year 2 reflection.

The last week of school is always hard.  It's a finality of a chapter in my life book.  It's like when you read a book and you're devastated when it ends.  You get to know the characters so well that they become your best friends.  

I hate it when the school year ends because the students I get to know so well don't play as big of part in my story anymore.

This year was a hard one.  It was draining at times to fulfill my duties for 32 students and their parents.  But, thankfully, I worked with a phenomenal group of students and parents alike.  I adored them.  Amongst the literal sweat and tears this year, I strengthened my relationship with every single one of my students.  This year's students hold a special place in my heart (but I also said that about last years class).  They were complex, analytical thinkers that understood sarcasm and humor and knew how to work hard while having fun.  They were witty, thoughtful, and curious.  They wanted to learn.  They wanted to be at school.  They left my room at the end of the day with questions they wanted to find answers to and with a wealth of knowledge they learned at school during the day.  It's not often that a teacher gets that combination within all of their students.

These students of mine aren't just students I send home at the end of the school day.  They're my life.  I think about them and their lives and hope that they choose to do good.  I worry about them.  I experience pride and joy in their accomplishments with them.  I cry with them.  I love them.

With all that in mind, now you know why today, the last day of school, would be hard. 

This week started with our class read-a-thon and monster party.  It's the highlight of the last week of school.  Everyone brings their birthday monster I make them for their birthdays and we watch Monsters Inc.  It's a blast and they have this big reunion with their birthday monsters in hand.

I also provide them with a pizza party lunch (thanks to BlackJack Pizza for the incredible teacher discount this year!). 

One of the best movies ever.  Kids giggle and laugh throughout the whole thing!

Some of my little monsters brought their birthday monsters along with some adorable accessories this year.  Check out the cute hula hooper monster decked out with it's own grass skirt, towel, and umbrella!

Some monsters even turned into little superheros complete with a cape and socks to match!

How cute are these kiddos?!  Oh my.  I think I'm going to start crying.  Again.  

The final count of monsters I've made is now up to 67!

{Don't mind my glowing, sunburned face.}

This little guy reminds me of one of my good friends growing up.  He's little and adorable.  He (and his incredible mother) got us matching monster t-shirts.  He was so excited to give me the package with this t-shirt in it.  I'll be honest, I was excited too!  More like freaking out and jumping up and down I was so excited.

And yes, I fit into a boys XL shirt in case anyone was wondering.  It's a perfect fit!

The last day of school brought lots of laughter and tears.  We handed out 2nd grade promotion cards, class awards, yearbook signing, and finishing up Charlotte's Web.  Bytheway, why does Charlotte have to die?!  Don't they know it's a children's book?  I had some pretty upset kiddos today.

I've had a lot of supportive parents this year who not only got their kids to school on time with their homework done, but they threw class holiday parties, were kind in their emails and communication with me, and were optimistic and enthusiastic about their comments on their child's learning.  I was invited to almost all of my little monsters baptisms this year and T and I made it to all but 3 (not counting the upcoming summer ones)!

They were also kind enough to give me a warm send-off to the summer with lots of cards and little gifts.  I was overwhelmed today with the amount of love from my students and their parents this year.  They truly are a special bunch!  

I'm a pretty sentimental person.  I hang onto things for their sentimental value, not necessarily their physical value.  The thing I love to receive the most during the school year is the massive amount of cards from students and parents alike.  Kind words of gratitude and thoughtfulness are always a way to my heart.  I cherish letters.  

{a portion of the cards from today.}

I also received another form of cards today that will keep T and I quite happy during the summer months when it's too hot outside or we're too lazy too cook!

One of my favorite gifts of the day was a beautiful gift from the whole class.  I got close to many of my students mothers this year.  A couple of them (who I wish I had kids their kids' age so they could grow up together!) put together this gem for me...

A thumbprint from each student with their name.  

I love the quote they put on it.  I have yet to decide where to hang this beauty.  It may just end up in the office at home instead of at school.  It's too special to run the risk of getting damaged!  We'll see where it ends up.

Another thoughtful family gave me a beautifully framed The Family: A Proclamation to the World.  T and I have been wanting one framed in our house for a while.  It was actually on my list of summer projects!  It's like they read my mind.  I can check it off of my list!

Other students gave me an adorable monster pillow, necklaces, earrings, neat-o chapstick, scarves, water bottles, LOTS of yummy goodies, nice hairspray and more.  I was spoiled rotten.

But you know what?  I would trade it all to have another year with this group.  Seriously.  I have no regrets or complaints about this group and I can't imagine not teaching them next year!

