Can you keep a secret? I've got some fun plans up my sleeve. But, the kiddos don't know about them. So, mum's the word!
Our school year ends in T minus 15 days
Anywho...back to the big plans...
I've made a reservation for the kids and me (along with our co-op families) at a living history museum located about two hours away. We will spend the afternoon helping to run a REAL working 1860s farm. We'll feed the pigs, milk the cows, and help "Ma" make supper on the woodstove all while gleaning lots of historical tidbits from our tour guide.
Last May, we took a surprise field trip to a different living history museum on the last day of school. It was such a fun and educational way to mark an official "end", that I decided to repeat the idea this year.
Looking for a memorable way to end your year?
Here are a few ideas I've gathered from around the web. Some of these are designed for public school classrooms, but can easily be adapted for homeschooled kids.
Last Day of School Printable from The Unlikely Homeschool
These super cute, FREE printable questionnaires would be the perfect cover pages for an annual portfolio. Encourage your kids to fill one out each year and watch how their "favorites" change as they grow.
End-of-the-year Q & A from The Homeschool Post
These interview questions would make for a thoughtful review of THE BEST of the school year.
Photo Scavenger Hunt from The Unlikely Homeschool
Plan a wild goose-chase-style scavenger hunt leading your family back to memorable locations that you visited throughout the school year. At each location, snap a picture.
Last Day Photo with FREE Printables from Frugal Coupon Living
Compare the first-day-of-school photo with the last-day using any one of these FREE printable First/Last Day signs. Be sure to check out these other photo ideas from K.I.S.S.
End-of-the-Year Folder from Amongst Lovely Things
Spend the day making a scrapbook of the school year. Gather the best-of-the-best work from the year, photos, and project samples and use them to make a book of memories together.
A Day of Mini Field Trips from The Unlikely Homeschool
Allow each of your children to pick one free or cheap mini trip/activity that they enjoy. Fill the last day with ALL of these small, personalized activities to celebrate the year-long successes of each of your kids.
Balloon Pop Countdown from First Class Teacher
Slip a personalized message or a fun "to-do" into a balloon. Fill a handful of balloons, write a countdown number on each one, and display them around your house. Allow your kids to pop one balloon each day leading up to the last day of school OR each hour of the last day.
Summer Bucket List from The Unlikely Homeschool
Spend the afternoon brainstorming summer bucket list ideas. Fill an inexpensive sand bucket with all of these ideas and kick off the summer by doing ONE of the activities from the bucket.
Summer Bucket o' Fun from Bits of Everything
Fill a bucket of summertime treats and present it to your kids at the end of the last school day. Use the cute free printable to make a personalized tag for each one.
New Book for Summer from East Coast Mommy
Encourage summer reading by wrapping up and presenting a new book to each of your kids OR spend the day together at a local book shop and let him/her pick out a favorite title to take home.
For more meaningful first and last-day traditions, be sure to check out my First/Last Day Pinterest Board.
Got any fun plans to mark the end of another great year? Let's hear 'em!
So great! Will definitely be using a few of these in our last week of school! One thing we're going to do this year, and hopefully for many years to come, is a "learning expo" for the kids. Basically, we sent out invitations to the grandparents and uncles inviting them to dinner at our house, after which the kids will get to go around the house explaining what they loved about our school year and share some of the knowledge they gained. We'll have all our unit study stuff strewn about the house from lapbooks, to notebooks, to crafts, to creative writing projects, to scriptures we've memorized. That way the kids can be mini tour guides on a trip through what they've learned this year complete with balloons and streamers! Of course, with many of "mom's" ideas, this one could be a total flop, but I'm really hoping this is a fun and joy-filled occasion! Here's hopin'.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like so much fun! What a great way to get extended family and friends involved.
DeleteGreat ideas...LOVE the bucket list to get kids involved and have their little voices heard and appreciated--AWESOME!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe love our summer bucket list. Lots of old adventures to revisit and plenty of new ones.
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