Last day of school.

Teachers are like:

Parents are like:

True story. 

Happy summer to all the teachers out there!

Here come the waterworks...

...and you just made me blubber like an idiot, little one. 

Happy Summer to all the educators out there!

No more pencils, no more books...

School's OUT! School's OUT! School's OUT!

And trust me, the teachers are JUST as excited as the kids (if not more so). I've been subbing for most of the school year—including this final week—and I can say unequivocally, that this is first summer vacation I've TRULY earned.

I suppose calling my break a summer vacation is a bit laughable, though. I have evening classes until July 8th, followed by a field experience (aka Summer School) through the end of July. Then a couple weeks of freedom until pre-service seminar starts, and then dun Dun DUN...

MY VERY OWN CLASSROOM at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year!

Those poor kiddies won't know what hit them. Although I'm sure they'll give me a run for my money, so I can't say I feel too sorry for them.

So happy to have made it through virtually unscathed :)

Happy Summer to all the teachers out there– live it up!

One reason I love what I do.

As a substitute teacher I've bounced around to tons of schools in and around the city I live in. Luckily, I've had the opportunity for long-term assignments in one particular school that's about five minutes away from where we live. I'm super comfortable whenever I'm there, know most of the K-2 students by name, and the principal is currently "courting" me for when I'm finished at Hopkins :)

It's been labeled a "Title I" school by the No Child Left Behind Act, which means it receives an allotment of federal funds to try to bridge the gap between the mostly low-income students who attend the school, and their peers who attend schools with more resources. A good portion of the children in this school are from single-parent households and have little going on in the way of positive influences. By fifth grade, a lot of these students are just over school and have completely mentally checked out— which is one reason I'm so taken with the younger ones who actually really want to be there.

Anyway, today I subbed for a kindergarten class I've had in the past for single-day jobs as well as a week-long assignment.

I. Love. These. Kids.

They're not perfect by ANY stretch of the imagination. They tattle, they're chatty, they don't follow directions the first time... I could go on... but I really adore them. They're the first kindergarten class that made me reconsider my stance on nothing below second grade.

And today, after sloshing through the rain at 8 o' clock in the morning to get to school, I had an interesting note waiting for me on my sub plans...

I walked out to their teddy bears that were oh-so-wonderfully decorated in the likeness of each student (aside from Kevin who informed me his is actually his little sister, hence the pink), and checked for Ayah's.

This is what I found...

For those of you who can't make it out, the line that's second from the bottom says: "Her favorite teacher is Ms. Ferlle."

Since that's the first time anyone has ever called me their favorite teacher, I decided to give her a pass on the spelling of my name... for the rest of her life! :)