ABC Countdown in Kindergarten: Over 100 End-of-the-Year Ideas!
Looking for alphabet countdown ideas for the end of the year in kindergarten? Whether you are planning your first ABC countdown or just looking to switch things up a little, you’re in the right place! Read on to discover a whole bunch of ideas you can use for thematic days from A-Z.
What is an ABC Countdown?
An alphabet countdown is a fun way to keep engagement up during the last few weeks (or 26 days, to be precise) of school. By assigning a letter, along with a corresponding theme, to each day, students come to school excited and ready to learn right up until the end! This is a great way to make memories with your class while reviewing skills and concepts they’ve previously learned. It’s also perfect for squeezing in standards you might have missed throughout the year (Still need to fit in geography standards? Have an M is for Map Day! Need more practice with informational writing? Have students pick an animal to write about on A is for Animal Day…)
Tips for Planning an Alphabet Countdown
First things first—decide if you will be going from A-Z or Z-A. Either way is fun! Then map out your theme days, being sure to account for any no-school days or days with pre-planned special events. I recommend interspersing some very simple, low-prep days with others that are a little more involved. You do not want to burn yourself out!
Then, put together a calendar to share with families at home. If you expect the parents to send their kids to school with certain items, spell that all out on the calendar. Type up a family letter explaining the ABC countdown, asking parents to keep the calendar to refer to throughout the experience.
Make your planning extra-easy with this editable ABC countdown set. It includes a calendar, all the ideas in this post for easy copying and pasting, a parent letter, and over 100 themed reflection sheets to choose from! (You can also find this set on TPT.)
Editable Alphabet Countdown Calendar & Reflection Sheets
$5.00
Celebrate the end of the year in your classroom with an exciting and memorable ABC countdown!
Alphabet Countdown Theme Day Ideas
Below is a list of letter-of-the-day themes and activities that can go with them. Feel free to share additional ideas in the comments!
Letter A Day Ideas
- Airplane Day
Teach students to fold and fly paper airplanes, take a virtual airplane ride, listen to and sing airplane songs, read a book about airplanes or pilots - Animal Day
Invite students to bring a stuffed animal to school, do whole-group research on a few animals (using books and websites) paired with directed drawings, have students work on informational writing, play animal charades, do animal exercises - Art Day
Pull out some seldom-used art supplies and encourage creativity, learn about an artist and create a work in their style, read a book (or watch a read-aloud) about art - Away We Go Day
If you’re doing a backwards abc countdown, A, will be your last day of school. Giving it a simple title, like “Away We Go” gives you flexibility to accomplish last minute tasks without a specific theme.
Letter B Day Ideas
- Bingo Day
Play bingo games to practice a variety of skills, sing B-I-N-G-O - Blue Day
Have students wear something blue to school, paint with blue paint, play with blue playdough, listen to and sing songs about the color blue (Color days have the potential to offer you some easy days in your ABC countdown!) - Book Day
Invite students to bring a favorite book to share, read aloud favorites from throughout the year, meet with book buddies from another class/grade, make and decorate bookmarks for summer reading (You can use these decodable readers to integrate books into your entire ABC countdown!) - Bubbles Day
Blow bubbles outside, use a bubble machine for extra fun, do a directed drawing of bubbles, chew bubble gum (maybe?), paint with colorful bubbles, use sudsy water to clean the tables
Shop Bingo Games
Including Bingo Day in your ABC countdown? Check out these ways to integrate games into your curriculum!
Number Sense Bingo
$4.00
CVC Words Bingo
$5.00
Teen Numbers Bingo
$4.00
Letter C Day Activities
- Camping Day
Have students bring flashlights and blankets from home, make blanket tents using tables and chairs, display a campfire on your screen, learn and sing campfire songs, read by flashlight, eat s’mores for a snack, display a virtual planetarium to gaze at the night sky and learn a little astronomy - Career Day
Have students dress as what they hope to be when they grow up, read and watch videos about various careers, consider inviting guest speakers (such as parents) to talk about their careers, incorporate careers into dramatic play - Chalk Day
Use sidewalk chalk outside, play hopscotch, write letters, words, and math facts using chalk, have chalk relay races where the runner has to write a called-out word at the finish line before bringing the chalk back to the next runner. (You can do all of this during recess if you’re hoping your ABC countdown won’t take over the whole day!) - Construction Day
Build with construction toys (blocks, etc.), read and watch videos about construction, use disposable cups to have a “tallest structure” contest - Cookie Day
Keep it simple by bringing in a cookie snack or bake cookies as a group if you have the facilities, sing “Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar,” Read The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins for a math tie-in or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff to practice prediction, cause and effect, or sequencing
Letter D Day Ideas
- Dance Day
Incorporate dance brain breaks throughout the day, learn dances from various decades throughout history, play feeze dance, use a sound-activated disco ball for extra excitement, read a picture book about dance - Dinosaur Day
Read and watch videos about dinosaurs, learn about fossils, incorporate toy dinosaurs into playtime, do a dinosaur directed drawing along with informational writing - Donut Day
Bring donuts for a snack (or as a parent to contribute these), read donut books (like If You Give a Dog a Donut, learn a new song: “Watch the Donut, Not the Hole” by Burl Ives, make playdough doughnuts, create a donut shop dramatic play area - Dress-Up Day
Invite your students to dress in fancy clothes, focus on manners and etiquette, have a tea party or a fancy lunch
Letter E Day Ideas
- Ecology Day
Missed Earth Day this year? Squeeze it in before the end of the year by adding it to your ABC countdown! Focus on learning about and caring for our natural environment, pick up trash on the playground, make a craft out of recycled materials (Find more ideas and links in this post.) - Egg Day
Use plastic Easter eggs for standards-aligned activities (for example, match two sides with an equation and answer, a CVC word and a picture, etc.); put jigsaw puzzle pieces in eggs, hide the eggs around the classroom, and have a hunt; doing a cooking project with eggs (green eggs and ham?); have an egg and spoon relay race; read an egg book like Big Egg by Molly Coxe or The Good Egg by Jory John and Pete Oswald - Escape Room Day
Find a kindergarten-appropriate escape room activity to solve together as a class. - Exercise Day
Incorporate physical fitness into your daily activities, count 100 repetitions of different exercises in sets of ten, have relay races where students write or read a word at the finish line before turning back, find a fun exercise video for kids (like this virtual video game) - Experiment Day
Do one or more interesting science experiments, learn about the scientific method, read and learn about influential scientists from the past
Earth Friendly Ideas for Ecology Day
Revisit Earth Day during your ABC countdown with an E is for Ecology Day. Here are some easy (and inexpensive/free) ideas to try out.
Letter F Day Ideas
- Fairytale Day
Read fairytales (or a couple of versions of the same fairytale), watch fairytale videos (Cool School on YouTube has fun, short videos), invite students to dress as a favorite fairytale character, use building toys and STEM materials to design castles, make paperbag or craft stick puppets to retell a fairytale - Fire Safety Day
Read and watch videos about fire safety, consider asking the fire station if a firefighter can visit the classroom, practice “stop, drop, and roll,” encourage students to talk to their families about a fire safety plan - Flashlight Day
Have students bring a flashlight from home (or purchase finger lights for a low cost), read by flashlight, have a lights out scavenger hunt where students use their flashlights to find words around the classroom, make shadow puppets, “sky write” words in the air with flashlights - Friendship Day
Focus on the character traits that make good friends, have students make cards for their friends, play friendship games, make a compliment chain (have students write compliments about their classmates on strips of paper to make a chain)
Letter G Day Ideas
- Game Day
Provide or invite students to bring age-appropriate (non-electronic) games, practice turn-taking and rule-following, play whole group games like heads up, seven up, hangman, and four corners - Garden Day
Learn about plants, plant seeds outside or in cups, decorate cups to use as planters, read books about plants and gardens, watch videos about plants and gardens, eat fruits or vegetables and discuss how they grow - Glitter Day
Do an art project with glitter or glitter glue, collect plastic jars or bottles ahead of time and make sensory bottles with glitter inside, make glitter slime, invite students to wear something sparkly to school - Glow Day
Use backlights (or blue LED lights) to make white things glow in your classroom, have students wear white to school so their clothes will glow, provide glow bracelets or necklaces, use highlighters instead of pencils for schoolwork, make and play with neon slime - Green Day
Invite students to wear something green to school, paint with green paint, play with green playdough, listen to and sing songs about the color green. Need a calm-down break? Kermit’s “It’s Not Easy Being Green” might help!
