With summer vacation on the horizon, it’s time to celebrate the end of the year with an ABC Countdown to Summer! During the final 26 days of the school year, pick one activity for each letter of the alphabet. These ABC countdown activities will keep students engaged right up to the very last day of school! To help plan out each day, use the ABC countdown calendars included for FREE at the bottom of this post. Share the editable calendar with families via email or as a printable so they can plan ahead and help their child prepare for each countdown activity. I’ve also included a free comprehensive list of easy-to-plan countdown ideas for each letter in the alphabet!

Don’t forget to download the editable ABC countdown calendar and list of ABC countdown ideas at the bottom of this post!

ABC Countdown Ideas for Letters A – H

Letter A

Arts & Crafts Day – Set out bins of art supplies for students to create whatever their little hearts desire. If time permits, students can share their masterpiece(s) during a classroom art show.

Animal Day – Have students bring in their favorite stuffed animal for an easy ABC countdown idea. Depending on allergies, you could even offer animal crackers as a snack that day.

Autograph Day – Let students bring in a fancy pen, marker, or pencil to sign their autograph. Students can collect autographs on a sheet of paper or in a notebook.

Letter B

Beach Day – Throw on your flip flops and grab your sunglasses 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.

Beach Day (digital version) – As an alternative to the printable Beach Day centers, students can complete these digital Beach Day activities. The 4 math and 4 literacy Beach Day activities are available in PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Seesaw.

Bubble Day – On Bubble Day, the students make a bubble solution recipe for bouncing bubbles on their hand, determine the best bubble blower, compare the anatomy of a bubble to an Oreo and make a bubble wand.

Letter C

Camping Day – Get ready to discover who has stolen the s’mores with The Case of the Camping Caper Escape Room! Your students will be highly engaged as they work through eight different math and literacy centers with a Camping Day theme.

For a digital alternative, students can complete the camping activities via PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Seesaw.

Circus Day – Who has stolen the peanuts? Grab The Case of the Missing Peanuts Escape Room and host your very own Circus Day. Similar to the beach day and camping day centers, students complete eight math and literacy activities, but this time with a circus theme.

Chalk Day – Grab a few boxes of chalk and head outside for this ABC countdown idea. Work on sight words, CVC words, addition problems and more with chalk… OR just let your kiddos get creative and draw whatever they would like.

Letter D

Dress Up Day – Let students wear their fancy clothes for the day.

Digital End of the Year Games for Summer – Have some whole class fun with these digital end of the year games. There are 6 activities included in both PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Dance Party – For a simple ABC countdown idea, turn on your students favorite songs throughout the day and just dance!

Letter E

Extra Recess – Have an extra indoor or outdoor recess.

Experiment – Plan a few different science experiments.

Exercise – For a no prep ABC countdown idea, stop periodically throughout the day for some exercise. Turn on kids yoga or a quick exercise video to get out those wiggles!

Letter F

Flashlight Day – Read with a flashlight, complete centers with a flashlight, enjoy snack with a flashlight…you name it, flashlights are on all day long!

Friend Day – Let students read with a friend, enjoy a snack next to their bestie, or complete a buddy writing piece.

Free Time – Give students free time to play a math game they love, to draw, to free write, and more.

Letter G

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

Game Day – Let students bring in their favorite board game or card game to play with a friend or small group.

Green Day – Have students wear green to school.

Letter H

Hat Day – Students get to wear their favorite hat for the day.

Hawaiian Day – Students can wear a tropical outfit. Depending on school rules, you could let students wear flip flops in the classroom for the day.

Hobbies – Host a classroom meeting where each student shares their favorite hobby.

ABC Countdown Ideas for Letters I – Q

Letter I

Ice Cream Day – Host an Ice Cream Day with The Ice Cream Shop Mystery Escape Room! Your students must complete 6 or 8 different challenges to eliminate the suspects and discover who has stolen the sundae supplies!

Go digital with your Ice Cream Day with these digital Ice Cream Day activities!

Ice Pops – As a refreshing treat, enjoy some ice pops outside after lunch or at the end of the day.

I-Spy – Play a quick game of I-Spy.

Letter J

Jersey Day – Wear your favorite sports team jersey.

Joke Day – Bring in a joke (or two) to share with the class.

June and July Birthdays – Celebrate the June and July birthdays with a fun summer treat.

Letter K

Kool-Aid Day – Make Kool-Aid slime, bring in homemade Kool-Aid play dough, or drink Kool-Aid during snack (be mindful of allergies).

Kindness Day – Do an act of kindness for someone at school.

