100 Fun End of the School Year Activities Your Students Will Love

It’s officially spring, which means most teachers are heading into the end of the school year! Cue the confetti and dust off those sunglasses – summer is nearly here, which means it’s time to celebrate.

But, we still need to keep these kiddos engaged and challenged. So, if you’re looking for some fun ideas to stay motivated, here is a giant list of FUN end of the school year activities you can use over these last few weeks!

Academic End of the School Year Activities:

1. Ask students to draw or write what they are most proud of achieving this year.
2. Create a class timeline of events from the year. Bonus if you can add photos from various events!
3. Create a class memory book. Each student could create a page, then compile it.
4. Conduct a mock election or debate on one topic you discussed during the year.
5. Have students create a poem, presentation, or visual depiction of their favorite topic from the year.
6. Create a book scavenger hunt using the curriculum and books you’ve used as a class.
7. Host an end-of-year fair showcasing students’ best work from the entire year.
8. Have students write or draw a reflection on their personal growth throughout the year.
9. Ask students to write thank you notes to other teachers they’ve worked with during the year. Bonus if you hand-deliver them as a class!
10. Create a quiz game to review what they’ve learned all year.

Creative Activities

11. Create a collaborative piece of art the class could donate to the school.
12. Create and illustrate letters to the upcoming class about what they will experience.
13. Have a trivia afternoon with all students bringing several trivia questions to share.
14. Create a class time capsule to leave for classes to come.
15. Host a talent show or showcase student performances.
16. Have students create and perform their own plays.
17. Create a class newspaper recapping the events of the year with a journalistic twist.
18. Read books to a younger class.
19. Have a class movie day and enjoy a documentary about a topic learned throughout the year.
20. Create a class cookbook.

Physical Activities

21. Plan an outdoor games day. Or, simply take your classwork outside for the morning!
22. Head to the gym and have a dance class.
23. Go to a local park for a clean-up day. Use it to double as a science lesson about pollution!
24. Go out to the school playground and do an obstacle course.
25. Host a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt in your classroom. 
26. Host a picnic for families to come to a local park. It’s a fun way to get kids interacting outside of school and makes a really special end of the school year activity.
27. Go on a nature walk, then classify the objects you find.
28. Have a field trip to a local park or nature reserve.
29. Do a yoga or stretching session in your classroom!
30. Work on a team-building exercise as a class.

Social Activities

31. Plan a ‘snack day’ where each student brings in a favorite treat to share. Be sure to specify what is not allowed based on allergies or other restrictions.
32. Hold a class awards ceremony.
33. Have students switch chairs for the day to sit next to someone they might not spend much time with!
34. Bring in games and have a fun game afternoon. You can choose games to support academic skills… and maybe also some that are just for fun!
35. Set up a photo booth and take silly pictures together. Then, send digital copies to parents so students can remember their friends all summer.
36. Assign students the name of someone in their classroom. Ask them to write or draw something positive about the person they received. 
37. Host a karaoke event!
38. Invite parents to come in for the day and share what they do for work.
39. Invite community members to come into your classroom to share about summer opportunities for students.
40. Conduct a cultural exchange or pen pal program with another class.

Service Activities

41. Plan a community service project or volunteer day.
42. Conduct a fundraising event for the school or a local charity.
43. Host a food or clothing donation drive for a local organization.
44. Create summer care packages for a local shelter or nursing home.
45. Collect pet food or supplies for the local animal shelter.
46. Host a clean-up day around the school.
47. Plant a school garden that can be used for years to come.
48. Create thank-you notes for classroom volunteers that served during the year.
49. Ask for book donations, then donate to a local library or a lending library.
50. Clean the classroom and ask students to leave a note inside their desks for the student that will come next year.

STEM Activities

51. Create a digital photo album showing photos from the year. Ask parents or volunteers to contribute any they have from school events.
52. Go on a digital scavenger hunt or escape room.
53. Have students create and share a class podcast on topics they find interesting.
54. Go on a virtual field trip to a place far away!
55. Host a Minecraft or Lego virtual building challenge.
56. Use Google Maps to explore your local area, then make a summer bucket list of activities.
57. Host an engineering day! Students build their own structures with materials like gummies, toothpicks, and foam cups… the sky is the limit!
58. Have students create and publish their own blogs.
59. Have a science afternoon where you work through several different experiments. Bonus if they are messy, so you take this outside for a fun day!
60. Create and share digital art or graphics.

