Simple End of the Year Classroom Activities for Tired Teachers

The end of the year is drawing near! Hooray! If you’re scouring the internet or Pinterest for end of the year classroom activities or countdown ideas but feel like everything you’re finding is just toooooo much… I GET IT!

You’re exhausted. It’s been another long year. And yes, you want to celebrate with your students, but you also just don’t have the time and energy to put together a big hoopla. You’re not alone!

Every year I told myself I was going to do an ABC countdown for the end of the year, but that never happened. I mean… that takes some SERIOUS planning ahead. Plus, 26 days is a lot! I also never remembered in time… whoops!

Simple End of the Year Classroom Activities

Alas, if you’re still reading because you need SIMPLE end of the year classroom activities or ideas, pick activities that require ZERO prep for you. Here are a few of my favorites to try!

• PLAY KICKBALL – Students need to get out some energy? Just grab a ball and some bases from the PE teacher and head out to play!

• PAPER AIRPLANE CONTEST – It’s as fun as it sounds! Grab some paper, watch some how-to videos as a class, and get to flying! You can also visit www.foldnfly.com for some tutorials, too!

• JOKE DAY – This is one of my favorites! Check out a bunch of joke books or head to a few websites full of jokes for kids. Let your students write down their favorite joke on an index card and hold a little comedy show in your class!

• BUBBLE GUM CONTEST – Your students will love this one! Pick up a few packs of good bubble gum for blowing bubbles and have a contest to see who can blow the biggest bubble!

• AWARDS DAY – This isn’t what you’re probably thinking… Make the kids do the work! Put everyone’s name in a basket. After, have students draw a name and create an award specifically for the person they drew! Grab some construction paper and any fun art supplies you want your students to use. {Feeling crazy? Pull out the glitter! Or save your sanity and keep it in the cabinet. You do you.}

My final piece of advice: If you’re exhausted and overwhelmed, give yourself permission to skip the countdown balloons. Sure, they’re cute, but if you don’t have the energy, it’s okay! I promise you’re still a fun, cool teacher even if you decide not to blow up a bunch of balloons.

Extension Ideas for End of the Year Classroom Activities

If you’ve read through these countdown activities and you’d love just a little bit more, you’ll definitely want to check out my end of the year countdown resource! If there’s a way to integrate reading comprehension, math, or writing into your countdown activities, I’ve added it!

I’ve included these ideas plus a few extension activities to go with them. For example, on the day your class makes paper airplanes, I’ve included a few pages to help you integrate measurement practice!

Going outside to play kickball? First, read a nonfiction passage about the history of kickball, then answer a few reading comprehension questions before taking your class out to play!

One of the end of the year classroom activities my students always love… Lemonade Taste Test! We taste pink lemonade and regular lemonade, then we vote on our favorite!

Some years we read the homemade lemonade recipe, complete the comprehension questions, and make it! Other years I just buy the store-bought stuff and it’s still a hit!

If you’re feeling like you need to stick to more academics, have your students work on this end of the year math mystery! This is the perfect way to practice key math concepts because it’s a fun and engaging review! Click here to read about the end of the year math mystery!

Grab a Free End of the Year Activity

Want a free end-of-the-year activity? Download the free slime recipe + reading comprehension questions for making slime! You will definitely be the favorite teacher after making slime with your class!

You’ll definitely want to check out this post all about summer learning ideas for your students! I hope you loved these end of the year classroom activities!