Teach 'til the End!

Well, I broke my own rule...don't take anything down until the kids are GONE!  Teach 'til the END is a big rule of mine - when I check out, so do my kiddos.  Plus these last few days/weeks are where we make TONS of memories.

I HAD TO though, the fire marshall's coming & he and I DO NOT see eye to eye on classroom decor. I mean I concede on "no hanging from the ceiling & light fixtures" rule.  But the whole < 50% of the wall covered gets me EVERY TIME!

So our custodian sends an all call on Friday morning...check your email, RIGHT NOW!  So, I do and proceed to throw a big, fat fit - "as if I don't have anything else to do with 6 school days left, now we have a surprise inspection at 11:00am!" I sighed under my breath {I *probably* rolled my eyes a few times too}.

After I calmed down & sent my students to the assembly - I scrambled to find my 2 staple removers & got crackin'!  I took down our Camp Rules/Class Promise, the faces need to go home on Th. anyway.  I took down our Reader's Use...strategy wall {it looks awful bare}, I took down our Camp Chores - their jobs will remain the same for the final 5 days, I took down some posters, cleared some to be filed clutter, & took down our Math Strategies poster {I'll use it on the easel & reference it this week from there instead}.  Phew, glad there was an assembly - so could've used the time to do report cards though!

Then, I had my teammates look in.  They said, "Looks pretty good, but I liked the old way."  LOL, they were so NOT HELPING.  I mean I hate taking things down that WE USE, but if it makes the fire marshall happy - what's a teacher to do?!?!  One of my teamies said she entered my room {I hadn't met her yet, she was hired over the summer} in August to get ideas for decorating & my room was almost done, she said to herself; "Man, it looks like fun in here!"  That is SO my goal.  She was the one that said she "Liked the old way" - I just grinned & sighed.  *There was a LOT of sighing yesterday!*

Since Friday was a 12:30 dismissal, I finished my report cards & got planning.  So here's what we've got to get done this week:

1. Father's Day gifts/cards
2. KinderLit Countdown Book - for our space theme
3. KinderLit I Bloomed in Kindergarten Book - based on Leo the Late Bloomer & it's sort of a memory book/portfolio of all the things my Kinders have learned this year {with work samples}!
4. Our Future's So Bright - sunglasses writing (I love my teamies!  Laurie gave me this idea & I can't wait to see their sunglasses).
5. Class Candy Awards - Reagan Tunstall
6. "First Grade, First Grade" performance - we've been practicing every available minute!
7. Ice Cream Social/End-of-the-Year PARTY

Here's to KNOWING it will all get done...there's really nothing that can be moved or given up.  It's gonna be crazy, but what end-of-the-year isn't?  AND, at least I got a head start on some take down for 5/24 @ 12:45 - I guess this is the bright side of breaking my rule!

Wishing you a WONDERFUL last week with kiddos {or last few days - hopefully your schedule is similar to mine},

Miss Kristan King