Saying Goodbye...

I've been talking about it for about 7 months now, and it's officially happening.  We're about to make the big move to Hawaii in less than 2 weeks.  Yikes!  It's come up quick.  

Last Wednesday, I told my students that I was moving and Friday was my last day with them.  They were sad but talking about Hawaii really helped distract them.  I broke out a globe, so we could look at where Hawaii is and see how far it is from Florida.

We talked about why my family was moving (my husband is a Marine), how we would get there, how all our stuff would get there, and most importantly how my dog would get there.  To give them a visual, I drew this fine piece of artwork on my chalkboard (does anyone else actually still have a chalkboard?).

We spent the last few days learning about Hawaii, islands, and volcanos.  During the big Cyber Monday sale on TPT, I bought this awesome unit from Ginger Snaps.  

I was glad that I was able to distract the students with all the fun talk about Hawaii and volcanos.  Although, I did have to convince them that I would not be killed by a volcano there or get eaten by a shark.  :/ 

My students were very sweet.  My favorite comment came from one of my boys who said he wished I wasn't married and that my husband was his number one enemy now for making me move.  :)

I was super proud of myself for not crying on Friday, but I did get teary-eyed.  The other teachers were super kind to me, and it just broke my heart to leave a school I love.  It really feels like a family there, and I don't know if another school will be this great.

I felt so loved when my students and teacher friends brought me cards, flowers, and gift cards.  I mean how sweet is that?

Here are some of my favorite cards from students.

My husband and I worked all week on emptying my classroom.  This is how I left it on Friday.  I will say standing here in this pretty empty classroom was probably the saddest part for me.  I have LOVED this classroom.  I have spent so many hours in there and really felt like this was my space.  Leaving was really tough.

LOL, I made sure the desks were clean for the new teacher and they're still wet in the picture!

 Now all of my teacher stuff (Oh man, how did I collect all this stuff??) is piled up in the play room waiting on the movers to come on Wednesday.

 Closing this chapter in my life has been emotional, but I know great things await for my family after this move.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there's a classroom waiting for me in Hawaii.  I've already gotten my teaching license issued and the first required interview with the DOE scheduled.

In FL (and some other states), a military spouse can collect unemployment if they have to quit their job due to their spouse's military orders.  I've been trying to convince my husband to let me just collect unemployment and sit on the beaches of Hawaii while he works and the kids go to school every day.  So far, this seems to be unsuccessful.  However, I'm going to keep trying!  ;)

In the meantime, I'm hoping my husband and I can keep our sanity and get us all to Hawaii in one piece!