You have spent the last 180 days learning with students and making amazing memories with them! When the last week of school comes, you want to make sure to celebrate all of the milestones and memories that took place! While you’re celebrating these milestones and memories, it’s a great opportunity to make one more memory with those students before they move onto the next step. I have had some incredible teacher friends help me make my last week of school not only memorable but simple. How? With these four activities for the last week of school.
#1: ABC Countdown
This activity goes beyond the last week of school by a few days. To do the ABC Countdown, you’re going to start 26 days before the last day of school. Then everyday you’re going to have a fun theme or activity. You can start at the beginning of the alphabet and go from A to Z. But, sometimes I like to go backwards just for fun.
These theme days can be something that correlates with the letter but it doesn’t have to. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel either. You can pull out center activities that are not holiday themed or some that are holiday themed for a special game. You can even use the reading and math games that you have used in the past. Greg, the original teacher who made this activity also has a fantastic blueprint that you can follow to keep it stinkin’ simple!
#2 Create An End of the Year Memory Book
One of my great friends, Kristin, at Easy Teaching Tools is the source for this fantastic activity for the last week of school. With her ready-to-go pages, you have more than you can imagine to choose from. This ensures you can tailor your memory book to your classroom. You don’t have to do every page; however, because there are so many to choose from and they are so fantastic, you might want to try! Once all of the pages you want students to create are done, you can simply follow her directions to make a fun cover for your students’ memory books.
You can complete this memory book during writing time, during literacy centers, or as a bellringer or morning motivator. You can even start it at the beginning of the year and finish as an activity for the last week of school. However you choose to get the book done, it is sure to be something students will love. Being able to go back and remember all of the great memories made in your classroom is the perfect activity for the last week of school!
#3 Visit the Park!
Going to the park is like a mini field trip for you and your students to go on before you go your separate ways! As long as your school and your parents are ok with it, you can take your students to the park for a picnic and a day of fun! Round up your parent volunteers for one last trip and take that time to appreciate them.
At your park day, you can organize some fun relay races, have a special snack, or even bring a sack lunch. If there isn’t a park within walking distance, don’t let that stop you! Activities for the last week of school can always be modified to fit your needs! Instead, go to your playground which has some advantages as well. If there is bad weather, you can always move the fun inside and have a picnic in your classroom.
#4 Make Packing Fun
One of my least favorite activities at the end of the school year is getting everything packed up. While this is part of the job, you can always have students help out which they love to do anyways! Of course there are some things they won’t be able to help with. However, you can have students get into teams and complete challenges. From organizing cabinets to testing all the markers to see which ones work or even packing up boxes, you’ll be able to get your classroom organized faster.
To make this fun, put on fun music, add a timer, and make it a game! The activities for the last week of school are supposed to be fun, but they can also be productive! Make your life a lot simpler by getting help from the best helpers around.
While all of these activities for the last week of school are fantastic, you also want to make sure you are taking time to reflect on the year you’ve had together. As with every year, you’ve had your ups and your downs. It’s important to remember the ups and celebrate the milestones that you and your students have reached this year. Goodbyes are always hard, but having activities for the last week of school can make them a little easier.
Until Next Time…
Keep Being Educational Rock Stars
