Tuesday
Today was a very sad day for me because although my kindergarteners technically have two more days of school, Wednesday and Thursday, the year is basically over and this was the last time I would see them. Wednesday I would be back with Esperanza and Thursday Ms. Caraballo would be out for professional development, so there really wasn't an opportunity for me to come back. Today was a special day because it was kindergarten graduation, but already a lot of the class wasn't there and probably would not return for the last few days of school. It was hard for me to realize that I wouldn't get to see my students again as I worked with them during the day.
Even though it was a difficult day, it was also a really fun day for me. In the morning, the kindergarteners celebrated their graduation by singing "The World is a Rainbow" to the parents and visitors. They all got medals for graduating, and a couple other students got additional awards. I was happy that I got to see this final celebration with them. After they got their awards, we all watched the eighth grade graduation and listened to congratulations for the few high school seniors that would be graduating with the Lincoln West class at Severance Hall that night. The ceremonies ended with cake, juice, and ice cream for all the graduates.
Many of the parents had come to see their students graduate and then took the students home with them early; therefore, my already small kindergarten class was reduced even more for the afternoon, when we only had nine students instead of the 23 we should have had. Because the class was so small, it was a very low key afternoon. Before music, I helped Ms. Caraballo take apart her room by taking down all the student artwork that was still up. Half of the class worked with Imagine Learning,
which is an ESL computer program, during this time, and the other half played at the home center, which is where the students can play with baby dolls, a pretend kitchen, and plastic food.
It was then time for music, during which the kids watched the beginning of Finding Nemo, a movie they really enjoyed. The end of the day had me working with the nine students left one last time in a game of alphabet bingo, while Ms. Caraballo continued to take things down and put things away in the room for summer. I was so sad to let my kindergarteners go today, but I had one last amazing day working with them. I will always treasure the memories I have of working with them, and it is to their credit that I know for sure that I want to be a teacher.
You even got me tearing up a bit. I am sure you had a wonderful, positive impact on all of those kindergartners lives. I bet you will make a fantastic teacher and these experiences you've had through your senior project will prove invaluable in the future. I also find it interesting that the graduation is all grouped together with all of the grades like that, with both the younger and older students. It just shows how united the students are in the program and I guess it even shows the younger students that their successes will continue as they age if they keep up with their education.
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