I love the last day of school because once I complete the progress reports I am able to reflect on how much each and everyone of your children has grown. On the final day of school, even though they are so young the children sense that things will be different and they seem to cherish the bonds of friendship that have been formed over the year. It is bittersweet, though, because it is time to say goodbye to the wonderful children who are heading to kindergarten. I am so thankful that some will be with me another year. It makes the final day easier.
Nancy and I end each year with our final circle. As the children sit at circle, first I talk to each child to tell them what made them wonderful to have in class and reflect on each one's accomplishment. Following this, Nancy shares what she will always remember about each one of them. It is a memorable time filed with smiles, laughter and, yes, tears (from Nancy and me).
Our field trip to The Clark was delightful. As a teacher it was so rewarding to walk into the first gallery that is filled with Frederic Remington and Winslow Homer's art and hear the children gasp with excitement and hear their electrified voices name the paintings that they saw. The children were eager to share with the docent their knowledge of the artwork. Over seven weeks, the children learned about so many paintings that they saw only a sampling of the art that we studied. They are bringing home two gifts from The Clark, a postcard and a bookmark. The bookmark is free admission for one adult to accompany a child into the museum. The children were very excited to learn that you could bring them there for free. I hope that you take advantage of the free admission. (If you go to The Clark, you may want to review with your child the artists and their artwork by looking at the slide shows that are on the right side of this post. Just click on the name and it is a link to the slide show.)
It was a busy day, so I did not have a chance to show the children the video of Walk for WES. Please look at it with your child. Be sure to take a good look at it about 57 seconds into the video. I think your child would enjoy reliving the fun of the Walk for WES which we participated in on Monday. By the way, did you hear that the PTO raised over $5000? Next year, the PTO will provided a lion share of our classroom budget which is used for supplies. Thank you for your donations!
Finally, thank you for all of the support that you have given me throughout the year or in some cases two or three years. I have best job in the world because not only do I have the joy to be with your children, but I also have the opportunity work with parents who value what I do.