Graduation day is such a special time to celebrate all of the growth, learning, friendships, and memories that students have made throughout the year.
Whether you teach preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or another elementary grade, graduation and end-of-year celebrations give students a chance to reflect on their accomplishments and leave with memories they will treasure for years to come.
In this post, I am sharing some of my favorite graduation celebration ideas, songs, books, student gifts, diplomas, and end-of-the-year activities to help make your classroom celebration meaningful, memorable, and stress-free.
Table of Contents
- Student-Made End-of-Year Bulletin Boards & Memory Crafts
- Graduation Books
- Editable Diplomas
- Graduation Student Gifts
- Graduation Songs & Poem
- Graduation Hats
- Graduation Treats & Snacks
- Graffiti Wall or Keepsake Tablecloth
Student-Made End-of-Year Bulletin Boards & Memory Crafts
One of my favorite end-of-the-year traditions is creating student-made bulletin boards that allow children to reflect on their favorite memories from the school year. Not only do these projects provide meaningful writing practice, but they also create adorable displays for hallways, classrooms, graduation ceremonies, and family events.
Over the years, I have created a collection of nine different end-of-the-year bulletin board craftivities with writing prompts that fit our graduation themes. Students can write about their favorite memories, things they learned, classroom accomplishments, future goals, and more while creating keepsake projects that families love.
Themes include graduation, beach, spring, frogs, bees, kites, fish, beach balls, sand buckets, and other fun end-of-year designs that help students celebrate all they have accomplished.
You can see all nine bulletin board ideas and classroom display examples here.
Graduation Books
Another favorite way to prepare students for graduation is by reading books that celebrate growth, learning, friendship, and new beginnings. These stories help students reflect on how much they have learned while building excitement for the next chapter ahead.
Here are some of my favorite graduation books for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students.
The Last Day of Kindergarten
In this cute story, a little girl is sad that kindergarten is ending, but then realizes that graduating and going to first grade is exciting too.
The Berenstain Bears’ Graduation Day
The Berenstain Bears are always a favorite! In this book, students get to read about the Bear Country’s school graduation ceremony and learn the true meaning of the end of the school year.
Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl (Junie B. Jones, No. 17)
This is a chapter book that can be read on the days preceding graduation. Junie B. Jones is graduating kindergarten and she is supposed to keep her white graduation gown in the box until the big day, but she just can’t help herself! Your students will love what happens!
For books about the end of the school year, visit this blog post.
Editable Graduation Diplomas
A graduation ceremony feels even more special when students receive a personalized diploma or certificate. I love using editable diplomas because I can quickly customize them with student names, dates, and teacher information before printing. I don’t have to worry about ordering / purchasing diplomas each year. I simply edit and print as many copies as I wish. Plus, the cost of printing is much less than buying them in packs like I used to do.
If you would like to save time during the hectic end of the year and don’t want to create your own, I have made mine available in my TPT store. My diploma collection includes unique designs created specifically for preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, elementary classrooms, and Christian schools. Whether you are hosting a formal graduation ceremony or a simple classroom celebration, personalized diplomas make wonderful keepsakes for students and families.
ALL the text is editable so you can customize them for your class / school.
I’ve also included editable graduation invitations.
You can find more details and sample photos of my editable digital diplomas and graduation invitations here.
Graduation Student Gifts
We give our students personalized gifts at our graduation ceremony to show them how much we appreciate having them as students.
Sending students home with a small gift is a simple way to make the last day of school feel extra special. Whether you are giving bubbles, sidewalk chalk, sunglasses, bookmarks, treats, or summer-themed favors, printable gift tags help turn inexpensive items into memorable keepsakes.
I have collected some of my favorite end-of-the-year gift ideas and printable gift tags to help make student gifts quick, easy, and affordable. Visit this blog post for over 20 ideas for memorable, inexpensive graduation gifts for students.
Graduation Songs & Poem
Music is one of the easiest ways to make graduation day feel extra special. Whether you are preparing for a preschool graduation, kindergarten graduation, or end-of-the-year celebration, songs help students reflect on their accomplishments and create lasting memories for families.
Over the years, I have used a variety of graduation songs during classroom celebrations, slide shows, and graduation ceremonies. Instead of sharing individual videos that may change over time, I have found a playlist of favorite graduation and end-of-the-year songs that are perfect for young learners.
Browse the playlist below to find songs that fit your students and celebration style.
This ABC Farewell poem can be added to your end of the year DVD or read at your graduation ceremony.
Graduation Hats
When I first started teaching, we would always make our own graduation hats. This post from Soduel has the easiest directions for making your own graduation hats. We used yarn for the tassels and had the foam boards donated from a local business.
In later years, we started purchasing our graduation hats from Oriental Trade. They have many colors and options from which to choose. Browse their collection here.
Amazon has a 12 pack of child sized graduation hats as well.
Graduation Party Treats & Snacks
For our graduation, we usually present a program for the parents and then get together and celebrate with special snacks/treats. Here are a few favorite graduation snacks:
This one is so simple yet so adorable! Make editable diplomas by wrapping Hostess Ho Hos with ribbon.
Make graduation cupcakes by using mini peanut butter cups, pieces of a Hershey Bar, and licorice as the topper.
Another simple but cute idea is to put out ring pops as “class rings” for students.
Graffiti Wall or Keepsake Tablecloth
If you have blank walls because you have taken down your class decor, hang up a large piece of butcher paper and let students write and draw about their favorite memories, give “shout-outs” to one another, tell about summer plans, etc.
If you are having an end of the year celebration or graduation, allow the students to decorate long pieces of white paper with their favorite memories from the year and then use it as the table covering for your end of the year celebration.
