1. Craft a vacation activity book
Primary education
Make a vacation activity book together with your class! Think of the best things to do during summer vacation and collect all ideas in a book packed with inspiration. For example: fun water activities, indoor and outdoor games, yummy recipes, cool experiments, craft projects, and so on. Let the kids make their own puzzles, rebuses, quizzes and mazes, and add those to the activity book as well. Don’t forget to give each student a copy to take home at the end of the day.
2. Who can crack the code?
All K-12 students
Oh dear… On the last day of school, of all days, the principal has forgotten the code to the school safe. And it just so happens that there’s a gift for the whole school inside! But no need to panic: You can solve this together! Kick off a quest with tasks in and around the schoolyard. For each successfully completed task, students will receive a piece of the lost code. Which class will crack the code the fastest? The winners get to open the safe, which contains a summery treat – like popsicles – for everyone.
Tip: Have classes start at alternating times to avoid crowding.
3. Fly into the summer… as superheroes!
Primary education
No one is themselves today. Everyone can come to school dressed as their favorite superhero or heroine! What are your students’ superpowers and who is the hero(ine) of the day? Play one or more superhero-themed games, for example:
- Make a superhero passport. Prepare little booklets in advance with fun questions and a space for kids to draw their own superhero yearbook photo. Or, have them use Google Jamboard to create digital portraits that you can later use in a superhero memory game! It’s also fun to turn the passports into stamp or sticker booklets where students can check off the day’s games.
- Have students craft cool props to match their outfits. For example, a crown, mask, crazy nose, wings, a magic wand… Encourage them to let their imagination run wild!
- Create an exciting obstacle course with ropes or barrier tape in the hallway or schoolyard. Have the students balance, crawl and jump without touching the rope. Little heroes and heroines will be right in their element with this game!
- Play life-size memory. Print out different superheroes (or the portraits the students created themselves) twice on sheets of A4 paper. Students can take turns trying to find a pair. Who has the best memory of all the heroes and heroines?
- What do superheroes take with them on vacation? Play the game “I’m going on a trip and I’m going to bring…” and you’ll be surprised what special attributes are brought along!
- Fly like super(wo)man: Have the class balance on benches, tree trunks or other elevations and count down until everyone jumps off at the same time. Don’t forget to snap a group photo and print it out for their superhero diplomas.
4. Class quiz
All K-12 students
Create a quiz with questions about your students, things that happened in the past year or something the students learned. This can be done with both primary and secondary school students, since you choose the questions. Consider asking things like:
- “Who was late the most this year?”
- “How much is 14 times 11?”
- “When did school reopen?”
Tip: You can decide whether to conduct this quiz offline or online. To play online as a group, check out Kahoot!
5. Showtime!
All K-12 students
Record a commercial break with your class. Lots of laughter and smiles are guaranteed! In small groups, have students come up with a fantasy product or service. If you want, tie it to a social issue or other educational topic. Next, they prepare a promotional scene for which each group creates an attribute, such as product packaging or a piece of scenery. After that, it’s SHOWTIME! Of course, it’s fun to film this and share it with students or their parents at the end of the day.
6. Taste the summer with an end-of-the-year picnic
All K-12 students
An ideal summer day is spent in a lush green field with a basket full of goodies, right? Ask your students to bring snacks or prepare some tasty treats together with the class. Smoothies, pancakes, sandwiches… Make it a feast! Put on your favorite summer outfits, hope for some sunshine and voilà: the vacation spirit is here!
Bad weather? Turn the classroom into a tropical paradise and move the fun inside! Some kids can’t be there? Deliver some treats to their doorstep or write them fun group postcards signed by all their classmates.
Tip: Is your school near the woods, a lake, or the beach? Then hold your end-of-the-year picnic there and top it off with a swim or a game in the woods!
3… 2… 1… Have a great summer vacation!
And then, at the end of the last day of school, it’s really time… Gather all the students in the schoolyard (in groups), sing a song together and count down to the summer break.
The COOL team wishes you a wonderful and relaxing summer vacation!
Want to get useful tips, tools and inspiration for the 2021-2022 school year and stay up to date on what’s new in Google Workspace for Education and COOL? Sign up for our monthly newsletter here: