So long!

So I said goodbye to my third graders today, and it was harder than I thought it would be. While I know there is so much I can fix and do better next year, I realize now that we really did have a great year together. I've said so many times how "over" this year I am and how I can't wait to get it behind me, but watching them go today, some in tears, I realized how much I'm going to miss them. Some of the things that annoyed me to no end now seem so sweet, all covered in nostalgia. Like the undeniable smell of dog that emanated from them after recess. Or the hundred thousand times a day I heard my name. Or the times they got a little too silly and giggly and I had to reign them back in for fear of losing their attention. Or the million stories they wanted to tell me every morning but I always had to cut short so I could get on to the important stuff.
I had some P in the A's who, despite what I've said in the past, I will miss. I'll be glad to wave to those kids across the hall next year and will be genuinely happy when they come back to visit, but will be completely ok with sending them back to their 4th grade classroom. But then there are those that I don't want to let go of. The ones that were so beyond sweet and caring and eager to learn and such a joy to have in class. The ones that always said thank you, always said good morning, always hugged me goodbye, brought me little treats and left surprises on my desk. It's going to be hard seeing them next year as "big kids" and know that they're not "mine" anymore.
I'll always remember this first group and will probably always compare my future students to them. I saved every little note, every picture, every treat they gave me, something I probably won't do with any other group in the future. But I always want to remember my first group and the special connection I shared with them. Come August, it'll be weird seeing them walk up looking like big, giant 4th graders and then looking at my new little crop of third graders who basically will look like oversized babies to me. I might even feel a little resentment towards my new ones, sort of a "you've got big shoes to fill" attitude. And I'll wish I could have my old ones back (or most of them at least) because they already know all my routines. They know how to write and edit a 5 sentence paragraph. They know their multiplication facts. They get my jokes. That's the blessing and the curse of teaching: getting a fresh group of kids every year, but having to say goodbye to the old ones. But, I gotta send them on their way and hope I taught them enough. I hope they know how much I loved them and how much they have done for me and meant to me all year. I do love them and will miss them so much. I wonder if I'll feel this strongly every year, or maybe it's because they were my first real group. Or because I just happened to have some really great ones. Or maybe I have my graduation goggles on and they're clouding my vision with nostalgia, and maybe summer mode will finally hit and ill be able to say "So long, kids! Bring on the next crew!" I guess we'll see. But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my late morning wake ups and lack of to-do lists!

Update + Pics

Soooooooo it's been a while, huh? I know everyone's been dying to know where I've been, right? Right? So believe it or not, my first year of teaching has been pretty cah-razy. Hard to believe right? Can't believe it's almost March! As in over halfway through. As in t minus 3 months till the end of the year. Holy cow how did that happen?? So it's definitely been a roller coaster. I went through the honeymoon phase where I would come home every day and relate every detail of my day to my hubby and tell him all about my little ones and all the cute, funny, adorable things they did and said. Then November hit. And pretty soon I didn't notice all the adorable things anymore. I only noticed the unbelievably frustrating things - like the perpetual missing names on papers, the talking in the hallway despite the hundreds of daily reminders., the constant tattling and bombarding me with questions. Let's just say I was over it. I was feeling incompetent, like there was no way I could ever cover everything by testing in March (yes, March) and that I had done everything wrong at the beginning of the year that it would be impossible to fix.
Well I'm happy to say that the roller coaster has finally evened out. I have bad days, I have good days, I have days I want to cry out of frustration and complete overload, and days I want to cry at how sweet my little ones are and how rewarding my job is. I get frustrated with my kids, but I love them. Each and every darn one of them. I'm ready for May and ready to put this year behind me, but I sure will be sad to see these kids go.

Ok, moving on to the pics I promised in the post title.
The first ones are recent one of my classroom library. I. Love. My. Library. I think back to the summer when I spent hours and hours on my library. Organizing the books and putting stickers on every single cover. My mom and I spending hours putting those Walmart bookshelves together and painting those little polka dots on them, then going to 5 different stores in search of the perfect rug. It was daunting but I'm so glad I put that much time and effort into it. I love my library and my kids love our library. It's definitely a favorite spot in the room. I have kids come up to me all the time and say "Mrs. Merrick, I'm done with my assignment. Can I go sit in the library and read?" Be still, my heart. Anyway, these pics are from last week right after I had gotten a whole bunch of brand new free books (I love you, Scholastic) and had put them all up on display. Needless to say, most of them were gone and checked out by the next day (my plan exactly) but it looked really nice and full for a little while!

The next pics are some of the anchor charts I've made with the kids -- the ones that I was particularly proud of. Enjoy! :)