End of the School Year

Oh gosh, did it really happen?  Did THIS LITTLE KID....

...just finish sixth grade and is going to be heading off to Jr. High?  Nope.  Can’t be true. And yet, somehow it is.

The last few days of school, though stressful, were also a wonderful celebration of a great year for the kids.  We had such a fantastic group of teachers and I was very devoted to each of them.  Cap especially had such a good year - this was the first year I didn't feel like I had to cattle-prod him through every single bit of his homework.  He really started developing self motivation and had some goals and everything.  I was really proud of him.  His teacher, Miss Parker, was a friend of my younger brother's in high school and it was especially fun to have a personal connection with her.

This is not a very good picture of Bitty and her teacher, Mrs. Farrell.  I adore this woman.  She's a dear friend, really - Cap had her for fourth grade as well - the first time Bitty has ever had a teacher whom Cap also had.  She'd better stick around for a few more years so Skippidy gets a chance with her too!

And Skippidy.  I count myself as a very fortunate mom to have had the chance to have Skippidy in Mrs. Yaeger's class.  What an amazing woman.  She makes life fun - what more could a kindergartner wish for?  She's strict, but she also makes life a celebration and cheers for every accomplishment these kids have.  I know school ended a few weeks ago but now that I'm finally writing about it, I'm feeling very sad that the kids have moved on from these neat ladies' classrooms.

The day before school was officially over, Cap and the rest of the 6th graders took part in an official "promotion" ceremony.  I'm not going to lie, it was kind of a tear-jerker.  There was a great slide show, choir numbers, words of wisdom from the teachers. And then of course, a tasty lunch with some of Cap's best buddies, most of whom he met and developed friendships with during his kindergarten year.  I can't believe they have stayed friends all these years.  And like the old fuddy-duddies say, I can NOT believe all those years have already passed by.

We should have taken some pictures with the adults so there would be some normal pictures in there as well. Oh well.

Then came the last day of school - the kids all gather in the auditorium and each grade sings a song or two, then the big-kid choir gets together to sing farewell.

Skippidy got a little emotional:

Then came the moment of triumph.  The very last thing that happens is the teachers all grab yard sticks and make a tunnel for the 6th graders to run through.  It happens really fast and is hard to catch on camera, but I tried:

Then suddenly school was over.  And the sibling fighting began.  Just kidding...that didn't start until the next day!  We celebrated that afternoon by getting burgers from B&D and eating at the park in the leafy shade.  Ahhhh.  Sounds so nice.  Today was over 100 degrees, so thinking of that lovely 80 degree weather, sitting in the shade at the park sounds pretty great right now.