The last day of school is always bittersweet. Every teacher has those kids they would take home if they could. This year I was lucky enough to have a couple. I also had some very challenging students as those in my line of work often do….the bitter with the sweet.

But alas…no worries. No time to weep…I’m working summer school. That’s where the real…er…fun happens. As a co-op, we take in kids from our feeder districts. Our program can actually GROW from our academic year numbers. I think that’s where we are now; even though I know only half of my homeroom is enrolled to attend. In my ESY class (that’s teacher speak for extended school year), I’ll have a couple students from my own class, some from others, and a few I’ll be meeting for the very first time on Monday the 16th. I’ll have four short weeks–half days only–to help students maintain the skills they acquired during the school year. It can be more grueling than the regular full days.

Summer school is the time I like to experiment with new ideas to see if they will work for the following year. I’ve already rearranged my classroom. I’m thinking about instituting a few new organizational policies and techniques. Of course I’ve been scouring Pinterest for my FAVORITE ideas including puzzle storage, chair back storage, and bulletin boards. Those types of things get me really excited!! I cannot help myself sometimes. After summer school is over, I’ll start a million little projects to bring to my classroom come August. I’ll be pinning all sorts of ideas and following through on about 10%.

So if you see me and I look rather frazzled, please don’t ask if I’m enjoying my summer vacation…I’ll be too busy working my butt off!!