Woohoo! It’s finally here—the last day of school. While most kids are going to be super excited, others may have mixed emotions about the end of the school year. Make your last hours together extra special with some of these fun last-day-of-school activities, and send your students into summer with fantastic memories of the school year!
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1. Get these Last Day of School printables
Looking for quick and easy last-day-of-school activities? Grab our fun, free printables, and let your students choose the ones they like best.
2. Read end-of-year books to bring your class closure
There’s no better way to end the school year than—you guessed it—story time!
Learn more: End-of-Year Books
3. Hold a rousing trivia contest
Kids love a good round or two of trivia, and online sources make prepping a trivia contest easy and customizable. Check out our huge compilation of trivia questions.
Learn more: 130+ Trivia Questions for Kids in all Grade Levels
4. STEM challenges
STEM challenges make terrific meaningful and fun team activities for the last day of school. Try building a DIY roller coaster from drinking straws, or check out lots of other STEM challenges here.
Learn more: 57 STEM Activities for Kids of All Ages and Interests
5. Conquer an escape room
Kids love escape rooms, so they’re great activities for the last day of school. Theme yours to what you’ve learned during the year, facts about different classmates, or summer activities.
Learn more: How To Set Up and Run a Classroom Escape Room
6. Dance up a storm
If you’re looking for fun last-day-of-school activities that get kids moving, hold an epic dance party! Consider having each class submit a song selection for the playlist. They could even choreograph their own special dance moves for when it comes on!
Learn more: 90 Awesome Last Day of School Songs
7. Go on a scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts are not only educational, they’re a blast! Click the link below for creative scavenger hunts to use in the classroom or send home with students for the summer. To get started, download these free scavenger hunt worksheets.
Learn more: Scavenger Hunt Ideas
8. Play board games
Whether it’s cooperation, strategy, academics, or just fun, there’s a game for that. And what could be more perfect for the last day of school?
Learn more: Best Board Games for Kids
9. Have a water day
Celebrate the last day of school with a splash! Check out the super-fun activities at the link below. And of course, what better way to end water day than with Popsicles?
Learn more: 51 Splash-tastic Water Activities
10. Host a poetry slam
Slam poetry is a unique form of expression that allows students to perform meaningful works of poetry in front of their peers. Give students a heads up and time to practice before the last day of school, then hold the slam as the culminating event.
Learn more: Slam Poetry Examples
11. Play old-school recess games
These oldies (but goodies) to play with your kids on the last day of school will leave you feeling nostalgic for sure.
Learn more: Old-School Recess Games
12. Honor every student
End-of-year awards have been around forever. But instead of making it a competition for a chosen few, here’s a way to include everyone. Recognize academic and social-emotional skills with these fun colorful certificates.
Learn more: 50 Free Printable Awards for Students
13. Head off on a virtual field trip
Just didn’t have time (or money) to get around to that last great field trip you had in mind? No problem! Get out the popcorn and kick back with a fun and interesting virtual field trip.
Learn more: 45 Amazing Virtual Field Trips
14. Tag a graffiti wall
Graffiti walls are an awesome way to encourage kids’ creativity. Why not give them free rein to record their favorite memories from the school year on the last day of school?
Learn more: Engaging Ways To Teach With Graffiti Walls
15. Set up a writers workshop
Try this activity if your group loves writing. Set up writing station directions such as: Create a scene from a play, write a story about you as the president, write a poem about your favorite season, create and describe your own brand-new holiday, etc. For extra fun, have a different snack at each station, and every so often take a break to share a few stories the students have produced.
Learn more: Writing Prompts
16. Try these “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” activities
Dr. Seuss’ inspiring book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is an end-of-year favorite for many teachers. Use it to inspire your students to think about their goals and possible pathways for the future. For this idea and more, check out the link below.
Learn more: Best “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” Activities
17. Have a movie day
The promise of a movie on the last day of school is a great motivator to inspire the best behavior from your students those last few weeks. Let your kids choose the movie, and on the last day, supply the popcorn and enjoy!
Learn more: Spectacular Summer Movies for Kids
18. Tell jokes
Celebrate the last day of school with a few laughs!
Learn more: Super Silly Summer Jokes for Kids
19. Plant the seed for service learning
Your students are going to (hopefully) have some free time on their hands this summer. Encourage them to spend at least a portion of it helping others. Better yet, challenge them to (and even join them in) a 30-day service challenge.
Learn more: Meaningful Service Learning Ideas for Kids and Teens
20. Start an end-of-year tradition
Start a new tradition that you love to end the school year with. We were inspired by a teacher who took snips of his beloved spider plant and started new plants to give to each of his students at the end of the year.
Learn more: Teacher’s Plant Tradition
21. Play math games
One sneaky way to keep the learning going, even on the last day of school, is with fun and engaging math games. Set up stations and let kids choose which ones they’d like to play with their friends.
Learn more: Math Games for Every Grade Level
22. Make bookmarks
As kids head off for summer, reading a ton of books is hopefully high on their to-do list. Get them excited for it by making some of these adorable bookmarks.
Learn more: Adorable DIY Bookmarks
23. Go outside and play!
It may not officially be field day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a few of your students’ favorite activities on the last day of school! Take a peek at the list below and revisit a few of your favorites.
Learn more: Best Field Day Games and Activities
24. End the year on a kind note
Download these free worksheets and sow the seeds of kindness.
Learn more: Free Bundle of Self-Esteem Worksheets
25. Try some drawing tutorials
How-to drawing books are always a big hit with kids. The video at left teaches your students how to draw a dragon, step-by-step. See the other fun options below.
Learn more: How To Draw
26. Set them up for summer reading
Share this free roundup of our must-reads for kids. Print the list off and send it home with students to give them inspiration for summer reading.
Learn more: 100 Famous Children’s Books Every Child Should Read
27. Do yoga
Have a last-day-of-school yoga party. Push all the desks to the sides, or better yet go outside. Make it easy with the free printable cards below.
Learn more: 15 Easy Yoga Poses
28. Hold relay races
Relay races rely on teamwork. Celebrate the teamwork your students have accomplished over the year with a few fun races.
Learn more: 37 Creative Relay Race Ideas To Try
For more fun, check out these end-of-year assignments and activities for every grade (and get free Last Day of School signs too!).
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