Groovy Educator

Can you believe it is that time of year again?  Even though I am not in the classroom right now, I feel the energy from this time of year. This post is dedicated to the End of the Year Class Parties.  I am going to share a few ideas and then I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE for you to share more ideas in the comments section. My favorite party was an indoor picnic.  We moved all the desks out of the way and brought in blankets to sit on.  Parents brought in sliced watermelon and other fruits.  We ordered pizzas and set up an assembly line on the counter.  It was a parent picnic so the kids sat with their families. Afterwards we went outside and did relay races and free time.  The reason we sat inside to eat is because it was extremely humid so we wanted to limit our outside time.  We came back inside to cool down and shared about how our classmates are wonderful.  It was so much fun. Usually I brainstorm a list of ideas with the kiddos and then...

In case you didn't know I have been on a leave of absence since late November.  When I left, I knew I would be out through the end of the year and possibly the next year. My amazing grade level teachers helped me pack up my "teaching life" in a day or two and I've kept my distance mostly due to the emotion of it all and to let the children bond with their new teacher. I had promised when I left that I would come back and see them so that last week of school, I stopped by and saw my "babies" again and my heart swelled.  It was a nice visit and made my heart hurt when I left.  I loved these kiddos! The sweet teacher who took my place asked me to come the following week to pick up the rest of my belongings.  I thought it would fill the trunk. Boy was I wrong!  Two days and three more carloads later, I had most of my "stuff." Today, I had some alone time in my "home away from home" and it was almost too  much to bear. I resigned i...