Aaaawwww! The sweet smell of summer is in the air. Have you made it to your last few days of school yet? Many of you are spending your final days, or weeks, with your students. This time can be so conflicting. We are excited to see the end in sight, and we cannot wait to be free from paperwork and meetings. But on the other hand, we know how much we are going to miss the sweet, smiling faces of the students that we have spent the last 9+ months with.
We know their laughs, voices, personalities, strengths, weaknesses… We know them. More importantly, they know us. They have learned when we are “teacher serious” and when it’s time to stop. They know when we are tired or need a just a little hint of coffee or tea in our systems. They know our moods and they get our humor. If we really thinking about it, we’ll realize that our students really know us, too. Hopefully, it has been a beautiful year of give and take.
My last days of school were a few weeks ago, but I was filled with the same mixed emotions. My sense of sadness was a little bit deeper this year as I had a Student Teacher that worked with my students from January until May. I was there, but I was more of a fly on the wall. I wanted to read THAT book to my kids. I wanted to share THAT lesson with my kids. No what I mean? Okay…enough of the pity party. LOL In any case, that made my last few weeks with them even more special. I made some choices that made my end of the school year one of the best ones ever.
First things first. I spent every waking moment that I could with my kids. I also just let them be kids. We did continue to do assignments and follow our daily routine. But, I infused it with fun activities. I let them draw pictures and color with markers during times that I usually would not. I pretended not to notice when they would go get more paper to make a new picture or card. When someone would move to a different table with a friend, I would just look at them and smile (unless the “Okay, but I am watching you” look was necessary). I listened to their sweet conversations about things that they did or liked to do. We ate in the classroom a few more times than usual. I just ate them up, and it was the best time ever! <3
How are you spending your last few weeks, or days, or school? Share your thoughts, feelings, plans, and/or ideas in the Comments.