Plant Resources for Garden Day
Fit some science and writing standards into your ABC countdown by teaching about plants on Garden Day for the letter G!
Letter H Day Ideas
- Hat Day
Invite children to wear a hat to school or make hats at school, read Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina or I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, make a hat snack by placing a marshmallow on a round cookie (or a segment of banana on a round apple slice - Hokey-Pokey Day
This is a simple one—just learn and dance the hokey-pokey! (Throwing some easy days into your ABC countdown might keep you from burning out!) - Hula Hoop Day
Using hula hoops is great exercise! Hopefully your school P.E. teacher has a supply you can borrow for some outdoor hula hoop practice. Here’s a great tutorial! While you’re outside, try making an obstacle course where kids have to hop from hoop to hoop (with the hoops lying flat on the ground) or playing a pass-the-hoop game.
Letter I Day Ideas
- Ice Cream Day
Have an ice cream treat, sing ice cream songs, incorporate ice cream shop materials into a dramatic play center, have students write about their favorite flavor of ice cream - Ice Pop Day
A little easier to serve, ice pops are a simpler snack than ice cream! Make a simple math center where students match numbered craft sticks to Popsicle cutouts with equations or representations of numbers, sing and dance to Koo Koo Kangaroo’s “Pop See Ko” - Insect Day
Become entomologists by studying up on insects! Read books and watch videos about insects, go on a bug hunt outside (reminding students to look, not touch), learn about insect life cycles, incorporate plastic insects into centers and playtime, sing, “Shoo, Fly, Don’t Bother Me,” “The Ants Go Marching,” and “I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee” - Inside Out Day
Invite students to wear something inside out to school, focus on social-emotional-learning and how we show what’s going on with our feelings (inside) with our actions and expressions (out)
Letter J Day Ideas
- Jeans Day
Invite students to wear jeans to school (this day is more of a treat in school where students are not allowed to wear jeans on a typical day). Here’s a silly song from KIDSTV123 to listen to on Jeans day. Other ideas you might incorporate include a phonics lesson on vowel teams, a collage craft where students represent their jeans outfit with cut-out colored paper (and then write about it), and using jeans to practice counting by twos (for example, if you have five pairs of jeans, how many legs are there?) - Jersey Day
Invite students to wear a jersey or team t-shirt to school, give students an outline of a jersey to decorate with their favorite team, have students create and write a cheer for their favorite team - Joke Day
Invite children (and parents) to think of a school-appropriate joke to share, check kids’ joke books out of the library to read in class, have students write and illustrate a knock-knock joke, read a silly book like If You Laugh, I’m Starting this Book Over by Chris Harris and Serge Bloch. - Jump Rope Day
Jumping rope is great exercise! Hopefully, your PE teacher has a supply of jump ropes you can borrow for the day. Have students practice jumping ropes alone and with friends, learn a few jump rope rhymes (these make great shared reading on chart paper), try out some different jump rope games, watch or read The Berenstain Bears: The Jump Rope Contest
Letter K Day Ideas
- Kangaroo Day
Read and watch videos to learn about kangaroos, do a kangaroo directed drawing along with informational writing, have kangaroo (hopping) relay races, learn about Australia and other animals that live there, sing and dance to “Looby Loo Kangaroo” - Kickball Day
Plan a kickball game against another class! - Kindness Day
Brainstorm a list of ways to show kindness and put them into action all day long, make cards for nursing home residents, make a “kindness chain” out of paper strips with kind acts written on each one, read Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, listen to kindness songs on YouTube - Kite Day
Go outside and fly a kite! Many students have never had this experience. If kite flying isn’t an option at your school because of weather or obstacles, you can still have kite-themed fun. Make paper bag wind-catcher kites for students to fly individually, listen to and sing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” read a kite book like Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand
