I was doing my Michael Jackson imitation this morning (whoo hoo!!) and my oldest daughter gives me this “are you kidding me” look and asks me why I’m so wound up. My reply: “It’s the second to the last day of school!!”  This reply gets the the sigh and eye roll.

 

But why? Why not be just as excited about the second to the last day of school as we would about the last day? To me, this is the day that is the best because that end of the year is so close you taste it, but yet,  you’ve still got them.  Those students in your class are getting wiggly, but they are still with you because there’s still learning to be done.  Today, we finished a chess tournament and started hammering out an iMovie to a classroom we’ve been talking back and forth with in the UK.  Is it traditional learning? Of course not, but is it learning? You bet it is! They have to learn focus, the ability to keep themselves under control, and that the best things in life are worth waiting for.

 

True, I had a couple wound tighter then a three dollar watch, but that’s to be expected as well.  I love this day because it’s our last full day together, but yet, I keep it very relaxed.  There’s no pressure of a test, homework, or something to add to the anxiety that many have all ready.  No, we keep the learning informal, yet it’s still happening.  I cannot, and have never been able to, just “shut down” my room until that last day.  If time is usable, then why not use it to do something constructive?  It tends to drive other teachers (and sometimes parents) nuts that we are still “doing stuff” in my room, but why not?  Plus, the students love these days because it’s not the same old stuff.  It’s a little different, a little off beat, but yet, we are learning (seeing a theme here?).

 

All in all, I love the second to the last day.  It’s a little strange, but tomorrow will be a blur of goofy, tired, and over stimulated kids.  Today, it’s about us, our class, and our time together.  How can that ever be wrong to be excited about that? 🙂