End-of-Year Theme Day Ideas

61. “Decades Day” = students dress up from different eras
62. “Outdoor Adventure Day” = go do a local hike, explore a local park, or even just have a picnic
63. “Crazy Hair Day” = go crazy and wacky for the day!
64. “Famous People Day” = students dress up like a famous person
65. “Book Swap Day” = students bring in their favorite book to trade during the day
66. “Compliment Day” = students give compliments to each other all day and then enjoy a sweet treat for being so “sweet”
67. “Puzzle Day” = spend the day doing puzzles and listening to music
68. “Garden Day” = plant some flowers, then have snacks
69. “Spelling Bee Day” = practice all the spelling words they’ve learned throughout the year
70. “Invention Day” = students create and then showcase a unique invention

Class Party Ideas

71. Pajama party! It wouldn’t be complete without snacks, comfy clothes, and a movie.
72. Game day party! Students dress as their favorite sports team or athlete. You could also play some fun music from various types of sporting events and host competitions.
73. Lego building party! Be sure to include various challenges and prizes.
74. A Superhero party…. with costumes totally allowed 🙂
75. Beach day party! Everyone brings a beach towel and enjoys themed snacks and ‘fun in the sun’ music
76. Olympics party that includes various challenges and medal prizes! You could also replay some famous Olympic moments.
77. Carnival party with ice cream, popcorn, and carnival-style games
78. Art party where you create various styles of art and read books about famous artists
79. Space party, paired with books about space missions, a robotics challenge, and space-themed snacks.
80. International day party with a sampling of food, traditions, and cultural elements from various countries. 

Fun Websites & Stand-Alone Activities

81. Scratch – a fun website offered through MIT  that helps students learn to code
82. Duolingo – this is a great website for language learning and is extremely engaging
83. Prodigy Math Game – perfect for sharpening those math skills, this is a fun way to practice
84. FunBrain – this has a great collection of videos across a wide variety of topics
85. Storyline Online – this fantastic website is full of famous authors reading books aloud to kids! This is also a great tool to include for summer reading!
86. LEGO Kids – if your students like LEGO, let them explore the LEGO Kids site! So much fun stuff to do!
87. National Geographic Kids – if you want to dig into nature, this is the best place to start
88. Khan Academy Kids – this free website is full of activities, games, and material you can use in so many ways
89. ReadWorks – perfect for reading comprehension, this website has a treasure trove of material
90. PBS Learning Media – where would any of us be without PBS? As always, this tried-and-true resource has a wealth of material you can use
91. BrainPop Jr – if you want something fun and educational, BrainPop is a fun way to practice skills and keep kids engaged

STEM

92. NOVA – Learn about science and tech with this amazing website created by PBS.
93. CoolMathGames – this classic is a great website to pull out before summer! Have your students build their lemonade stands and see what entrepreneurship could include.
94. Sci Show Kids – This is a fun, kid-friendly YouTube channel with tons of great science videos! These are geared towards younger ages, but your older students could also enjoy them!
95. Mark Rober – for the older students, check out Mark Rober’s YouTube channel! He’s a former engineer for both Apple and NASA… he helped build the Curiosity Rover on Mars! His channel is full of fun engineering videos!
96. NASA Kids Club – have students that LOVE space? Check out NASA’s Kids Club!

Printables, Puzzles, Books, and Crafts

97. TeachersPayTeachers – you can find so many free resources on TPT! Including a whole bunch that I have created! No need to spend anything and you can download resources instantly.
98. Education.com – this site is packed with free worksheets and practice activities for a wide variety of skills
99. PuzzlesToPrint – I recommend this site a lot, and for good reason! Lots of fun, easy-to-print puzzles when you just need something fast.
100. The Crafty Classroom – if you want arts and crafts ideas, this website is full of amazing ideas! Many even go along with books, so you could easily pair these with a fun read-aloud.

I hope this list helps you plan for your own end of the school year activities! Enjoy these last few weeks.