Being in Florida, we have some surfers in the school. But you can come up with any title. Countdown to Summer sounds just as fitting! But Surfing Into Summer fit well with the surfboards! You don't even need a title of you don't want one - the surfboards look cute all decorated without any heading.
If you have 25 students, then you would take down surfboard #25 when there are 25 days of school left. Whoever decorated that surfboard would get to read how they wanted to celebrate the last days of school. Then, you would celebrate! When you have 24 days left of school, then you take down surfboard #24, and have that student read off how they want to celebrate the end of the school year. And you keep doing it every day until the last day of school!
Now there are tons of different ways to implement this in your classroom. You could give the student a list of pre-selected activities that they have to choose from. You could have them each write their top three activities down, and you can pick one of those for them. I did it this way once, and it was a surprise each day for the students since they didn't know which of their choices they gave me was chosen. Or you could let them come up with their own activity, bring it to you for approval, and then let them write it on the back of their surfboard. I think it depends on your students and what grade level you teach. One year, when I was teaching first grade, we came up with 18 activities together, and then the students just wrote one of those activities on the back of their surfboard.
You also have to decide, based on what activities they are picking, if you want them to purchase things for this activity or if you plan on purchasing everything. I have done it both ways, and I can say, the cost does add up. But it depends on your school. You might not be able to ask students to bring in items for a celebration. In that case, pick activities that are free!
Ideas for activities:
- extra recess
- pajama party
- popcorn party
- board game day
- popsicle party
- craft day
- dance party
- Read in the dark with flashlights
- pizza party
- picnic lunch
- organization day
- recycling party
- read to a buddy
- eat with the teacher
- have a classroom play
- water balloon fight
Any of these activities can rang from 20 minutes to an hour. It makes sense to decide in advance how long you want to devote each day to this activity. I tend to spend about 30 minutes each day on the activities that my students pick, but that is based on the amount of time I have available in my schedule. You do what works best for you!
If you plan on having the students bring in items for the activity, just let them know a couple days ahead of their day. And if you pick an activity such as Pajamas Day or a Picnic lunch - students would need to know to bring their pajamas or to pack a lunch for outside (and maybe bring a towel to sit on).
Once you start the countdown, it is going to be the students favorite part of the day, by far! And you end up not having students miss school as much because they want to be there to celebrate each student. My students have always loved this end of year activity, and I hope you can find joy in your own classroom with it!
Comment below on other ways to implement this in the classroom! I love sharing and learning from you!
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