Letter L

Lunch with the Teacher – A fun ABC countdown idea that students will eat up (see what I did there!) is allowing students to eat lunch in the classroom together.

Luau – Host a luau. Wear tropical clothes, do the limbo, and listen to luau music while students are independently working.

Letters – Write a letter and/or draw a picture to the incoming students.

Letter M

Memory Books – Remember the school year, as you begin your end of the year memory book! 

• Square Memory Book
• Standard Memory Book 
• Graduation Memory Book Craft 
• Backpack Memory Book Craft 
• Digital  Memory Book 

Marshmallow Day – Have some ooey gooey math and literacy fun, all while integrating science and STEM, with a Marshmallow Day!

Letter N

Neon Day – Wear bright colors and use highlighters to complete your work, or use these Glow Day activities to review math, literacy, and science skills from the year.

Nature Walk – Head outside for a nature walk for this ABC countdown idea.

New Name Day – Choose a new name for the day.

Letter O

Outside Day – Take learning outdoors, or just go out for 30 minutes with book boxes in tow for independent reading.

Opposite Day – Wear your clothes inside out for the day, or flip flop your daily classroom schedule for the day.

Letter P

Popcorn Day – Integrate science, math, ELA, art, and STEM with a Popcorn Day!

Pajama Day – Wear your favorite pajamas to school.

Picnic – Take snack or lunch outside for a class picnic.

Letter Q

Queens and Kings Day – Dress up as queens and kings in fancy clothes for this ABC countdown idea.

Quiet Time – Give students 30 minutes of independent free play, but they must do so quietly… or use your whisper voices all day long!

ABC Countdown Ideas for Letters R – Z

Letter R

Read Aloud Day – Read a variety of end of the year books throughout the day.

Rainbow Day – Wear as many colors of the rainbow as you can, or pack a lunch with as many colors of the rainbow as possible.

Read-a-Thon – Spend the morning or afternoon cozied up with your favorite books from home or from the classroom library. You can also let students wear pajamas this day.

Letter S

Student Awards – Roll out the red carpet and celebrate your students with Oscar-worthy end of the year students awards! Hand out printable or digital awards, have students color their own student award crowns, and even host an awards ceremony.

Summer Bucket List – Send your students off to summer with this simple-to-assemble end of the year summer bucket list craft and these writing activities!

Summer Birthdays – Celebrate all of the summer birthdays.

Letter T

Toy Day – With a few parameters, this ABC countdown idea allows students to bring in their favorite toy for the day.

Treat Day – Ask students to bring in an extra treat to enjoy towards the end of the day.

Trash Day – Clean out student cubbies, desks, or other classroom supply areas by throwing items in the trash or taking things home.

Letter U

University Day – Wear your favorite university/college gear.

U.S.A – Wear red, white and blue for the day.

Under Day – Work under your desks, or build a fort to work under, for the day.

Letter V

Volunteer Day – Write letters or make cards for all of the classroom volunteers. Get out all of your miscellaneous arts and crafts supplies and let your students decorate their thank you cards.

Speaking of classroom volunteers, be sure to check out this blog for a for FREE gift tags and full list of DIY gifts for classroom volunteers!

Video Day – Watch a kid-friendly movie.

Letter W

Wacky Day – Allow students to come to school with wacky hair and wacky clothes.

Walk Outdoors – Go for a walk around the school. You could even ask students to point out certain items along the way.

Wash Day – Scrub-a-dub-dub! Wash the tables, desks, book boxes and more.

Letter X

eXtra Recess Day – Take students outside for an extra recess.

eXchange Yearbooks – Sign each others’ year books.

Letter Y

Year-End Party – Celebrate big with a whole class year end party. You can set up stations and have volunteers help run them.

Year-End Slideshow – Put together a slideshow of favorite pictures from the year and watch it together as a class. Find my top 20 slideshow songs here!

Yes Day – Within limits, say yes to all of your students’ requests for the day.

Letter Z

Zoo Day – Bring your favorite stuffed animal to school.

Zebra Day – Wear black and white.

Zip Up and Zip Out – It’s the last day, so zip up your bags and zip out of the classroom!

Free ABC Countdown Calendar 

Don’t forget to grab your FREE ABC countdown calendar for a complete list of ideas at the end of this post! I also share an editable calendar for planning out the final 26 days of the school year.

Be sure to send this calendar home with students so families can plan ahead for each day of the countdown!

More End of The Year Activities

Learn all about hosting the ultimate end of the year awards ceremony by checking out this blog post!

Discover how to make memory books using square books from the Target Dollar Spot here!

Get messy with this summer slime end of the year student gift!

DON’T FORGET IT… PIN IT!