End of Year School Closing Activities
Although most children and teachers look forward to summer break, they will miss seeing each other on a daily basis. Teachers can prepare several end of the school year activities to provide the kids with lasting memories of the school year they just completed. The activities will also give the children a chance to say goodbye to the teacher and fellow students.
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Autograph Book
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Give each child five sheets of paper. Instruct the students to fold the paper in half and staple in the middle to form an autograph book. Allow the students to decorate the front of their autograph books with markers, stickers and glitter. Once the front of the autograph book is complete, give the kids time to write in each other's books. Encourage the students to list fond memories they have of their friends in addition to signing the autograph book. Pictures can even be drawn if the students wish.
Stories of Reflection
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Review the past school year listing events, parties, fairs and competitions the class participated in. You may want to use a calendar and go through each month. When you have finished reminiscing, ask the students to write a short story about what their favorite class memory was and why. The students can complete this activity at home. Encourage students to include pictures or drawings with their stories. Gather the children together and have them share their stories with the rest of the class.
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Awards Ceremony
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Make a list of each of your students and their particular strengths. The strengths don't have to be academic. For example, one student may always show compassion toward students who are sick or unpopular while another is great at getting the kids in the class to laugh. Create an award for each child based on his strength. Conduct an awards ceremony on the last day of class and hand out the awards by calling each student up to the front of the classroom one at a time. You may even want to give out a treat with each award.
End of the Year Mural
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Roll out a piece of butcher paper across your desk. Have the children help you draw and color in a beach scene. Add boats or kids swimming in the ocean, and crabs and seashells lying along the shore line. Cut circles out of white construction paper to represent beach balls, and hand one out to each child. Tell the children to place their names on the beach balls and write one memory from the past year on the ball. Glue the balls to the beach scene. Label the end of year mural as either "4th Grade was a Ball," or "2010 to 2011 was a Ball." Replace with your grade level, or your school year.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit school image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