Letter L Day Ideas
- Letter-Writing Day
Practice writing letters to friends and family members, learn about different purposes for letter-writing, and use shared writing to write letters to people within the community and beyond, write thank you letters to school helpers, such as cafeteria workers, learn about how to mail a letter in this virtual post office field trip - Lollipop Day
Bring your students a lollipop treat, read Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan, devise a science experiment to see what variable causes lollipops to dissolve more quickly in liquid, learn about the record-setting world’s largest lollipop - Luau Day
Invite students to wear Hawaiian shirts to school, learn about Hawaiian culture and traditions, sample tropical fruit - Lunch on the Lawn Day
Have students bring picnic blankets or towels to eat lunch outside, consider inviting families to eat with their students, read or watch Pat Hutchins’ picture book We’re Going on a Picnic—this is a great story for focusing on prepositions and for using the pictures to add to comprehension!
Letter M Day Activities
- Map Day
Cover your geography standards while engaging in fun map activities! Hide a treat somewhere within the school and have students use a map (or a series of map clues) to find it; watch The Little Einsteins Pirate’s Treasure episode, and then have students design their own treasure maps; sing the Map Song from Dora the Explorer, explore the globe or world map to find new places to learn about - Marker Day
This one can be another “easy day” in your ABC countdown. Just let the students use markers instead of pencils to complete their work. You could also do a marker-related science experiment like this “Floating Letters” experiment, this simple chromatography activity, or this fun paper towel magic trick. - Mismatch Day
Invite students to dress in mismatched clothes and/or shoes for some silly fun, listen to the song “Odd Socks” by Kath Bee before having students design and write about a pair of mismatched socks - Movie Day
Relax and watch a school-appropriate movie! - Music Day
Explore different styles of music, make and use rhythm instruments (consider asking for material donations ahead of time), explore the interactive features of Chrome Music Lab, invite a guest or guests to demonstrate playing musical instruments to the class
Map Day Resource
Squeeze some social studies standards into your ABC countdown by adding in “Map Day” for the letter M! This will make geography memorable and fun.
Map Skills Unit with PowerPoint
$6.50
This comprehensive geography unit for the primary grades includes materials to help you teach map skills, as well as lots of engaging activities to give them the practice they need to master your geography standards. You will download a zipped folder containing a PowerPoint File and PDFs containing printable materials and links to access digital activities.
Letter N Day Ideas
- Nature Day
If your school grounds include nature, this is a perfect day for a nature walk. Prepare a list of things children might see while outside and have them go on a scavenger hunt. If a nature walk isn’t possible, bring nature into the classroom science center. Other ideas: have students sketch and label items from the natural world, read a nature book (such as A Walk in The Forest by Maria Dek), watch a nature video, make art with leaves (collages or rubbings) - Neon Day
Invite students to wear neon colors to school, write with highlighters, do activities described in the “Glow Day” section - Nickname Day
Allow students to choose a nickname to use instead of their name for the day; give them nametag stickers to display their nicknames. This is a simple ABC countdown edition that requires almost no work! You might end the day with a story about names—one that will make sure children take the time to appreciate their given names (like That’s Not My Name by Anoosha Syed) - Noodle Necklace Day
Stock up on some dry rigatoni and string and let your students each make a necklace. This video has instructions on how to dye dry pasta and includes a neat needle idea. Making noodle necklaces is great for targeting fine motor skills and patterning!
