Our last (full) day...

... I'm a bit sad. Today was a pretty good day, all things considered. I actually *taught* for the first 2.5 hours of school today. We finished up fractions (dividing mixed numbers), and when the kids got the hang of it, I let them come up, one by one, and work out a problem to the class. It was actually very enjoyable, and it was great seeing the kids confident in their work. We then did a comprehensive language review (a packet of old tests I compiled), which I hope was somewhat helpful. Then, the students cleaned out their desks- I have pictures to be uploaded!- and we started packing up the room. This morning, I had NOTHING packed, and now I'm almost done. Gotta love free child labor! :)

This afternoon, we finished packing up (which was pretty cool, actually), then I assigned our last journaling activity of the year: A reflection of the school year. I asked the students to make a list of positive and negative things they remember. Next, I had them finish the question: "What I remember about this year is..." with 5 or more endings. I then had them write in a notebook for me what they remembered about the year. Some excerpts:

"You are the 2nd best teacher ever and I was very good this year."

"I got to meet you."

"Through all the changes, I will never forget you."

"You helped me improve in anger." (I think this was supposed to be a good one!)

"I rember [sic] the first day [and] the sign language." (I taught them sign language symbols for "water," "bathroom," and showed them how to ask to sharpen a pencil by holding it up silently. This made the year infinitely easier.)

"I got to meet you! and you are a good teacher"

"I will miss you a-lot" (We worked on "a lot" as two unhyphenated words all year!! Grrr..)

"I will always remember you. You are my favorite teacher. Always remember that you give good advise [sic]. You rock!"

"We will miss you. I had fun."

"Meeting you was the best part of the year."

"I will miss you. You were the best teacher I ever had."

"I wish you were the new challenge (6-8) teacher but I still will miss you."

"You teached [sic] me a lot of stuff like math science reading."

"Thanks for teaching me stuff like, science and math and reading."

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

I'll miss my little monsters, too. :( I almost cried today, but it didn't really feel like the end yet. Tomorrow I will DEFINITELY cry.

After the reminiscing, we went to our last "Treat" assembly of the year. This is pretty much a raffle where students got tickets for doing good deeds for others all semester. Ten of my kids won prizes! :)

After the assembly, it was recess, then the first half hour of "Lilo & Stitch," then the kids were out the door. Sigh. The room's a mess, but it's almost packed. We have quite a bit of cleaning to do tomorrow before they leave.

I will also actually miss blogging about this unique experience. It's been a nice outlet for my whole teaching career (short-lived as it may be), and I've appreciated knowing that I have an audience cheering me on. :) Thank you, readers, for caring about the issues I've brought forth in this blog. I'll probably do an entry or two more, then that's it!! Finito!! :( Due to this blog-sickness, I have started another one (check my profile if you're interested). Thus, I can keep writing, but that one will be about more random (and sometimes more personal) things aside from my life as a teacher.

For now, I finish LOTS of work in the classroom. Ciao!