My last day of school was wonderful! I had some fun classes with kids and the last period was a goodbye party in the gym, hosted by the 6th graders! It was really fun! They played some big games, like "draw Ms. Keely" where each class had a marker and a big piece of paper and they each got a turn drawing part of my face for 15 seconds, and then switched to the next person... It was really funny to see the results! Nice work! :) I want to use that activity some time... :) Another thing that they did was to make a huge board game. I rolled a huge die and the students would move x number of spaces around the gym... It was interesting! There were some spaces with penalties like "go back 2" or "lose a turn." Very creative party games for the whole school!! Then several kids gave speeches, and I gave a speech and I received gifts and flowers... It was really sweet! I actually managed to not cry, because I was excited to see my sister when I got home... It was so nice to have both of my sisters here for awhile and one of them for awhile longer... It is great to have room-mates that I love!!
The most amazing experience of the day, however, was part of my last class. I was playing "duck, duck, goose" with some very cute 3rd graders. I was just watching and enjoying when I noticed JUST how much the boy next to me wanted to run... He put his hands together, closed his eyes and started praying!! He prayed to God. He prayed for his prayer to be heard. He prayed to be goose! It was so sweet! He was SO sincere and so intent on his prayer that he didn't notice the little girl coming up behind him. She was walking along saying "duck, duck, duck..." and behind him she slowed down to an indecisive stop, cocked her head like she wasn't really sure what she was about to do and tentatively reached out to his head and said "goose!" His eyes sprang open wider than perhaps they've ever been, his mouth was gaping, his hands still in front of his chest... He was so surprised and happy that he didn't immediately get up. But when he did he had SO MUCH energy and such a HUGE smile on his face! He ran so hard and didn't even care when he didn't catch her. I am not sure, but I think maybe duck duck goose changed that little boy's life. He was glowing for the rest of the day! I knew that it was a moment to cherish as an observer/ teacher, and I was reminded of the value [and the sweetness] of childlike faith and hope. Later in the afternoon I was happy to receive a card from the boy's teacher [a great teacher!]. Inside there was a picture of me beside the praying boy, with just the approaching legs of the little girl. What a treasure!! A great reminder of both a beautiful moment and a life principle.