After enjoying lots of fun stuff to celebrate our final tests the last week of school, I like to make the last day extra special for the students. For us this year, it looked like this.
1. Prayer and thanksgiving. We pray together every morning, but it's especially meaningful to praise God and thank Him for an entire year of school. Teachers should intentially model gratefullness and gratitude to their students.
2. An educational end-of-the-year gift -- When I first heard about this I was a bit sceptical, but unless you have an extra-large class, I feel it is a kind gesture that the students look forward to. You like to get end-of-the-year gifts as a teacher, don't you? I try to give my students something educational, so this year I found these neat puzzles. I also gave them a summer reading challenge. If they read 110 books, they will get a certificate for a small scoop of ice cream.
3. Talking Circle -- I discovered this one when researching activities for a Native American achievement party. We sit in a circle and then each person takes a turn telling the others something that they appreciated or really enjoyed about the school year. I told my students a few things that they had done that inspired me, and we all shared a little something we were thankful for.
4. Treasure Hunt! Planning these is something I greatly enjoy. Twenty-two clues included maps, Morse code, puzzles, pictures, the maritime flag code, clues frozen in ice, etc. We had a great time walking around deciphering clues. The little prize at the end was a geode for each student that they got to crack open.
6. Picnic -- We thanked God for a good year and a good meal and then ate well. We also played games, took tractor rides, and sat and talked for far longer than a regular school day would have lasted. Community is good. A great school year is good. And God is good.
