Special End of the Year Countdown Ideas for School

The end of the school year is such a special time. It is a time to reflect on the fun things that you’ve done as a classroom “family” and to enjoy one another and have some fun without the stresses of data collection and reporting. I love to do an end-of-school countdown with my students. These are a few of my favorite Countdown To Summer ideas!

Photo of kids blowing bubbles with text, "Special Ways to Count Down to the End of the School Year."

Display Countdowns

Counting down to the end of the school year can be as simple or creative as you wish. Some of the most straightforward end-of-the-year countdown ideas are very effective and take very little preparation. A couple of my favorites are bulletin board countdowns and these fun tear-away countdowns.

These could be used with students of any age to count down any time you’d like!

Balloon Pop Countdowns

A balloon pop countdown is also a fun way to count the days to summer.

Balloon pop bulletin board that says "Let

You can use these in countless ways! Here are some of my ideas:

I love the idea in the image above: Place students’ names inside the balloons and give one student per day the VIP treatment.
Place the title of a spring or end-of-school book inside each balloon and read that book during read-aloud time.
Place the name of a GoNoodle video or channel inside each balloon, and let this be your brain break for the day.
Write some “free time” activities on a slip of paper inside the balloons and have students choose one when the required work is complete.

ABC Countdown

My absolute favorite way to count down to the end of the school year is with an ABC Countdown. This one is even fun with older kids! I’m using it this year with my Grade 5/6 class.

Each of our last 26 school days has a letter theme. The theme days can be very simple, not interfering with the day’s routines, or can be a total takeover – all other routines out the window!

Keeping it Simple

Days like Animal Day, Silly Sock Day, or Name Day are very low-key. Everything you usually do during the day can continue while you celebrate, with that extra element of fun!

More Time Required

Some days like Picnic Day, Art Day, or eXtra Recess Day will have a more significant impact on your regular routine, but it is SO worth it! The more time, the more memories!

Extreme Excitement

Finally, the whole-day takeover events will really turn into days your students will remember for years to come. Days like Outside Day, Kindness Day, or Math Day will be a hit for sure.

Photo of ABC Countdown notices on colored paper.

There are many ideas out there for an ABC Countdown, but I have collected them all in one place, just for you! This resource contains:

a huge list of special day topics with explanations,
suggested resources to use,
a fun editable classroom display,
ready-to-go home communication forms that are entirely editable to save you time,
AND Google Slides™ and PowerPoint versions for anyone teaching remotely!

All of this is in one package, which you can grab in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here: