Here are some preschool end of year activities to enjoy and celebrate a great year with your little students.
At the preschool age, I think it’s in the children’s best interest to keep things as normal as possible to reduce anxiety about the end of school. Try to keep your usual schedule and routine, if possible.
There are always so many things happening at the end of the year, that our routines may get a little messed up, but we can try to make it a smooth transition for such young children. We can also ease their anxiety by doing some fun activities!
Find more preschool End of Year Activities here!
Preschool end of year activities
Bubble Day
Let them have fun with some bubble solution and a variety of bubble wands. Make bubble wands in different shapes with pipe cleaners. Use a small plastic pool and a hula hoop to make giant bubbles. Add a bubble machine. You can buy bubbles inexpensively or better yet, have children make their own bubble solution.
Dance Party Day
Have each child request a favorite song from the year, add a few extras to your list, and have a dance party! Try these Brain Break Songs for Kids.
Write a Letter to the Next Class
Ask children to think of things they need to tell the next group of preschool children who are coming the following school year. Write their “letter” on chart paper. You can even have them make a video!
Field Trip to their Next School or Class
If your preschool students are going to a new school the next year, try to arrange a field trip to that school so they can see where they will go next year. If your students will return to the same school next year, arrange a visit with one of the Kindergarten classrooms.
Visit a Neighbor Class
Just for fun, arrange a visit with a neighboring class in your school! Plan a story time, or a few games, or a dance party.
Popsicle Day
Go outside to enjoy a popsicle treat! You might also want to give this Popsicle End of Year Gift for the children to take home.
Water Day
This takes some advance planning, but it’s fun to have a water day. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can get some water squirters at the dollar store. Ask parents to help by bringing small plastic pools, sprinklers, bubble machines. A tarp and sprinkler can be used as a slip and slide.
Bring a Stuffed Animal
Bringing a stuffed animal to school has always been a class favorite. It’s a good idea to tell parents that the stuffed animal needs to be small enough to fit into a back pack. You can do lots of activities with the stuffed animals: sorting and graphing, dance with your stuffed animal, play a bean bag song and use the animal in place of the bean bag.
Nature Walk
Children love to go on a nature walk if you have a safe place to go for a walk.
Picnic
Take lunch or snack outside for a picnic.
Sidewalk Chalk
Find a spot outside to have fun with sidewalk chalk. It’s also a lot of fun to make your own sidewalk chalk. Find a sidewalk chalk recipe on this page.
Science Day
On this day, do any fun science experiments you might have missed during the school year, or revisit some the class enjoyed.
Joke Day
Send home a note and have families help their child come up with a joke to tell the class the next day at school.
Magic Trick Day
Find some fun, simple magic tricks to teach the class. A simple one that preschoolers enjoy is the crayon color trick. Sit in a chair and hold your hands behind your back. Have a student place a crayon in your hands. Scratch a tiny piece of the wax with your fingernail, and have the student take the crayon out of your hands and hide it. Place your hands in your lap and pretend you’re thinking of the color while you look at the color on your fingernail. The kids are always amazed when you get it right every time! After amazing them a few times, you can teach them how to do the trick themselves!
Favorite Color Day
Have students wear their favorite color.
Favorite Book Day
Choose some of the books that you know were your students’ favorites this year, and revisit some of these best books. You might want to read some of their favorites from the beginning of the year.
Glitter Art Day
Plan a fun glitter art project. Your school janitor might be ready to fire you for making a big glitter mess 😆, so you can use glitter paint or glitter glue for less mess.
Lego Construction Day
Send home a ziplock bag with a note and ask parents to donate any unwanted Lego bricks. Have fun constructing all kinds of things.
Outside Day
Take the class outside for story time, an activity, circle time, and snack time. If you’re brave enough, you could even do rest time outside.
Talent Show
Give the children the opportunity to showcase their talents. They can sing, dance, tell a joke, do a magic trick, recite a rhyme or verse, show their artwork.
Paper Airplane Day
It seems like there’s always a substitute teacher who will teach the class how to make paper airplanes. Then it’s paper airplanes hitting my head for days until they have to be banned. So, on paper airplane day, kids have permission to make them. (Maybe go outside to fly them.)
Treasure Hunt
Set up a treasure hunt around the classroom. The treasure could be a special treat or gift.
Choose a Topic to Learn About
Assign each child a day and have them choose a topic they want to learn about on their day. They might choose a dinosaur day or a mermaid day or a make-a-kite day. This one might depend on how many children are in your class, but it can be really fun.
Other Ideas
A few more ideas: Hat Day, Sunglasses Day, Pajama Day, Silly Sock Day
I hope your class enjoys some of these fun activities! What other end of year activities do you have? Tell us in the comments below!
More Preschool End of Year Activities:
From Other Sites:
- Tips and Activities – from Fun a Day
- 24 Ways to Celebrate – from Pre-K Pages
- Preschool Memory Book – from Early Learning Ideas