Are you feeling like Michael Scott during the end of the school year? Those last weeks can be a time full of chaos and stress. Between the end of the year activities and information overload, kids are ready to check out for summer. Today I’m giving you 5 tips I use in my own classroom to help you survive!
Keep the Routine
Keep the routine as normal as possible. Kids are such creatures of routine. And let’s face it so are we! Kids behave better when they know what to expect. If you usually do morning work first thing in the morning, continue doing that. The part that you can change to make it more interesting for this time of year is the content they work on. Maybe it’s a page from their memory book. Or it could be an end of the school year writing prompt. It’s still the same morning work routine but the variation will keep kids interested.
Plan Fun Activities
Plan fun activities to keep kids interested until the very end. By the end of the school year, kids grow weary and don’t really want to do another page from their test prep book. Although engaging activities should happen all year, it’s especially helpful during those last weeks. Kids that are engaged are less likely to get off task or misbehave. Keeping them interested in the content helps those last weeks go by more smoothly. In the past, I’ve done shark week to teach the science standards in the animal unit. This year I’m going to do Jurassic World themed science lessons. There are so many engaging things you can do to teach those last standards of the year.
School Year End Assignments
Assigning school year end work can be beneficial to you. Give them longer independent assignments they can do while chatting. While they work you can get the end of the year tasks done. This helps relieve stress from having to worry about doing those tasks before or after school. The kids have gotten comfortable with each other and love to talk even more towards the end of the year. Giving them assignments that allow them to talk while working, helps them from exploding later in the day because they want to say aaaallll the things.
End of the School Year Fun
Have fun with your kids! There’s more time to relax and just have fun at the end of the year. Having fun with your kids will help the overall mood of the classroom. By the end of the school year, kids grow weary of each other and need a break. Having just pure fun with no academics attached, will not only allow the kids to enjoy each other but you can enjoy the kids as well.
End of the school Year Activities
Change your classroom management and incorporate a game. One of the end of the school year activities I like to do is End of the Year Mystery Rewards. I do these for the last ten days of the school year. If they behave for the day, I choose one person to scan the QR code. It reveals a prize they can have the following day. The prizes are either free or very cheap from the dollar store. One of their favorites is playing with shaving cream at the tables. It also cleans the furniture so it’s a double win! So much fun and keeps the kids in check because they so badly want to participate in the reward for the day.
I hope you’ll try out these tips to help you survive the end of the school year. If you have any tips for me please let me know. I’d love to hear them. If you’re not at the end of the year just yet, pin the images in the post to help you remember these tips later!
