1. Snowball fight - You know those extra worksheets that never got used? Give them one final hurrah before you toss them in the recycling bin. Have the students answer questions, solve problems, or complete a task to earn a piece of paper. They can then crumple it up to prepare for an epic snowball battle. Do you want to step it up a notch? Turn this into a fine motor task by challenging your students to crumple up the paper using only the fingertips of one hand!
2. Shaving cream desk cleaner - Shaving cream is a messy, but fun sensory activity. Added bonus? It cleans all of the grit and grime off of the table. Turn it into an academic activity by having the students write spelling words or solve math problems in the shaving cream. The scent of regular shaving cream can be a bit overwhelming for some people. I recommend checking your local dollar store for woman's shaving cream. They tend to come in more pleasing scents, so your classroom will smell like a spa instead of the bathroom of an 80 year old man.
3. Car wash sensory bin - My kids LOVE this sensory bin! I don't pull out water bins very often so this one always feels like a special treat. Little do they know they are actually doing me a huge favor by cleaning all of our toy cars. I add a few sponges and brushes to a bin full of cars and water. The kids love scrubbing the cars and setting them aside to dry. I have also used this bin as a food washing center. It really works with just about any toy that can get wet.
4. Shredded paper art - I have a shed pile that never seems to disappear. If you have access to a shredder in your classroom, let the kids do the work for you (with supervision, of course!). Shredded paper can be used in a variety of art projects. We like to stuff it in brown paper lunch sacks, wrap a pipe cleaner around the top, and paint the bag; red for an apple, orange for a pumpkin, and white for a cloud (attach rainbow streamers to make it even more beautiful!).
5. Liquid watercolor out of dried up markers - I can't be the only teacher who ends up with a giant tub full of dried up markers by the end of the year. Let's be real... the tub is pretty full by December. DON'T THROW THEM AWAY!! It is simple to create liquid watercolor out of dried up markers. Have the kids sort the dried up markers by color. Add around 1/2 cup of water to a jar. Place 5-10 markers into the jar, tip side down. Let the markers sit for about a week. That's it!
Do you have any favorite end of the year clean up activities? Please share!
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