End of the School Year, Moving Madness, and "oh my gosh where is my summer going?!?"

Ummm how is it already June 18th?!?  Is it just me, or is anyone else having anxiety about summer passing by too quickly???  I feel like just yesterday I was packing up my classroom, shoving things into boxes and cabinetes, and covering my book shelves with butcher paper...

God, the room looks depressing like this...

I realize this is irrational and silly, but I feel like summer is going to be over before I even have a chance to relax!  Since I got home from my wonderful Florida-Atlanta-Mud-fest-Snake-Terror-Beach vacation Wednesday, I have been going going going NONSTOP!  With what, you ask?  Well (drum roll.)...I am in the process of moving!  After I graduated from college in 2009 with a teaching job near my hometown, I decided to make the smart girl decision and move back in with mom and dad.  I've lived with my parents for the past two years, taking advantage of the lack of rent and living expenses to pay off my student loans, make a dent in my car payments, and save some money too.  I have liked living at home (especially since my dad started experimenting with vegetarian cooking in the past year and a half!  score!), but decided that this summer I needed to put my big girl pants on and start learning to take care of myself!

To make a long story short, I looked at a total of TWO apartments in the area and loved one so much I immediately filled out an application.  The catch was that the apartment was available IMMEDIATELY, so if I wanted it, I had to start a lease NOW.  HUH?  I wasn't planning on moving out until July or August, if not September!  I had next to NOTHING to fill an apartment with, aside from my chipped college dishes, my coffee maker, and an ABUNDANCE of martini glasses...sooo the past 3 1/2 days have basically been a frenzy of shopping (and spending buckets of money...), packing, and schleping heaps of my stuff to the apartment...it is coming together, but there is still a LOT I have to pack here at mom & dad's...and a lot of random junk I have to toss!  I'm excited though, and can't wait to show you pictures once I have all of my furniture and things are in order!!

ANYWAYS, the summer is just flying by and I haven't even blogged about the end of the school year!  OOPS!  On the second to last day of school, I started our morning with a long, quiet writing session, during which I had the students write letters to me answering a series of questions about the year.  Some of these asked about their proudest moment, their favorite activity, and the best book they read...as is ALWAYS the case when I read journals, some of their responses are too fantastic not to share...

 This year has been the best.  I wish that I could stay in 5th grade, but I have adventures to seek when I go to every other grade.

One of my favorite things about working closely with kids is the special, unique kind of relationship you form. To me, I know I'm doing my job in building relationships when kids *need* to tell me random things.  This is a perfect example... :)

HAH!  So much honesty :)

A couple that were IMPOSSIBLE to decipher from the photos I took...

My proudest moment was when we were doing family living.  It was my proudest moment because I got to find out how most of the body parts work.  Also because all of the 5th grade boys were acting mature.  That was a proud moment because we weren't acting like children.

^What can I even say... :-D

My favorite thing we did in fifth grade was writer's workshop because we got to use computers and because it was our change to become a better writer.  Writing was my favorite because when every one wanted to conference with you you tried your best to get to everyone you could.  Writing was also my favorite because you tried your best to let everyone share their creative writing.  All I want to say is that everyone writing is great.

^This one is probably my favorite.  It really captures the essence of writing workshop--everyone writing, sharing writing, and celebrating writing, as well as growing together as a COMMUNITY of writers.  This student GOT IT!  I teach for moments like this :)

I have to say, while I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer and do NOT want it to be over, I really loved. this. year.  So many negative things have been going on in my building and school wasn't so much a happy place the last few months of the year (I'll explain more later this summer...), but I loved my class.  This was the class I needed this year--after my rough 1st year, this class helped me fall in love with teaching again.  Let's hope I get lucky again next year!!! :)