The Last Day Of School

Tomorrow is the last day of school and Kindergarten graduation! These past few weeks have been pure madness with all the planning and practicing that goes into Kindergarten graduation. From creating a program, memory books, to practicing graduation songs and procedures, I'm ready to hear that graduation march tomorrow!

Although I'm ready to be off for a few weeks in the summer, I'll sincerely miss my students this year. As a gift to them this year, I put together Kindergarten Memory book for them. Each child completed a writing page in which he/she wrote their favorite color, food, book and what they like the best about Kindergarten. On the top of the page there was a space for their first and last name, along with a picture of that student. On the back of the paper the students drew pictures of their favorite Kindergarten memories. Then, each of the 22 student's pages were xeroxed and bound together using yarn and a three hole punch. The students traced and painted hands were the covers of the books. Today after I gave the students their memory books, they were able to walk around the classroom and have their fellow classmates sign their books. The students absolutely loved it! ;) I talked to the children about the importance of saving and taking care of their memory books so when they grew up they could look back and remember all the wonderful times they had in Kindergarten. Yesterday the parents received a laminated poem about the end of the school year, with a picture of me and their child on it. Is it weird that I enjoy laminating things?? ;) Today I received several kind and thoughtful notes from parents saying what a great teacher I am. I even got a one hundred dollar gift certificate to a day spa downtown from one parent/student! ;) In no way am I trying to toot my own horn or anything, it just felt really good to hear so many nice words from the parents. A thank you or a compliment can really go a long way. ;)

Anyway, I won't miss the break from all the paper work, planning and much needed tedious organization that goes into running a smooth and successful classroom. My vacation officially starts once my classroom is completely cleaned and emptied of all its' contents. Let me tell you, end of the year classroom clean up is anything but a good time. I didn't realize how much I had on the walls or stuffed into the shelving space until I started taking everything down.

Well, just in case you've been wondering what I've been up to, now you know! I hope all is well with my groovy internet friends and thank you to those of you who continue to read. I'll be sure to let you know how graduation went! ;)