12 End-of-the-Year Bulletin Board Ideas for Preschool Classrooms
The end of the school year can be an emotional time eliciting a variety of reactions from children. Kids have grown fond of their classmates and attached to their teachers, and for them, parting really is such sweet sorrow! While other kids look forward to summer break and are excited for a change of pace.
These end-of-the-year bulletin board ideas for the preschool classroom cater to all different emotions children feel when school comes to a close.
Countdowns
Who doesn’t love a good countdown? There is no better way to count down to summer than with an interactive bulletin board that makes noise! Students take turns popping one balloon each day on the “Let’s end this year with a BANG!” board until, finally, the last day of school arrives.
For this design, children decorate a school of fish that serves as the classroom’s daily countdown. Each morning, discuss as a class how many days of school are left until it’s “o-FISH-ally” summer.
Another fish, Dory from Finding Nemo, is the inspiration for this next preschool end-of-the-year bulletin board. Dory’s simple expression, “just keep swimming,” is pretty multifaceted in that it can address many of the different emotions children may be feeling as the school year winds down.
These 11 end-of-the-year preschool activities are guaranteed to make the final days of school extra memorable for all your preschoolers!
Looking to the Future
This design is a kid-favorite because of the cool sunglasses they get to wear! The “Our future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades” bittersweet adage is an adult-favorite because preschool teachers understand just how much is in store for their littlest learners.
As is a primary teacher’s way, this bulletin board is a not-so-subtle reminder for kids to keep reading over the summer! Children won’t mind the nudge to continue learning because they will be focused on the other part of the design: their own faces. Kids love seeing themselves as the star of the show!
Turn your smart cookies and the new skills they’ve learned into a bulletin board. Put the children’s school pictures in the center of giant cookies that they’ll color and personalize. Then, help kids print a skill they learned during the school year that they are excited to keep using over the summer on their cookie.
Sweet Memories
Looking back on everything they have accomplished and learned reminds students just how far they’ve come. Celebrate their growth with a bulletin board full of photos that capture the class’s most memorable moments.
Making new friends is a huge part of preschool, even if it is a little scary at first! This “We came in as strangers and we leave as friends” banner is decorated with the kids’ painted handprints. It is a fantastic visual of the new relationships that have blossomed during the school year.
“This year was BERRY sweet” is a design that highlights every child’s favorite memory from preschool. Each memory is displayed on a bright red strawberry, creating a colorful space in the classroom.
Feel the Feelings
Remind kids it’s perfectly fine to feel all different kinds of emotions with this we’re having “all the feels about leaving preschool” emoji bulletin board. Teacher Tip: To ensure the emojis last longer, make them out of sturdy paper plates or laminated cardstock.
Preschool is so much fun, some children have a hard time! Colorful building bricks are featured on this board that normalizes saying goodbye can be difficult.
Sometimes, less is more. For this design, the simple phrase “Best year ever” is surrounded by photographs of the students at various points during the school year. This end-of-the-year preschool bulletin board is more like a sentimental scrapbook.
It goes without saying different children will have different reactions to the end of the school year. These bulletin board ideas help ease the transition of a goodbye, commemorate the good times shared, and give children something to look forward to in the future.
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About the Author:
Stephanie Jankowski is an educator and author who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When she's not teaching or writing, she's spending time with her children, Brady, Ella, and Lyla, and marveling at just how short the years really are.