When the bell rang today, I was a wreck.  I attempted to hold it together and did rather well until little Atticus gave me the tightest hug and took a big deep breath trying to hold in the tears.  Oh help.  No one could resist a little 8-year-old crying over the fact you won't be his teacher next year or the fact that he won't see you for a few months.  It was enough to tear my heart out. 

But the day did come to a close.  My classroom is packed up and everything moved to back rooms and cupboards so the carpets and countertops can get cleaned...

{I promise my storage room never looks like this.  Unless I have to shove everything it for the summer!}

I'm not a big fan of goodbyes.  I would much rather say, "see you later" than an actual "goodbye."  These cute little gifts summed up what I wanted to say to my little monsters perfectly.

See you later alligators! 

Until next year...

Year 1

My first year of teaching my little 2nd grade monsters was a crazy year.  I owe a huge thank you to those who listened to my frustrations (even though I tried really hard to keep them to myself).  It was a year with disappointments that I wasn't able to keep up the steam to do things I wanted to, happiness when that one student finally had their lightbulb AHA! moment and got double-digit addition, and complete and utter joy watching 25 2nd graders love and respect each other.  I've never had so much fun seeing an entire class be such incredible friends as this one has.  They were a golden class.  Absolutely golden.  

May was a particularly hard month of teaching.  I was on the brink of tears until I read a sweet and utterly charming email from one of the mother's of my students.  She sincerely thanked me for lifting her daughter up to new heights and giving her confidence that she struggled to have before.  Then I went through previous emails and notes where another mom thanked me for helping her daughter know that it was okay to love herself and that she was beautiful.  Another student's mother started an email off with a big capitalized THANK YOU followed by many generous exclamation points and then went on to say that her son has never felt so loved or successful in a class than he had in mine.  It was in that moment that I realized (again!) that Heavenly Father put me in the right place, at the right time, to teach this particular bunch of kids.  I realized that in the form of letters, emails, notes, pictures, hugs, and tears that Heavenly Father had sent me little tender mercies to help me gain confidence in the one thing I've always wanted to succeed in.  And that's teaching.

And no, I'm not on a rampage to toot my own horn, but after reading the article, "The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do," it made me so happy to have my gifts and talents.  I've always had a hard time seeing what I'm good at.  I'm a terrible socializer, completely awkward around other people at times, insecure about how I look, and seriously too sarcastic for my own good.  I've been striving to really put my heart and soul into my career.  And this year, I think I did a pretty good job (with many things in store for next year that I'm already working on fixing or adding to my classroom).  All of the 12-15 hour days were worth it.  No, my job is not glamorous.  Yes, I put on some serious poundage of body fat that is in the works right now of getting rid of.  Managing 25 kids at a time and making sure that they are learning at the highest level they can is difficult.  I feel so blessed and loved by these little monsters of mine and I can't wait to show my next batch of students how amazing, loved, and unique they are!

And because a blog post isn't a blog post without pictures....

The last week of school was spent having way too much fun for our own good.  Which included our very own MONSTER PARTY!

The goods set out on the table.

 A close up of the adorable tablecloth that was given to me by one of the many supermom's that helped out in our class.

And one of the cutest things I've ever seen...

Monster FINGER puppets!

Darling and oh so cute.

But, alas, I can't take credit for finding these beauties.  

Becky, thank you for the wonderful gift of Monster party decor.

And because I get amazing ideas for class parties the night before the big event (see this post) I made Jello Cookies.  They are bright, colorful, and full of sugar.  Any kid's dream and any parent's nightmare.  Good thing that sweets and treats are a rare occurrence in my classroom unless it's for a hands-on lesson.  But aren't they soooo cute?!

And because the aforementioned cookies gave T and I a serious sugar rush by just eating half  of one, I made up these cute thank you's for our office aides so I wouldn't throw up eat them all.  

At least they look good enough to eat. 

For a child, yes.

An adult?  I'd suggest eating sparingly.
Like a bite a week when your blood sugar gets low.

And to top off our Monster Party, we watched Monsters, Inc.!  My students got to bring their birthday monsters that they received throughout the year on their birthdays and we had a big pajama Monster party while we watched this movie.  I was seriously thinking about not giving out Birthday Monsters next year, but when I asked what their favorite part of the year was, it was a unanimous Birthday Monsters! answer from all of my students.  How can you get rid of their favorite thing?  Needless to say, I'm currently working on making the next batch of 35 monsters for next year.

Call me crazy.

The last day of school was hard.  Harder than I thought it would be.  I bawled once I shut my door and all of my monsters were gone.  Some will be moving to Hawaii.  Another to Australia.  And some to different states.  I may never see their adorable little faces again.  I seriously sat on the carpet while staring and crying at the sight of my empty classroom.  

Hardest day ever.

But it was an incredibly fulfilling, enriching, and utterly fun year!