School's Out!

Well my first event of summer vacation was a visit to the dentist because I apparently chipped my tooth. I wanted to make sure and see him before leaving for Germany just in case something was really wrong. He said he could not do anything but to call back if the pain gets worse. He said that I probably chipped it because I grind and chomp my teeth a lot. He told me that many teachers face this same problem due to stress. It's funny...I don't feel that stressed, but apparently I really am because I chomp my teeth hard enough to chip one! Yikes!!

We had a half day today, but it seemed long since there isn't really much left to do! We had an assembly and some autographing time, but other than that I just hung out with my class. We had a little dance party and at one point I had my entire class in a giant Conga line going around the room. They had a blast.

We also did a sharing circle and they each got to share their favorite thing about first grade, something they learned this year, and then something they are excited for/worried about/wondering about for next year. They were really cute. One girl shared she learned how to write in English and that was my favorite!

We usually have lunch at 10:50 so the 11:45 dismissal time without lunch was going to be a bit rough so we had some snacks. At one point one of my students said Mrs. Toppel close your eyes. I closed my eyes for a minute and finally they said ok open them. This is what they wrote on the board:

How sweet! When I walked the class out to the buses, I literally had four or five girls clinging to my legs. I was in a perma-hug with Karla, who was an allstar student this year. I wrote her parents a note (in my best spanish) to tell them what a pleasure it was to have her in my class this year. I have never had my students be so clingy on the last day, but it felt nice and I definitely felt the love. It was bittersweet to think that this might be my last last day of school in this location, but we are still unsure about that.

Tomorrow I go back for one final day of sorting and organizing and then I officially check out for the summer. In the event that we are moving, I will have to go back and remove my stuff but for now...it stays.