Youโve made it through the bulk of the year, and the finish line is finally in sight โ cue the confetti (and maybe a nap)! But before you hit summer break mode, letโs talk about those last few weeks. You know, the ones where students are buzzing with energy and attention spans are MIA? I’ve got your back with fun, purposeful activities that will keep your kinder, first, and second grade learners engaged and help you finish strong. Letโs dive in!
Making the End of the Year Fun for Everyone
We all know that this time of year is known for being a little chaotic. There’s much more than usual on our teacher to-do list, and the children tend to be a little more distracted in anticipation of summer break. This can be a recipe for major stress if you’re not prepared! I think we can all agree that we’d rather not completely burn out in those final weeks and then spend the summer trying to recover, right?
While much of the busyness that comes with this time of year simply can’t be avoided, I’ve found that having a positive outlook and a solid lesson plan truly helps to calm the chaos. This isn’t the time of year to wing it. Oh no! Instead, arm yourself with fun and engaging end-of-the-year activities that embrace a summer theme! It’s also a good idea to choose things that are easy to prep and will keep everyone on task. Trust me, friends, this will ensure that the students have fun and you keep your sanity intact. So, let’s end the year on a happy note and actually enjoy this time with our kids!
Summer Activities for Skills Practice
What goes hand-in-hand with the end of the year? Review! We don’t want our students to forget everything they’ve learned throughout the school year over the summer, and, by this point in the year, we typically aren’t teaching a ton of new material. That means those final weeks in the classroom should have some solid time built in for review. Luckily, this also means that you can have students work independently and free up some of your time to pull kiddos aside for assessment, finish grading, and other end of the year tasks that need to be tackled.
The key to choosing review activities for the end of the year is to focus on things that produce high engagement. I think you’ll notice that this is the name of the game for this time of year. Our kiddos are likely to tune out otherwise.
One of my favorite summer activities to use for reviewing a variety of skills is Mystery Pictures. This set has a summer theme that’s perfect for this time of year. The best part? You can use them for ANY SKILL! Yes, really! All you need to do is follow the directions to fill the pages with any skill you’d like to focus on. Some options include:
- sight words
- word families
- numbers
- math facts
- vocabulary and more!
The editable features also mean these pages are easy to differentiate. If you have students working at different levels, you can easily ensure that everyone has an assignment aligned to their skill level. These come in handy for morning work, instant center options, desk work, and even if you plan to make summer review packets for your students.
Shark Subtraction Center
Are your students practicing single-digit subtraction? If so, I’ve got a summer math activity that I know they’ll love! This Shark Subtraction Center is a fun, interactive way for kids to practice single-digit subtraction. Included, you will find 12 subtraction cards with pictures and equations to help students practice. They choose a card and work through the equation to solve the problem.
I like to laminate these cards so that students can use a dry-erase marker to cross off the number of pictures being subtracted, or eaten by the shark! They can even use small ocean erasers as counters for extra support. There is a recording sheet, so students can write down the problems and their answers as they work. This is a great way to get them comfortable with basic equations. Try weaving this activity into your center time to practice single-digit subtraction before summer break!
Make Time for Movement in Your Summer Activities
This next idea is one that made a huge difference in my classroom. As we already know, the kids are excited for what’s to come! They might be planning summer vacations with their families, have a fun camp they are looking forward to, or are simply excited to play in warm weather. This means you might notice a bit more wiggles than usual in your classroom. Rather than fighting it, embrace it!
If you’re not already taking brain breaks to sing and dance, consider adding them to your routine. It doesn’t have to take a long time, and it makes a big impact on student behavior and focus.
On YouTube, you can find SO many fun movement videos, songs, and brain breaks. This free resource is a major classroom asset. Just be sure to preview videos for appropriate content first! Here are a few that I found after a quick search:
These are just a few of the many options out there, so be sure to head on over and take a look! I like to bookmark our favorites or make a playlist on YouTube, so that I can keep track of the songs that were a hit. Then, when I notice that students need a break from learning, we can easily take a breather together.
Summer Activities for Fine Motor Practice
You can’t ever go wrong with fine motor practice in the primary classroom. This is something we work on all year, and I’m always up for some extra practice options. This Summer Scissor Skills resource is one of my favorite ways to target fine motor skills in a fun way. This isn’t your average scissors skills packet, though. Inside, you will find:
- worksheets for straight and curved lines
- activities for cutting out shapes
- simple, straight line cutting crafts
- 4 additional crafts with a summer theme (shark, sandcastle, and more!)
The idea behind this resource is that you’ll have everything you need to focus on scissor skills. Use the worksheets as a low-prep morning bin option by simply printing off the pages and providing students with scissors. For center time, have students work on the straight line crafts or shape cutting pages independently. And for a fun summer-themed group activity, choose one of the themed crafts to work on. These activities make it simple and easy to weave scissor skills into your day, even during the busyness of the end of the year!
