Dr. Jean's May 2014 Activities

Special Days!

Make the last few days “sweet” ones to remember with lots of special days.  You might want to celebrate “Wonderful Wednesdays” the last month of the school year or plan a little celebration every day the last week of school.  What many adults forget is that children are happy with “plain vanilla.”  Wearing a silly hat or a shirt from a favorite sports team can be as much fun as a fancy ball!

Sports Day – Enjoy the warm weather with a “Sports Day.”  Children can wear t-shirts and hats from their favorite teams.  Let them bring sports equipment to share with friends on the playground.

Book Party – Encourage children to dress up like their favorite book character.  Play “Guess Who I Am?” or have children describe why they like a particular character.  Let them bring favorite reading material (books, magazines) from home and sit or lay wherever they want for independent reading.

Talent Show - One of my favorite memories is of a Talent Show we had at the end of the school year.  I just invited all the children to think of a “talent” (song, dance, story, gymnastic stunt) they could do.  We sat in a circle and they all got up and performed!  We clapped and laughed and cheered!

Board Game Day – Let children bring board games from home.  Set aside the last hour in the day to share games and play with friends.

Pajama Party – Have children wear pajamas and bring pillows and stuffed animals to class.  Read books, watch a movie, and eat popcorn.

Career Day – Children come dressed for the career they’d like when they grow up.  After sharing with friends, have each child draw a picture (or take a photograph) and make a class book.

Unbirthday Party – How about a birthday party when it’s everyone’s “unbirthday”?   Play party games, sing, and decorate cupcakes.  (This is also a great way to celebrate all those summer birthdays.)

Beach Party – Bring beach towels and wear sunglasses, shorts, and bathing suits.  Set up sprinklers or other water activities on the playground.  Play beach ball games, beach music, and have a “cool” snack like popsicles. 

Teddy Bear Parade – Children bring in a teddy bear or stuffed animal and parade around the classroom.  Have them write stories and draw pictures of what they like to do with their bear.  Have a “tea party” with your bears.

Hat Day – Ask children to wear their favorite hat to school, or challenge them to design a hat from a paper plate and art scraps.

Luau – Make grass skirts from draw string garbage bags.  Cut straws in 1” pieces and alternate stringing with paper flowers on dental floss to create a lei.  Hula, surf, and eat pineapple fruit kabobs for snack.

Toy Day – Children bring a favorite toy from home and share with their friends.

Wash Day – Wear old clothes and bring sponges, pails, and squirt bottles.  Let children wash tables, desks, toys, etc.  (You could tie this in with a water play day.)

Sock Hop – Children get to wear silly socks to school and have a dance at the end of the day.

•Teach the children the “Twist,” “Charleston,” “Jitterbug,” “Swim,” “Pony,” or other dances from your past.

Teacher of the Day – Assign one child each day the last month of school to be “Teacher of the Day.”  That child gets to sit in your desk and be in charge of circle time.  They can choose a book to read to the class, a song to sing, game to play, and so forth.

Library Card – What better gift can you give your students at the end of the year than a library card?  Take a field trip to your local library or ask the children’s librarian to visit your school and describe all their summer reading activities.

Summer Reading List – It’s easy to do an internet search and find a suggested reading list for your grade level.  Parents would probably appreciate this when helping their child choose books to read over the summer.

Postcards – Cut cardstock the size of a postcard.  Let children decorate one side with markers or crayons.  On the reverse side draw a line down the middle.  Have the children write the teacher’s name on one half.  Explain that if they send you the postcard over the summer and write you a note that you will write back to them.

•You could also give the children a pre-stamped envelope addressed to you. Whenever they write you, you will write them back.

Ten Things – Have each child make a list of ten things they would like to do over the summer.  (Younger children could dictate five things they would like to do.) 

•Send these home in your “end of year” letter to parents.
•Fold these up like paper airplanes and send them flying on the playground.

Candy Bar Wrappers  - If you go to alenkasprintables.com/wrappers you can design your own candy wrapper to give your students at the end of the year.  (This site is free.)

Candy Bar Awards -  There are some clever ideas for awards you can give volunteers or school helpers at the end of the year.  (Do a search of “candy bar awards” and you’ll be amazed!)  Here are a few examples:

Kudos Bar – “Kudos to you!”
Snickers – “Nuts about you!”
100 Grand – “A million thanks for all you did!”
M & M’s – “You’re marvelous and magnificent.”
Mint – “You ‘mint’ the world to us.”
Hershey’s Kisses – and Hugs, too!
Lifesavers – “You were a lifesaver this year!”

Art Show – Provide children with paints, markers, and other art media and let each of them create something special.  Encourage your students to think of a title for their pictures.  Mat and frame the artwork and set up an attractive display in your classroom.  Prepare snacks and invite families to enjoy their children’s creations.

•Display the artwork in a local library, restaurant, hospital, etc.

Hint!  You could ask for donations if parents want to purchase the pictures.  Use the money for a local charity or to buy new equipment for your school.