! You can grab this pack of t-shirts on Amazon! How FUN is sidewalk chalk during the summer!? My kids LOVE using sidewalk chalk at recess, so I know this would make a great end of the year gift that they could use at home! These 20 packs are only $1.00 at Dollar Tree!!! Because what kid doesn't LOVE candy!? This is always an easy idea! And you can get ANY kind of sweet treat! Gummy Bears are some of my favorite!!! I found these Krazy Straws at Dollar Tree and there are 6 in a pack for only $1.00! I mean, it doesn't get much cheaper than 16 cents per student! You could even add one of those packs of Kool Aid or Crystal Light to it to make it more fun! I also found these cute mini Krazy Straws at Hobby Lobby! Or, you can grab a 36 pack on Amazon for only around $7! So, I'm going to be completley honest and I HATE playdough! But, as much as I hate it kids absolutely LOVE it! Dollar Tree has TONS of options! They even have a 4-pack for only $1.00! This would make a great gift for primary grades! You could even send home a cute little list of things that they could use the playdough for to practice over the summer- letters, CVC words, sight words! Anything! And, for those fun and silly years how FUN would Silly Putty or Silly String be for a gift!? You can find both of these fun things on Amazon! I love the idea of paint and some paper or an art pad! As a mom of two, this would give kids something fun to do over the summer! Markers or crayons would also be a cute idea! And again, not expensive at all! I also found some large Art Pads at Dollar Tree for only $1.00! Because when it's all said and done, the years really do FLY BY! It always amazes me how fast the school year goes by! Frisbees are such a fun gift idea, and I think it would be super adorable to have your students sign each other's frisbee! So, I just LOVE when I find cute little plush toys to give to my kids! Especially when they aren't very expensive! How ADORABLE are these little plush fish that I found from Dollar Tree!? I love the whole o-FISH-ally theme and got super excited when I found them! And, these cute little caterpillars make the CUTEST little bookworms! I found these at Dollar Tree, too! I mean, how ADORABLE are these little plush fish from Oriental Trading!? They would make the cutest little gift with an O-FISH-ALLY tag! Or, these sweet little bears from Oriental Trading would make the sweetest gift for a BEARY sweet year! Pencils are always fun! But, personalized pencils are even better! How adorable are these pencils that you can grab from Oriental Trading!? Clipboards are always fun! The best part of these is they are a blank canvas and you can personalize them in different ways! You can add their names with vinyl, stickers, or a permanent marker! You could even write a special message on the back! And, if you wanted to you could add some summer review pages to the clipboard for students to practice over the summer! You can get a 30 pack on Amazon for around $30! One of my FAVORITE things we did on the last day of school was give our students this fun little Last Day of School Snack! It was such a fun way to end the year!! You could really use ANY candy for this and come up with cute little sayings for what they stand for! Just a FUN way to end the year in a positive way! I hope that you found some ideas for your end of the year gifts!!!! If you need a tag, you can grab my End of the Year Gift Tags in my TPT store! It has ALL the tags shown in this post, including the treat bag topper for the Last Day of School Snack! They come in color and black and white versions and you can personalize them in PowerPoint with your name! For more {Fashion, Fun, and Favorites} make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Teachers Pay Teachers! Want to save these ideas for later? Make sure to pin the image below!
Memory wheels are a great end of school year activity for upper elementary and middle school students. Learn about memory wheel templates.
