Five for Friday: I can't believe the school year's over!

I love these kiddos!

(My homeroom class)

To start off this week, I gave my students the letters that I wrote them. It was so awesome to see them reading what I wrote. Their faces lit up and some even cried. They told me how honored they felt for me to write each and every one of them. I absolutely adored reading the letters they wrote back to me! I even had one student write me an e-mail after graduation day, because he felt like he needed to say more. How precious is that!

Here's a picture of the students reading the letters and writing me back.

This week my students and I created a memory "quilt". Each student drew a self-portrait and added his/her name to it. It's an amazing keep-sake for me. This year has been so special! I hung the quilt up on their graduation day! Parents really enjoyed it!

Aside from my sweet letters, my students also made me signs, wrote more letters, and drew pictures for me this week! They're so sweet!

Graduation was bitter sweet. It was really hard to goodbye to my students. I know I may never see or hear from some of them again. I definitely cried a lot during the ceremony. A.C. Steere has impacted my life in so many ways. I work with amazing people who are genuine. I have amazing parents who want to help as much as they can, and I have great students. I have fallen in love with my school and kiddos. Teachers learn so much from the kids they teach. I'm so happy that this career path chose me. God definitely knew what he was doing.

My students hanging out before the ceremony:

After the ceremony, we had a great reception. I hugged as many of my students that I could find! The cafeteria was definitely packed. I didn't get that many pictures on my phone, but here are a few.

I have been so overwhelmed by the gifts, letters, and cards that I have received this year. My students and parents are so thoughtful. I definitely did not expect summer/goodbye gifts. 

A fabulous student drew this amazing picture for me. (From left to right: Ms. Montgomery, student, me, and Mrs. Mills)

Flowers from students

A fabulous single-sheet laminator from a co-worker and student.

This beach bag is so cute! A few parents chipped in and got us all one of these! 

I am ready to relax for summer, but don't think I won't be planning, creating, and blogging! 

Really going to miss these kids!

I'm tearing up as I write my goodbye letters to my students. I am going to miss them so much! They have made such a huge impact on my life! Their smiles will forever be in my heart. I hope that parents know how much I love what I do, and that I truly care about their children. I want the best for them. I pray that some come back to visit or write to me. Teaching brings so much joy, but it is so hard to say goodbye.

From our Gator Race (5K run)

Field Day Selfie

Gator Buddies at the beginning of the year

Dancing in class

Five for Friday: Field Day, Crawfish, and Sweet Students

Today was our Field Day! We had such a blast! My homeroom class won 8 out of the 10 events!!! :)

This is a picture of the fourth grade teachers and me. We call ourselves "The Four Corners," because our classrooms make a square at the end of the hall. In the picture, we're making a square! lol

(Left to Right: Kelly, me, Cheri, and Rachel)

Some of my homeroom kiddos

Some of Mrs. Montgomery's girls and me! I love these little ladies! 

Montgomery's boys and me

Mrs. Mill's homeroom with all the teachers!

One of Mrs. Mill's lovely ladies and me

Before going out to Field Day

We had our annual crawfish boil this week to honor two of our women that are retiring! One year ago on Wednesday, I became a Gator and attended my first crawfish boil at Steere! As you can see, I am not a fan of crawfish! lol For those that don't know, I'm a pescetarian. Which means I am a vegetarian that still eats seafood. However, crawfish like this is not my thing. I will eat it in gumbo though. lol

A very sweet student made this scarf for me! It's yellow and green for our school colors. My kiddos spoil me! I'm really going to miss them when they graduate! 

I am absolutley in love with my new "I can" statements! I ordered them from Jason's Online Store at TPT. He has Common Core objectives for ALL grades with pictures to explain each standard. How awesome is that! You can check them out HERE.

I really enjoyed Mother's Day with my mom!

~~~

Next week will be the hardest blog post I'll have to write. It will be the last week with my 5th graders. I will miss them terribly. Next week we are doing a lot of memorable activities, parties, and I will watch them graduate! I will have new students next year, but I will always remember my first class at A.C. Steere! They are very special to me. I know I will cry when I see them cross the stage!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!