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Last Week of School

June Classroom Ideas

Books, Last Week of School, Morning Meeting June 6, 2022
Blog header photo for June Classroom Ideas - photo of beach room transformation

Summer is coming and today I’m excited to share some June classroom ideas with you! I know many of you might already be out of school, but I also know some schools go into June and some teachers also teach summer school so I hope you’ll find these ideas helpful.

June Book Suggestions:

Please note Amazon affiliate links are included in this post for your convenience.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Photo of June picture book coverss.

Here are five fun books that you can share with your class during the month of June.

June Classroom Idea – Beach Day:

Photo of beach activities - beach classroom, directed drawing, hula lessons

Let’s go to the beach! Well…not the real beach just yet!  Take your class to the beach before the end of the school year or during summer school with this fun and easy transformation or theme day!

Here are a few activity ideas:

Sand Castle Math Geometry Activity – Either using Google Slides™ or drawing, students can create their own sand castle and beach scene using geometric shapes. 

Directed Drawing on Art Hub for Kids – My class learned how to draw a sea turtle and they also have many more fun directed drawing lessons on their site or YouTube™ page.

Learn to Hula – There are many YouTube™ videos teaching kids how to hula. Your students could also write up their own “how to” directions afterwards.

Beach Writing Story Starters – Try out these story starters with your students…

-The waves came crashing down and then…

-I jumped on the surfboard and then…

-I was collecting seashells and I found…

June Resource Suggestions:

Here are 2 of my favorite resources to use during the month of June.

  • June Morning Meeting Activity Slides – These fun summer themed Morning Meeting Activity Slides will keep your students busy the whole month of June. Click HERE to grab them for your class and save time in your Morning Meeting Prep.
  • Summer Word Problems – Story problems are a great way for students to practice a variety of math skills and build their problem solving abilities. These summer themed word problems are great for independent practice, can be used as an Around the Room Activity, and more! Get these word problems HERE for your math students! (Digital and Print and Digital Bundle are also available in my store).

June Writing Prompt FREEBIE:

Photo of Free writing prompts

These summer-themed FREE Writing Prompts are perfect to use during the month of June! These writing prompts are a great writing warm-up, summer school activity, writing center, and more. Click HERE to get your FREEBIE.

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May Classroom Ideas

Last Week of School April 30, 2022
Photo of board games for May Classroom Ideas

The end of the school year is finally here and today I’m excited to share some May classroom ideas with you!

May Book Suggestions:

Please note Amazon affiliate links are included in this post for your convenience.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Photo of book covers for May Classroom Ideas. Includes end of the school year picture books.

Here are five fun books that you can share with your class during the month of May.

May Classroom Ideas – Theme Days

Photo of board games in classroom.

I love to use Theme Days during the last week of school! Let’s be real… the last week can be hard. It can be difficult to keep kids motivated and to keep behavior on track.  Having a special Theme Day every day gives kids something to look forward to and allows you and the class to make some more special memories together.

Here are some examples of Theme Days:

  • Reading Party – Kids get to bring in pillows, blankets, stuffed animals and have a little reading party in the classroom.
  • Game Day – Kids can bring in a board or card game from home to play with their classmates.
  • Movie Day – Enjoy a fun educational movie (example – Magic School Bus) and some yummy popcorn.
  • Sports Day – Throw a mini Olympics for your class to compete in with sports challenges. Could include basketball free throw challenges, races, jump rope contest, and more.
  • Show and Tell Day – Students love bringing in items for home to share with the class – this is their chance to do so!

May Morning Meeting Activities

May Classroom Ideas for Morning Meeting includes slide example of Story Starter.

Your Morning Meetings will be ready-to-go with this May Morning Meeting Activity set. Includes 8 different activities for a total of 32 days – so you’ll have less planning on your to do list! Activities such as Noggle, Story Starter, Quick Draw, and Mystery Word are included. Click HERE to get these NO PREP May Morning Meeting Activity Slides for your class.

Summer Resources PDF Freebie

Photo of FREE Summer Resources PDF for May Classroom Ideas.

