Looking for creative and memorable ways to celebrate the end of kindergarten with your students? Look no further! We have a list of kindergarten graduation ideas that you can add to your plans. Whether your school has an official graduation ceremony or not, there are plenty of exciting and fun ways to commemorate your students’ achievements and growth throughout the year. From DIY decorations to graduation-themed games and activities, this list has everything you need to make your students’ graduation day a truly special and meaningful event.
One of my favorite things at the end of each year is to watch my students put on their fancy clothes/cap and gown and receive a small rolled-up piece of paper to celebrate the end of the year. We sing a few songs and recite a poem or two. Parents are overjoyed and it’s a great time for all.
Whether you hold a graduation or not, you can print off Kindergarten Graduate Certificates for your students. I give them away after graduation or put them in their end-of-the-year baggies with goodies that I send home like a memory book.
Creating a DIY graduation photo frame can be a fun and inexpensive way for students to showcase their graduation photos and memories.
Gather all the pictures you’ve taken over the year and turn them into a kindergarten slideshow. For years, I would make DVDs of the pictures for parents to take home. Now, I make the video and turn it into a QR code. No worries about messing up a DVD. They can play the video for years to come.
Decorate the classroom for graduation day. If the graduation ceremony is in your classroom, add colorful paper, arrange the chairs for students and families, and wish them well with simple grad decor.
Students can make a time capsule for their senior graduation. Parents can donate a shoebox, then students can fill it with their favorite things and memories from kindergarten. It’s a simple and very memorable idea to save for when they graduate high school.
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I send a letter to invite families and friends to our kindergarten graduation or ceremony. It helps to build a little excitement.
Self-portrait class shirts will be a keepsake that they’ll never forget. Students can draw themselves and then turn each drawing into a class shirt. How cute are these?
Have a picnic with all the kindergarten classes. Students can bring cookies, snacks, and juice to have a nice picnic outside with friends.
Creating a kindergarten memory book is a wonderful way for students to preserve and cherish their memories of their first year of school.
At the end of each year, I write a short note to each student. It can be a memory that we had together, something I really enjoyed about their personality, or just saying how much I loved having them in my classroom. I usually write these in their memory books, but you can put them anywhere. I found a wonderful example from Keepin’ It Kool in KinderLand.
A graduation wall can help students look toward the future. Have them take a picture with a sign. Then, you can add each picture to your editing software of choice and add what they want to be when they grow up in the font of your choice. This is perfect for those with less-than-stellar handwriting. Print the pictures off and you’ve got a wall to celebrate!
Looking for song ideas for your kindergarten graduation? Sing and dance to one or more of these tunes from our list of the best graduation songs.
End the year with a showcase of your students’ amazing talents. Invite the entire school to come to watch.
Reading a kindergarten graduation book to students can be a fun and engaging activity that helps to build excitement and anticipation for the graduation ceremony. It can also provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their growth and achievements over the past year.
Take photos of your students in their caps and gowns. I take my own cap-and-gown pictures and add them to our end-of-the-year slideshow. I’ve also made really cute fridge magnets out of the pictures for parents.
Create a DIY graduation cap for your students.
Create an end-of-the-year graduation-themed play or skit with your students. They can sing, dance, and perform graduation skits for their families. Here are some of our favorite graduation poems to inspire students.
One activity that students can do near the end of the year is to think about all of the memories from the year. They can complete a printable memory jar and draw in their favorite moments from the year.
This adorable craft can be done before graduation. Students can create their mini selves and finish the sentence prompt with what they want to do after graduation.
You can easily create this DIY cupcake stand themed for graduation. It will be the perfect complement to snacks and refreshments after the kindergarten graduation.
A class photo to commemorate the year is a perfect end-of-the-year gift. You can even frame each photo for students or add a poem below.
How fun are these DIY graduation cap pops? Know a baker? Have them create some for your classroom or try them yourself.
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Looking for game ideas for your kindergarten graduation? Students can play “Pin the tassel on the cap.” Print off a cap or create one with card stock. Then, allow students to pin paper tassels on the cap.
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Students can use construction paper, glue, and crayons to make the cutest graduation self-portraits.
Use this DIY tutorial video to help create quick and easy graduation tassels for your students. They can be placed on DIY graduation caps.
Have a day of bubbles to celebrate graduation. Create this DIY set of bubbles by adding a printable wrapper to the bubble containers.
Create a photo backdrop with balloons and a pallet. Find numbers for the graduation year.
Celebrate with an alphabet countdown. Go backwards from Z to A with themed days.
After the graduation, greet everyone with a candy assortment decorated just for the big day!
