So Close

Today I took both of my classes on a fishing field trip. Yes, that's 41 kiddos out and about with fishing poles and nets.

I was kind of dreading the hour long bus ride both ways, but it actually wasn't that bad.

I had tons of parent help, which always makes field trips much better.

The kiddos were so excited to catch fish, so it was great to see their enthusiasm and their uninhibited enjoyment of nature, worms, fish, and the yuckiness of cleaning their catch.

We got a little delayed due to one of our buses hitting a parked car in the parking lot at school before we got on. But, that was the worst part of the day, so I consider myself pretty lucky.

No serious injuries, no lost children, no illness. Just fun.

It is really funny to see all the kiddos who usually have the most energy and are the most challenging in class completely asleep on the bus ride home. They sure were tuckered out. Thankfully I had parent chaperones for most of my more difficult boys. It was great to have their support. 

Since it's a bit tough to stay organized with both of my classes in the classroom at once, I put on a little slide show that I made with photos from the year. It was the perfect way to keep the kiddos occupied during morning check in before we left on the buses. I wanted to show just part of it and save the rest for the last day, but we ended up watching the whole thing since we couldn't get on the road when we had planned. I think I am going to show it again tomorrow because 1. I didn't really get to sit and enjoy it since I was busy this morning and 2. I still need to do a little bit of assessing tomorrow so I need something to keep the kiddos busy. They were so excited to see themselves and their classmates in the photos, so I think they will enjoy watching it again in a quieter setting without all the field trip energy pulsing through the room.

I am almost done with report cards, with the exception of some random things I need to assess tomorrow with certain kiddos. I am happy that reports are almost entirely under my belt so that once school is over tomorrow, I can just focus on getting 100% ready for my core defense on Thursday morning.

Tomorrow is the last day of school! ::big smiles::


(but also some sadness that some of the sweetest kiddos I have ever taught will be leaving me...)