Letter O Day Ideas
- Opposite Day
Switch your schedule around (so you’re doing things last that you usually do first, etc.), create a list of words and their opposites, play opposite Simon Says (have children do the opposite of what Simon tells them), read books about opposites like Stop, Go, Yes, No by Mike Twohy - Orange Day
Invite students to wear something orange to school, eat orange slices for a snack, paint with orange paint, play with orange playdough, listen to and sing songs about the color orange, teach your students that knock-knock joke that ends, “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?” 😄 - Outside Day
Grab your clipboards and work outside today! This would be a great day to play some gross motor games (your PE teacher might be willing to share equipment like a parachute, playground balls, cones for an obstacle course…).
Letter P Day Ideas
- Pajama Day
Invite students to wear their pajamas to school, read bedtime stories, bring pillows and blankets to create cozy reading areas, dim the lights, watch a short movie with sleepover snacks, do some bedtime yoga, write and illustrate about a real or imaginary dream - Picnic Day
As with “lunch on the Lawn Day,” have students bring picnic blankets or towels to eat lunch outside, consider inviting families to eat with their students, read or watch Pat Hutchins’ picture book We’re Going on a Picnic—this is a great story for focusing on prepositions and for using the pictures to add to comprehension! - Pink & Purple Day
Invite students to wear something pink and/or purple to school, use pink and purple paint and playdough, listen to and sing pink and purple songs, sample purple grapes and pink grapefruit - Popcorn Day
If you can access an air popper, pop popcorn with the class, paying attention to the entire sensory experience. Sample popcorn with different seasonings and graph favorites, serve popcorn in special bags, watch a movie with a popcorn snack, listen to this fun popcorn song by Planet Custard, watch popcorn kernels pop in very slow motion (cool!) and then learn about the science of popcorn - Puzzle Day
Pull out your puzzles, both easy and harder, and let students have a lot of experience putting them together, set up a 100-piece puzzle (you can sort the pieces into sections or begin putting the border together to give young students a jumpstart), let students work in groups assembling floor puzzles, provide small puzzles for independent work (I like these 12-piece Melissa and Doug jigsaw puzzle 4-packs. They have symbols on the backs of the pieces to aid in sorting.), read or watch Curious George Goes to the Hospital (in which George swallws a puzzle piece), provide word searches and simple crossword puzzles for more puzzle fun
Letter Q Day Ideas
- Q-Tip Painting Day
Using cotton swabs instead of brushes, do a painting project. To inspire your students, learn about artists and styles that incorporate dots of color (such as contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama or George Seurat and other Pointillist painters) - Queens & Kings Day
Invite children to dress like royalty, make paper crowns using sentence strips, read fairy tales with queens and kings, have a “fancy” snack - Question Day
Create lists of questions to ask different people (for example, questions for the first graders/first grade teachers), practice understanding the difference between a statement and a question, read a book with a curiosity theme (such as The Girl with Big, Big Questions by Brittney Winn Lee), practice writing question marks - Quiet Day
Use whispers and soft voices, write a list of things that are quiet (then practice writing similes akin to “quiet as a mouse”), read Margaret Wise Brown’s The Quiet Noisy Book, use craft pom poms and googly eyes to make quiet critters, learn some ASL signs to communicate without speaking
Letter R Day Ideas
- Rainbow Day
Invite children to wear all the colors of the rainbow to school, learn about the color spectrum (Roy G. Biv) and the color wheel (primary and secondary colors), try a “walking water” experiment, explore prisms and how rainbows are made, Read or listen to Don Freeman’s A Rainbow of My Own, create a mosaic rainbow using torn paper
- Reading Day
If you didn’t choose “Book Day” for the letter B, this is a great alternative to invite students to bring a favorite book to share, read aloud favorites from throughout the year, meet with book buddies from another class/grade, make and decorate bookmarks for summer reading. Also consider exploring some different genres, such as poetry. (These decodable readers are a great way to integrate reading into each day of your ABC countdown!) - Red Day
Invite students to wear something red to school, paint with red paint, play with red playdough, listen to and sing songs about the color red, eat strawberries (or something else red) for a snack, share Barbara Lehman’s wordless picture book The Red Book and let students help tell the story - Running Day
