last day of school.

I wish I could post other photos to show you just how cute they are and how much fun we had, but these faceless photos of us playing will have to do.

Yesterday was the last day of school for students and I'm feeling woah. I'm relieved and happy and sad and tired. I'm also already feeling nostalgic for this school year, my first year teaching a full class of 25 kiddos (ages 4 and 5).

If I'm being honest, I often caught myself feeling nostalgic during the year, as the moments were happening. Does that make sense? I guess I just knew that it was a privilege to take care of these kids and although it was definitely frustrating a lot of the time (Hi, did I mention I had a class of 25 4- and 5-year olds?), I knew I should try and soak it all in because it wouldn't last long. (Although trust me, 180 school days is enough ;) And also, holy, if I feel this way now, what's gonna happen when I have my own kids?!

Anyway, the point is, I love my students and I wanted to share what I wrote to them in the yearbook:

Dear kiddos,

Thank you SO much for a wonderful year! We played together, sang and danced, and read A LOT of stories! Your favourite books were Pete the Cat and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. We learned about ourselves, feelings and emotions, community helpers, and plants and insects. We made crafts, dressed up, worked hard, and had fun! You did a fantastic job singing "I Like Winter" at the Winter Concert* and you sang "Let It Go" from Frozen almost every day. You made me smile every day. You made me so proud this year and I've loved watching you grow up. I'll miss you SO much next year, but I'm excited for you to go to kindergarten and show everyone else how amazing you are.

Love,
Ms. Amanda

Yup, I'm definitely gonna miss them.

P.S. I'm not on vacation yet! I'm teaching three weeks of Summer Camp starting on Monday. But! Exactly one month from yesterday Tony and I will be leaving on a jet plane! (Please tell me you sang that last part :)

*They wore sunglasses and had little guitars they pretended to play and they rocked out! It was the cutest thing ever!