By this time of the school year, kids are itching to get out of the classroom. Most can’t wait for summer to start! But, you might be running out of ideas to keep them focused. Using end of the school year activities that are easy and fun can keep your students entertained and help you fill the time before the school year is over. This blog post is filled with end of the school year activities that will keep your students engaged right up until the last day before summer vacation!
End of The School Year Activities With Purpose
Obviously, you still want activities that are educational and help your students practice important skills. The end of the school year is the perfect time for students to show off everything they have learned over the past year! That’s why I’ve created the End of the Year Activities bundle to give you plenty of ideas! Here are some of my favorite things to do with kindergarten, first, or second-grade students at the end of the school year:
Want to try part of the bundle before purchasing? No problem! Here is a section of the writing portion! Just click the image to download now!
Math
A big focus in these younger grades is helping students get used to numbers! A color by numbers page that helps students show off their addition and subtraction math skills is a great way to easily reinforce this idea. Then, using an answer key with different colors, students can create a summertime masterpiece!
Another fun idea for for the last days of school is having students solve a mystery message using addition and subtraction. Your students will love solving a summer-themed riddle, plus they get some extra math practice!
Writing
Using summer-themed writing prompts is the perfect way to get creative juices flowing and help students get excited about summer. Kids love to tell stories and talk about the fun things they have planned. Or, you could go another route and have students share their favorite memories from this year! Either way you will get some great creative writing out of your students and your whole class will get a chance to show off their writing skills one last time.
Another fun activity is creating a trifold “brochure” for new students next year. They can share the fun things students can look forward to, the class rules, and what they will learn. Then, you can share some of their examples with next year’s class!
Reading
The best way for students to prepare for the next school year is to keep practicing their newly-learned skills over the summer break. But sometimes the hardest part of reading is deciding what to read in the first place! End of the school year activities that focus on reading could include a summer reading list with book ideas for your students. You could even give out a prize to any students who bring the completed list back to you at the beginning of the next school year! Having a small reading context is an easy way to get students reading over the summer.
Reflection
Looking back on the past school year is important, and these end-of-school-year activities help students do exactly that! A simple “Countdown to Summer” worksheet can help students remember the most important things they learned and did over the past year. Or, you could have students create memory books so they can look back and remember all of the fun things they did! Plus, you can have a little fun and do a color by number activity!
Differentiation for End of The School Year Activities
In addition, it’s important to have differentiated activities for your students so they all have something fun and challenging. You could use more difficult math problems to challenge your students. Or when it comes to writing activities, you may have some students who write very little but add a picture to go with their prompt. However you need to differentiate, there are plenty of options so all of your students can have fun!
Finding Fun End of School Year Activities
When it comes to end of the school year activities, it’s important to keep it simple! That’s why I’ve put together all of the fun activities mentioned above into an awesome activity bundle. You won’t have to stress about coming up with ideas because they’re already done for you!
Plus, there are differentiated options in the bundle for Kindergarten, first, and second grade, as well as for students of different learning levels. There are so many fun end of the school year activities to keep your students occupied in those final weeks of school before summer!
If you liked this product, you may also like:
Read Aloud: Year Long Bundle
Back To School– Math and Literacy Centers
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