May is typically filled with all kinds of fun events that wind down the school year for kids. And, even though we’re at home this year, there’s no reason not to do the same! Heck, I think it’s even more important this year. It gives you an opportunity to reflect on how the whole family has persevered through these wildly weird times and made it to this point.
Your end of the school year celebration doesn’t have to be expensive, elaborate, or an all-day event, just something to mark the occasion. To help you out we’ve rounded up a few ideas to help your family celebrate the end of the 2020 school year.
If you’re looking forward to summer, we recently created our 2020 Summer Fun Guide and will continue to add to it throughout the season. And, you can find even more ideas on our Events Calendar, which now features in person, as well as, virtual events.
Here’s 11 ways to celebrate the end of the 2020 school year with your kids:
1. Reflect on the 2019-20 School Year – Ask your kids to spend some time reflecting on the previous year. They could create a timeline of events, fill out this “COVID-19 Time Capsule” created by Natalie Long of LONG Creations, conduct a last day of school interview, or you could ask your child questions and have them discuss what the year was like and record it or video with your phone.
2. Get Your Groove On – Participate in a family Tic Tok Challenge or create your own end of the school year dance and post it to Tik Tok or another video platform. You could also create a play list of your kids’ favorite songs and boogie down on the last day of school.
3. Host an Awards Ceremony – Hold a ceremony to close out the school year. Hand out some fun student awards or Pre-K/Kindergarten Diplomas and end the school year on a positive note. Don’t forget to give yourself an award too – “Best Pandemic Parent E-Learning Tech Support”, perhaps?
4. Go Out for Ice Cream – An end of the year tradition for many families is going out for ice cream. We have several lists of local places where you can find a cool treat in Des Moines in our Summer Fun Guide. And, if you can’t go out for ice cream, you can still enjoy some at home.
5. Take an End of the Year Photo – Many parents take a 1st day of school photo, but what about the last day? If this isn’t already one of your end of the school year traditions, this might be the year to start it. Modern Mom Life has put together some cute “Last Day of E-Learning Signs” to use as photo props.
6. Have a Water Balloon Fight – Each year, the 5th graders at our elementary school, earn water balloons by completing a reading challenge throughout the year and then have a huge water fight the last week of school. My daughter, who is in 5th grade, will be missing it, so we’ve already bought some water balloons and plan on hosting our own neighborhood water balloon fight.
7. Designate Theme Days – TBH I would get so annoyed by these when the kids were in school. It was just one more thing to remember and have to deal with while trying to get through a busy month. Oh, how times change! To spice up the last official week of school, have your kids come up with a special daily theme. Some ideas include: Silly Hat Day, Pajama Day, Backwards Day, School Spirit/Colors Day, Hawaiian Day, When I Grow Up Day (dress as what they want to be), Western Day, Hawaiian/Beach Day, Clash Day (dress in clashing outfits), Inside-Out Day, Fictional Character Day, Rainbow Day (wear as many colors as possible) etc.
8. Go on a Field Trip – Most school field trips seem to be scheduled during the last couple months of the school year. If your child missed out getting to go on their’s, go on one as a family. We’re headed over to Keuhn Conservation Area for ours.
9. Host an End-of-the-School-Year Party – Hang up a “Welcome to Summer” banner, break out the lawn games or sprinklers, serve up some tasty treats, kick back and rejoice that you survived another school year.
10. Write up a Summer Bucket List – We’ve all been missing our favorite activities and places. This is a great time to create a master list of all of the things your family wants to do this summer and start scheduling them.
11. Send Your Teacher a Thank You Note – This school year has been tough on everyone, especially teachers. Have your child write their teacher a thank you note. It can be as simple as sending them an email or putting something a little more formal in snail mail.
Will you be celebrating the end of the 2020 school year with your kids? If so, we’d love to hear how! Drop us a Comment below.
