School is almost over so here are 34 end of year activities, gifts, and printables to inspire you to make something fun and thoughtful for your kids and teachers. This crafty roundup includes end of year activities, family traditions, homemade gifts for teachers, free printables, for a memorable and fun celebration.
End Of School Year Activities
What I do ~ Welcome to Summer Banner & 5th Grade Here I Come T-shirts!
First off, I asked Tip Junkie Facebook readers what last day of school traditions they are doing this year. They were so much fun I just had to give you a recap of what they said:
- Melissa – Go camping the weekend after school is out.
- Bridget – Almost everyone takes a picture of their child on the first day of school, but I also take one on the last day of school to show how much he has grown and changed during the school year.
- Janet – When each of children started kinder I bought a copy of Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Every year I have their teachers write something about the year, in the book. I will give it to them when they graduate high school.
- Dee – We made s’mores on the outdoor fire pit. It is a great way to start summer with a sort of camp out.
- Heidi – My kids wear the same thing the first and last days of school and I take their picture on both days in the same place. It’s cool to see how much they’ve grown. Also, when I pick them up from school on the first and last days I have their favorite donuts waiting in their seat in the car. And we immediately go do something summery like playing in the park, splashing in a fountain or heading down to the river to play in the sand. Summer starts right away for us with a play date from Mom.
- Jenni – We love to have ice cream sundaes for dinner!
- Jessica – I am going to start giving his teachers a card to write a special message on and give to him when he graduates.
- Pam – We always have ice cream for dinner! My kids- all 3 of them- LOVE It and look forward to it each year. They help in choosing the flavors and topings, too. It is a lot of fun for the entire family
Family Traditions
9. A Sunny Summer Count Down – A darling and easy count down calendar using paper plates and colored paper.
10. Congratulation Smartie Pants – With the end of the school year fast approaching (yippee!), I thought it might be fun for us to have some love notes to slip into the kids’ lunch boxes.
11. Pie Fight Party – End the year with a fun shaving cream party or even a pie fight!
12. Nineteen First Day of School Ideas and Activities {free printable!} – I love making special memories with my kiddos and try my best to continue family traditions from year to year. Here is a list of back to school traditions that you can do with your family or tweak them for the end of school.
Homemade Gifts for Teachers
13. DIY Colored Pencil Vase (Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas) – All you need is a container such as a can, colored pencils, a rubber band, a ribbon, a ruler and a black marker or sharpie. And dont forget the water and flowers.
14. ABC Flowers – Here’s a non-edible gift of flowers with magnet letters packed inside.
15. Owl Paper Craft – How darling is this Owl chocolate favor. “It says, Owl miss you! Have a HOOT this summer.”
16. Teacher Candy Grams – A darling candy gram using Swedish fish, You are o “fish” ally the best!
17. Happy Last Day of School Candy Pencil – A yummy pencil made of Rollos and a Hershey’s kiss.
18. Lemonade Cup with Thank You Flags {printable} – A cup filled with lemonade packets and a printable thank you flag that says, Thank you for being a great “aide” for our class!
19. Chocolate Edible Chalkboards – Holy moly this is one gift that I want! {giggle} Beth gives you complete pictured instructions on how to create these yummy chalkboards for your teacher.
20. Mini Oreo Pops – I just love these mini oreo pops from the Crafting Chicks as they are bite-sized, delicious, inexpensive and easy too.
21. Crayon Monogram Frame – I’ve made a few versions of these myself but I just adore this fun spikey version.
22. D.I.Y. Repurposd Paperback Apple Sculpture – This is such a lovely twist on giving an apple to the teacher.
23. Ice Cream Sundae Towel Favors – This isn’t a tutorial but aren’t they completely darling! {The yellow is bath powder.}
24. Candy Gram Pail – A lovely little saying with candy put throughout the lovely note to teachers. This is an easier option if you don’t want to do the posterboard.
25. 4×4 Block Pencil Holder – I just love what you can make out of a block of wood, this is a fun and functional teacher gift.
26. Spiffy Scissors – Embellish a regular pair of scissors and pimp them out with patterned paper.
Free Printables
27. Free Printable Apple Tags – These tags can be attached to bags, jars, boxes, etc, or taped to sticks and placed in a potted plant or even a yummy cake.
28. Stay Cool Summer Printable – his colorful card that reads Stay Cool This Summer is a fun way to say goodbye to the school year, your school friends or your favorite teacher on the last day of school. Attach a cool treat and give it to someone special.
29. Flower Last Minute Teacher Gift – Whip these flower picks up and grab some flowers on the way to school and you are set to say thanks to a special teacher!
30. Treat Jar Toppers – I just adore these circle treat toppers from Eighteen 25. They suggest that if you don’t have time to get the jars, punch a hole in the top of the tag and tie onto a cellophane bag full of goodies.
31. Flip Flop Fun Circle Printables – Make a set of cupcake toppers to take a celebratory treat to your child’s class or create some quick and easy favors for all of your their friends with adorable bubble bottle wraps.
32. Hershey Kiss Circles Pail {free printable} – You can use these darling printables in several ways but Lauren put them on the backs of Hershey kisses and tags to create a fun little teacher appreciation pail.
33. Relax for Summer Bundle – Print out the fun tag and attach to an O Magazine, Beach Towel, and some treats.
End of School Party Ideas
34. This is a back to school party from Leoni from Just Call Me Martha but you could also do it as an end of the school year party. My goodness it’s so pretty I couldn’t resist showing it to you.
More End of Year Activities:
- 30 Ways To Celebrate Your Graduate! {graduation party}
- Printable Teacher Thank You Cards {teacher appreciation}
- 30 Homemade Gift Ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week
- End of School Year Activities
If you have an end of the school year tradition or activity over on your blog, wed love to see it! Feel free to submit it to leave your link in the comments or on the Tip Junkie Facebook page. We can’t wait to hear all about it!
Creating Memories that Endure,
Laurie
Thank you for compiling so many great ideas for us. You inspired me to do something for my kids. Although simple, it will help build memories and keeps life fun! I love your blog!
My daughter is starting kindergarten this fall, so I am very excited about these great ideas. Thank you!
Your ideas are great. I usually get the teachers a tote and fill up with items for the beach. I definitely going to try some of these ideas. I love the flowers with the colored pencils around them. FAB! ? ? ?
Wow these are really fun and great activities! I think these activities are really good because it helps the students or the kids in certain ways. It helps them to become creative and this can also enhance and explore their talents and skills. As the school year ends, it’s nice to have activities like this. I think it would be fun to do something unique with everyone before you part ways so that they will remember this kind of moments as time pass by. Nice article!
Thanks for all the ideas and inspiration. I am working on a special project for my two.. their very own picnic quilts to toss about and lay in the grass all they like. I started with a sturdy thick khaki for the backing, used fusible batting and chose a special fabric for each child for the top (just a single piece, I’m not doing a traditional multi-square quilt). I really am a beginner sewer and never did any sort of “quilting” I’m just excited to surprise them and know they will enjoy them all summer!