The Last Day of School

The last day of school is always a bittersweet day. I'm so ready to have a break yet my class will never be the same again. Yes I'll have a whole new group that bring their own special flare but I will never have these students together again. I'll see most of them next year but it won't be the same the relationship. A little bit of me hopes that they think of me as their favorite. I know that's so wrong but I just don't want them to forget me. I'm proud of them and I can't wait to see how amazing they will do in the following years, I just want them to remember me.

The last day is a free for all day. Practically anything goes. Shaving cream and aftershave to clean the desks (a 4th grade teacher's trick), ice cream parties, everybody's movie day, extended recesses and free play. It becomes a day of fellowship with your students. Time to sip lemonade on the back porch (figuratively speaking) and tell stories, laugh and enjoy each others company.

I love my students! I always feel like they're mine. As teachers we put so much time and effort into them that it feels like they are our own. We walk a fine balance of bringing up a child but not completely, because that the parents' privilege. But none the less these kids become a HUGE part of our lives.

I know a few of my kids that will not be returning next year so I spent a little extra time with them. I want to make sure they know how much I love them and how much Jesus loves them. Saying good-bye to these particular students is very difficult. I know the Lord will do great things in their lives.

I was cleaning and packing up my room today and it all felt so empty. The colorful room with all their artwork is now four bare walls with no personality. It's the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. I will cherish my little ones and remember them fondly.