With the end of the school year fast approaching, I’m slowly checking things off my end of the year to-do list…theme days, student awards, countdown activities, end of the year crafts, and our end of the year celebration complete with an end of the year slideshow! I’ve spent a considerable amount of time over the years looking for the perfect end of the year slideshow songs. I wanted these songs to be kid-friendly, reflect friendship and growth, somewhat upbeat, but still strike a sentimental chord with parents. After listening to a gazillion songs, I’ve narrowed my list to these Top 10 End of the Year Slideshow Songs!

Favorite End of the Year Activities

Before I start sharing the top 10 end of the year slideshow songs, I wanted to share a few of my favorite end of the year activities that we do every year!

End of the Year Memory Book

Capture and commemorate the school year with this square-sized memory book! It’s designed to perfectly fit the square booklets from the Target Dollar Spot. Don’t have the Target booklets? No problem—simply stack the pages and staple along the left-hand edge.

Graduate Craft

Celebrate the school year with this end-of-the-year graduation craft, perfect for preschool or kindergarten! Designed for little hands, this adorable memory book craft adds a meaningful, personal touch to their big day and makes the countdown to summer even more special.

Backpack Memory Book

This simple-to-assemble memory book backpack craft is a great way for students to reflect on the school year. With twenty-five printable pages to choose from, you can easily customize the memory book to suit your students’ needs.

Make counting down to the last day of school fun and stress-free with these FREE ABC Countdown Calendars!

Summer Bucket List Craft

Plan the ultimate summer vacation with this summer bucket list craft! With thirty writing pages to choose from and three different craft options, customizing this end of the year craft to best fit the needs of your students is easy!

Printable & Digital Student Awards

Roll out the red carpet and throw an end of the year student awards ceremony with these printable & digital student awards! These end of the year awards and digital awards ceremony are the perfect way for you to celebrate your students and send them off to summer!

Glow Day

Turn off the lights and get ready to shine, as you review math and literacy skills, with these Glow Day activities and games!

Beach Day

Grab your sunglasses and throw on your flip flops for a classroom Beach Day. With The Case of the Beach Bandit Escape Room, students will dive into six or eight different math and literacy centers.

Camping Day

Discover who has stolen the s’mores with The Case of the Camping Caper Escape Room! Students will be highly engaged as they work through eight different math and literacy centers with a Camping Day theme.

Top 10 End of the Year Slideshow Songs

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#10 – “On My Way” by Phil Collins

Making the cut at #10, the lyrics at the beginning of “On My Way” say it all:

Tell everybody I’m on way.

New friends and new places to see.

With blue skies ahead, yes I’m on my way.

And there’s no where else that I’d rather be.

I’m telling you, this song is perfect for the end of the year.  It screams graduating and moving on to a new grade. Plus, it’s happy and upbeat, and I’m sure many kids will recognize it.

#9 – “If I Didn’t Have You” by Billy Crystal & John Goodman

“If I Didn’t Have You” from the movie Monsters Inc. secures spot #9. It speaks about the necessity of friendship, and would work well with pictures of groups of students working or playing together.  I’m thinking pictures of centers, recess, play time, collaborative groups, etc. My guess is most kiddos will know this song and want to sing along.

#8 – “Let Them Be Little” by Lonestar

Holding the #8 spot… “Let Them Be Little” is a bit more sentimental. This end of the year slideshow song is entirely for the parents. I don’t know any parent who doesn’t want to keep their child little forever, and this song is certain to bring a tear to their eye.

#7 – “Small As Me” by Damien Jurado & Rosie Thomas

“Small As Me” is a song that you may not recognize, but the melody and lyrics sold me.  It’s such a sweet song that tells of the wonders of childhood. Again, it is sure to stir up a few emotions with the adults and it certainly earns its #7 spot.

#6 – “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars

My students love to sing along with “Count on Me,” taking the #6 spot on the Top 10 End of the Year Slideshow Songs list. It is a great song to accompany group shots of students working together. I use this one for pictures of play time, STEM challenges, and final countdown activities.

#5 – “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

Coming in at #5 is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. The combination of the ukulele and tender voice in this version of this classic song get me every time.

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#4 – “We’re Going to Be Friends” by Jack Johnson

Grabbing the #4 position… “We’re Going to Be Friends.”  Jack Johnson’s rendition of this song can be found on the Curious George soundtrack. The lyrics tell the tale of a child’s first day at school.  Trust me… the melody and tone give it a sentimental feel for the adults, but the song still has a playful touch for the kiddos.

#3 – “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman

“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is always the last song in my end of the year video. As it plays, I show pictures of the students playing together at recess. At the very end of the video, I show a class picture of my students holding up the letters to spell “KINDERGARTEN CLASS OF 20–” For this picture, I arrange the students into two rows. I print thick, block style letters one to a page. The back row will stand and hold the letters to spell “KINDERGARTEN.” The front row will sit cross-legged and hold the letters to spell “CLASS OF 20–.”

#2 – “Dream Big” by Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband

A very, very close second… “Dream Big” is probably my most favorite end of the year slideshow song! Gives me goosebumps every time I hear it! I went back and forth as to whether I should list it as the number one song, which it is in my book. However, from the viewpoint of my students, they would say What I Am is the number one end of the year slideshow song.

#1 – “What I Am” by Will.I.Am.

“What I Am” is a Sesame Street hip-hop song about pride. My kiddos become quite familiar with the lyrics, as we play it each morning towards the end of the year. Elmo, Zoe, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster and Big Bird are just a few characters who appear in the music video on YouTube.  Hearing them sing this song is literal music to my ears. It’s just precious! This is the song that kicks off my end of the year slideshow and earns the #1 spot on my Top 10 End of the Year Slideshow Songs!

More End of the Year Slideshow Songs

Here are just a few songs that didn’t make my Top 10 cut:

• “Have It All” by Jason Mraz
• “Slow Down” by Nichole Nordeman
• “A Million Dreams” from the Greatest Showman
• “Happy” by Pharrell Williams
• “Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift
• “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts
• “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” by James Baskett
• “These Are the Days” by Keith Urban
• “Best of Friends” from Fox and the Hound
• “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

An end of the year slideshow is a great way to commemorate the year! Don’t get me wrong… they require a little bit of work, but the look on the kids’ faces as they watch the show is priceless!

I always show my end of the year video to my students on the second to last day of school.  It’s fun to see them get excited and listen to them reminisce about the pictures. Then, we’ll watch it again a few more times on the last day. I email a copy of the video to the parents for them to watch at home too.

Our end of year slideshow usually lasts about 15-20 minutes, just long enough to hold my kiddos’ interest… and if you’re wondering which end of the year slideshow songs I use… #1-7!

You can check out more end of the year celebration ideas here!

More End of the Year Activities

Countdown to summer with these end of the year ABC countdown activities!

Transform your classroom with these 20+ unforgettable Glow Day activities!

Celebrate your students with an end of these end of the year awards and awards ceremony!

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