Favorite Memories From This School Year

I used to cry every year on the last day of elementary school. I felt like my teacher, my classmates, and I were one big family, and even though I would more than likely see my teacher and the other kids around the school the following year, it wasn't the same.

When I became an elementary school teacher thirteen years ago, my mother asked me, "Do you still cry on the last day of school when you have to leave your kids?"

To which I replied, "Pssshh! No."

But I do go home with very fond memories most years. Here are some of my favorite memories from the 2013-2014 school year.

1. "Can we listen to Chopin?" (as opposed to Eminem or Pitbull)
One of my sixth graders asked this question on the day we were going to study the Romantic Era. Not only did he want to listen to Chopin, but he also knew that Chopin was a Romantic composer.

2. Aflac!
My choir sang "Bought Me a Cat" this year. When they got to the duck verse during rehearsal, they decided (without informing me) to sing "Aflac" instead of "quack quack." There was no stopping it after that.

3. It's Not Just the Performance
One of my Wizard of Oz actors was bitten by THE BUG this year. Theater People, you know what I'm talking about.

"It's not just the performing that's fun. It's getting to make mistakes and try again and be at rehearsals with all of your friends!" he said right before our final dress rehearsal.

4. Hootenanny Days
Sometimes it's fun to pull out the old guitar and have an old-fashioned hootenanny. My favorite music moments often come on the days my classes and I sing old two-part folk songs. Nothing much is better than seeing kids respond to their first experiences with harmony.

5. This "Bus" is Bound for Glory
I ran in a 5K with my school's running group this spring. Several of my choir students are also a part of this group. As we were being shuttled to the start line, the choir kids serenaded the bus driver (and everyone else) with their repertoire. "This train is bound for glory, this train. Whoo, whoo!" Even some of the non-choir kids joined in.

6. Sharks and Minnows
I helped run the parachute station during Field Day this year. We played a game called Sharks and Minnows in which sharks tried to pull everyone else under the parachute by grabbing onto people's legs. We could yell out for lifeguards to save us, and sometimes they would. But when those little kid sharks ganged up on me, there was no saving the music teacher. I was dragged under three times!

7. Can I Still Come Here for Music?
When I was encouraging my third graders about joining choir next year, one of the little boys asked, "What if I'm going to a new school? Can I still come here for music next year?"

I said I could hide him under the risers all summer and bring him food and video games, and then he wouldn't have to go to his new school. Several other students chimed in, saying they were also going to new schools next year.

"Wait a minute! I'm running out of room under my risers!"

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