MATH Higher-Order Thinking Questions for Students! Questions for students to ask EACH OTHER! *These open-ended questions are great to get your students to think deeper about math concepts and word …
One of my favorite projects of the year is our End of the Year Memory Book. It's a special keepsake for students and parents that features photos, drawings, writing samples, and more. It's a project the class works on periodically throughout the year. I love it because it shows how much the kiddos change over the year. It gives parents a memento to remember the year by, rather than trying to save everything the child brings home. #guiltyofthat This is Ellee. She was in my very first class. She just started 10th grade! Her Mom sent me these pictures of her looking back on her Kindergarten Memory Book before school started last month. It made me so happy to know that she was reliving all of the fun we had in Kinder. Crazy to think 10 years has come and gone! You can see in the photos that Word Art was all the rage back in 2007. LOL. I've made some updates to my Kinder Memory Book since 2007, and I've also created a Preschool and 1st grade version. I have some tips for creating these Memory Books that will make them manageable. 1. If you have active parent volunteers, find a parent that will head up this project. My first year in the classroom, I had 26 kids in my morning class and 25 in the afternoon. 51 memory books! Thank goodness I had an amazing aide and some super parents that helped out. 2. Two options for binding the memory books... You can copy all of the pages you need and bind them over the summer/at the beginning of the year. However, I think it's better to wait to bind them until the END of the year. To keep it all organized, I have a file folder for each student. As we complete a memory book page, I file the completed page away in the child's folder. Then at the end of the year, all the pages are in order and ready to be bound. 3. Print extra copies for potential new students or for "Uh Oh" mistakes. 4. If you forget to take a photograph of a student for a certain page, they can draw a picture instead. The combination of photographs and illustrations will make it extra special. 5. You can send a page home for "homework" every now and then if you just don't have time to get to it in class. Be sure to tell your students how important these pages are so they come back in good condition. I would recommend sending them home in an envelope or file folder so they don't get ripped, folded, or destroyed on the way home. :) 6. I've included extra pages at the end for photographs. Students can personalize it, color it, add stickers, get autographs from friends, etc. The teacher can write a special note to the child in the back of the book as well. These Memory Books will work great for Homeschool Kiddos and for the crafty Mamas out there. Just print and use the pages you need. I'm thrilled to be making one with my preschooler.
The end of the school year is fast approaching. Here are 5 must to end of the year activities that can be adapted and modified to any grade level.
I can't believe this school year is almost over! I have only 5 days of school left, Friday is our last day. I will miss my kiddos dearly but am super excited to start my summer vacation. Next school year will bring so many changes for me~~new partner teacher (SUPER excited!!), best friend coming back to teach at my school (YAHOO!!), my baby girl is starting 8th grade at another school (BOO HOO!), and 3rd grade will switch classes next year (SCARED!!)!! I will need the summer to get ready for my 27+ new students next year. I love planning over the summer and will need this summer to prepare for switching classes. Switching won't be so bad, I will teach religion to 2 classes. I am really happy about not teaching science and social studies too!! I always have a hard time fitting these 2 subjects in on a daily basis. My students have been really busy these last 2 weeks doing my favorite all-time writing assignment~~~My Favorite Summer Vacation! I just love this writing and really LOVE how the finished essays turn out. Check them out below. You can click (HERE) to download the sunglasses template. You need to make 2 copies and tape them together. See below!! This year I decided to give out Candy Awards. I literally ran all over town looking for each type of candy. I even had my honey helping me (He was so cute going from store to store!)! I had the hardest time finding Lifesavers (Who would believe that?!). You can download your own set of Candy Awards from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits. I found these awards during the summer and have been saving them all year. Check them out below! I can't wait to share them with my students tomorrow!!! Here is just a taste of what the awards look like! They are precious!!!! Here is a fun project I did with my class last week. I found this idea on Pinterest and just HAD to try it with my class! Look at the pictures below and try to see the shape! I am in LOVE with this!!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Need end of the year activities? Don't worry, I've got you covered! My 20 End of the Year Activities pack includes indoor activities and games (with printables included), outdoor activities, STEM activities, and most importantly, fun stuff to keep your kids engaged on those last few weeks of school.
This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here. Is it that time already? End of the school year? Oh, my! Our kids have gone through so much already! Are you doing end of the year teacher and therapist appreciation gifts? You ... Read More
Check out this blog post all about how to get and create your very own student drawn dress! Students will love help creating this memorable gift! Keep scrolling for lots of great tips and ideas from fellow teachers.
The end of the school year is the perfect time to incorporate real world math and engaging activities. I love using projects to keep students focused the last few weeks of school. Below are some o…
How to create an end-of-day routine that leaves your room spotless, every time!
The BEST end of the year activities for the classroom and teachers. Plan the final days with arts & crafts, themed days, countdowns, gift and party ideas, games and outdoor activities, and more!
FUN End of the Year Art Projects- It's the end of the year-go out having FUN! I know how it goes at the end of the year-your tired, the kids are tired...EVERYONE is ready for summer break! Go out with a bang with these super fun end of the year art projects!
It's time for a fun end of year writing activity for students to reflect on their year of experiences while you start packing up your classroom.