Yay, You!

     Today was my final day with my third grade munchkins at Lotts.  I have so many mixed emotions to be leaving such a wonderful place.  (Even though I have TONS of packing still to do.)  While I'm excited to be starting a new third grade adventure at my new school, it's hard to think about the place that raised me from a newbie teacher into a seven year veteran without  "Lotts" of tears and sorrow.  I got so many heartfelt cards and hugs today that it was all I could do not to break down into sobs.  As much as those kids could drive me crazy, I really will miss their faces.

     One of my most favoritest authors of all time, Sandra Boynton, wrote Yay, You! Moving Out, Moving Up, Moving On, and it's a wonderful book to read on the last day of school.  It's the same type of book as  Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss, but I like it better for a few reasons.  One, it's not as long.  Two, it has great suggestions and questions throughout about what kind of person you'll be now that you're done (in our case, with third grade).  It's a great conversation starter about what the kids will be doing over the summer and how they'll keep up with reading and math practice over the summer.  I've even used it as a writing prompt to have the students write about how they'll spend their summer.


     To quote the end of the book (the page that ALWAYS makes me cry):

Whatever you do,

whether near or so far,

I know you'll be great.

You already are.

     

     What are some of your traditions for the last day of school?  Do you read a special book?  Watch a certain movie?  I'd love to know, so please share!

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The End Is Near

The end of the school year is always bittersweet.  It's nice to look forward to summertime and a chance to take a break and recharge the teaching batteries.  It's sad to see students leave the classroom on that last day, knowing that some of them will be moving and I'll probably never see them again.  It's nice to know that I'll finally have time to weed my garden and pressure wash the siding on my house.  But it's hard to leave my friends that I see every day and know that I won't see many of them again for two months.

This year it's especially difficult because after seven wonderful years at my current school, I'm moving to a different one.  Yes, I'll still be teaching third grade, and yes, I'll still be in the same county, working for the same school system, so many things will stay the same. 

I won't miss the long drive to school every morning and back home every evening, and how much I pay for gas and upkeep on my 14 year-old car, but there are so many things I am going to miss...

  --seeing my teammate every morning and hearing about her two precious girls and the trials and tribulations of living with an engineer
  --talking with my fellow 3rd grade teachers family and seeing them every day, joking with them in the halls, and being there to support them when they need it (and especially when they don't think they need it, but really do)
  --being in the school where I started my career and where I know everyone and everyone knows me

I know I'll grow to love my new school, and I've already heard so many wonderful things about it, and I'm really looking forward to the excuse to purge and throw away so many of my old and outdated materials and start fresh in a new room, but that doesn't make leaving my Lotts family any easier.  Pin It Now!

Class Party--And a Contest!

     I love reading The BFG to my munchkins at the end of the year.  It's a great way to constructively use their natural spring fever/end-of-the-year-induced silliness.  I love the silence in the room as I read it aloud and they follow along in their book.  I love the excited and delighted giggles when they realize what whizpopping is.  I love the groans and the, "Please can we read the next chapter?" when we're done reading for the day.

 (Photo courtesy of www.barnsandnoble.com)

 

      This year we'll finish reading the book the day before our class party, so we're having a BFG-themed party!  We're going to drink frobscottle (ginger ale with a new label on it), eat snozzcumbers and other snacks, make "dream jars" (colored sand in bottles), and play "Giant Games" (relay races in giant shoes, etc.)!  We'll spend the afternoon watching the movie version of the book.  

     I did this for my end-of-the-year party last year, and it was a huge success.  The munchkins LOVE being able to do the things they've read about.  It's also an upbeat way to spend the last full day of school.

   

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...And Now For the CONTEST!

     In an effort to get more followers for this blog and my Teachers Pay Teachers store (ckick here to go to my store), I'm having a contest with THREE WINNERS!  If you follow both pages and leave a comment here, (make sure you leave your email so I can contact you if you win) you'll be entered to win a free item from my TpT store! 

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We're Having A Sale!

     Teachers Pay Teachers is having a Teacher Appreciation Week sale!  They are offering 10% off products from participating teacher stores, and I've added my store to the list!  In addition to the 10% you can get from TpT with their promo code (TAD12), I'm offering AN ADDITIONAL 10% off the items in my store!  Most of my products are less than $5 anyway, so this sale can offer HUGE savings!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

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It's the End of the Year as We Know It...

Wow.  I had an entire blog post written, with pictures and links, and it has disappeared.  Grrr.  I guess yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Monday.

Anyway... my missing post was about finishing up the year on a positive note.  I was writing in response to a post on Clutter-Free Classroom about what teachers do to end the school year.

This time of year is always hard because state testing is over, and students and teachers alike are daydreaming about all they'll do over the summer.  Also, after being in a classroom together for more than nine months, we're beginning to get on each others' nerves.  It's hard to see the fraying at the edges of our classroom community, but I like to use it as an opportunity for some reflection and positive interaction.

Friends Forever is a letter writing project that closes out the year in a very positive, uplifting way.  Students write friendly letters to each other, saying only nice, positive things.  The letters are collected, bound, and given to each student on the last day of school.  There are usually lots of tears and laughter as students read their memory books and think back to all the things we've done during third grade.  I always include pages in the back for students to sign yearbook-style, and with questions (What was your favorite....?) for students to answer.

What are some of your favorite ways to end the school year on a positive note?

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