Miscellaneous

Summer Vacation!

It has been way too long since I have written a post.  Okay fine, it’s only been a couple of weeks, but it feels like much longer.  I even started to develop a twitch–it was getting bad 😛  But here I am, sitting at the computer and typing.  All is well again.

So why have I been absent as of late?  It has been all thanks to the joys of the end of the school year.  As a fourth grade teacher, I have been basking in the fun of final assignments, grading, report cards, and shutting down the classroom for the summer.  I’ll tell you what, the last few weeks were a doozie.  But that’s okay, because… SCHOOL’S OUT!  That’s right, on Wednesday afternoon at 1:46, the final bell of the school year rang.  All of my darling fourth grade students said their goodbyes (read: kicked me in the shins and threw eggs at my head*) and headed home for summer vacation.

My partner teacher and I then prepared to check out.  This entails tying up any loose ends, turning in paperwork, cleaning out the classroom, purging all of the things we no longer needed, etc.  It was sheer chaos: our trash pile was nearing the ceiling, and we were running to and fro to get signed out by all of the people in charge.  At 2:45 there was a last call to check out for the day.  At the sound of the announcement, my partner teacher took off like a bullet to the office while I finished shoving things into cupboards and locking up cabinets for safe summer lodging.  And then, suddenly, it was done.  We were checked out, stripped of our keys and whistles, and sent on our way.

We then had a couple of in-service training days, but as of now, Saturday morning, I am officially done.  Free!  Ahhhhh.

*Disclaimer: there was actually no shin-kicking or egg throwing (to my knowledge).  My students were a pretty darn nice group of kiddos.  🙂

I don’t have any pictures of the last day of school, but I thought I could share a few highlights from the year.  This first set is from a couple of projects that we did this year.

These next pictures are from a whale watching trip that we took in January.  It was such a beautiful day and we spotted both dolphins and whales.

These last pictures are from a day at the Oak Glen nature conservancy.  This was such a lovely place to spend the day learning, and I can’t wait to go back next year.  🙂

Now What?

Now it is time to catch up on some blogs, finalize the details for our July vacation, and enjoy my freedom.  There will lots of playing with my kiddos, maybe a couple of trips to SeaWorld, and a 10k mud run.  Then our much-needed vacation (a southern Caribbean cruise 🙂 ), and finally some desperate clinging to summer before school starts again in August!  Hopefully there will be some posting in there somewhere as well.  😉

 

 

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travelnerdplans

12 thoughts on “Summer Vacation!”

  1. It must be so strange to have all these kids for a year and then suddenly see them go!! You have done some really nice things with them over the year. Wow whale watching, that’s awesome. I was wondering where you were gone. Enjoy your holidays 😀

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    1. Yes, very strange! I have always taught fifth grade, and the kids went off to a different school the next year. This year, I am teaching fourth grade, so I will still get to see the kids around campus for another year. It will be very different… I am definitely planning on enjoying my break, thank you!! 🙂 And for the time being, super excited to get caught up around here. Yay 🙂

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  2. Happy End of Year! Our niece is about ready to finish up her school year, and she can’t be more excited. The Oak Glen Nature Conservancy looks like it was a fantastic day. I always love when kids can experience nature and learn from it. Sounds like you have a great summer planned…enjoy!

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    1. Thanks Caren! I am so glad to be done for a couple of months. And I completely agree–it is so amazing when the kids can learn hands-on and in nature. They never forget those experiences. 🙂 Do you guys have any good summer plans??

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      1. The hands on experience is key! We have summer plans to head to the beach with Cazzie’s family in a week or so, and then in August we’re headed to Cuba. I can’t wait…it seems so far away still!

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  3. It is 10:44pm in Florida and tomorrow is the last day for students. Teachers have to come back on Friday and I’m sure it’s some sort of sick joke they like to play. Nevertheless, I will barely sleep tonight for excitement. It never gets old. Me and the students were starting to drive each other crazy! My 8th graders I’ve had since 6th grade and somehow while saying goodbye to them today (won’t have that class tomorrow) my dumb eyes started getting teary. Stupid eyes. Enjoy your time off! P.S. I found your blog through Dippy-Dotty’s latest post. She said you’re great 🙂

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    1. Hi, and thanks for commenting. 😊 You are free now! How was your last day? More tears? I have to admit that my eyes betray me too, every time. But then as soon as I taste the sweet air of freedom, the tears suck back into my eyes and all is well 😉 I’m glad you found me–I’ll be heading your direction later today when I settle in to FINALLY catch up on the blog. 😊

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      1. My last day went by so quickly. We make it a half day and I also had a planning hour within that. I had students coming from other classes all day, filling up my room. It was great. Many of them I had taught for 3 years, many 2 years also. Of course, when that final bell rang, I couldn’t get them out fast enough, haha. 🙂

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      2. Nothing better than a minimum-day schedule on the last day of school. And how special to share it with students you have had multiple years. I teach elementary and have stayed in the same class/grade for most of my career, so I have never had a student for more than one year–I think it would be a neat experience though. And I am with you on that final bell, GET OUT 😛 😛

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