last day

Today is the last day of my first semester as a teacher. Grades are turned in, the place is sorta kinda cleaned up, presents have been toted and thank yous written, and now I am waiting for my colleague to finish up so we can go have lunch.

I am going to miss my little ones over the break, but a break I do need.

We spent yesterday at Galveston, thanks to a grant from BP, and most of the kids had a rockin' time on the boat, taking pictures, gawking at specimens from the benthic zone and keeping a sharp eye peeled for shark fins. (I felt off all day because I had to take dramamine. I love that that stuff keeps me from getting motion sickness, but I hate what it does to my brain.) I got to help my kids pick out souvenirs in the gift shop at the end of the day. Some of them knew how much money they had and could figure out if they had enough, but some needed help counting their money and making price comparisons. There was much discussion about what a prism is and how it works, which made my science-heart happy. My favorite kids are the ones who are always asking questions like that.