end of the year crafts

1-2-3 Come Do Some End Of The Year Writing Prompts and Craftivities With Me

Since yesterday's article on having current students make something for your next year's kiddos was so popular, I decided to make one with an owl-theme, as owls continue to be really popular.  I know I love them. 

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Run off the templates on a variety of colors of construction paper. Students choose and trim.

Print the facial pattern, trim and trace on an old file folder.  Trace once and cut 3 to 6 eye pieces out at a time.  If you want your beak to be 3D, cut on a fold.

Place and position wings, poke a hole with a protractor at the top and insert a brass brad so they “fly” open. Choose your grade-level heart template and run off on a variety of colors of construction paper. 

Explain to students that what they will be making will be given to your new kiddos in the fall.  They write why their current grade was a hoot.  What a nice surprise for your incoming class to find on or in their desk.  These could also be put up on a bulletin board.
To make it even more personal, have students glue their school photo somewhere.

owl crafts, owl activities, owl writing prompts, school was a hoot, end of the year crafts, end of the year activities, end of the year writing prompts, keepsake crafts, memory books for the end of the year, writing prompts by current students for next years students, memory craft for the end of the year, If you don't want to putz with a craft, I've included just the writing prompt as a template. As with the above craft, I've included templates for preschool through third grade, plus a blank one to fill in with something else.

owl crafts, owl activities, owl writing prompts, school was a hoot, end of the year crafts, end of the year activities, end of the year writing prompts, keepsake crafts, memory books for the end of the year, writing prompts by current students for next years students, memory craft for the end of the year, There's also 2 different bookmark options to give your current students.  Click on the link to view/download the "___________ Grade Was A Hoot" packet.

As with the "tree-mendous" packet yesterday, (scroll down to the next blog article to take a look), I also made a keepsake craft for your students to make for themselves.  This packet is called "School Was A Hoot."

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Open up 2 file folders. Glue the right side of one to the left side of the other.  You will now have a left flap, middle section and right flap.  Use the pattern to trace the wings and then trim.

I used a third file folder for the head, but you could also use a sheet of construction paper.
Students can draw their own face, or you can use my pattern.  You could also cut these pieces out of construction paper and have students glue them on.

owl crafts, owl activities, owl writing prompts, school was a hoot, end of the year crafts, end of the year activities, end of the year writing prompts, keepsake crafts, memory books for the end of the year, writing prompts by current students for next years students, memory craft for the end of the year, Choose your grade-level flag and run them off on a variety of colors of construction paper.  Students trim and glue only the left portion of the pennant to the left wing.  Add a school photo to make it extra special.

Brainstorm with students about all of the things they did that year that were a hoot.  You may want to jot these on the board to help with spelling.

After students have written a rough draft, they rewrite their final thoughts on the writing prompt page that will be glued to the middle of their owl.

owl crafts, owl activities, owl writing prompts, school was a hoot, end of the year crafts, end of the year activities, end of the year writing prompts, keepsake crafts, memory books for the end of the year, writing prompts by current students for next years students, memory craft for the end of the year, Students can draw a full-sized body picture of themselves in the oval, or just their face.  Have students really think about what they'll write in the "favorites" and "memories" sections, which will be glued to the wings. 

owl crafts, owl activities, owl writing prompts, school was a hoot, end of the year crafts, end of the year activities, end of the year writing prompts, keepsake crafts, memory books for the end of the year, writing prompts by current students for next years students, memory craft for the end of the year, The autograph page goes on the back.  Students color it and can collect their own signatures or to expedite things, you can have everybody sign a master sheet and then run it off for everyone.

Make a sample of your own to share with your students.  I’m sure they’ll enjoy hearing about their teacher’s favorite things and why (s)he thought this year was a hoot. 

“A picture is truly worth a 1,000 words” and will help you explain what you want your kiddos to do.  Click on the link to view/download the file folder School Was A Hoot packet. 

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"No matter how much you think you hate school, you'll find that you'll miss it when you leave." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Interesting "Craftivities" With Me

Congratulations!  You're heading down the home stretch.  The first and last month of school arrive quickly and seem to be the most hectic. 

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, One of the things that helped me check a few more things off my "to do" list, was several "Welcome Back To School" activities and bulletin boards that my current students made for my next year's kiddos.  

This served a dual purpose, as it gave my Y5's something to do when I was running out of ideas for make up snow days, plus accomplished decorating and making a few things, so I didn't have to do them by myself come August.  

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, apple bulletin boards, apple activities, end of the year writing prompts, Here's a photo of my completed apple back to school bulletin board, with a close up of my sample.  I made sure that all of these children were still in our school before I passed out the apples to my kiddos.

Since Kindergarten and Y5's had the same lunch hour it was fun for them to look for their older new friend.  Simply use any apple dicut.  We ran ours through a crinkle machine.

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to design several things that your current sweeties could make for your incoming kiddos, as well as a keepsake for themselves if you wanted to do the entire packet. 

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, The "Tree-mendous" Year craftivies include the writing prompt: You're going to have a "tree-mendous" year in ______ grade, where   students cut and color a tree and then flip it up to reveal their message to the new student.  What a nice surprise for them to find on or in their desk, on the first day of school.

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, The packet also includes a tree that they help design by tracing their hand (fingers spread to make the branches) plus part of their arm (which becomes the trunk). 

The caption here is: I had a "tree-mendous" year in __________ grade.

The treetop is 3D as students cut out two, fold them in half and then glue one side of them together.   Add some red circles (apples) to the flat side and have students write some of their very favorite things, people, and places that revolved around that grade.  Add a photo for the finishing touch. 

Click on the link to view/download The "Tree-mendous" Year packet.

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, Another option, with the same idea, is The "Bee-utiful" Year packet.  Students make a bumblebee out of a toilet paper tube using yellow construction paper, black electrical tape (stripes), cupcake liners (wings) and a pipe cleaner (antennae). 

I've included a bee pattern with a face drawn in for them to color, or they can use the oval and design their own.  Add wiggle eyes for a bit more pizzazz.

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, Students complete the writing prompt page that says: I'm wishing you a bee-utiful year in __________.  Here's the buzz about what you'll learn and then roll it up and insert it inside the TP tube. 

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, For an easier writing prompt, I've included 2 bookmark options that can also be rolled up and put inside the bumblebee, which say: "You'll have a great year bee-cause..."  or "My favorite things about 'bee-ing' a first grader:" (Fill in the blank with your grade level.)

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, Click on the link to view/download the "Bee-utiful" Year packet. 

Along the same lines, is the larger bee craftivity, where students make a big bee with wax paper wings and complete the writing prompt: "You're going to have a great year 'bee-cause'"... in a little apple booklet that they glue to the bee's tummy. 

end of the year activities, may writing prompts, june writing prompts, back to school bulletin boards, letters to next years students, bee crafts, bee activities, tree crafts, tree activities, hand arm trees, 3D tree, apple tree activities, daily 5 for may, daily 5 for june, end of the year crafts, end of the year writing prompts, This makes a sweet back-to-school bulletin board as well.  A caption could be: What's the buzz about kindergarten?

When your own students have time to get some work done for their own bulletin board, take this one down and give everyone a bee.  Click on the link to view/download the "Bee-cause" packet. 

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 "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." -Muhammad Ali

I'm Going To Have A Whate Of A Good Time...

This is along the same lines as the "Bucket List" and "Having A Ball" writing prompts above.  

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You can make one huge whale and give each student a blue wave to fill out, and then put the waves around your whale, or you can give each child their own whale and the writing prompt paper for them to complete and then arrange these on a bulletin board that's covered with blue paper.

To make the whales more personal, cut your students' school picture out as an oval, children glue the photo to a white oval, and then glue the white oval to a blue circle. (Have these pre-cut) Students use this as the whale's eye and glue it to their black whale.

Wiggle eyes also look cute.  Students can add a red heart sticker for a cheek or use a crayon to color one in.  Students also cut out a blue wave and glue it to the back of their whale.

Write child's name with a silver sharpie on the largest part of the wave.

I like to add a spray of water coming out of the spout. To add even more pizzazz, add silver glitter glue.

You can also add a bit of white glitter to the tops of the blue waves as well.

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Click on the link to view/download Summer Fun Packet

Scroll down for the last article about Summer Writing Prompts.  This one includes prompts #4, #5 and #6

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