Summer Vacation Day .5 (No students)

Ok, so today technically did not count as a day off as I had training for 7 hours on Standards Based Grading. Oh yes, it was as exciting as it sounds.

But, yesterday was my first half day off without students.

After I packed my classroom up and brought all my boxes home, this is what I did:

1. Unloaded my car and organized the boxes in the garage.
2. Walked my dog.
3. Worked out.
4. Bought airline tickets to Las Vegas and booked our hotel.
5. Went to the movies with my husband. (Hangover 2…it was ok.)
6. Went out to eat.
7. Read a book.
8. Complained about being bored and that our home laptop stinks. (I had a brand new school issued laptop all school year. I vowed to complain everyday until I get a new one.)
9. Watched The Voice.
10. Went to bed early.

Seriously. I have no idea what I am going to do with this free time. One of my friends told me I should go back to Michigan and watch her newborn baby so she could sleep. I think she is joking. I know absolutely NOTHING about babies. Plus, they kind of freak me out.

I guess I do work too much during the school year. My nights usually consist of lesson planning, making PowerPoints, grading or answering parent emails.

Tomorrow I have the day off…no training whatsoever. Friday I have a 6 hour GT Update, Monday I have nothing to do and then Tuesday I will start planning and teaching summer school.

Yes, summer school. I will be teaching eighth grade Math to a group of kids who have failed the state standardized test twice. I am pretty excited to meet my kids—especially after working with fifth graders this year. I think it will be an adventure…plus it will give me something to do with all of my free time.

The end (of the school year) is near and I am not ready!

Ok, so if you have been reading my blog, you know that I have been counting down to the end of the school year since spring break. It is not because my school year has been bad, it is just that I always like to know when my next break is. After 179 instructional days, weekends filled with lesson planning, and an average of 2-3 after school meetings a week—I am a little tired.

Well, now the end is approaching and I will admit, I am not ready to say goodbye to my fifth graders. I seriously love my students this year! One of the reasons I wanted to move to elementary school was so that I could build relationships with my students. When I taught middle school I had over 100 kids and I wasn’t able to get to know them as well as I wished I could have.

No, my fifth graders have not always been perfect, and I have had to lecture more as of late—but truly my students this year surpassed my expectations and helped me to raise the bar for years to come.

They are the sweetest and smartest group of kids that I think I will ever teach. I won’t forget being amazed the second day of school, when I asked them to bring a book for silent reading for the next day and every single one of them showed up with a book! (That would never happen at my old middle school.) Just last week at lunch I noticed that one of my boys had brought a Lunchable and a nice looking sandwich—I made a comment to him that he had a good lunch that day. He looked at me with an “aw shucks” look on his face and said his mom packed an extra sandwich for one of my boys, who, the day before told our class about how money was tight at their house and he didn’t want to ask his parents for lunch money. I know it is just a sandwich, but I thought that was a true testament to the kindness of my students.

I have witnessed some amazing things this 2010-2011 school year. From my students engineering creations, to the wonderful story of the little boy who was homeschooled and four years behind in his academics-- he worked his little heart out this year. He was able to make friends AND pass both the reading and math standardized tests! His metamorphosis has been nothing short of a miracle.

I will still visit many of my kids when they are at middle school. I love to go to sporting events where I get to see my “old students.” To me there is nothing better than getting to catch up with a kid I used to have in my class. I usually tell them when they leave my room they can do one of two things. One, they can come up and say hi, and if they want a hug, I will give them one. Or, two, they can ignore me completely. Either way, I will still be their “old teacher.”

So, this Thursday we have our 5th grade awards assembly. I hope I can keep it together. I have never cried on the last day of school, usually I am so ready to get my next group of kids (and start my summer break). I have a feeling that this Friday I will probably shed a tear or two.