Encourage students to wear appropriate shoes and clothes for exercise, run races and laps, learn about famous track stars, take a ten-minute rest while watching this read-aloud of Marathon Mouse
Letter S Day Ideas
- Silly Socks Day
Invite students to wear silly socks to school (or have parents donate white socks and let students decorate them with permanent markers), have students design their own silly socks and write about them, make up word problems about socks to practice counting by twos - Sports Day
Encourage students to dress for athletics, teach about and play sports, read about athletes, invite a local athlete to speak to your class - Stuffed Animals Day
Invite students to being a stuffed animal to school, have students read to their stuffed animals, have students draw pictures of and write about their stuffed animals, read Knuffle Bunny or another book about a stuffed animal - Sunglasses Day
Let students wear sunglasses to school (or solicit donations of inexpensive kids’ sunglasses like these), have students draw self-portraits with sunglasses, learn about the sun and why it’s important to protect our eyes and our skin from its rays,
Letter T Day Activities
- Teddy Bear Day
Invite students to bring teddy bears to school, listen to “Teddy Bears’ Picnic,” have a real or imaginary teddy bear picnic, read Corduroy by Don Freeman - T-Shirt Day
Invite students to wear a class or school t-shirt to school OR solicit donations of t-shirts and have students sign each others’ shirts as a keepsake from the year, - Thank You Day
Take time to write thank you cards to helpers around the school (cafeteria employees, volunteers, custodians, media specialist, etc.), read Todd Parr’s The Thankful Book - Tie-Dye Day
Tie-Dye t-shirts. I would definitely suggest getting volunteers to help with this. Here’s a helpful blog post from Maggie Tayleetot. - Toy Day
Invite students to bring a school-appropriate toy for show and tell. Give students time to play with and share their toys. Have students draw and write about their toys.
Letter U Day Ideas
- Under Day
Keep it simple for this ABC countdown day—simply let students do their work under their tables for part of the day. - Under the Sea Day
Read and watch videos about sea creatures, display calming underwater footage, do some ocean creature directed drawings paired with informational writing, incorporate ocean creature toys or puzzles into playtime. - Unicorn Day
Learn about these and other mythical creatures, draw a unicorn, do creative writing about unicorns and other mythical creatures, read Margaret’s Unicorn by Briony May Smith or another unicorn book - University Day
Invite students to wear apparel from a college or university to school, take a little time to locate the represented schools on a map and talk a little about them
Ocean Resource for Under the Sea Day
Add these directed drawing and writing activities to your ABC countdown if you select “Under the Sea” for you letter U theme!
Ocean Directed Drawing & Writing Center
$3.25
While some young children love to draw, others find it frustrating. This super simple set of ocean directed drawing and writing activities gives all students the chance to feel successful at art!
Letter V Day Ideas
- Video Day
Take some time to record videos of your students (if you have permission) to use for an end of the year display. Consider asking them to say what they want to be when they grow up. You might also record them singing some of the songs you have learned throughout the year. - Violet Day
Invite students to wear something purple/violet to school. Use violet paint and playdough, watch this cute video about indigo and violet’s contribution to the rainbow. - Visit Day
Plan a visit to the next grade classroom to learn about what to expect next fall. - Volcano Day
Learn about volcanoes through books and videos, make volcano models with playdough, and use vinegar and baking soda to make them erupt, listen to this volcano song, draw a volcano to pair with informational writing
Letter W Day Ideas
- Wacky Day
Invite students to dress in wild and wacky outfits, have them draw pictures of each other in their silly clothes, do silly things throughout the day (like put sunglasses on the back of your head while you’re writing on the board), read a silly book like The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak, do things in a mixed up order - Water Day
Have students bring towels and dress appropriately for outdoor water activities. Your water activities will depend on if you have an outdoor tap to use and how wet you want the children to get. If the students will need to change and manage wet clothes, you may want to get some volunteers to help. You will also want to make sure parents are on board with their children getting their hair and clothing wet.