And. . . you can easily add a writing prompt to any of the craft activities. Have students write to a title, like “My Sandcastle Adventure,” or give them a story starter, like “I was sitting at the park when all of a sudden a popsicle ran past me.” You can even use the finished writing activity and craft to create a great end of the year bulletin board.
Summer Writing Activities
I absolutely love teaching writing in the primary classroom. It’s so much fun to watch students make progress over time! By the end of the year, I can usually count on the kids being more independent with writing, which means we can use some fun summer-themed writing activities during centers and desk work time. The biggest hit in my room is these Draw and Write Summer Pages. This resource includes 15 different pages that come in 4 differentiated options.
The idea is that students will follow the directions to learn how to draw a fun summer picture. There are pages with summer animals like crabs and starfish, as well as summer treats such as watermelon and lemonade. Then, students will write about their drawing by writing words or sentences depending on their skill level. I’ve even included print and cursive handwriting pages too! These include a sentence related to the picture for students to trace and then space below for them to write the sentence independently. These summer directed drawing activities are perfect for morning work, a center activity, or to add to your early finisher area.
Summer Picture Prompts
Another fun summer writing activity we use in my room frequently are picture writing prompts. These allow for maximum creativity and are always a big hit among my students! These pages are simple and easy to use. Students will look at the picture on their page and write a story to go along with it. The pictures feature summer holidays and themed scenes to inspire writing. I love seeing what the kids come up with! Some of the pages include blank space so students can add to the picture to make it their own.
I also find that these writing pages make the perfect summer learning packet! Just print the pages, staple them together, and hand them out on the last day of school. Encourage students to work through the packet on their time off. They can skip around and write the pages in whatever order they like to coincide with things they’ve done over the summer. After writing, students will love coloring the pictures and even adding to the scenes!
Celebrate with Students
Before school lets out for summer, I always like to spend a little time celebrating with my classroom. We have all worked hard throughout the year, and that’s something to cheer about! There are so many wonderful ways to recognize your kiddos, but one of my favorites is by handing out personalized certificates of achievement.
Awards and Certificates
This set uses an Eric Carle theme and has tons of great options, including diplomas, certificates of award, certificates of completion, perfect attendance awards, and more! I’ve included many different designs in the resource, so I know you’ll be able to find something that suits everyone in your class!
Consider planning to hand them out personally in an “awards ceremony” format. You can call students up one at a time and take their photo holding their award. Then, order prints of the photos and mail them out to students for an extra special touch. Your kids will LOVE hearing from you over the summer and feel so special to receive their photo in the mail.
End of the Year Display that Celebrates Students
There’s nothing quite like seeing yourself on display to make students feel special. That’s why I love creating an end of the year bulletin board or hallway display. And this one is just adorable!
All you need to add is your students’ pictures, and you can turn them into little graduates! This can be a display that is made for the students by you or parent volunteers, or you can have students create their own graduate as a class craft activity. Either way, you will have a great display to celebrate your students and all of their hard work.
More Summer Activities Your Students Will Love
When it comes to making the end of the year special, I think it’s important to remember that it’s not always about cramming in review and learning activities. These are essential, of course, but they’re also not the end-all-be-all. We won’t get this time back with our kids, so I always recommend planning some just-for-fun activities too.
Just for Fun Summer Activities
- Virtual Field Trips – Consider spending an afternoon going to Disney! We did this once in my room and even made cute Mouse-Ear hats to wear while we watched videos of fun rides and activities at the park. This is a fun playlist that takes students along on some of the attractions.
- Bubble Day – I’m sure you’ve heard of bubble day, but it’s still worth mentioning! This is a day of fun where you and your students get to blow bubbles and play outside. You can find tons of cool wands and things to use for this special day at the dollar store. Trust me, this one will be a hit!
- “Cooking” Activity – Classroom cooking is so much fun, but we often don’t have time for it during the school year. Use the end of the year to make a fun recipe together! Here are some no-cook recipes that are the perfect addition to your fun summer activities!
- Class Picnic – Every year, I like to have students bring their lunches outside for a group picnic. We go through the line for students who are purchasing lunch, and kiddos who pack wait alongside. Then, we head out to a grassy area and eat as a group. I bring my lunch too! This is a fun opportunity to bond with your students and chat about their summer plans before school is out.
- Popsicle Party – Popsicles scream summer, so why not purchase a package to share with your students on a Friday afternoon? You can make this a special reward that they work towards, or a totally random surprise. Either way, it’s sure to be a hit!
Weave These Summer Activities into Your End of the Year Fun
I hope you can try some of these fun ideas in your own classroom. I promise that while it’s a busy time of year, it can be fun too! Remember to focus on activities that produce high engagement in your room and lean into those low-prep wonders! You can find all of the fun summer activities mentioned in this post in my TPT Shop. Have fun celebrating a great school year with your students!
Looking for More End of the Year Ideas?
Make sure to check out this post, 7 Tips for a Stress-Free End of the School Year, to learn some practical ways to make this chaotic time a little easier!
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