2 more/48 more

two more days until school ends.
48 days until my wedding--according to our wedding website.

this is my 99th post so i'm going to end the schoolyear with post #100.

so much has been different this year, including the end of the school. not just different, but BETTER. here are the great things i've done with my kids at the end of this year that didn't happen last year:
1) pizza party in 2 out of 3 of my classes. kids brought drinks, soda, cookies, chips, and either they chipped in for pizza or the school bought them pizza.
2) i made peanut butter cookies for one of my classes--the one that has just been consistently good all year long, without fail.
3) i made my afternoon kids work all week last week, every single afternoon. it was awesome. they totally bought into it even though i didn't do anything with all the work that they did. i know, that's messed up, but just think how much influence i have over them. wow!!
4) did a year-end survey. got some good feedback from kids.
5) did a mini awards ceremony for my afternoon class before the school awards ceremony. i gave a certificate to almost every kid, but not all of them, because some of them just didn't earn awards. the ones who didn't get a certificate were really dissapointed but it meant that the ones that i gave out were much more meaningful, because they kids felt like they earned them. and the dissapointed kids...well, maybe they will take it to heart and be a little more consistent and work a little harder next year in high school or 8th grade.
6) for my morning class that has been so cool and family-like all year i wrote them a letter of appreciation. i addressed it to the whole class but also mentioned each student by name and complimented/appreciated them each for something unique. i think that they liked it.
7) my kids stayed calm and good and mellow. well, there are two more days but there are fewer and fewer of them in the classroom so....i think it's a pretty good accomplishment.

maybe it's hard to wrap your head around this, but the end of this year has felt so much more whole and like i have had closure and shown love for my kids than last year. i feel more organized and calm. i'm really proud of how it has come out.

all that being said, i am SOOOO ready for school to be over. basically i am babysitting and lceaning up the classroom. it just needs to be OVER and that is driving me crazy. i am really excited for the wedding and i basically want to spend all of my time getting ready for that and swimming and biking. i think it's going to be really fun. and i just want to get to it.

this past weekend i went to lake berryessa with my swim team and swam two miles in the lake. it took one hour and 20 minutes--felt like FOREVER. it was choppy because of the wind, and the water was cold. so i just reminded myself as i was swimming that it was going to be sooo awesome when i accomplished it. and it was awesome, so that was cool. then we had a team barbecue, then i went swimming again and then sat in the sun and chatted and hung out. then everyone else went home except me and five friends, and a few more people showed up, and we camped that night. it was sooooo fun--an amazing weekend. we swam a ton, enjoyed the sun, and just generally got along and had a chill time. and i got the whole tent to myself. :-(
(i complain about our little tent a lot.)
it sure felt like the beginning of summer, though.

stay tuned for #100.

and yes, i'm staying at my school teaching 8th grade again next year! yay for staying on as a teacher post-TFA.