The end of the school year in the elementary classroom is crazy enough without having to think about and plan an end-of-the-school-year bulletin board! I know, I know, you want to end the year with a cute bulletin board to say goodbye, and your school may even have an end-of-the-year bulletin board contest that you want to win, but you do not need any more stress when it comes to the end of the year!
That is why you will LOVE my go-to end-of-the-year bulletin board that is simple to create and student focused! Plus, when you bring the end of the school-year theme "Bugging Out for Summer" into your classroom to go along with the end-of-the-year bulletin board display, you will have your kids focused, working hard, and enjoying the last week of school!
So, let's dive into how you can create a simple, meaningful, fun, student-centered bulletin board for the end of the school year with the theme "Bugging Out for Summer!"
1. Brainstorm Summer Activities
2. Use a Ladybug Template
Once student's work has been edited, use a ladybug template for students to write their final copy. I have students write on lined ladybug templates and create an illustration on a blank ladybug template. After students have written the final copy of their summer writing and completed a colorful illustration page, follow these directions:
To assemble the ladybug...
✅cut out writing ladybug template
✅ cut out illustration ladybug template
✅ staple both together, with writing on top
✅ have students create a border with red or black paper by tracing the ladybug on construction paper, leaving about an inch border, and staple or glue together
3. Use Pipe Cleaners to Pop
Now that your bulletin board is complete try these ideas to take the buggy theme even further to make the end of the year engaging!
4. Grab a Buggy Read Aloud
5. Make an Independent Packet
6. Create A Game
Once we have completed the writing and illustrating for the bulletin board display, I have students use that same theme to create their own math game! This project is called Bugging Out for Math! The kids LOVE this activity!
There are no strict rules or directions, except the students need to create a math game based on one skill that they learned that year. You can have them pick a skill like multiplication or assign each group or pair of students a skill to avoid overlap. The kids work in pairs or in small groups and create their game using one of the given spinners or game boards. Once all groups are done, we have a game day. I call it Bugging out for Games Day. The kids take turns playing each other's games. It is a lot of fun and a memorable activity for the last week of school! You will be impressed with the games that the students create!