Keeping Kids Engaged and Educated

We have reached the last two weeks of school, and it is becoming tricky to keep the kids on task and interested in learning.  Now, add some hot days in a classroom without air conditioning and it's even harder.  So I have had to become the master of entertainment, excitement, and education.  I'm guessing that I am not the only teacher encountering this in their classroom at the end of the school year so I have decided to share a few things that are working in my classroom.

1. Include lots of brain breaks:  One thing that works best with my class is music and movement.  My kindergarten class LOVES songs by The Learning Station.
2. Provide lots of student directed learning:  I try to keep my lessons as short and direct as possible, and give the children more time to work together or independently.
3. EXTRA recess:  Every kid loves more time to run and play outside!
4. Create, Discover, Explore!:  I have been including more creative ways for kids to learn, which include digital tools as well as art projects related to our writing or reading.
5. Add technology:  We visited the computer lab for math this week!  The kids had the chance to practice some of their addition and subtraction skills on ABCya.

These are just a few examples that I have used in my kindergarten classroom.  I hope you are able to modify them to use in your classroom so your student's stay engaged in learning until their last day of school.

Capturing a Year's Worth of Memories

Each year I love creating memory books for each child that captures their growth throughout the year.  Typically, I collect work samples from the beginning of the year until the end in a portfolio that I use during conference time to share student learning with parents.  I also hold on to a few keepsake projects that I think would fit nicely in their memory books.  This year I did a family project that wouldn't fit in the book so I took a photo of each child's before I sent it home so that I could include it. I also like to include photos of the school, our classroom, a class photo on the play scape, field trips, and other exciting events that may have occurred throughout the year. I also include an end of the year poem or letter from me.  This year I am thinking about including a reprinted version of the letter I sent home to the children over the summer.  Most importantly, each child's memory book tells the story of their year in learning from beginning to end.

I also like to invite families to celebrate their child's accomplishments with an end of the year celebration.  In the past, I have had a celebration with just my class as well as collaborated with other teachers on my grade level.  My celebrations typically include a song, a slideshow, an award that recognizes each child for an accomplishment, and an opportunity for the children to share some of their work with their families.  This year one of my colleagues and I are collaborating to have a family picnic lunch.  Our school is having a Sharing Assembly where each class shares some form of learning.  We will be singing a song and sharing a collaborative Animoto video that shares each child's thoughts about kindergarten.  We have invited families to join us for a picnic lunch after the Sharing Assembly.  Once the children have the opportunity to enjoy lunch with their families, we are inviting the families into our classrooms so that the children can share some of the work that they are working on collecting.  Each child is having an active part in selecting the work they will share!  We are all very excited about the upcoming event!

How do you celebrate the year with your students?