14 Alphabet Countdown Calendars: Here Comes the End of the Year!
Doing an ABC countdown is a fun and simple way to wind up your school year together. Want to create your own alphabet countdown?
I’ve got your back! Here are some sample alphabet countdown calendars and resources to make your own for your classroom.
Some end of the year countdowns are printable and ready to go, others are editable and some are just ideas so that you can create your own list.
This spiffy collection will help you pull together an alphabet countdown to finish out your kindergarten year.
And I’ll add my own tips about how to make it happen without feeling overwhelmed. It’s what I like to do here – help you organize, think and teach your best.
Ready to Go ABC Countdowns
Use these ABC countdown calendars as they are, or take the ideas for the days you like.
Dot art sounds like an easy way to celebrate D day in this ABC Countdown list that’s free.
I think this teacher has a nice balance of activity based countdown ideas that could easily integrate into a relatively normal day and things that really add spice.
Wearing a rainbow of colors is an easy way to make R day happen with this free printable ABC countdown to summer.
Having some Hawaiian fun sounds like a great way to spend H day in this parent letter and calendar.
Tip: right click on each page when you’re in scribd and choose “save image as.”
A year end party sounds like a great Y day idea from the alphabet countdown free download.
Ha – I could totally dig “inside out day” for the letter I. Why not? There is lots planned in this fun abc countdown.
Editable Alphabet Countdown
Take these editable templates and plug in your own alphabet countdown fun. These are handy to share with parents.
Use Microsoft Word to edit this calendar to countdown to the end of the year. Add the dates and change up what you need.
Or give this free, colorful, editable Alphabet Countdown to the Last Day of School calendar template a try.
It comes with digital stickers and spots for you to fill in exactly what you want to do.
Alphabet Countdown Ideas
You may just need to find something different to fill in a few days of your calendar, so here are some teachers who’ve shared their lists.
Get a full look at 26 days to the end of the year in pictures with this kindergarten list of ideas.
Take some reading time and turn it into sharing favorite books with friends for F day. We did it too, but with flashlights in the classroom. You’ll love all of the pictures in this article for letter B through to O days.
I love the idea of taking off your shoes for the last hour of the day to celebrate the Letter O. It doesn’t cost a thing and you can still continue on with your day as normal.
I could totally get behind the idea of “creating colors” for C day. It’s my favorite from this collection of A-H pictures of a kindergarten countdown.
Take a list of 3-4 things for each letter of the countdown so you can pick and choose what will work for you.
Ahhhh… it totally makes sense that you’d use extra recess for X day. Who wouldn’t?
And here are some ideas that kindergarten teacher peeps on facebook have shared with us:
I’m exhausted at the end of the year (aren’t we all) and I don’t have much parent help, so I keep my ABC countdown very very simple, but it’s still fun. My favorite is J is for joke day. Watching kindergartners tell jokes is hilarious. – Jennifer
We do a Z-A countdown. It all starts with Z. Z is for Zip-a-dee-do-dah the count down begins, R is for rainbow or sometimes O for Over the Rainbow (crafts and songs galore). X is for eXchange autographs (all kids sign each other’ class photo). My favorite is Q for Quite Fancy. The kids dress up in “formal wear” and we cover the tables with table clothes, fake flowers and battery operated candles. It is so fun. B is for bubbles (soap and gum)Then A is for All Done. – Jeannette
N: New Name Day! Kids take a sentence strip home a few days in advance and write themselves a name tag with a new name of their choosing.
On N day, they introduce themselves to the class with their new name and we have to call them by the new name all day. It’s crazy but So Fun.
How to Avoid Being Overwhelmed
I think doing an alphabet countdown can be just what the doctor teacher ordered if you scale it to match the energy you’ve got left.
But if you think it will only be more work and leave you exhausted… really – who wants one more thing added to their plate at the end of the year? Then that’s okay. Maybe next year.
Choose Balance
I chose to add a variety of things and chose only things that could be done either automatically into our regular day or wouldn’t take too much longer than 10-15 mins. Some things to consider and balance when planning your alphabet countdown are:
- number of food days
- who is responsible for bringing items (teacher/students)
- time required
I used the editable countdown calendar and many of the ideas posted above to make a fun countdown calendar for our kinder classes at school. My partner teacher was skeptical but so far (we are on F) it has been great. I created it in a way that I would not walk into school and think “Oh, man, I forgot to prep X.” It’s mostly no prep fun, like hula hoop contest (we have a ton of them) or joke day (tell a joke to the class if you want) or reading day (bring a favorite book) etc. I have 3 food days (ice pop, popcorn, watermelon, all of which I am taking care of since it’s easy) and that’s it. I am loving it, so fun and even better, easy! – Jenifer
Don’t Make Yourself Responsible for Providing Everything
I generally went with only a handful of food days (gum, lollipops) and had students bring in if they wanted to participate (or they could also share with a friend if they brought extra). You could also ask for a class donation from parents if you’ve got time.
And I tried to only have a few “bring in” days since I knew not all students would be able to participate each time. For example, not all students wore sunglasses for S day – but it was a fun novelty for the day and they felt really cool at recess.
Have Fun
Counting down the school days is so much fun.
I don’t think my kinders ever enjoyed it as much as I did… and that’s normally just because they’ve never had a summer “break” before and didn’t know what they were in for. {wink}
Have you already got your end of the year teacher shirt? Here is my current favorites, but there are lots to choose from. Hurry – there’s still time to order.
If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
I used the editable countdown calendar and many of the ideas posted above to make a fun countdown calendar for our kinder classes at school. My partner teacher was skeptical but so far (we are on F) it has been great. I created it in a way that I would not walk into school and think “Oh, man, I forgot to prep X.” It’s mostly no prep fun, like hula hoop contest (we have a ton of them) or joke day (tell a joke to the class if you want) or reading day (bring a favorite book) etc. I have 3 food days (ice pop, popcorn, watermelon, all of which I am taking care of since it’s easy) and that’s it. I am loving it, so fun and even better, easy!
Oh my – yes, easy is key! That’s so awesome. I’m glad you’re loving it so far. Watermelon is a great idea.
– Leslie
Thanks Leslie for including my Countdown Calendar – your post is amazing with lots of great ideas for making the end of the year so much fun!
I love your ideas Tiffani – thanks for consistently sharing with teachers! Here’s to a great end of the year!!
– Leslie