End of Year Activities for Preschoolers
- Melissa McCall
- May 15
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 5
These 2 Simple Tools Bring TONS of Multisensory Fun and are Great End of Year Activities for Preschoolers
Preschoolers are made to move—and this time of year, they seem to have even more energy than usual! As excitement for summer grows, attention spans shrink, and the “spring fever” is real. But rather than fighting it, we can lean into it with activities that get preschoolers moving, laughing, and learning all at once. Dive into these end of year activities for preschoolers.
Multisensory learning—using movement, touch, sound, and creativity—is one of the best ways to keep preschoolers engaged and learning all times of year...and a great way to stay engaged these last few weeks. Two of my favorite simple, low-prep tools for this season are ribbon sticks and Wikki Stix. These materials may seem basic, but they pack a big punch for preschool learning and development.
Ribbon Sticks: Move, Learn, and Laugh with Preschoolers
Grab a set of ribbon sticks (we love this set here) and try these activities to turn all that preschool energy into meaningful learning:
1. Literacy – Alphabet Air Writing
Use ribbon sticks to build alphabet knowledge in a playful, high-energy way.
Call out a letter and have children “draw” it in the air using their ribbon sticks.
Form a letter yourself and have the children guess which letter you made.
Ask the children to create the first letter in their names to make it personal and meaningful.
Let children take turns being the “teacher” — they create a letter while classmates guess!
Why it matters: Big, sweeping arm movements strengthen gross motor skills and build important neural pathways for early writing.
2. Literacy – Move to Sounds
Boost early literacy by blending music, movement, and sound awareness.
Play rhyming songs or recite favorite fingerplays.
When children hear a rhyme, they swirl their ribbon in a big circle.
For compound words, have children move their ribbon sticks side to side, then make a large circle for the entire word — one swipe for each smaller word part (“sun” (swipe), “shine” (swipe), “sunshine” (circle)).
Why it matters: Moving to the rhythm of language strengthens connections between hearing sounds and understanding word structures.
3. Social/Emotional Learning – Emotion Movements
Help children connect physical movement with feelings to deepen emotional intelligence.
Call out emotions like happy, sad, excited, tired, silly, frustrated.
Children use their ribbon to move in a way that shows that feeling. (Fast circles for excited, slow downward waves for sad, wiggly crazy patterns for silly.)
You can also play music that matches different emotions to guide the movement.
Why it matters: This playful strategy helps children build emotional vocabulary, body awareness, and self-expression.
4. Math Extension – Patterns and Opposites
Turn ribbons into a visual and kinesthetic math lesson!
Practice patterns by calling out colors or movements (“red, blue, red, blue” or “circle, zigzag, circle, zigzag”) and letting children repeat them with their ribbons.
Explore opposites with movement: fast vs. slow, high vs. low, big vs. small swirls.
Challenge children to create their own patterns for others to copy!
Why it matters: Combining movement with early math concepts helps deepen understanding and makes abstract ideas feel concrete.
5. Science Exploration – Wind and Weather
Let children experience scientific forces firsthand.
Bring a fan into the classroom and let children experiment with how the wind moves their ribbons.
Take the activity outside to feel how natural breezes affect the ribbons differently.
Prompt children to observe and compare: What happens with a strong breeze? A light one?
Play the song, “Windy Day” to add musical and language connections.
Why it matters: Physical experiences help young children grasp science concepts like force, motion, and weather phenomena, build background knowledge for future learning.
6. Abstract Collaborative Art – Group Creation
Create a stunning, collaborative artwork that captures each child’s imagination!
Roll out a giant sheet of white butcher paper on the floor.
One by one, each child lays their ribbon directly onto the paper — arranging it however they want: swirling, zigzagging, looping.
No one moves anyone else’s ribbon — the goal is to layer and build a colorful, abstract design together.
When finished, step back and admire your collaborative art!
Take a photo of the final design to frame or display it proudly in the classroom.
Teacher Tip: Play calming music during this activity to create a peaceful, creative atmosphere while children lay their ribbons.
Why it matters: This open-ended project encourages creativity, teamwork, and shows that collaboration can produce something uniquely beautiful.
Sometimes the best learning happens when we just let them move. Put these activities on the schedule in the up-and-coming weeks! Your children will thank you!
Check out this blog post for more movement fun!
Oldie But Goodie: 5 Ways to Use Wikki Stix for Literacy & More
Last week in both our 3s and 4s classrooms, I pulled out one of my favorite “oldie but goodie” materials...Wikki Stix! They were a huge hit! Several teachers immediately said, “Oh wow, I remember these!” Sometimes the simplest materials really do bring the biggest learning moments.
While they may seem like just a fun sensory material, Wikki Stix can be so much more. This simple tool supports fine motor strength, alphabetic knowledge, oral language development, collaboration, and even resilience, all while keeping little hands busy and engaged.
Here’s a recap of what we did this week, along with a few additional ideas you might try in your own classroom:
1. Fine Motor Warm-Up
Start by giving each child five Wikki Stix stuck together. Invite them to peel them apart slowly, which strengthens finger muscles and coordination—perfect for handwriting readiness! This can be tricky! Resist the urge to jump in and help!
2. Alphabet Practice
Call out a letter sound and have children form the letter using their Wikki Stix. For younger students, begin with simple, straight-line letters like L, T, or F. With older students, challenge them to build letters with curves or multiple lines.
3. Object Creation Challenge
Show an alphabet card and work together to brainstorm words that start with that letter. Then, have children create an object with their Wikki Stix. For example, for the letter S, they might make a snake, spoon, or sun.
4. Social Skill Practice
After creating their letter or object, encourage children to give a compliment to their friend about their creation. "I love the way you made a tongue for your snake!" Practice saying “thank you”, supporting both social interaction and classroom community building.
5. Encouraging Resilience
It was surprising how many students last week said, “I can’t do it,” before they even tried. These are the moments when it’s important to model encouragement and patience—letting children work through the challenge without jumping in to fix it. This helps build confidence and persistence, skills they’ll carry with them well beyond the classroom.
A Few More Ideas to Extend the Learning:
Name Practice: Have students build the first letter of their name, then work to build the entire name if they’re ready.
Story Retelling: After reading a familiar story, invite students to create one of the characters or props with their Wikki Stix.
Math Concepts: Practice shapes, numbers, or simple patterns by bending and connecting the sticks.
Sensory Pathways: Create a tactile line or path on a table or the floor for children to trace with their fingers.
Creative Play: Simply set them out with no instructions and observe what children invent on their own. Add in some loose parts. Open-ended materials like these often spark the most creative thinking.
If you’d like to try these in your classroom, you can grab the knockoff brand I used here. They come stuck together in packs, making them easy to hand out and perfect for fine motor warm-ups. I hope these ideas spark some inspiration for you as you head into these final weeks of the school year.
Why This Works for Preschoolers
Preschoolers learn best through their senses—touching, moving, hearing, seeing, and exploring the world around them. When you combine movement and hands-on materials, you help them stay engaged while reinforcing literacy, math, science, and social-emotional learning.
So, lean in to the energy of these final weeks! Add these activities to your lesson plans, and let your preschoolers move, explore, and create their way to summer.
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