The FINAL Countdown: End of the Year Tips/Tricks!

Thanks for hopping on over from Marvel Math and welcome to stop #15! I hope by now you have TONS of awesome tips to help you get through these last few weeks of school!

Can y'all believe it's already that time of year?… The LAST quarter. I can’t believe it got here so fast. I don’t know about yall, but I always have a big mix of emotions at this point of year. I am EXCITED for summer… but I am also SO SAD to lose my kiddos forever. One year just always seems to short. = (

The last six weeks of school can be CRAZY. Testing. Field day. Assemblies. Year book signing day. Graduations. The list could go on. What do you do to keep both YOU and YOUR STUDENTS sane during this crazy time? Check out what we do in our classroom below.

1) Don’t check out…yet.

Yall… Structure is the most beautiful thing. This tip probably seems crazy, but I think it is the most important. I don’t know about yall, but I always seem to run out of time to teach and do everything I want to. Even though it is tempting to put in a movie or start cleaning your room during the last few days/weeks of school, keep the structure and keep teaching! I am excited to do some STEM projects now that test review and prep is almost officially over! EEEK. Can’t wait.

2. Implement a new reward system.

Have prize days. Set the tone that excellent behavior will be applauded! Things get crazy this time of year (as stated above). Encourage your students to continue to have excellent behavior. This time of year I like to do random prize days. My school runs on a 1 to 5 behavior chart, so on certain days everyone on a 3 or higher at the end of the day will get a mystery prize (beads, a piece of candy, etc.) New this year in my classroom (thanks to instagram) we have a V.I.L table for leaders who soar past behavior expectations. Throwing in new, fresh behavior during the last quarter of school will keep students working hard and behaving well!

3. Let your kids help get you ready for next year.

I like to have my kids help me introduce my new kids to my classroom through a letter/or survey. This year I am going to have them complete the graphic organizer above on our classroom i-Pads using PhotoGrid. I haven’t decided if I am going to print them out or leave them on the i-Pads for next year’s kiddos to flip through.  I might turn them into a PDF book so that they can flip through all of the pages at once. Check out my end of the year freebie on TPT for the printable/uploadable file so you can do this project in your classroom!

What is your favorite end of the year survival tip? 

I'd love for you to share it in the comments below!

Secret Letter: M

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Now...  hop on over to Two Little Birds for your next letter and for more GREAT tips!