Getting through preschool is a major milestone and should be celebrated with a great celebration. After all, it’s such a precious time in a little one's life. But planning the perfect day is not as easy as it may sound. Finding the right activities for children to celebrate and be celebrated with can take some time. Keeping them engaged is key. That’s why this list is comprised of 25 fun and educational activities for the last day of preschool.
1. My Year At Preschool
Showcasing what the child has done and accomplished is a great way to remind them of how far they/ve come. Putting together arts and crafts, assignments, and photos can make a beautiful memory book. It’s also more personalized than a yearbook.
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2. A Celebration Ceremony
Many preschools have a little graduation ceremony at the end of the year. You can give the kids caps and gowns or put a fun spin on them. Let them dress up as a theme. Coming in as your favorite superhero is one of many ideas to make the celebration more fun.
3. When I Grow Up Cards
Inspiring kids to follow their dreams and be as creative as possible is always the goal. Nothing better than moving on to the next grade by bringing a card that represents what they want to be when they grow up. Allow the kids to make these cards with drawings and a written sentence.
4. Forget-Me-Not Flowers
Forget-Me-Not flowers are the perfect gift going to or from the teacher. It’s a beautiful flower and can be important for children who have developed special relationships with their teachers over the year. You can even plant the seeds together as an activity.
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5. I Graduated from Preschool Bingo
This is a lot of fun for everyone. Print out symbols of important memories throughout the year. If you did some math activities, make one square dedicated to numbers to represent counting. A hen if you read Little Red Hen. This is also a good reminder of what they learned this year.
6. The Clean Up
Sorting through cubbies, the lost and found, and the rest of the classroom is a good activity and helpful for the teacher. It helps instill some responsibility even at a young age that you have to clean up the messes you’ve made. Helping others is also important.
Learn More: Pre-K Pages
7. A Final Singalong
Children love to get together and sing. A special song to summarize the entire year is personal and fun. You can work on the song with kids throughout the weeks before. That way, everyone can learn it together, and by the last day, it’s complete!
8. Countdown To Summer
There are many different ways to do a countdown to summer once the final month hits. A calendar is great; the kids can X off each day while learning to count. But there are more fun ways, such as popping one balloon from a wall of balloons. There are many spin-offs to this.
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9. Self Portraits
Bring in mirrors for the class and have them draw self-portraits. Somewhere on the page, ask them to write what they learned about themselves this year after everyone can share it with the class. This is great for reflection.
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10. End of the Year Awards
Every child should get an award that relates to the work they have accomplished and their personality. This is a great chance for teachers to make each individual feel special and recognized. Refrain from any “The Best Of” statements.
Learn More: Playdough To Plato
11. Fill My Summer Bucket
A great way to get ready for summer while also using addition is to bring in beach buckets. Let the kids decorate the buckets by adding one stick each day for the last 30 days before summer. They can also bring in one item for their summer bucket for the last 10 days.
12. Parting Gifts
Gifts to encourage the kids to continue on their learning journey throughout the summer and coming years are always a good idea. Bubble blowers, sidewalk chalk, a craft, photos, and more are possible ideas to work with.
13. Bubble Shape Party
Have a bubble blast by bringing in bubble wands of different shapes. The kids can play with naming the shapes and having some bubble trouble fun! Be sure to get the big ones that you can fill with paint trays. This allows for different shapes and sizes.
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14. Time Capsule Activity
Have the kids answer questions about their current favorites. What is their favorite food, color, hobby, and so on? Have them write their name and their age with the date. They can do this every year to see how their tastes change!
Learn More: 23 End-of-Year Preschool Activities
15. Pass The Beachball
Instead of having a speaking stick, let the classroom have a speaking beachball. This is a great way to have fun. The exercise goes like this. Pass the beach ball around the class and when it lands on a kid, they have to name one thing they learned this year!
16. First and Last Day Photos
You’ll have to be on top of things by taking everyone’s first day of school photos. Then on the last day of school, you can take another photo. Place them side by side on a printable and add captions with the date and name. You can even write what they learned that day.
Learn More: 23 End-of-Year Preschool Activities
17. Talent Show
What is more fun than letting the kids be their creative selves? You can have the kids out on a talent show. They can work in groups or choose to do a talent by themselves. Each kid should get a star when they are done!
18. Now I Can Board
Grab an artist's easel and some big white cardboard. Grab all the colors and write a “Now I Can” thought bubble in the center. Have the students name what they can do now but couldn’t before they came to preschool.
Learn More: Pocket Of Preschool
19. Dear Next Class
For a pensive exercise, you can have the class write an advice letter to the next class. They can talk about what they learned, what they liked, and what they disliked. Ask each kid to bring in one idea to class the next day. This is great for reflection.
Learn More: Pre-Kinders
20. Sidewalk Mural
Make sure that you have plenty of sunshine for the next few days. Bring in some chalk and allow the kids to draw in a certain section. They can draw something that represents what preschool meant to them. Then you can take a big class picture next to it.
Learn More: Pre-Kinders
21. Un-Frog-Ettable Memories
This is one of the cutest exercises to replay some of the year's best moments. It works best by hanging the frogs on a bulletin board. Each kid gets one and is able to write down their favorite memory with the help of teachers.
Learn More: 23 End-of-Year Preschool Activities
22. Preschool Art Gallery
Tons of arts and crafts are done throughout the year. No better way to showcase them than by making a full art gallery. You can even invite the parents in to see the art show at the end of the year.
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23. End-Of-The-Year Pillowcase
Have the kids bring in a plain white pillowcase. Bring in non-toxic markers so the kids can draw directly on the pillowcases. Encourage them to draw their favorite memories and what they learned this year.
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24. Suds Sensory Cleaning
Bringing in containers and filling them with warm water and soapy suds is fun for the kids to play with. It’s also a great way for kids to help clean up plastic toys such as Legos at the end of the year. Make sure to lay some towels around.
Learn More: Pocket Of Preschool
25. Alphabet Countdown
Use the alphabet to count down till the last day of school. For each day, you can work with the letter you are on. Talk about words that start with that letter as the theme of the day. You can do animals for A, Baking for B, and so on!
Learn More: Simply Kinder
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