Performances that liven up an elementary school thank-you party! A collection of ideas everyone can enjoy
Even if you’ve been put in charge of a performance for an elementary school thank-you party, it can be hard to decide what to do.
You’ll want something that both children and adults can enjoy together.
Don’t worry if you don’t have much time to prepare.
With a bit of creativity, there are plenty of ideas that can turn it into an unforgettable memory—like projection mapping made with PowerPoint, body percussion that can be practiced solo, and quizzes or games that everyone at the venue can join.
Here, we introduce performance ideas for a thank-you party that kids and adults can enjoy together.
Please use them as a reference!
- Recommended performances for elementary school thank-you parties: carefully selected games and skits that will liven things up!
- Performances for a farewell party for sixth graders: from funny skits to moving ideas
- [For Elementary Schools] Recommended Exhibits and Recreational Activities for a Cultural Festival
- [From kindergarten to elementary and junior high school] Entertainment and performances that liven up farewell parties
- Party games that get everyone excited at school
- [For Elementary School Students] Recommended Recreational Activities to Enjoy at a Farewell Party
- [Children's Association] A Collection of Fun Entertainment and Activity Ideas
- [Hilarious] Rhythm Gags That Kill at Parties and Performances
- [One-Shot Gag] A roundup of sure-fire skits that will definitely get elementary school kids excited!
- A collection of performance ideas that will liven up a graduation party. Crowd-pleasing entertainment.
- Simple! Easy one-shot gags. Surefire bits that liven up parties and performances [2026]
- [Idea] A roundup of recommended performances for lower grades at school arts festivals and learning presentations
- Farewell party entertainment and performance ideas to liven things up: presentations that convey gratitude
Performances that will excite everyone at the elementary school thank-you party! A collection of ideas everyone can enjoy (11–20)
Professor Derby
At the thank-you party, I imagine the teachers from that time will gather as well, and what I’d love to recommend is this entertainment segment: the Teacher Derby.
In this activity, teachers participate in several mini-competitions, and the audience predicts which teacher will win and wagers the points they have.
If the events are things we all remember from elementary school—like kendama, spinning tops, or tongue twisters—it’ll be even more exciting! In the video, the teachers are the ones competing, but you can also pick challengers from the audience, so feel free to add your own ideas and have fun with it!
Stepping Stone Crossing Game
Even teachers will be amazed! Introducing a multiple-choice “drop” game where the platforms collapse if you choose a wrong answer.
It’s also known as the stepping-stone crossing game.
Answer the quiz and jump onto the box of the color you selected.
Keep choosing the option you think is correct one by one while avoiding the wrong boxes.
If you jump onto a wrong box—splash! The goal is to see if you can select all the correct answers.
Since you can enjoy it from the problem-making stage, why not handcraft it together with elementary school students and their parents for a thank-you party?
cheer dance
How about a cheer dance performance for the thank-you party? Dancing energetically in cheerleader costumes is so dazzling and would really liven up the event.
Cheer dance is recommended not only as a performance by the children, but also by the teachers and by the parents.
It’s even an idea that children, teachers, and parents can perform together.
If you choose your favorite song and dance to it, it will surely become a lifelong memory.
Slideshow
How about watching a slideshow together at the thank-you party that tightly packs six years of memories? I’m sure there are lots of photos—from events like sports day and field trips to everyone’s casual, everyday moments.
Let’s turn all those photos into a slideshow.
With so many memory-filled pictures, choosing them might actually be the hardest part.
Pick some lovely background music and let’s all look back nostalgically, saying, “Oh, that happened, and that too…”
Handmade projection mapping
Liven up your thank-you party! Here’s how to create projection mapping using PowerPoint.
First, make the video in PowerPoint.
The tools you’ll use are PowerPoint, Movie Maker, a free software for cutting and splicing WAV audio, an image cutout tool, and a box.
Start by planning the movement, then create your slides in PowerPoint and choose the music you’ll use.
Sync the PowerPoint motions to the music.
Edit the music with the WAV editing software to match the movements.
Once you’ve recorded in PPT, export it as a video from the save options.
Import the video and music into Movie Maker to generate your data.
Adjust the distance and zoom between the box and the projector, and you’re done!
Bingo game
Bingo is a game where you can win great prizes if you line up a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally! The rules are simple for this game played with a 5×5 card with numbers on it.
First, punch out the hole in the center of the card.
Then, whenever a called number appears on your card, open that spot.
If you complete any full line—vertical, horizontal, or diagonal—shout “Bingo!” and claim your prize.
And when you’re just one space away from bingo, it’s also part of the rules to shout “Reach!”
Instrument performance
Performing an instrumental piece at the thank-you party is sure to get everyone excited! Some children might not be comfortable with singing in a chorus, but with instruments, just keeping the rhythm is fine.
If they choose relatively simple instruments like the tambourine or triangle and join in, they’ll have fun playing even without prior experience.
How about performing songs related to graduation? Since it’s a thank-you party, choosing bright, upbeat tunes that lift the mood would also be great!
stick figure
As entertainment to liven up the thank-you party, how about performing a dance with stick puppets? Some of you may have seen this on TV.
In this idea, you attach the same sticks to the arms and legs of two puppets and to your own arms and legs, and by dancing in the middle, the puppets on both sides seem to dance along.
Dancing alone might not be very exciting, but since this looks like three people are dancing, it’s lively and really energizes the venue.
Another appealing point is that you don’t need to coordinate practice times with friends—you can practice anytime in your own free time!
Elementary School True-or-False Quiz
Have fun playing with a video! Here’s an introduction to a True-or-False (O/X) quiz.
This was made into a video so it could be played at home, since we couldn’t hold a thank-you party during the stay-at-home period and the quiz we planned to do in the gym had to be canceled.
The quiz content is wonderful—it’s all about things related to the elementary school, including the principal! Just watching the visuals that go along with the questions is enjoyable.
It’s full of love for the school, so please use it for inspiration.
It also really livens up the room when shown on a screen at a thank-you party, so we highly recommend it.
Finger action
Do you know about finger action performances? You move your hands and fingers rhythmically to the music, and wearing colorful gloves like in the video makes it even more vibrant.
This is a group act, so it takes some practice, but since the hands are the main focus, you can cover your face on the day of the performance—making it enjoyable and freeing even for those who aren’t comfortable being in front of people.
Using your fingers to the music to create flowers, circles, and other shapes makes for a wonderful, captivating performance for the audience.
Give it a try!