"My first year of teaching (5th grade) is quickly coming to a close! I have no doubts that the last few days will be incredibly insane. Any fun ideas that will take up a lot of time in those last few days?" JD0740
More ideas for making sure that the last day of school is less like babysitting and more like fun!
Assign Impromptu Speeches - Think of 20 quick speech topics and have the kids choose them from a jar. Give them just a few minutes to prepare mentally and then call them up for spur-of-the-moment speeches. Fun topics include "Convince us to buy the shirt you are wearing now" or "How would the school be different if you were principal?" Click here for a complete list of topics. The audience loves to watch and the speakers will love getting creative in front of the class.
Play Outdoor Games - Dust off that outdoor games book that you never had time to use this year and pick a few activities for the last day of school. A great choice is Guy Bailey's The Ultimate Playground and Recess Game Book. The kids will be antsy anyways so you might as well put their energy and excitement to good use.
Organize Learning Game Centers - The children won't even realize they're learning. Pool together all of the educational games in your classroom. Split the class into small groups and designate centers in the room for each game. Set the timer and give each group a certain amount of time with each game. Give the signal and then the groups rotate around the room so everyone gets a chance to play all of the games.
Focus on Next Year - Give the kids time to write, draw, or discuss how things will be different in the next grade level. For example, third graders will love to imagine what they will learn, look like, act like, and feel like when they are finally in the world of fourth grade! It's only a year but to them it seems a universe away!
Hold a Spelling Bee - Hold a traditional Spelling Bee using all of the spelling words from the whole school year. This one can take quite awhile, but it's certainly educational!
Go Back to Back - Use a safety pin to attach a large index card or thicker piece of paper to each child's back. Then, the kids go around and write nice comments and memories on each other's backs. When you're all done, each child gets to keep his or her note with compliments and fun times written on it. Teachers, you can jump in, too! You just might have to bend down so that they can reach your back!
Write Thank You Notes - Teach your children to recognize and appreciate those individuals who helped make them successful this school year - the principal, secretary, food service workers, librarian, parent volunteers, even the teacher next door! This may be a good project to start a few days before the last day of school, so that you can really do it right.
I hope this collection of ideas sets you on the right track for a memorable and productive final day of school. What do you usually do on the last day of school? Let's share ideas on our Elementary Educators Message Board.
