I’m finally DONE! These last 10 days of school have seemed to drag on and yet fly by. Is that even possible?
Well,Mel over at Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations and some of my Freebielicious Friends are sharing all their fabulous End of the Year ideas, and I thought I would, at the very least, give you a snapshot of some of my last couple of days.
Every year, our entire school heads off for a day of fun and activities at one of our local camps (Michigan has a TON of summer camps by the way). Everyone that is EXCEPT the junior kindergarten and kindergarten classes. We take the opportunity to take over the school while everyone else is gone and hold our very own, just for little big kids, Kindergarten Field Day.
In years past it has been blistering hot, but this year proved to be just a tad bit on the nippy side when we started out. The weather did quickly get a warmer, and we were able to take off our sweatshirts and enjoy the sun.
We thankfully started this event a couple of years ago when our then PE teacher took it upon herself to create this day of fun just for the little kids. There are 13 events (we had about 110 kinders/jr. kinders) that rotate every 15 minutes or so. We divide the kids up into groups of about 8-9, and each group has an adult leader. That leader is given a handbook (laminated due to the fun water activities we have going on) that includes a map of the route and the spot where they will start.
Each activity has a description page that gives the leader instructions and what they will need. This makes things so much easier because we don’t need to have additional adults available to man stations. We just use each group leader. They get to their station and they know exactly what to do. When the 15 minutes are up, they look on their map and see the next spot they where they need to travel. Easy Peasy!
Of course, there are a ton of water activities just right for this age group.
Squirt guns are an absolute must. I love the noodle kind because they are easier to fill for this age group and, let’s face it, they go farther and get everyone more wet.
There are never enough opportunities in life to throw a water balloon so we make sure we have several 100 available for the day.
And no one throws a fit if they get wet…
Among the highlights of this year day was our first ever bouncy house and velcro wall station. What a blast. Our kids loved it and I have to admit…This is my son and I told him I was considering installing one for extreme ‘time out’ purposes. He was all for it.
Then yesterday, our very last day of school, in addition to our school’s awards day, I do a little awards day of my own. I absolutely LOVE Reagan’s Candy Bar Awards and I purchased them last year and they are super cute. They are such a fun way to recognize everyone in the class. Yes, it’s candy but ….come on… it’s the last day of school. You have to splurge a little bit with the sweats right?
And finally, yes, even on my very last day of school, I held a Golf Ball Word Champs party. It was last minute (my last little one passed the day before) and it was thrown together, but it sure was fun and I was happy to have gone out with a bang. My classroom is an absolute disaster. I didn’t have time to pack up or clean or do any of those things that are so desperately necessary to keep me from having to go back in to school….but I was able to make some amazing memories with my kinders those last couple of days. Because of that, it was all worth it.
So that was my end of the year in pictures.
If you want to check out more great End of the Year happenings and ideas, or add your own, link up below:
With nearly 20 years of experience as a full-time kindergarten teacher, I’m committed to creating a classroom where learning is joyful, engaging, challenging, and fun. Each day, I work to ensure that my students feel successful through instruction that considers their unique interests, learning profiles, and readiness levels. I believe that students should be excited to come to class and enjoy a myriad of hands-on activities that encourage exploration and discovery.
While I continue to teach full-time, I find so much joy in connecting and building friendships with teachers worldwide. It’s why I started this blog back in 2012. My hope has become a reality as I have been able to forge relationships with teachers, sharing ideas and building friendships beyond my little neck of the woods through professional development sessions and this blog.
So by all means, take some time to look around and explore A Differentiated Kindergarten. Gather some new ideas, fun tips, and most importantly, don’t forget to reach out and say, ‘Hi!’
Leave a Reply