Has anyone else mentally moved on to summer? After an unusually cold and snowy March and a dreary April, May is here! Cue the sunshine and Justin Timberlake memes!
Last week, I chaperoned my oldest’s field trip to the zoo. It was 80-something degrees and sunny. I had no backpack to check or sight words to go over when we got home (or maybe I was supposed to and didn’t…). But it felt like the end of the school year and I am already daydreaming about all things summer.
Reality check: We still have THREE MORE WEEKS of school! So I better keep signing the daily behavior chart…
But in celebration of the end of school being near, I thought I’d share some easy traditions you can do to make the last few days special for your kids.
Listen, I’m serious about the easy part because this mom has no energy for elaborate things that I am committing myself to for the next 15 or so years of my life. I have two kids, one of which hasn’t even started school, so this has to be doable for the long haul. I’ve rounded up the best end-of-school traditions for parents who want to look like they tried hard without actually doing much. (And don’t miss the free printable in number two!)
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1. Book signed by teachers at the end of the school year
When my son started preschool, I bought Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Suess for him. I sent it in his backpack and asked his teachers to pick a page to write a note to him, sign, and date. At the end of each school year since then, I have sent the book back in for his teachers. I even had his speech and occupational therapists sign it when he “graduated” from therapy.
My goal is to pass it around to all the important adults in his life including coaches, church leaders, etc. as he grows. Then I’ll give it to him when he graduates high school as a reminder of all the people who have believed in him over the years. Mom of the year, am I right?
This is my favorite tradition for many reasons. First, you only have to buy something one time. Second, the only work I do is getting the book to people and keeping up with it over the years.
Ideally, I would do this without him knowing, but I usually just send it in his backpack with instructions. I figure that at this point he won’t remember it. When he gets older, I’ll have to be more sneaky and drop it off at school myself.
By no means is this an original idea since I have had several people tell me they do it. But it is something that is fun, sentimental, and sweet without being overbearing. I’m sure there are other book titles that would work, but this one seems to fit the bill perfectly. I recommend a hardcover version for durability.
2. Interview your child on the last day of school
I have great intentions of writing down lots of cute things my kids say and do so I’ll remember them later. I even have a note on my phone that I’ll add them to.
Convenient, right? Except that I have written a grand total of one thing down for all of 2018. Oops!
To help all of us out, I created a free printable you can download with interview questions for your kiddo about the school year. If they can read, you just have to hand it to them. If not, there aren’t many questions.
Do this each year and file them away for a quick recap in your child’s own words. Quick and easy! Download your FREE Last Day of School Interview printable here!
3. Class of graduation year T-shirt photo
This one requires just a little bit of up front work. A tiny bit, so hang with me.
Figure out what crazy-sounding year in the future your child will graduate from high school. My son will graduate in 2030. (If I don’t arrive at his ceremony in a flying car, then I’ll be super disappointed.) Then you go buy a t-shirt in a size your child can wear when they are a senior. I got an XL, to be safe.
You’ll also need some iron-on transfer paper, a printer, and computer. Make a something that says, “Class of 2030” (or whatever your year is). You can do this in Microsoft Word, Paint, or any program you like to use. Be sure to mirror flip the image before printing. (Here are instructions for flipping in Word to save you the Google search.)
Print on transfer paper, then iron it on the shirt. Be sure to follow instructions on the package so that you don’t have to do it twice. I learned the hard way that there is different paper depending on whether the shirt is light or dark.
Or you can just buy a shirt that already has the class year on Amazon, which is obviously easier. (Here’s a link to the Class of 2036, Class of 2035, Class of 2034, Class of 2033, Class of 2032, Class of 2031, Class of 2030, and even Class of 2037 and Class of 2038 for those of you starting in preschool.) Either way works!
Once that is over, take a picture of your kid wearing the shirt. Then do it again next year and the next until they graduate. They’ll look so cute in the giant shirt! You’ll get a visual reminder of how much they’ve grown.
There you have it! Three relatively simple traditions to celebrate the end of the school year. They aren’t super expensive and require very little work on your part.
But imagine how awesome you are going to look at your kid’s high school graduation party. You’ll have photos of them in the shirt for people to admire, a bunch of interviews to read, and a book full of encouraging words to give to your graduate. Better make sure you have futuristic tissues on hand because there won’t be a dry eye in the house!
I’d love to hear any other traditions you have for the end of school. Bonus points for simple things! Leave them in the comments below. And don’t miss my summer bucket list post for fun activities for the kids and this free summer schedule template to keep your sanity!
Don’t forget to download your free copy of the Last Day of School Interview!
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Hi! I'm Jessica! I help people fund adoptions, navigate parenting, save money, and enjoy the good things in life. 
Love this!!! Thank you…
No problem! I hope you found something easy for your cuties!
OH my gosh, I LOVE these ideas!! I wish I had read this when my kids were younger. I would have started every one of them. I’ll be sharing this on my page later today. They are brilliant, creative, and such treasures for our kids!
Thank you! I appreciate the share!
Love this!!! Thanks for sharing! I’m terrible at coming up with things like this so I love reading other people’s ideas!`
I love the T-Shirt idea! I may have to do this!
I don’t have children, yet, but I love all these ideas! Such great memories!!
I LOVE these ideas! I’m not a parent yet but I love thinking of these special traditions to start.
I think the book idea is my favorite!
This is super cute!
We do these too! You must be an awesome mom like me! 🙂 LOL!
Obviously, we are the best! LOL!
That t-shirt idea is so cute!
I love this!! Such a sweet and encouraging post!! I have every intention of writing things down to remember them later but get so busy and time just flies by! Thank you for your beautiful post Jessica! ❤
Okay -love- the idea of having teachers and important adults all sign a book for your child! It’s a great way to memorialize them for years to come.
So many great traditions! So well thought out! Great article. Thanks for sharing.
These are all such sweet ideas. Wish my parents had thought to do these with me!!
We do the book signed by the teacher and love it! The other two are great ideas as well :).
It’s so sweet to read the teachers’ comments! Thanks for reading!
Saving these for next year for Kane!
These are incredible ideas!!! I love them!!
I’m so happy you found these last day of school ideas helpful! Thanks for reading!
Such a nice ideas you have jotted down. I really liked the idea of keepsakes.
These are great! We have about a month to go before school gets out, but I will definitely be saving this post for some great ideas to commemorate their school year!
Enjoy the last month of school!
LOVE THIS! Great way to celebrate each milestone!
These are such cute ideas to make the last day of school special!! I think my favorite is the first one, I wish I had done that with my kids when they were younger. I suppose I could do it now but mine are in 3rd and 5th.
My kids class did the T-shirt one. And then everyone signed it. It was a good way to remember everyone as they will never be together again. Great ideas on last day school traditions.
I love the idea of an end of the year interview. It’ll be interesting to see how the answers change over the years.
I love the Oh The Places You’ll Go tradition and I actually do that with my boys. They are still really young so we are just starting but I hope to get everyone over the years so they have a nice keepsake when they graduate. I’m also saving t-shirts of their “firsts” camps, teams, events etc and I plan on making them a t-shirt quilt for graduation.