Menu
3 Easy Tips For Your Best End Of The School Year, 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 can feel like you are just trying to survive until the end. However, the end of the school year can be a great time if you have the right mindset. Here are some tips to make the BEST of that last bit of time you have with your students and make some great memories!
Here are my 3 EASY tips to make this end of the year your best end of the school year yet!
1. Integrate the arts into 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, it is the time to focus on some of the science and social studies curriculum 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. My personal favorite way to do this is to integrate the arts into the curriculum! You can find a way to do this for any science or social studies curriculum. Here are just a couple of examples to get you thinking!
Have some dinosaur curriculum you haven’t covered? Teach the students about dinosaur fossils and have them create their own salt dough fossils! You can even turn it into a student-led research project with my Dinosaur Research Unit
You can also use the same salt dough recipe to make salt dough maps of counties, states, and countries if they are a part of your social studies requirements. (I have been meaning to get to those posts, but haven’t just yet!)
What about the solar system? You can use the final activity from my Solar System Research Unit have your students make paper mache planets and put them in the order they are found in the solar system. While this activity is messy, it is SO 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. Integrate 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!
2. 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 myself to avoid calling in sick at all lengths possible. But sometimes, you really NEED to.
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 have to do is print 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!
3. End of the School Year Memories and Treats
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.
- Primary Writing Lines: Perfect for Pre-K to Kindergarten
- Double Spaced: Perfect for 1st-3rd Grades
- Single Spaced: Perfect for 3rd-5th grades
Everyone appreciates a treat! Send your students off at the end of the school year with End of the Year Punny Cards. It will definitely bring a smile to their faces, which is exactly how you want to finish the year!
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. Read this blog post, The Ultimate Summer Reading Strategies, about the different reading strategies the challenge incorporates
Get your Summer Reading Challenge or grab Summer Learning packets to send home with your students or use with your own kids!
I hope you have lots of fun making this year the BEST END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR EVER!
Hey there, new teacher bestie! I’m Kelsey, and I created Wife Teacher Mommy just for YOU! I blog about teaching and create emergency sub planning resources to make your life easier. Be sure to sign up for my FREE sub plans here!
Then, follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook community to stay connected. I can’t wait to connect with you!
Let's Connect
Sign Up for Teacher Freebies!
Subscribe to get access to my FREE sub plans, sub binder forms & more! You’ll also get blog updates, subscriber deals, and more via email. You also agree to our privacy policy.
Search
59 Responses
I love integrating arts learning too – love the ideas you shared! I haven't done salt dough in a long time, it might be time to break that out again. 🙂
Great ideas! I am going to do the salt dough dinosaur fossils for sure!
Love your sub plans! You're so awesome!!!
Agree! Amazing how this is going to help us out big time!
The salt dough dinosaur fossils sound like an awesome project- will definitely be incorporating those!
Thank you for participating in the hop!
Cait's Cool School
Love all of your ideas…and you're right! Take a day & don't feel guilty, we deserve that! Thanks for such great ideas!
Love these ideas. They are great for the classroom. 🙂
My students always love adding art to any content we are learning. The more hands-on the better!
Sugar Cube Learning
Really love your end of year goodie for the students – might have to try that!
The paper mache planets are beautiful!
Thanks so much! Integrating the arts is so fun.
Thanks, Jill!
You're awesome! Thank you! 🙂
Thanks, Caitlin! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Yes, it's so true! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you!
I love the favorite memory freebie. I’m going to be using that one for my last bulletin board. Thank you
I hope your students love it! Thanks for reading!
You have amazing ideas and I love your products! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you so much, Cheri!
I love using all of your resources! They are so low prep and easy to use. Thank you for all you do!
Thanks, Laura!
I like my favorite memory idea. I like to ask my students to write to my class next year.
Great ideas!
Love the ideas for the end of the year. It is the time they are over school but still have things to learn.
These are all great ideas that are super easy to implement. Such good info here!
Thank you for all of these ideas! I can’t wait to try them all!
Thanks, Krystal!
Great end of year ideas. Thanks
I absolutely love the idea of taking a mental health day. Sometimes a mental health day is all that you really need to get that energy to keep going. I know that I definitely struggle with taking sick days because I feel guilty, but I need to treat myself more. We do so much for those kiddos…we need to do stuff for us too! 🙂 Thanks for posting!
Yes! I have been the same way with the guilt. It’s taken me a long time to learn that we don’t need to feel guilty to take care of ourselves!
Great ideas reminded me of my activities in grade school.
Thanks, Yesenia!
I love all of the ideas and will be heading to TPT to reward all “My Smart Cookies” And my kiddos will love creating their favorite memories!
Thanks again!
Thanks so much, Michele!
I really like your sub plans and plan to purchase soon. I will be moving to 3rd grade next year (from 2nd) and need to build up my plans for the new grade. Thank you for the pre-made plans. It will save a lot of time.
I love these ideas! Definitely ones I’ll have to use in my classroom (:
I’m always looking for fun ways to integrate the arts into my curriculum – thanks for the awesome ideas.
Great ideas – the paper mache planets remind me of projects when I was in school! (many, many moons ago!) Thanks for the great ideas!
I focused on research the last few weeks of school but this post gave me new ideas to use next year for sure!
My kids loved a fun end of the year memory book that they got to color! Plus it gave them something to do when they had a little down time.
I can’t wait to use this, it’s always good to have something fun and memorable for the kids to do in order to commemorate the year shared together.
I love integrating art into other subjects. I love the idea of integrating the arts into social studies.
Great end-of-the-year suggestions & freebies!
Love doing hands on stuff at the end of the year 🙂
I love the dinosaur fossils activity that you posted. I definitely need to use this when I am teaching dinosaurs.
Taking a mental health day is a good way idea!
You have some amazing ideas that I hope to soon incorporate into my classroom.
Great ideas!
I love these 3 tips! I can’t wait to do more art integration!
I love these great tips!
Awesome ideas! I will have to revisit this towards the end of the next school year!
I love all the great ideas you shared. I really needed the organization advice and ideas! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Kelsey, everything you say and create rings true in my heart. You hit on everything I am trying to do better at and your style is perfect for me, even though I am 65 and you are still a youngster!
Enjoyed and looking forward to this
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the three great tips! I tend to forget to take mental days. I only did this year because my nephew was born and I planned days to stay with him but his mom didnt need my help anymore so I took 2 vandana days!!