Wednesday, July 6, 2016

End of the Year Camping Theme

Even though it's summer time, I've got some catching up to do here on the blog with all of the activities we did at the end of the school year. So file these ideas away for next year. 
 
During the last week of school we had a different theme each day. Yes, it was a lot of work for me. But it was so worth it! The days flew by and the kids were engaged and having fun the entire time. 
 
Typically the last week of school seriously drags.  Not this year! My kids were shocked to walk into the classroom and find the desks and tables were missing. In their place was a tent, camping chairs and even a little camp fire. Camp Read-a-Lot was ready to go!
 
 I made up some little 'Adventure Passes' for the students. They had to complete all six centers in the morning in order to make s'mores in the afternoon. Talk about motivation!  I used this free set of camping clip art to label our buckets and to make the adventure passes.
 
 I downloaded the center activities here and they were perfect for my kiddos. I also found some little freebies here and here that we used. I quickly prepped the centers and our whole morning was filled with learning and kept everyone busy. Well worth the work during that tiring last week of school!

Before lunch we turned out the lights and read by flashlight. The kids got a kick out of that. My classroom does not get very dark, but we made the most of it.

In the afternoon we were ready for a little treat. We used this sequencing and writing freebie to talk about how to make s'mores. We went step by step using the graphic organizer to build a s'more. Each of the students made their own (in the microwave) and it was just like we were in the great outdoors. After enjoying their s'more, they wrote their "How to make a s'more" paragraphs and made the little craftivity that went with it. Perfect end of the day activity!
 

This theme day is for sure a 'keeper' for next year! The students had so much fun and didn't even realize they were learning right up until the end of the school year!


 

No comments:

Post a Comment