The one with a little bit of everything...

“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” - Carl Jung 

If you saw my post from Tuesday you know I was already on a little bit of a high from having received the most heartfelt gift from my students and two coworkers of mine. 

“I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.” - Lilly Tomlin 

Yesterday morning, my awesome coworker and I (I hope by now you've put together that "my awesome coworker" is the same person each time I refer to her) took our classes outside together to the field. She had never seen the Mentos geyser experiment. I decided it was about time she did. Have you seen it. If not and you still have some days of school left, go get yourself some 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke and some Mint Mentos. The kids absolutely loved it. In fact the picture below is from last year when I did it with my third-graders since my awesome coworker didn't get a picture of the geyser this year, instead she got pictures of our kids faces, which believe me, are priceless!

“Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas”

Then yesterday afternoon I decided to put my kids to work - peeling the paper off of crayons! That' right, you heard me correctly. I was down to the last little bit of crayons and as I move everything back into my house I really didn't want a bunch of used, dirty, germy, and grimy crayons sitting around all summer. Aren't they beautiful?

I told my kids they would see them again, but in a different shape. Well you'll have to excuse the pumpkins (though I think they are really cute) it's the only silicone baking mold I had that I didn't mind using (not that it has to be silicone). My kids are going to be so excited tomorrow. (I baked them at 300 for till melted then popped them out once completely cooled). 

“Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.”  - Chinese proverb 

Then today I was published! I knew this was going to happen but I kept quiet about it until it did. I was published on The Math Learning Center's blog (I hope you'll stop over there to see). I was published in a local paper earlier in the year around the holidays for "the gift of giving" that took place within my classroom walls. I'll have to post about that. However, this article on the MLC could not have occurred at a better time. What a wonderful way to culminate the school year.


I'm sure there is more I am leaving out, but tomorrow is our last day of school. I am hoping I can make it through the day. It's been a busy week of packing and report cards and paperwork and more eligibility meetings and heat in the 90s and just pure exhaustion. I haven't had time to focus on how bittersweet the goodbyes will be. I'm so glad my teaching friends/coworkers and my students have been able to have so much fun along the way.