It’s that time of the year again…the end of the school year, and you’re brainstorming preschool end-of-year activities for the last days of school.
Well, your search is over.
Here you will find end-of-year activities for preschool and pre-k that keep students engaged, focused, and learning until the last day of school.
Not only are these last week of preschool activities fun and age-appropriate, but they also strengthen fine motor, social, and academic skills.
So to create memories and expose preschoolers to new experiences, schedule a few of these engaging activities in your end-of-the-year preschool lesson plans.
Your little ones will absolutely love them.
Preschool End-of-Year Activities
Your little ones will love it if you include some of the following activities in your preschool end-of-the-year program curriculum.
1. Fill an End-of-Year Memory Bag.
Provide preschoolers with a small, brown paper bag, and give them time to decorate it any way they like.
Afterward, each child fills his or her memory bag with memorable objects that were important to them during the school year.
Examples include a special pencil, crayon, photo, drawing, etc.
2. Make Pet Rocks.
Strengthen students’ artistic skills by having them create a pet rock.
Gather enough smooth, round rocks for each child. Then follow these instructions for helping preschoolers make their own pet rock.
3. Construct Using Legos.
There are three main ways to complete this activity…
- As a whole class, collaborate to build one structure with each child contributing a piece. This idea is great for modeling how to follow instructions when making something.
- Another option is to create four or five stations, with small groups of students collaborating to build a structure at each station in the rotating schedule.
- The last alternative is giving students the choice to build whatever they want independently.
4. Tell Knock Knock Jokes.
Add humor to your preschool end-of-year activities with knock-knock jokes.
Preschoolers will practice playing with words which is a great cognitive exercise.
Before students tell their own knock-knock jokes, share a few with them to get them warmed up to the structure and rhythm of the jokes.
Then allow them to choose one or two knock-knock jokes to share with the class.
Save time by having them select ideas from this list of knock-knock jokes for 4-year-olds.
5. Plant a Tree.
Find a baby tree at the local nursery, and plant it in a special place at school.
In the future, when students visit or pass by the preschool, the tree will serve as a reminder of this special time.
6. Draw Favorite Memories.
One of the simplest end-of-year preschool activities for kids is drawing.
Give each child an 8.5 by 11-inch blank piece of paper.
Each will draw a favorite memory or a series of favorite memories from the school year.
7. Take a Field Trip to Kindergarten.
Reduce the anxiety that preschoolers may feel about transitioning up by scheduling a visit to a kindergarten classroom.
Participating in this activity allows preschoolers to meet the teacher, ask questions, meet current kindergarteners, and get a feel for a kindergarten classroom.
8. Host an End-of-Year Certificate Ceremony.
This list of preschool end-of-year activities would not be complete without an awards ceremony.
Recognize and show appreciation for the hard work your little ones have been showing all school year.
Distribute to each child a certificate of participation, good conduct, achievement, and/or attendance.
9. Explore With a Scavenger Hunt.
Get students moving with an end-of-school-year scavenger hunt. Your preschoolers will be anxiously anticipating where the next clue will lead them.
This is a great activity for strengthening listening skills.
10. Have a Dress-Up Day.
Choose a day for students to come dressed according to a theme that you’ve chosen such as international day, cowboy day, favorite sports team, etc.
For the entire day, they’ll complete fun activities associated with the theme.
11. Play Hopscotch.
Develop preschoolers’ body control and body rhythm by teaching them how to play hopscotch.
Head outdoors, grab some chalk, draw a hopscotch board on the sidewalk, and get to playing!
12. Participate In Spirit Week.
Schedule a week at the end of the school year for spirit week.
Spirit week serves to build community and school pride. It’s a fun and memorable time for preschoolers.
See spirit week ideas for preschool kids.
13. Organize Career Day.
It’s never too early for kids to think about what they want to be when they grow up.
Support students in exploring different jobs and careers by hosting a career day.
Invite parents from different professions to speak to the kids or do activities with them.
You may also consider having your preschoolers come to school dressed one day as their favorite job or profession.
14. Create a Graduation Cap.
Celebrate the milestone of preschool graduation with a custom-made graduation cap.
Making a graduation cap creates memories, and the final product serves as a keepsake.
Here’s how to make a cool graduation cap for preschoolers.
15. Blow Bubbles.
Purchase or make a bubble soap mixture.
Then head outdoors, give each student a wand along with some bubble soap, and let them happily blow bubbles.
