The Last and WORST Day of School!

I hate the last day of school!  There!  I said it!  It's the worst day of the entire school year!

I work all year building this wonderful little community of learners and then...BAM!...it's the last day of school!  I'm supposed to be excited about summer vacation!  The kids are excited about summer vacation!

Oh, it all started out okay, this year!  We have an amazing tradition at our school.  The kids all "cross the bridge" to the next year!  And I mean ALL KIDS cross the bridge!  It's not a promotion ceremony, it's more symbolic of the hard work they've done and always moving forward to the next challenge, the next year!  So even those kiddos that might need a "bonus" year in Kinder or 1st, "cross the bridge" to the next amazing adventure!  I love this tradition!

So then we all went back to class and popped the last balloon...yes, I do the balloon countdown because that is so much fun!  The kids love it and we are all so excited each day to see what our special surprise is!  (It's kind of weird to count down to my least favorite day?!)  Well, we got to have a special treat and our yummy treat was Krispy Kreme!  Oh yeah!  We love us some Krispy Kreme!

Then we had recess and since I have recess duty, I got to kid around with my little firsties on the last day...that was fun!  After recess, we went inside and that's when it hit me.  One more hour.  That was it!  One hour left with the cutest class of first graders!  And then the tears and the tightness in my throat, as I hold them back...because, let's face it, if I cry then we're all gonna cry!  I haven't even mentioned saying goodbye to the parents!  Oh my gosh!  The families that I've had for years and multiple children!

I held in the tears!  I handed out awards and summer goodie bags, hugged and hugged my sweeties and posed for lots of last day of school pictures... I even smiled!

But, after all of my kiddoes were gone, I cried!  I held it in while they were there, but alone in my room, I cried! Yes, I can honestly say, I hate the last day of school!  But, what can we do?  I love every other day, so I guess I'll have to keep the last one because I LOVE MY JOB!