Summer is here and I have a FREEBIE for you to help prevent that dreaded summer slide! This FREE PDF provides parents with ideas for students to practice reading, writing, and math over the summer! I include this in with my report cards, parent/teacher conferences, and any end-of-year communication. Click HERE to get your FREE Summer Resources PDF.

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Theme Week Fun

Last Week of School May 22, 2016

For the last few years, I’ve used a Theme Week during the last week of school.  It’s a fun way to end the year, do some fun activities with the kids, and it’s also a good way to help maintain behavior that last week of school.  We do our theme activity at the end of the day for the last 30 minutes to an hour depending on the activity.  The reason I have it at the end of the day is so I can use it as a reward for behaving throughout the day.  Now, I know it sounds a little bribe-ish.  However, the last few weeks are hard…and we need every tool available to us lol…

Monday – On Monday, we’re having a mini pizza party in the afternoon.  We’ve been working on Sweet Integration’s Project Based Learning – Opening a Pizzeria.  You can find it in her shop here…  The kids have had so much fun working on a pizzeria concept, name, slogan, etc. So a mini pizza party is a great way to celebrate their hard work.

Tuesday – Reading Party – Kids get to bring in pillows, blankets, stuffed animals and have a little reading party in the classroom.  This is often a very peaceful activity!

Wednesday – Game Day – Kids can bring in a board or card game from home. I always have fun playing the games with them. It’s a great way to make some more memories!

Thursday – Movie Day – We just finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so we will be watching the movie (the older version) and enjoying some yummy popcorn.

Friday – Summer Kick-Off – Our school PTA is amazing. They plan this whole water day outside with the hamster balls, blow up things, and many other crazy water items. The kids always have a blast. Before we go out for water day, we’ll do our last morning meeting (cue the tears), watch our end of the year iMovie slideshow, and I’ll hand out candy awards.  


Here’s a copy of my note that I send to the parents….

Hope everyone has a great last week, great week, or great summer week (depending on where you are at in your school schedule)!

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Theme Week – Day 3

Last Week of School May 22, 2016

Today was game day for Theme Week. Students brought in a board or card game from home to share with the class. I’m very competitive so I always enjoy joining in on this one. It’s also fun to play some of the classics that I grew up with and to see some of the new games that are out there. One of my kids even made his own Harry Potter game for the kids to play.   

Here are some pictures…


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Monday Made It

Back to School, First Day of School, Last Week of School June 23, 2014

So excited to link up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. Be sure to link up with her here.

Now, originally I was going to work on my teacher toolbox to use for today’s Monday Made It, but I realized this project needs more time than I had, so stay tuned for that next week.

My project this week was a fun first and last day memory.  These frames can be used to take a picture of the kiddos on the first day of school and the last. They hold up the frame and it makes a cute keepsake for parents. I made a large frame a few years ago for my first graders that they held up and their head was inside.  I liked that, but since I changed grade levels I decided to make a new one and do this.  I got my frames at Target – size 8 x 10 and just used scrapbook paper I had around the house. 

 
 
Thanks for checking this project out. Be sure to link up with Monday Made It!
 
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Teacher Memory Book

Last Week of School, Memory Book July 4, 2012

At the end of each school year, one of the activities I like to do with the kids is have them complete their own school memory book. I found a super cute one on Pinterest this year and they loved working on it.  Now, the kids aren’t the only ones with memories at the end of the year. I like to do something special each year to keep and remember the kiddos by.  Every year, I’ve had the kids write  me a letter (I got this form from another teacher at my school) telling me what they liked about school and what they’ll remember from class.  This year, our librarian had the kids write their teacher thank you notes so those are some super cute memories that I want to save.  And, this year I also found this super cute “Ten Things I Learned from My Teacher” page on Pinterest.  After the school year wraps up, I love to compile all of my cute mementos like those listed above and put them in a little memory binder. See below…

My binder cover

Student letters to me

Student letter

Student Letter – this one cracked me up.  Alex wrote “School was fun this year because your the beast!”  Apparently I’m not the best, but the beast lol.  Not sure if that’s still a compliment…

10 Things My Teacher Taught Me page – from Pinterest

School Yearbook

Thank You notes that the kids wrote in library.

Here are a few cute Thank You Notes…

Sorry, not sure why those last two wouldn’t go the right direction.