The End of the Year in Elementary Special Ed

We are nearing the end of the school year. How long is your to-do list? Mine feels about 10 miles long. We have to clean the classroom, pack up all our materials, prep ESY materials, file paperwork for the year, and so much more. Before all of that, we also have to teach! Let me show you how I survive the end of the year in elementary special ed.

The Last Ten Days

The end of the year can be a high stress time with all we have to get finished- enter The Last Ten Days. This resource is the full last ten days of lesson plans and activities. It requires very little prep and no thought! I use this resource to give me the freedom to do fun, engaging activities with my students for our last two weeks and get all the things done on my to-do list.

Social Stories

I love using the social stories of the Last 10 Days during the end of the year. Transitioning from school to summer can be difficult for our students. These social stories help prep our students for the upcoming transition. With this resource, there is a social story for each of the last 10 days. They go over saying goodbye to friends and teachers, cleaning the classroom, summer school, the last day of school, summer activities, and much more. I make a copy of each story for my students so they have one to keep at home if needed for them.

Memory Book

The Memory Book is my favorite part of the Last Ten Days! I love doing activities like this, but at the end of the year I just don’t have time to plan or prep it. I don’t even have to think about it with this resource! Everything is prepped for me. All I have to do is print out pictures of the kids and copy the books! This is a sweet keepsake for your students and their families to have to remember the school year. You can also make a copy of their book if you want it as a keepsake to remember your students! If you want another idea for a great end of the year keepsake, check out Stephanie’s blog post where she she shows you how to make an end of the year scrapbook!

Recipes

We love doing recipes in my classroom! In the Last 10 Days, there are food and sensory recipes you can do with your students. You can pick and choose the recipes you want to do. Each recipe is themed for the end of the year and summer. The materials are lots your probably already have laying around your house or classroom! With each recipe there is a sequencing visual and material visual for your students.

Crafts

Crafts are another thing I enjoy doing with my students, but at the end of the year I don’t have time to plan and prep for them. Spoiler alert: everything is prepped for you in this resource! Your students will love doing these crafts, and your families will love to see what their child made in your class! This could be a great para-led activity so you can work on that mile long end of the year to-do list!

Summer Vocabulary and Writing

There are also summer words, summer sentences, and writing activities included in the Last 10 Days. I like working on summer vocabulary at the end of the year because many of my students attend ESY and we will be working on summer vocabulary there. It is also a fun way to get ready for summer. Transitioning to summer can be difficult for our students, so this is a great way to prepare them! The activities are fun and engaging for the students. Some examples are nature scavenger hunts, how to make s’mores, ocean writing, summer bucket list, and more!

The end of the year can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! It is a time to celebrate and have fun with your students! The to-do list will always get done, so don’t forget to take time to play with your students and do fun activities with them! The memories you create during the end of the year will stay with you forever!