It’s hard to believe that the summer break is just right around the corner for many of us! It’s been a wonderful year of learning and growing, and the best way to end it is with celebrations and lots of fun!
I’ve scoured the blogsphere and brainstormed some fun ideas to help you countdown to the last days of school with your students! I call it the 12 Days Until Summer Countdown! 🙂
(Click to the above image to download a copy of my 12 Days Until Summer Countdown Chain.)
Day 12- Make a pop-up card for staff members in your school. Secretaries, janitors, and paraprofessionals, and cafeteria workers work tirelessly all year to help schools run smoothly and effectively. Show your love and appreciation by showering them pop-up cards with a personalized note that your students will love to create!
If you would like directions on how to make this card, please click to this link.
Day 11- Paint a picture of a classmate. Partner students up and have them draw and paint/color a portrait of each other. Have students attach their partner’s portrait with a sweet letter to review parts of a letter and some fun writing skills!
Day 10- Draw a summer mural with chalk together as class. Brainstorm of an symbol or picture that represents your class this year. This would be the perfect time to review what symbols are and some that students have already learned about especially in Social Studies. Afterwards, decide as a class who will draw which part and then create it with chalk outside.
Day 9- Make fruit popsicles. Review as a class what procedural text is and how to make fruit popsicles. Students will create it in small groups and pour the juice in ice trays with little popsicle sticks inside them. Leave them in the freezer (hopefully in the big freezer in your school’s cafeteria) until the afternoon to enjoy!
Day 8- Celebrate summer birthdays! Students who are born in late June, July, and early August often feel left out since they are not in school for their birthday. Celebrate them early as a class! Students can create a timeline of all the birthdays in the class and then celebrate the summer birthdays. If your school allows, maybe have those students bring in a small snack or cupcakes to celebrate with the class!
Day 7- Spelling with dry-erase markers on student desks! Who doesn’t love writing with colorful dry-erase markers on their desks?! It’s fun and super easy review of spelling and sight words learned this year.
Day 6- Create a flower using tissue paper. Go over parts of a flower and a flower’s adaptations as a class. Afterwards, students can create their favorite flower with tissue paper.
Day 5- Make an aquarium for tropical fish. Discuss as a class animal habitats and how ocean animals rely on the ocean as their home. Cut out the center section of a paper plate then line it with wax paper. On a different paper plate, glue cut-out pieces of seaweed, coral, and tropical fish from construction paper. Glue the two plates together and tah-dah!!!
Day 4- Create a plan for a lemonade stand. Review your lessons on economics and have students work with a partner to create a plan on how to run a lemonade stand this summer. What is their budget? What supplies do they need and how much will they cost? How much will they sell it for? When, where, and how long will they sell their lemonade? What other materials will they need?
Day 3- Create a firefly catcher. Fireflies are so unique as one of their adaptations is being able to glow at night. Kids also love watching fireflies in the summer evenings and nights, but it’s so hard to catch them and see them up close! Have students design and create a firefly catcher that will not harm the bugs but allow students to watch them up close and release them easily.
Day 2- Make an outdoor game that demonstrates rolling, spinning, and sliding. Provide students with different equipment such as balls, scooter boards, and any other equipment that you can borrow from your P.E teacher and have students create a game that will incorporate the three types of movements.
Day 1- Celebrate each individual student! Print a picture of each student and glue it to the middle of a piece of bright-colored paper. Students will take turns writing down what they like/will miss about each other. Afterwards, students will be able to take their picture home for a keepsake!
Click to the images below to download my Summer Countdown letter to parents and a blank, editable copy for yourself! To edit, copy the image into a Powerpoint slide or a comparable program then insert text boxes.
Special thanks to PrettyGraphix, KG Fonts, Keeping Life Creative Clip Art, A Perfect Blend, and Chirp Graphics.
Below are some more ideas on how to celebrate and countdown until the end of the year! Click to the images for more details!