To make this a science experiment, make the bubble soap with your preschool students.
16. Schedule a Clean-Up Day.
Work smarter at the end of the school year by getting students to help you clean up.
After a long year, there is so much to organize, clean, and prepare for the next school year.
See ideas for ways preschoolers can help clean up during the last week of school.
17. Respond to Writing Prompts.
If you’re seeking more academic-focused preschool end-of-year activities, try writing prompts.
By the end of the school year, preschoolers’ writing skills have developed quite a bit.
Assign a few lower-level kindergarten writing prompts to support preschoolers in developing their writing skills for the next grade level.
18. Make a Shoebox Float.
Request that each preschool student bring a shoebox to school.
Now assign a theme, and give the children a block of time to decorate their shoebox according to the theme.
Ideas for themes include…
- Dr. Suess
- Mardi Gras
- Favorite authors
- Colors
- Shapes
- Animals
- Foods
Provide various craft objects for students to use such as beads, glitter, feathers, popsicle sticks, etc.
19. Practice the Alphabet Using Playdoh.
Give students some Play-Doh, call out a letter of the alphabet, and then give them time to create that letter using Play-Doh.
As a challenge, call out blends and digraphs.
Continue calling out letters until the alphabet is complete.
20. Do Q-Tip Picture Painting.
Take painting to another level by having students paint using Q-tips.
This fun end-of-school-year activity develops fine motor skills and engages students.
Take a look at these fun Q-tip painting ideas.
21. Participate In Reading Buddies.
Be sure to include in your preschool end-of-year activities a literacy activity.
If possible, pair preschooler’s with an older grade level such as 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade. The older students will read to the younger ones.
This time is a great opportunity for preschoolers to observe good reading habits and skills in practice.
22. Make a Slideshow.
During the last week of school, take a picture or video of each student completing a fun activity.
Afterward, combine all the footage to make an end-of-year slideshow or video. Gift it digitally to parents and students on the last day of school.
23. Play Letter Bingo.
Give each child an alphabet bingo board.
To ensure boards are all different, have preschoolers randomly choose letters of the alphabet to fill their blank board.
Provide beans or counters as markers to cover the letters as they play.
Once the game has started, a child wins if he or she is the first to cover five letters vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
Play as many rounds as you’d like.
24. Complete Dinosaur Activities.
Motivate preschoolers to explore dinosaurs with this variety pack of dinosaur fine motor activities.
These activities are low-prep, educational, and fun.
25. Have Fun With Sidewalk Chalk Art.
Grab colored chalk, head outside, and encourage students to have fun writing, drawing, and sketching on the sidewalk or court.
26. Conduct a Science Experiment.
The end of the school year is a perfect time to complete activities that you may not have had a lot of time to do during the school year.
One subject that usually goes on the back burner is science.
So dig up all of those science experiments that you wanted to do during the school year, and complete them with your preschoolers.
27. Play Childhood Games.
Head outside, and guide preschoolers in playing a variety of childhood games such as Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, etc.
Childhood games are not only fun, but they also improve cognitive strength, dexterity, and imagination.
28. Make Slime.
Integrate science into your end-of-year preschool activities by having students create slime.
Even the most reluctant preschool learners will be excited about this!
And the best part? Each child will get to take some home.
29. Participate In an Obstacle Course.
Create an obstacle course inside or outside of the classroom using hula hoops, pillows, bean bags, blankets, beach balls, jump ropes, … any materials or objects that you have available.
One-by-one, students participate in the fun obstacle course.
30. Create a Paper Bag Puppet.
If you’re looking for creative end-of-year activities for preschool, try this fun idea.
Provide your preschoolers with a small, brown paper bag.
Still folded, they will decorate the flap part on the closed end. It will serve as the puppet’s face.
Afterward, students will position the puppet on one hand/arm and pretend to create a dialogue with it.
See here for detailed instructions on how to make a paper bag puppet.
31. Assemble a Garden of Greatness Bulletin Board.
Nurture preschoolers’ social-emotional needs with a bulletin board that showcases their greatness.
On a flower template, students will record things that make them unique or special.
Once everyone is done, collect all the “flowers” to make a “Garden of Greatness” bulletin board.
See how to create and assemble this bulletin board activity.
Final Thoughts On End-of-Year Activities for Preschool
Engage kids until the last day of school by implementing a few fun and meaningful preschool end-of-year activities.
No longer worry about students becoming disengaged during the last few weeks of school. You’re all set now.