• Plastic eggs in various colors (enough for half of the children in your class)
• Small slips of paper with activities written on them: read a book outside, have a popsicle, extra recess, blow bubbles, go for a walk, and free time.

Developing Skills

• Literacy
• Reflection
• Gross motor

In Advance

Use a hot glue gun to attach a string to the top of a plastic egg.

Activity

The end of the year should be a celebration of all of the children's individual gains, academically and personally. As you review your themes, goals, field trips, activities, and accomplishments, keep children excited about coming to school with a daily egg crack.

For the last few weeks of the school year, hang up eggs with secret messages inside. In pairs, children decide what color to crack, who will do the opening, and who will read the message.

Hold a group discussion about the school year and ask children some of their favorite activities or events from the past year. Print what children share, and use some of their favorite activities in the eggs, if possible.

Split the class in half and assign each child a partner. If there is an uneven number of children, invite a teacher, custodian, or secretary to partner with one of the students.

Put the written surprises in the eggs and hang them around the classroom.

Pick a pair of students each day to crack the special egg. Be sure to have time allotted for the hidden activity.

Remember: Some children will have a difficult time waiting for their turn to open an egg. It would be a good idea to make a large chart with the names and day that each pair will have their turn. Cross off the days so that children see the days going by. Remember that it's also a sad time for the children who find transitions hard. Try keeping the classroom atmosphere calm and the schedule as consistent as possible.

Take-home Activity

End-of-the-year picnic. Send home a letter to parents telling them the class is planning an end-of-the-year picnic. Suggest children write out an invitation to the picnic for their parents.

Invite children to fill out a self-assessment form to go in their June portfolio. Divide a 9''x12'' piece of paper into four sections. Write sentence leads that are appropriate for your program such as: "I am good at...." "My favorite activities in class are...." "My favorite thing I learned about this year...," and "One thing I want to get better at is...." Invite children to fill out the form on their own or have a teacher help them.