End of First Grade Party

Our school isn't big on parties. We are very serious and dedicated to education (hear the slight mockery in my voice?)

Anyway, when we suddenly got the go ahead for a one hour party on the last day of school we were thrilled! The catch - even in the last hour of the last day of the school year - the party had to be "educationally focused". Our overall (non-educational) theme was "We Had a Ball". We passed out beach balls for the kids to sign and served ball shaped snacks - cheese balls, melon balls, cake balls, popcorn balls, Utz cheese balls, etc. However we couldn't justify a quick game of volleyball as educational.  

With 22 kids and only 60 minutes we had our work cut out for us.  We needed some quick & easy fun.

What's quicker than Minute to Win It games? I re-invented some of the classics to tie them into First Grade Common Core materials (weather, folk heros, plant science, mother animals & their babies). Okay, I stretched it, but seriously I doubt there will be a pop quiz at the end of the party!

Baby Rattle became Seed Shake.
Junk in the Trunk became Lay Some Eggs.
Johnny Applestack tied into our Johnny Appleseed study from the fall.