Kindergarten's Over

Everyday at the end of Kindergarten we’d sing a little song that said,

“Kindergarten’s over and we are going home. Goodbye! Goodbye! We are going home!”

-not a big deal, just something we did to kindof stop after the chaos of getting backpacks and things ready to go home and say goodbye to each other. The song never really means much to me until the last day of school when we sing it and half of my class and I am crying. I have such a hard time realizing that these kids that I have spent endless hours teaching, thinking about, dreaming about, taking care of, talking to, and just being around, are all of the sudden going to be gone. It kills me!

Every year I have the reassurance that I’ll see them again in the fall and that they’ll come back to my classroom after school and visit everyday- and most of them really do. This year was different because I’ve decided to stay home next year and be a mom. I really am so thankful that I CAN stay home, but it is also hard to make that decision after focusing for so long on teaching. I worked so hard during college and these first 3 years of teaching- so it was sad to pack everything up in my classroom to move onto something else. I just had to keep reminding myself that the reason I thought teaching would be great in the first place was because it might help me be a better mom.

Anyway, I put off cleaning out my classroom until my mom was able to come up here to help me and then we worked like CRAZY and got all of done in TWO DAYS! With TY! I wish I would’ve taken pictures of the room when I first walked into it 3 years ago because it was empty and disgusting. Really. But at least I’ve got the pics of how it was looking when I taught and how I left it…

I just couldn’t believe how hard it was to stop myself from crying as I looked at “my” classroom one last time and turned off the lights.  There are people and memories from teaching Kindergarten that I will never forget.  There is no way to even explain how much I love these kids and their parents. 

 Seriously, no way to even come close.

Now, I am just so thankful to be finishing that part of my life- especially as the beginning of the school year gets closer and my stress level stays the same. I’m sure I’ll go back to teaching someday-and find plenty of things to keep me busy in the mean time. For now I’m excited to be here to support Jason when he starts his school in the fall and MOST MOST MOST OF ALL I’m so excited for my new job! Being a mom!!