End of Year Fun for Students!
Finding the right summer time activities at school students can enjoy all summer may be a challenge given how technology is the quick and easy go to activity that keeps us engaged for hours on end! But don’t worry in this article we give teachers a list of six fun summer time activities at school that students will enjoy!
Summer Time Activities as a Daily Schedule
Our End-of-Year Summer Activity Guide provides teachers with a structured, engaging way to wrap up the school year, helping students stay motivated while having fun across multiple subjects. By planning diverse activities in areas such as physical fitness, music, language arts, reading books, kitchen-based science, and global research, teachers can keep students’ minds active and reinforce lessons from the year in a relaxed, interactive setting.
Physical and musical activities offer a break from routine, letting students express themselves and stay active, which is key for energy and focus.
Language arts and school reading activities keep literacy skills sharp, while encouraging students to discover new stories and expand their language skills through creative assignments like poetry or book-inspired skits.
Kitchen-based activities provide practical applications of science and math, sparking curiosity as students learn about measurements, reactions, and even nutrition.
Finally, research activities enable students to dig deeper into topics they find exciting, fostering independence and preparing them for the academic challenges of the next year.
This guide allows teachers to blend fun with learning, creating a memorable end-of-year experience that enriches students academically and socially. These summer time activities at school not only strengthen skills across subjects but also build students’ excitement for learning, keeping them engaged and ready for summer exploration.
You can get access to this visual activity planner by visiting the ETI Academy TpT store here.
Gender and Learning
When planning summer activities at school, understanding the role of gender in learning preferences can help tailor activities to be inclusive and engaging for all students. Research suggests that while individual preferences vary widely, some students may lean toward specific activities influenced by social and cultural factors. For example, boys may often gravitate toward physical activities that involve movement and competition, while girls might show interest in collaborative or creative activities like language arts or group projects. However, it’s essential to avoid strict gender-based assumptions and instead provide a balanced range of activities that encourage all students to explore varied interests.
By incorporating a mix of physical, artistic, scientific, and collaborative options, teachers can create an environment where each child feels empowered to participate, discover new skills, and enjoy learning. Gender-responsive activities can promote a more inclusive summer program that values individual choices and nurtures diverse learning styles, ultimately fostering confidence and engagement across the board.
The video below shows how boys and girls respond to learning. This may be help when keeping in mind what activities may work best with boys verses girls.
Building Creative Minds All Summer Long
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Turn your kitchen into a learning lab this summer by connecting cooking with educational activities and tools that make learning fun! Cooking with kids introduces math through measuring ingredients, science by observing physical and chemical changes, and reading comprehension through following recipes. This hands-on approach helps children develop practical skills while encouraging critical thinking and creativity.
It’s also importnt to keep everyone in your family healthy (and free from toxins) by providing them with BPA free stainless steel cups, bowls, and dishes from Ahimsa. The word Ahimsa means “free from harm”. This is the goal behind all the products sold at Ahimsa. Click here to visit their website and view the wide variety of products to keep your children (and the environment) free and safe from harm.
Parents or camp leaders can foster curiosity with themed cooking challenges, mini science experiments like making bread rise, or measuring exercises that involve fractions and ratios. These engaging activities make cooking a memorable way to keep young minds active, inspired, and learning all summer long!
Six End of Year Summer Time Activities at School
Now on to the list of six activities that will keep students busy as the end of the school year approaches!
I. Simple Physical Activities
We encourage children to include some simple physical activities in their day to keep their energy levels high.
The benefits to physical activities is plentiful as it builds muscles and maintains the body and mind in good health.
Simple physical activities around the house could be as simple as running around in the back yard, or running through the water sprinkler to play games with house hold garden items.
Other physical activities could be as simple as going for a simple walk, run, or hike, or a student favorite, jumping rope!
The goal with physical activities is to get the mind and body energized!
Keeping the mind active could also mean learning a new language!
II. Learning a New Language
What are the benefits of learning a new language?
It expands your own language skills and teaches us to other connect languages together. Studies show that learning more than one language greatly improves memory skills and makes it easier to learn any subject, such as science or math.
In building language skills it is important to recognize how to improve on each skill.
It starts with listening skills, encourage your students to build their listening skills with games and activities.
You can encourage learning new languages through play acting as well.
Other ways to build language skills include
- board games such as Scrabble!
- word puzzles
- an app called Duolingo to help build language skills each day (no affiliation here, we just like it!)
Why not turn the skills we are using in language activities and become musical?
III. Musical Activities
Research has shown that playing a musical games increases critical thinking skills as well as memory skills.
Musical games offer a range of benefits for students, combining fun with essential developmental skills. Engaging with music and rhythm improves memory, attention span, and pattern recognition, which are foundational for math and language learning. Musical games also enhance physical coordination and motor skills, as students often need to move, clap, or follow rhythms, which supports both physical development and the ability to process multiple sensory inputs simultaneously.
Beyond cognitive benefits, musical games foster social skills like teamwork, cooperation, and empathy, as students often play in groups, listen to each other, and take turns. These games can also reduce stress and boost mood, creating a more positive and engaging learning environment. Overall, musical games are an enjoyable and effective way to support holistic learning in the classroom.
Learning a musical talent can be seen as an educational activity.
IV & V. Educational / Research Activities
Now wait, I know what you’re thinking, most students don’t want to hear the word educational as they approach the summer months.
True, but when we say educational it doesn’t have to mean stuck doing boring activities.
Do you (or your students) ask questions or ever wonder what it is out there; such as with space or the oceans of the world?
Why not take a little time out of your day to research a topic that you may find interesting to learn more about and share it with others!
Educational activities in summer pretty much means ways to doing any activity that improves life skills.
We mean here:
- playing board games (which can help improve math skills)
- exploring the arts or history through writing stories, plays, or drawing
- exploring the sciences through cooking
Why not encourage your students to help make new recipes in the kitchen?
VI. Kitchen Activities
Learning to cook or bake is a life skill that most people would appreciate having in their aprons. The level of creativities that can result from cooking remain endless.
If you consider how much learning goes on in the kitchen, we can see how that same learning helps build confidence in the classroom.
Now that we have a list of six main activities to choose from how can students build their own schedule of summer time activities at school during the week?
Watch this video and see how!
The timing of your schedule and the duration of each activities can be adjusted to suit the age levels of your students.
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Final Thoughts…
Our Summertime Activity Cards and Planner offer a fun and structured way for teachers to wrap up the school year with engaging activities that students can also enjoy at home during summer break. By incorporating activities that balance learning with play, these resources keep students mentally active while providing the creative freedom to shape their own summer activities at school. Whether it’s a fun physical challenge, a kitchen experiment, or a creative art project, these activities are designed to be memorable and easy for students to recreate, encouraging them to explore their interests and create lasting summer memories.
For ways to enjoy these summer time activities at home, click to visit our homeschooling blog.
Teachers can confidently end the school year knowing they’re giving students tools that inspire curiosity, skill-building, and self-expression. Parents will also appreciate these activities as a way to add educational value to the summer break, blending fun with continued learning. This set of cards and planner helps students stay connected to what they love, creating a summer filled with exploration, creativity, and joy.
Share Your Thoughts
Comment below to let us know if you have any other interesting tips for making summer time more fun!
