This school year has been one for the books! Now, that 2019-2020 school year is winding down I’m sharing 5 ways to end the virtual school year with a smile.
The pandemic caused teachers all over the world to pivot to online teaching overnight! Not only did we have to pivot, but our students had to change the way they “went to school” overnight as well.
My students worked just as hard in our virtual classroom as they did in our regular classroom. I wanted to celebrate them! I wanted let them know how much I appreciated their positive attitude and perseverance!
Theme Days
Count Down Theme Days are not a new idea to end the school year, but I wondered if they would have the same effect virtually as in class. AND boy did they! My class was in hog heaven and all in every time a new theme was announced! Use theme days to end your virtual year with a smile.
Here were the themes we used for our last eight days of school.
- Crazy Sock Day
- Sunglasses Day
- Crazy Hair Day
- Virtual Background Day
- Pet Parade Day
- Blanket Fort Day
- Wear A Mask Day
- Eat A Sweet Treat Day
Summer Reading Recommendations
Another End of the Year activity that my students really enjoyed was recommending books in order to create a summer reading list.
They loved recommending books to each other throughout the year, so it made perfect sense that they would love this project at the end of the year.
I created a Google SlidesTM Presentation for them the fill out. Each slide included the title & author, book cover image, their name, and a short blurb about why someone should read the book. I simply downloaded the slides as a pdf and emailed pdf to my parents.
Wow! These were fantastic. I have received great feedback from just about all my families!
Mrs. Harris, my daughter is so excited to read this summer because the book titles come from her friends and not just a list! Thank you so much for putting a smile on my girl’s face at the end of the school year!
I’ve linked the product below.
One-on-One Student Farewells
This was my absolute favorite time with my students. This not only put a smile on my face but a tear in my eye.
I had to practice so I wouldn’t start tearing up! I had to practice A LOT! And when I was in the middle of a chat and felt that lump in my throat, I put my best acting skill to use (which really aren’t that great, truth be told) and held it together.
During the last 2 days of our Zoom times together, I asked students to stay behind after the call ended. They always had giant eyes with a look of fright when I called their name. They should have known by now that I loved to check-in with them.
During this time, I congratulated them on the year and shared how proud I was of them for their work in the classroom and their positive attitude during our online learning sessions. I also took this time to give advice if there was an area they had been working on throughout the year and ended by sharing what I thought was special about them.
My parents were over the moon with this. Many let me know how memorable that 3-4 minute conversation was for their child, and how it really made their year!
My Gift To Them
Another way to end your virtual school year is to give a gift to your students. I created a special gift for each of my students. They had a hand in the creation, too. It was a virtually collaborative gift. I created a Google Form that asked them to share a memory or compliment for each of their classmates.
I took the memories and compliments along with my own thoughts and made this picture for my students.
Using Powerpoint, I created a 5×7 inch box and inserted their picture in the middle. All around the outside, I included sentences, phrases, and words that we came up with for that particular child. Then, printed them out on cardstock and framed them in these 5×7 frames from Amazon. I then popped them in a gift bag.
Then the SURPRISE DELIVERY!
I spent one morning delivering the gifts to each child. So fun! It was great seeing them smile! Literally, the best day ever!
My parents knew of my plans the weekend before the last day of school. I wanted to make sure it was okay to deliver. This also gave the families time to relay any additional information I might need for the delivery.
I used the Route4Me app to create a delivery route and headed out at 8:00 am on the morning of the last day of school. I was able to deliver all the gifts, see my kiddos faces, chat with my parents, and return to the house before our last Zoom session at 1:30! Phew!!
My class was overjoyed with the surprise visit and the gift. Many of them had mixed emotions about the last day of school. We had a final dance party and said goodbye. The year was done!
These 5 ways to end your virtual school year are surely going to put a smile on you and your students’ faces!
What are some ways you will end your virtual school year?
2 Responses
What a beautiful post. Your gifts are so thoughtful and I love how students brainstormed so many words to describe each other. These suggestions are really helpful and I love the reading list ideas. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much, Anne!