My Favorite Part of School Ending

The thing I love most about the end of the school year...besides the welcome respite of quiet mornings - punctuated only with the occasional snore, word or phrase mumbled in sleep, or some noxious bodily function escaping from one of the boys - which are all totally tolerable when you don't have to literally pull uncooperative, growing bodies out of bed at ungodly hours, and can instead bask in the knowledge the house will remain peaceful for another several hours...

The thing I love most about the end of the school year is getting to see all the work the kids bring home. I love seeing the differences between the work they did at the beginning of the year, versus where they finished the year. All the progress they make throughout the year - that you don't really notice when you're with them every day - is so fun to see. Admittedly, my favorite part is looking at their art.

Since they only have art once a week here, all their art projects live at the school until the last day of school. (They do have an "auction" about a month before the end of the school year. They display the student art all around the school, and the parents are invited to have tea and cookies while looking at the art. At the end of the evening, parents are encouraged to "purchase" their child's art (aka, make a donation to the art department) - and the artwork is taken off the walls and "wrapped" safely in butcher paper for the student/family to take home.Very cool idea - I just haven't been able to attend one yet. Um, yeah - I'm already aware I won't be winning Mother of the Year any time soon. I'm even 99.9% sure I'm not even in the running for such title. Pfft!)

Waving good-bye to the Award that was never to be
(My crown is being polished)

If you don't make it to the auction, the art is sent home on the last day of school. Some projects are kept at the school for several years - and it's when those pieces come home that I totally flip. I'll share one of those projects with you tomorrow. Hey..wait!! Where y'all going?? Hey! Come bach here!! You are so not getting off that easy! I fully expect to see you bsck here tomorrow. Nice try, tho!

"___ _____Dolphin" (The elementary school mascot)
Done in acrylics on a paper bag, by the Princess - 3rd grade

(This post is much longer than anticipated...all that backstory, ya know) xx