Friday, May 28, 2010

Last Day of School Thoughts

Today was the last day of school. It was bittersweet. (Everyone says that.) We had a lot of fun and did some cleaning and talked about our favorite things and memories of first grade. I made a slideshow of pictures for the class and I am so blown away by their reaction to it. They loved it and it made them sad and hug me and say they would miss me. Some said they even cried when they watched it! I love that reaction from 6-7 year olds. I was surprised. I got so many big hugs and i love yous and smiles today. I'm going to miss them, but I'm very much ready for a break. While I was packing up some flash cards and charts today, I felt a strange feeling that I didn't feel last year. I felt comfortable knowing in August I would begin teaching the beginning of the curriculum and that I knew it really well. I felt like I was very comfortable in the cycle of year to year. I like that my job is predictable in that I will teach the same thing each year. I know that in August I'll get a group of kids who make letters backwards and who don't know subtraction facts and who can read slowly. They'll tell me that clouds are made of milk or cotton balls. At the end of the school year...those things won't be true. They'll form letters correctly and be able to smile at their handwriting on the first day of school. They'll take subtraction timed tests and they can (try to) read chapter books. They'll know that clouds are made of water. While my job is predictable in that way, it's also very unpredictable day to day. Every student is different. Every situation is different. I love first grade.

I don't love that I have to go to the high school graduation right now. UGH...I don't like graduation ceremonies for many reasons. I don't like to use the word boring very often, but I think it applies to graduations. Penny is coming home tomorrow morning! I'll be secretly thinking about her during the graduation to pass the time.

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