School's out for the summer!

The 2008-2009 school year is officially over --- and my summer has officially begun! Yahoo! Can you feel the joy radiating from my face??

Each year before I send my students off on the last day of school, I take a minute to reflect on the year and on all the memories that we made together... some good, some not so good. I take a moment to look at that one child that gave me heck all year long and I see him/her through different glasses. Before they leave my room, I make it a point to give each student a hug (yes I HUG them! Even the boys who think they are too cool for a hug from Mrs. Ragan!), to tell them how glad I was to have been able to spend the year with them and to wish them a safe and relaxing summer. Today was no different. But I pulled that one child aside, you know the ONE.... and I looked him in the eye and told him that I was glad he was in MY class this year and that I thought he was a great kid. The shine in his eye and the smile on his face made my day. :)

Here is what makes this job worth it: the hugs and smiles from the kids, the notes from the kids that say I am the best teacher ever, the notes of thanks from parents who have appreciated all the hard work that goes into teaching their children, the tears on some students faces when they realize the school year is over and they are moving on to a different grade. I love what I do and I get great satisfaction in knowing that I have had the privilege of touching nearly 100 little lives each day.

On the other hand -- I sure do LOVE my summer vacation! I know that many don't get the break that I get in the summer. I am sorry but that is definitely one of the perks of this job. However, don't get me started on how many hours OUTSIDE of school I work... and how many EXTRA hours I spend at work... I figure I deserve the summer OFF!

We don't have a lot planned for this summer. We three are taking a road trip to Georgia to see family and to go to the beach in FL. Abraham and I will be joining some good friends for a beach trip. We plan on doing some fun things with my sister and her two kids. All with maybe a few weekend trips to the beach for us three. I don't know.. we'll just take it sleeping in day at a time... and we'll love every second of it!

Don't be hatin'! (as one of my kids told me the other day!)