Here are some water activities: “Drip, Drip, Drop” (like Duck, Duck, Goose, but with a wet sponge that the holder squeezes over the head of the “Goose” player), let students paint with water on an outdoor wall, set up a sprinkler, let children play with bath toys in a kiddy pool, make boats out of foil or folded paper, do water relay races, bring waterproof classroom toys and manipulatives outside for students to wash. Relax at the end of the day with Peppa Pig at the water park. - Watercolor Day
Do a watercolor art project. If possible, get families to donate watercolor paints if you don’t have them already. (I’ve had good luck with Prang and Crayola, but the cheaper brands will do in a pinch. The kids will still have fun!) Here’s a very cute project! Another option is to let children practice painting using templates or coloring pages. - Watermelon Day
Have a watermelon snack, do a directed drawing of watermelon, read The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli, save the seed from the watermelon snack to use in a craft (paint triangles of paper plate and glue the seeds on)
Letter X Day Ideas
- eXchange Autographs Day
If you have a school or class-made yearbook, this is a great day to exchange autographs and little notes. You can even have the kids make and decorate their own autograph books out of plain paper. - eXtra Recess Day
Keep it simple as you ABC countdown draws to a close by simply offering extra recess time today. - X Marks the Spot Day
Plan a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt with a prize hidden at a final destination. You can tie this in to map skills standards by drawing maps to show where to find each clue around the school. Pete the Cat and the Treasure Map is a fun way to tie this day together.
Letter Y Day Ideas
- Yearbook Day
Distribute school or class yearbooks (if you have them) to look through and exchange signatures. - Year-End Cleaning Day
Kids love to help tidy the room for the summer. Use shaving cream to clean the tables (after spelling words and doing math facts), have students sort manipulatives, organize bookshelves, and distribute any remaining student work/artwork from the walls and bulletin boards - Year-End Party Day
Celebrate the end of a great year with a class party! Have snacks, listen to favorite songs from throughout the year, sit in a circle and share favorite memories - Yellow Day
Invite students to wear something yellow to school, paint with yellow paint, play with yellow playdough, listen to and sing songs about the color yellow, eat bananas (or something else yellow) for a snack, read Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni (and practice mixing colors) - Yoga Day
Practice some calming yoga. Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube is a good source of kid-friendly yoga lessons.
Letter Z Day Activities
This may be the first or last day of your ABC countdown, so I’ve included options for both ends!
- Zebra Day
Invite students to wear something striped to school, learn about zebras with books and videos, do a directed drawing of a zebra to pair with informational writing, read How the Zebra Got Its Stripes before having students write their own “porquoi tales” about zebras - Zip & Zoom Day
For the last day of school, don’t plan anything ambitious. Having a Zip & Zoom Day focuses on filling those backpacks one last time before zipping them up and zooming off to summer break. Nancy Loewen’s The Last Day of Kindergarten is a sweet read aloud to share on this special day. - Zoo Day
Take a virtual field trip to a zoo. Here’s a video trip to the San Diego Zoo (and here’s another that’s a little bit longer at 22 minutes). In this video, a zookeeper reads aloud the children’s book The View at the Zoo (he interjects some tips and clarifications, too!). Let students illustrate and cut out animals to make a class zoo. Art for Kids Hub has lots of simple zoo animal directed drawings (like this lion). - Zoom Into Summer
This is an alternative to Zip & Zoom Day because some schools do not have students bring their backpacks on the last day of school.
End-of-the-Year Resources
Editable Alphabet Countdown Calendar & Reflection Sheets
$5.00
Celebrate the end of the year in your classroom with an exciting and memorable ABC countdown!
Alphabet Countdown Decodable Readers
$4.50
Integrate the structured literacy into your kindergarten ABC countdown to summer with these A-Z decodable readers!
Alphabet Countdown Math Review
$3.50
Keep learning going strong until the end of the year with these alphabet countdown math review pages for kindergarten!
Alphabet Countdown Kindergarten Bundle
Original price was: $12.99.$9.00Current price is: $9.00.
Celebrate the end of the year in your classroom with an exciting and memorable alphabet countdown!
