10 Fabulous Distance Learning End of the Year Celebration Ideas

OK, we homeschool moms have a confession. We are so ready when the school year is done! There I said it! Most years, this homeschool mom drags to the finish line. But homeschool moms do have a secret tradition that we absolutely NEED to share with our fellow distance learning, online educating moms. We CELEBRATE the end of the year. You may have thought that end of the year celebration idea was just for the kids. Nope! It is for the educators too! So whether you feel like your home educating experience was a success or more like a episode of Nailed It, take time to celebrate that you crossed the finish line! Here are 10 fabulous distance learning end of the year celebration ideas just for you, brave mom, and your kids!!

10 Fabulous Distance Learning End of the Year Celebration Ideas

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through a link The Reluctant Cowgirl will receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, used toward keeping this blog going. I only recommend products I appreciate and trust. Read all my disclosure here.

It is important to begin the school year on an upbeat note. And even more vital to end the school year on a win! Education is truly all about creating a love of learning. By ending the year with a celebration we are keeping the focus on making learning fun and rewarding the effort and growth, not a test score!

Let’s find something from this past, albeit crazy school year, and celebrate all the hard work. Your kids need it. YOU deserve it:)

PIN and Share!

Celebrate the End of the School Year with a Treat

Pile everyone in the family van and head to town for a special treat! Teen Red and I may be using this end of the year celebration idea this school year!

Homeschool mom, Sarah T. shared this great idea!

We celebrate by getting donuts and measuring/weighing our kids. We do this on the first day of school too so it’s fun to see how much the kids have grown in the school year.

End the School Year with a Family Movie Night

Rent or stream one of your family’s favorite movies and all enjoy a movie night. Make it a little extra special by having popcorn or making ice cream sundaes with all the extras like sprinkles, whip cream and cherries!

Take a Day Trip to Celebrate the Finish of School

Take a small day trip to some place fun to celebrate the year! We have enjoyed taking a field trip at the end of the year to reward ourselves for all our hard work!

Jennifer, a homeschooling mom, had this tip to share!

Usually each year we pick a really cool field trip or a place we went a lot that school year to end it with a bang. We’ve done the zoo, Kings Island, state parks, museums…we even went zip lining one year. …(this year) We might do a hike with a picnic since much of our year has been walks together!

Heading outdoors to explore is always fun!

Capture the End of the School Year with Pictures

Snap a few casual shots or hire someone to take some family photos for you to keep and treasure! Enjoy highlighting how much the kids have grown throughout the year!

If you are extra creative, put together some of the photos you have taken in the past weeks and create a photo book though Snapfish highlighting the crazy school year!

Celebrate Your Student’s Interests

What has your kids learned a lot about this year?

Sarah from Dandelion Seeds offers some great advice on celebrating the unique interests of your kids!

As a worldschooling (traveling while homeschooling) family, we’re huge proponents of child-led learning. It’s been incredible to watch our child pursue per passions and become a subject matter expert in them, and she naturally picks up the other subjects she needs as a byproduct of her education. When the end of the year hits, we celebrate something she mastered that year. Learned to read? Expand the book collection! Loved math? We bake a cake together practicing her measurement and number skills. Science? A special event in nature, like a fossil hunt! Or better, make it a multi-day celebration to incorporate lots of fun ideas. Just like education is ongoing, celebrating our accomplishments can be, too!

Make Dessert at Home to Finish Distance Learning

One of the easiest but still a favorite way to celebrate in our home is a fancy dessert! Have the kids decide what the dessert will be or pick out a new one to try. Allow kids to help bake or decorate the yummy dessert!

A much requested summer dessert at our house is homemade ice cream! Last year, I asked for an ice cream making machine and boy do I LOVE it! This ice cream maker is simple to use and our ice cream turns out perfectly every time. I love that it uses easy to find ingredients. My daughter and I have enjoyed trying out new flavors of ice cream!

Buy one and surprise your whole family with this fun end of the school year gift that will keep the fun going all summer long! And for those of you all that appreciate Trim Healthy Mama, there are great Trim Healthy Mama friendly protein ice recipes that are so much cheaper to make then purchasing the freezer brand.

Find the ice cream maker we purchased and love here.

Favorite Storybook Character Day

Teacher Kimberlie from PHrase D loves to involve the kids in some end of the school year fun by having the students dress up in their favorite storybook character. Here is how it works!

Storybook character dress up day is where everyone can dress up as a character or the characters from their favorite book that they’ve read that year (or a favorite series). Encourage it to be DIY, so students use their creativity.

Read more details about how to create a storybook character day here!

Reward the Kids and Yourself with a New Book

I love a good read during summer! In fact I HAVE to have the latest Mary Higgins Clark book before I can go on summer vacation! I’m not sure what I’ll do when she stops writing.

If the book stores are open head to your local bookstore or half price book store and let the kids pick out a new book. If not, shop online, letting the kids each choose a book as a reward for all their hard work!

Need some books ideas?

10 Adventure Filled Booked for Tweens and Teens

20 Epic True Survival Stories for Tweens and Teens

Create a Time Capsule of Life & Homeschooling for 2020

This has been QUITE the year! Help your tweens and teens create a time capsule recording their thoughts and experiences from this past year. Add in some newspaper clippings and trending items (hair scrunchie anyone?) to give a sense of the times!

Grab your free Quarantine Journal Time Capsule Printables here!

Make sure to add in a few of your thoughts as you finish out the distance learning school year.

Make a Summer Bucket List for Tweens and Teens

Summer is almost here! Why not make time at the end of the school year to plan out some fun events and set a few goals for the summer!

Summer is the perfect time to teach your tweens and teens the art of goal setting. Summer has just the right length of time, plus the extra wiggle room, in your schedule, to set and accomplish goals.

Celebrate the end of the school year, plus map out the summer when you print off this easy to use free printable Summer Contract for Teens and Tweens.