School's Out!

So the last month of school was just crazy. 

In fifteen school days we only had five that had no activities planned. There was the faculty basketball game, field trips, farm safety, field day, etc. 

Teacher Appreciation Week is my new favorite holiday!

I was also freaking out because I was trying to finish a big research project with my kids. They each picked a topic in U.S. History to research and then they wrote a two page typed paper about it and made a poster and presented their project with a short speech they had written science fair style to parents and the rest of the school. 

After all the stress and many hours trying to figure out how it was all going to work and happen before school got out, it was a raging success. Seriously, SO FUN. 

The kids did amazing on their posters and it was so neat to see them presenting what they had learned and I was just so proud of them for all their hard work. It was a good day. 

Then we had field day which was also crazy. 

The entire school was split up into mixed grade groupings and all the teachers had activities planned for them to rotate through all day. I had a dirt cup booth where they mixed up the pudding, crushed Oreos, and made the dirt cups. It was super fun although buying 20 packages of Oreos at Walmart was semi-embarrassing. 

The whole day I was just reminded of the cruise. The kids are just rotating through every station and everyone is there to entertain them and there was some music playing in the background and I just wanted them to realize how lucky they were....I don't know if they did. But it was still a fun day. 

The last day of school was interesting too. 

I had the kids pack up the room, clean out their lockers, and check out of school. 

All of that took no more than an hour. 

Then I had to find something else for them to do. 

I had gotten an idea from listening to other people talking about their fifth grade teacher that I wanted to try out. 

I had all the kids gather in a semi circle and put my tall teacher stool in the front of the circle. Then one by one I called the kids up to the school and told them why I was going to miss being their teacher. 

You would have thought I was torturing them! They were moaning and groaning and trying to hide behind their friends so they wouldn't have to go up there. But secretly I think they all liked it. 

When I was done with my 5A group they all insisted that I get up on the chair and they would tell me what they were going to miss about me. 

Even through all my protesting somehow I ended up on the stool. 

And it was torture! 

No really, it was so sweet of them. 

I just love those kids to pieces. 

After that little moment we played the mafia card game for the rest of the time. 

And the kids were SO good at it! 

There was one girl in my 5B class and I swear she had a sixth sense. Within one minute of every round she always knew who the mafia was. I could not believe it! But the kids loved it and it was super fun to play with them. 

And that was the end my friends! 

I can't believe I actually did it! 

Before the school year started I was just terrified and stressed and in tears and I actually did it! I learned a WHOLE lot and just had tons and tons of fun. 

I will always have a special place in my heart for that group of kids. 

We just really had such a great year together.