EFL ESL End of Year activities for kids | fun and easy ideas

Here in Europe, we’re gradually winding down to the end of the EFL school year. Although we will have courses during the school summer holidays, for most of us teachers, it’s time for end of year shows, meetings with parents to discuss progress and open house days to prepare and enroll kids for the next academic year. So, apart from planning your holidays, what EFL ESL end of year activities should you be doing to get ready for your last lessons and to prepare for the start of the next year?

Organize your EFL ESL end of year activities

Most classes will have some kind of show or presentation for parents to show what they’ve been working on during the year. It’s also usual to organize some fun EFL ESL end of year activities that are a bit different from a normal lesson. This is a great way to show how much progress your kids have made and how well you have been teaching them. Parents love to see their child singing or speaking in English. At home, children probably don’t tell them everything they learn in class. This means it’s a fantastic way of showing what a great teacher you are. Let them see how much the kids enjoy their classes with you and why they should keep sending their child to your classes.

Be prepared to discuss each child’s progress with their parents

Even if you don’t have official meetings with parents at the end of the year, its quite likely that most parents will want to know how their child has done this year. Have they made progress? Have there been any problems? What should they be concentrating on during the holidays? How can they enroll their child for next year? Make sure that you have at least an idea of what you’re going to answer these questions.

It’s a good idea to make a few notes on a class list about who has worked really well, what subjects you’ve covered this year and how each child did. Try and have something personal to say about each of your students so you’re not saying the same thing to every child. Did they do something particularly well? Have they made really great progress in one area in particular? And be positive! Even if the child in question has been an absolute nightmare and you hope never to see them again. I like to end the year on a good note.

Put on an end of year show

It doesn’t need to be anything really fancy or complicated. I am a firm believer that simple is best. It’s more likely to go smoothly if you do something simple. Choose something that the kids already know so you’re not trying to learn difficult songs or dance routines at the last minute. There are loads of options. You could:

• Sing a song – choose one of your favorite songs from the year that you know the children will sing loudly and enthusiastically
• Play a game – again, choose something that has been a favorite during the year. I love “What’s the time Mr. Wolf?” or a variant on this as everyone gets really involved.
• Include the parents – ask them to sing and dance with you or get them to participate in a role play. Kids love it when their parents join in!
• Do a role play – this is probably best with older kids. It is a really good way of showcasing the practical vocabulary your class have learned and how they can use it. With one of my classes, we’ve been looking at air travel so we did a role play of the airplane with safety instructions and pilot announcements which worked really well.
• Tell a story – not on your own though. Prepare a story with the kids with actions and parts where they tell the story to the parents. You could use puppets of accessories to make this even more fun.
• Give a small speech – tell the parents what you’ve learned in class, how much you’ve enjoyed it and how great the kids have done. Be positive and let them know how much fun their kids have had.

Plan an amazing last lesson to end the year

You really want to end on a high point and leave the kids with great memories so they can’t wait to come back next year. So plan a really fun last lesson with lots of games. Give them something special to remember. Some ideas I’ve used in the past for EFL end of year activities are:

• Have an English tea party – get everyone to bring something to eat or drink. Try and find a nice tea set or some British themed party decorations. As always, check for allergies.
• Karaoke – with songs in English of course. Great for older kids who probably know lots of songs in English and would love to sing along with them.
• Have a picnic – Invite the parents too and take the class to a local park. Prepare some food together. Play lots of games where they can run around and get the parents involved and playing games too.
• An awards ceremony – give awards for different categories such as funniest student, most improved English. Keep it light hearted and let the kids write acceptance speeches to give in front of the class.

Prepare your Open House lessons

If you’re teaching at an Open House day, you really need to have something special prepared. It needs to be a lesson that will show off how fun your classes are, how much children will enjoy themselves and how much English they will learn with you. So make sure you’ve got something prepared that you enjoy teaching, know works, and can do with lots of different kids, some of whom have maybe never been to an English class before. Be ready to explain to parents how your teaching method works, and how long you’ve been teaching. They will probably ask where you come from and why you are teaching here. Tell them how much you would love to teach their children. Smile and show you’re having fun. Let everyone see what an amazing teacher you are and why they should absolutely enroll their child immediately.

Prepare for next year

I like to get as much as possible prepared for September before the holidays. This means that I can relax, enjoy my holidays and don’t have to panic when I get back. Make sure you have all the school supplies you will need and wash and put away any uniform you may have. Organize and file away lesson plans for future use. Try to discuss any contract or salary queries you may have with your employer now and organize your timetable as far as possible.

AND RELAX……..

You did it! You survived another school year and now it’s time to relax and forget about it for a while. Plan your holidays, get up late, eat delicious food, find some good books to read in the sun and recharge your batteries.

What EFL ESL end of year activities do you do with your classes? Do you find the end of the year stressful or are you relaxed and ready for the holidays? I’d love to hear what you think so please leave a comment. To stay up to date with new posts and teaching ideas, you can follow the GoogooEnglish Facebook page. Alternatively, you can sign up for email updates by filling in the form below.