The end is near… can you feel it? What does it feel like to you? Is it your toes in the sand? Is it a margarita in your hand? Is it turning off your alarm clock? Is it losing track of the days? Oh yes… the end is near!
Now, back to the current task at hand: finishing the year. The End of the Year can be one of the craziest times for a teacher. Our To-Do List goes on and on! We have state testing, end of the year assessments, report cards, class placements, cleaning your classroom, packing up, and don’t forget that small task of providing your students with memorable activities that you want them to remember you for! We are here to give you advice on how we End the Year LIKE A BOSS!
1. What are You Waiting For? Get Going!
As mentioned before, a teacher’s To-Do List is a mile long! Make a list of all of the things that you need to do before that glorious day when you get into your car and pull out of the parking lot. (By the way, is there any better moment?)
Sort your To-Do List into tasks that you can get done now and tasks that have to wait. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you when to get the next task done. Getting your end of the year tasks done early will help you feel less stressed and less overwhelmed!
Editable End of the Year Checklist
End of the Year Teacher Reflection and Surveys
2. Give Your Students What They Want… YOU!
Getting your To-Do List in order will help you focus on the most important aspect of teaching… your students! Take your time to enjoy your students! You worked so hard with them all year, so enjoy them! Make the time to do some fun activities that you normally don’t have time for in your regular school day. Build those relationships! Smile with them! Is there a time that you could play kickball? What about grabbing a blanket and reading outside under a tree? Take the time to create special moments with your students that they will remember forever!
3. Reminisce
Look back at your year with your students. Take a morning and have your students fill out a memory from your year together on a slip of paper and have them add it to a jar. Whenever you have a spare moment, pull out a memory and read it to your class!
Here’s why we love this activity:
- Memories build relationships. Relationships are the most important part of teaching!
- These memories are a feedback tool for you! If your students enjoyed a particular activity, be sure you repeat it with your students next year! Take note of common responses! Notice what your students value and build on that for the following year!
4. No Prep Fun
Just because you made a To-Do List doesn’t mean that you checked everything off already! Trust us, we get it! You need time to get things done, but your students also need to be provided with some quality “End of the Year Fun!” Grab some No Prep End of the Year resources to keep your students busy, while you keep checking off that mile long list of things to do!
Click the Image Above or the Individual Links Below to Check out some No Prep End of the Year Activities!
30 No Prep End of the Year Activities
End of the Year Packin’ My Bags File Folder Activity
5. Look Ahead
If there’s anything more crazy than the End of the Year, it’s the Beginning of the Year! Are we right?! Ask yourself: “What can I do THIS year that will help me NEXT year?”
Here’s what we ALWAYS make sure we do before leaving for summer vacation:
- Give next year’s students a welcoming letter, a summer challenge, and a school supply list! This might seem a little overwhelming, but it’s not! How do you know which students you will get? You don’t! Get with your whole grade level and make a common supply list! Then, pass these things out to the ENTIRE grade level below you that will enter your grade next year! Click HERE!
- Bulletin Boards! Plan and prep your bulletin boards for Back to School! Can you leave your boards up? Great! Get them all ready so you are ready to roll! Have to take them down? Plan your boards out and have everything ready to put up when you get back!
- Plan! Get with your team and plan the first few weeks of school. How will you start the year off? Get your lesson plans done so that when you get back, you will have one less thing to do! Want to see how we plan for our whole year and teach every standard? We have a blog post just for you! CLICK HERE!
- Copies! Want to know when the copy room is empty? The end of the year! Everyone is so focused on short activities for their students and finishing up things they didn’t get to throughout the year that the copy room is a ghost town! Get in there and prep the first few weeks of school! You will thank yourself next year! We promise!
WANT TO END YOUR YEAR LIKE A BOSS?
ENTER TO WIN AN ACTIVITY OF YOUR CHOICE BELOW!
5 Comments
My goal this spring was to put as much of my “regular” copied work into bound books through our district copy service. Less work for me and I feel so organized for next year!
First I have to say my students absolutely loved the center activities that I bought from you!!! Seriously awesome and engaging. Second, I would love ideas on planning bulletin boards for the next year. I’ve always wanted to do this but never know exactly what I want to do. So my suggestion: Make a product for this! I would love bulletin board ideas for the school year that I could prep over the summer. Thanks for all you do!
I am going to try a end of the year digital breakout game. It looks fun and I think my kids will love it. Keep your fingers crossed! 🙂
I am lucky that I do know which kids I will have next year, so I will definitely send them home with a supply list and reading challenge.
New to 4th grade so this resource would be so beneficial!