You’re approaching the end of a long stretch of focused hard work. You’ve been going hard at the academics since shortly after the new year, and you’re tired.

It’s time to start wrapping up and shifting gears for a more relaxed period of homeschooling.

When you do wrap up a long period of intense study, celebrations are a must. I don’t just mean having a party. I mean recognizing what you and your kids have learned and accomplished!

This is done with culminating activities or projects that take a look back at all that you’ve done and demonstrate what the kids have learned.

Remind yourselves of all the great stuff you’ve accomplished and all that the kids CAN do.

Through these culminating activities, you avoid the trap of focusing only on the things that didn’t go well and give appropriate attention to all that did.

Below are a number of wrap up activities and projects I’ve used with great success over the years. Please read through them! Adjust them to suit your needs, and reach out if you have any questions.

Recall and review learnings. 

One type of culminating project is to play games that recall and review new learnings over a period of time.

Further in this post, I share projects that involve application of learnings to new situations, which involve more complex critical thinking skills.

All the same, recall and review games are a strong way to wrap up a period of study. You can combine a game and one of the projects discussed later, or simply stick to one option.

Whatever you choose, relax and have fun with it!

If the kids aren’t receptive to a game right now, put it away and try again later. There are so many variables that impact how kids respond to a new learning or activity, it can be hard to determine how to pivot successfully at the first try.

My favorite that’s easy to prepare, especially with the kids’ help -- is review Jeopardy.

Below is a detailed description of how to prepare and run the game, so please skip to the next subsection if you prefer to get into the details of the game later.

Review Jeopardy

Once you build your Jeopardy board, which does take a minute, you can play this game many times over by simply changing the categories and answers.

If you’ve never seen Jeopardy, please watch a show to get the idea of how the game is played.

Supplies needed: 3x5 inch notecards, several small whiteboards, whiteboard markers and erasers, a large piece of thick posterboard, 3.5x5 inch library card pockets, and a kitchen timer.

1. Build the jeopardy board. Using the library card pockets, create six columns with six rows across, spaced evenly. With the opening of the pocket facing up, glue the library pockets to the posterboard. The top row will be where the category cards go, and the five rows below the categories will contain the question and answer cards for each category.

2. Enlist the kids’ help to choose the categories and prepare the answer cards. First, choose your categories. I suggest academic subjects for categories: Nath, Science, English, History, or Language Arts.

Write the name of each category on a 3x5 inch notecard, then place the category notecards in the pockets across the top of the poster board, so that the name of each category is visible to everyone. Then design as many answer cards as you like. Each category should have the same number of answer cards. Take note of the questions they answer on a corner of the 3x5 inch notecard.

3. Prepare to play. If the kids in your homeschooling group are different ages and grade levels, make teams consisting of pairs to level the knowledge base. Each team is given a small whiteboard, marker and eraser.

4. Make sure you have desirable prizes for everyone. Before you begin, go over the prizes that they can win to motivate them to participate and follow rules. Be sure to review behavioral expectations before you start.

5. Play! Each team choose their team name, and the score is displayed and kept by the game emcee on a large piece of paper that’s visible to everyone. Score correct responses as you feel is appropriate.

Each team has a turn at picking a category and answer to which everyone must write the question on their whiteboard. You read the answer out loud, then start the timer immediately after. I suggest giving them 10 or so seconds to consult and write the question down on their whiteboards. When you call time, the hold up their whiteboards, and whoever gets it right gets the point.

Engage in a culminating project. 

A culminating project applies past learnings and critical thinking skills to some sort of problem- solving activity.

Purchased curriculum will often contain some sort of culminating project. Take a look there first.

If you choose to design one yourself, include these two factors:

1. Decide on the content and concepts for which you want your kids to demonstrate their learning in advance.

2. Employ higher order critical thinking skills. This includes evaluating, where kids use certain standards or criteria to make a judgment and justify that decision, or creating, where kids produce a new or original work, like designing an experiment, writing a story, or finding a new way to solve a problem.

Below are examples of culminating projects I’ve done in assorted subject areas over the years. Feel free to use them as given, or let them be a starting point for a project of your choice!

Join a Science Olympiad competition in your area. In this science competition, pairs of kids on a larger team are assigned scientific projects to solve. For example, when my son was 10, he and his partner were assigned the task of designing a paper airplane that could fly for the longest time. They won!

Perform historical role plays. Kids in a small group take on the role of historical figures who played an important role in a significant event. One example would be to create a panel of the founding fathers who wrote the Federalist Papers, which were the foundation of the U.S. Constitution and debate their positions.

Write for understanding. Kids could be asked to write an essay about a key learning in one of their subjects by explaining what it is and its impact on the world. For example, kids could write about the heliocentric theory or the Pythagorean theorem.

Set up a problem solving groupwork activity. Choose a relevant issue in the world today and have a group research and decide on a solution or policy moving forward. This type project is generally for upper high schoolers since it’s involves complex critical thinking skills. An example could be on the subject of Artificial Intelligence. What are AI’s pros and cons and how should it be used? Will it help or harm society in the future?

Create a portfolio of their best work over the past year. This is an excellent project for kids of all ages. Have each of your kids go through their schoolwork over the past year and choose a number of pieces to put in an annual portfolio. You can pick a theme for their portfolio and include a writing component where they briefly explain why each piece was chosen and what it signifies -- for example, a difficult challenge met or a favorite subject or type of assignment. This can also be done online in applications like Google Docs.

If you can find a way to do this easily, put their finished projects on display somewhere in your home for other family members to see when they can. On the other hand, if you’re in a co-op, your group could hold a gathering where all the families gather, appreciate, and celebrate everyone’s hard work.

Most of all, don’t overthink these end of the year wrap up activities and projects. Have an open mind, experiment, and enjoy the experience.

 Lily Iatridis is the founder of Writing Rockstars, an online writing program that prepares teens for college level writing.