5 TIPS FOR YOUR BEST END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND ELEMENTARY GRADUATION CEREMONY, YET!

The end of the school year is a time to do some of the things we haven’t had time to do during the rest of the busy year! Testing is over, and you have just a little bit longer with your group of students until the summer.

At times, the last few weeks of the school year can feel like you are just trying to survive until the end. You can make the end of the school year a lot of fun by incorporating fun science and social studies activities, preparing your class for an elementary graduation ceremony, or giving yourself a mental health day! 

Here are my tips to make the most of that last bit of time you have with your students and make some great memories!

Host an End of the School Year Elementary Graduation Ceremony

Celebrate your students’ accomplishments with an elementary graduation ceremony. Do it! 

Your kids have worked so hard and are about to embark on a new adventure that could be a new grade, class, or school. Help them celebrate all of their growth during elementary school! 

How do you prep for an elementary graduation ceremony?

Follow this checklist to make sure that you are prepared for your elementary class graduation: 

• Begin by planning a program that includes speeches, performances, and possibly an interactive element, such as an online group video creation. Using platforms like Memento could allow the students to collaboratively curate a video, showcasing highlights of their year. This could serve as a memento of their time in elementary school and as a special feature of the graduation ceremony.
• Invite attendees
• Prepare student awards
• Prepare diplomas
• Get caps and gowns 
• Decorate your classroom or auditorium with banners, balloons, and table decor 

Everyone appreciates a gift! Send your students off with an elementary graduation gift. You can use our End of the Year Punny Cards and attach the cards to a class t-shirt, a bouquet of school supplies for next year, or a treat bag. A little thoughtful gift can go a long way toward bringing a smile to their faces, which is exactly how you want to finish the year!

Let us do a lot of the hard work for you with our Elementary Graduation Ceremony Party Pack!

Take a “mental health” day

Seriously. I’m not kidding. DO IT. And do NOT feel one bit guilty about it. 80% of teachers do not use all of their sick days because they feel guilty about it. (Okay, I made that up. But it’s probably at least that much!) I have always been the type to avoid calling in sick at all costs. But sometimes, you really NEED to.

The end of the school year can be rough, you deserve time to take care of yourself. You have sick days for a reason… to be used. A burned-out teacher is NOT a healthy and happy teacher. It’s perfectly fine to take a day to rejuvenate and come back refreshed, so you can feel better. This will make you a better teacher for your students! So at the end of the school year take a day to relax and recover from the stress, and come back ready to have some FUN with your students before the summer (and possibly take on some of the fun art projects mentioned above!)

To help ease your stress a little in taking your “mental health day” before the summer begins, I have a free set of sub-plan mini-lessons that are ready to go! All you have to do is print them and leave them for your sub.

Need more help with emergency sub planning? Check out our Comprehensive Guide to Emergency Sub Plans here. Having trouble finding a sub? We know that the sub situation has been challenging this past year, so be sure to check out how to help subs prioritize YOUR classroom!

Integrate the arts into your science and social studies curriculum

You’ve been busy for the last few months cramming for all the math and ELA assessments, I’m sure! Now that the end of the school year is here, use the time to focus on some of the science and social studies curricula that you may have missed from your state’s core for your grade level during your busy cramming sessions. But this shouldn’t be something to stress about- this is the FUN stuff!

I absolutely LOVE teaching science and social studies because they are subjects that are so easy to turn into fun and hands-on learning. I have a full blog post about ideas on how to integrate art into other subjects but here are just a couple of examples to get you thinking!

Make something out of salt dough

Hands-on activities are so fun at the end of the school year! Your kids will enjoy them so much that they won’t get bored, thus not having time to look for trouble. 

Seriously, what kids don’t love learning about dinosaurs? If you have some dinosaur curriculum that you haven’t covered yet, teach your students about dinosaurs and have them create their own salt dough fossils! You can use my full Dinosaur Research Unit to do a student-led research project that incorporates writing, reading, art, and science!

You can also use the same salt dough recipe to make many different things! If you are studying states or countries, make a map. Studying geographic features? Mold mountains, valleys, or oceans. Studying architecture? Have your students use the salt dough to build a famous building. There are so many possibilities for things that students can create using this salt dough recipe:

• 1 cup salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup water

This will make enough for about 2 students, so you will need to make quite a bit more for a full class of kids!

Get a little messy and be creative!

Try your hand at paper mache

What about the solar system? You can use the final activity from my Solar System Research Unit to have your students make paper mache planets and put them in the order they are found in the solar system. While this activity is also kind of messy, it is fun, fun and the students absolutely love it!

Use your creativity and come up with a new twist on teaching these fun subjects rather than just following what you have done over the years. Integrating the arts into your curriculum is hands-on learning, so it will be more engaging and memorable for your students. It will give you all something fun to do while you are counting down the days until summer!

Have students create end-of-the-year awards for each other

As a final send-off to your class, help bring your students together with an end-of-the-year award and a secret student writing unit. Secretly assign students in your class to write kind letters for one another and create an end-of-the-year award. 

Your students will love writing to each other and will be so excited to see what their fellow students award them! 

Remember this year by having students write down their classroom memories

Commemorate the highlights of the school year by having your students write a class newspaper. They can each write an article about their favorite things that happened. Include different sections such as big events, field trips, assemblies, class projects, or sporting events. It is also fun to include viral things that happened during the school year. 

Print a copy to give to each student as a treasured gift that will help them remember your class! 

Or finish up the year with a fun (and free!) writing activity. Have your students reflect back on the year and write about their favorite things. This End of the Year Memory is perfect for your students to write about their favorite memory from the school year. Three versions are included for a variety of age levels.

Bonus: Help your students avoid the “Summer Slide”

Now that you have reached the end of the school year, set your students up for success next year by encouraging them and their families to keep learning all summer. Start summer learning in May by kicking off my Summer Reading Challenge.

Get your Summer Reading Challenge or grab Summer Learning packets to send home with your students or use with your own kids!