Win This Cuisinart 12-Cup Elite Food Processor and Share Your Favorite “School’s Out” Memory
Win This Cuisinart 12-Cup Elite Food Processor
and Share Your Favorite “School’s Out!” Memory
It’s been a good week, I’ve had some great news that I’ll be featured in a new, nationally distributed cookbook so I wanted to provide another great giveaway! Next Friday will be the last day of school here in Colorado. My 5 year old “graduates” from pre-school and moves into Kindergarten. Time is truly flying. Next week we’ll be busy with all kinds of activities and assemblies as the school year comes to an end.
This time of year reminds me of my own childhood. Remember how exciting it was on that last day of school before summer break began? And the summers were so long when we were kids. As adults June, July and August are just months. As children, the months seem to last forever and each day is packed with fun and activity. Sigh…. oh to be a child again.
For this giveaway, I’d like to take you back to those days just for a few minutes to remember your favorite school’s out memory. I was so amazed at all the incredible “mom” stories with last week’s giveaway, I thought I’d ask you to share more stories for this giveaway.
Entering to Win is Simple:
To enter this giveaway, just answer this question in the COMMENTS section of
this post . . .
“What do you remember most about the end of school
when you were a child?”
This can be really anything about those school days…. whatever comes to mind and makes you smile.
Only one entry per person, please!!
Although we want to read your comments on the Facebook fan page – stories that are only written on the Facebook fan page won’t be entered. They must be entered here on this comments section of this post to be entered.
Also, please click “like” on the Facebook wall post so we can keep this in the newsfeed.
No more entries after 11:59 PM – Thursday, May 20th.
The winner will be selected at random and announced
this next Friday May 21st.
That winner will be asked to contact me directly via email and this beautiful new food processor will it’s way home!
Let’s get started!
Cuisinart Elite 16 Cup Die Cast Food Processor for $299.95 – $245 Off Suggested Retail Price
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Thanks for sharing this great blog post on this nice prize.
I remember every summer on the first weekend after the last day of school, my family would go to this farm and stay for 3 weeks and work the ranch like real ranch hands. We would wake up before the sun and feed all the animals (cows, chickens, pigs, ducks and horses) we would gather eggs and milk the cows, all this before even having breakfast. I looked forward summer every year so I could work on the farm. I learned a lot during those summers! Thank you for sparking these old memories!! Vince Rubio
The last day of school, when I was a child, brought freedom. Freedom from being trapped indoors all day, freedom from sitting still and the freedom from homework assignments.
I loved being outside in my yard, at friends yards and in the woods behind my home. We only went inside when we had to eat or check in with Mom.
I loved those carefree days of summer and the simple suppers of fresh corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes. My Mom canned vegetables and the best ever peaches.
I love to go back and think of these simpler times.
For as far back as I can remember…my grandpa would drive from NY to TX to spend summer break with me. He would be there right the day summer break started and didn’t leave until the day after school went back in. Everything that I know about life, women, relationships, and cooking I learned from that kind man. He taught me to be a gentleman, to play fair, to respect women, to live as to be able to be proud when I was too a grandpa. He took me camping and hiking. We went to movie marathons and comic book fairs, :))). He shared his love of cooking with me, by taking me to my first ethnic restaurants…italian, thai, chinese, greek, lebanese, korean, you name it! There was no sleeping in and missing one second with him. I woke up smelling his cornbread baking in the oven. I cherish all these special memories of him. He passed when I was 14 but he made me the man I am today. And when I cook now, I always think of him.
I remember the year Mt St Helen’s erupted, we were out of school for a week then went back for two weeks before we got out for the summer. It was really strange but our week off for the eruption was filled with good times. Mom baked and fed us lots of great home cooking!
The start to summer meant homemade popcicles, watermelon, corn on the cob, running through the sprinkler, riding bikes, and playing until the streetlights came on. 🙂
My husband is a teacher and the second year we were married he came home from school on the last day and asked me if I would like to go to town for some groceries. I said OK, but I had just done the grocery shopping the day before. He said we needed a few extras. So we got in the car, drove the 15 miles into town. On the way I asked him what the “extras” were. It was then that he told me that he volunteered our house for the end of year faculty picnic and there would be about 30 people coming for dinner THAT NIGHT! I can laugh now but I didn’t find it at all amusing then.
I remember when I was nine years old, and the last day of school rolled around. Our parents had already packed up our house and put everything in storage for a year. We loaded our suitcases and stuff in to our VW van and headed north from Belo Horizonte in Brazil. We drove up the coast visiting friends and seeing the beautiful sights.
We stayed in the Johnson & Johnson guest house in Recife for several days – enjoying the beach, ocean and pool at the guest house. We got burnt crisp! Then my parents decide to dress us boys up in suits & ties and my sisters in dresses for a formal photo session under hot lights. We never understood the timing of the events.
When we left Recife we sold our van and took an ocean liner up the amazon river. After spending a few days in Manaus we got a flight to the USA which made a stop in the middle of the jungle where a bunch of men (hunters) got on the airplane with their live catches. The men and their animals stank, combined with the horrible turbulence over the jungle, 99% of the people on the plane were very sick – not an extra barf bag to be had. The flight attendants could not collect the bags quick enough – which added to the “fun”. We made an unexpected stop in Bogota, Columbia where the airline put us up in a first class hotel with dinner included. Unfortunately we were still so sick from the flight that none of our family enjoyed the wonderful meal.
We did eventually make it to the USA where we got to spend time with our relatives. A summer vacation to be remembered!
Ah. The last day of school. It’s almost like you could hear the buzz of kids vibrating in their seats, waiting for the last bell to ring. You could taste the tang of excitement in every hallway you walked on that very last day. Just one more day! Then, you have 3 months, that’s, that’s, that’s about 90 days of freedom! Yes!
“What are you doing in school today, Christina,” my mother asked me while she poured my Raisin Bran. “It’s the last day, are you having a party?”
“No, Mom! No party. Don’t you think you would have known before, when I asked you to make cupcakes?” I sighed. Mom was busy with three children, me being the middle, all born within 8 days in February, and within 4 years.
“Oh, you’re right Christina. I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
She ALWAYS did! And, I was always in the middle. I always did very well in school, and this year I had been picked to go to a talented school in the fall, so not only was this the last day of third grade, it was my last day at Glenn Loomis.
I finished my cereal and grabbed a light jacket. Northern Michigan summers were usually hot and humid, but you never knew. Sometimes, we got snow in May, so I wasn’t going to chance it.
“Bye, Mom,” I yelled as I ran out the door to the bus stop. I was pretty much always running behind, but I was lucky the bus stop was located at the driveway next door. My sister, who had her last day of fourth grade today, was already there. I caught my breath while she pretended I wasn’t there. She was still sour at me for getting into the talented school. How could she not see that me getting into that school gave me hardly any attention compared to her, and more than I had received in the last year. Finally the bus came, and I grabbed the slightly sweaty handrail and walked up those giant steps. The last day!
I sat next to my friend Gretchen on the bus. She had taken the test for the talented school as well, but she hadn’t made it. I was still wondering what this would mean for our friendship, but I pushed that out of my mind. We would have all summer to play! Our favorite game was puppies, where we would run around on our hands and knees and pretend to be, well, puppies. My mom really hated that game. Not because I was pretending to be an animal, and sometimes the pet of one the meanest, yet most popular girl, no, it was because of the grass stains. Those are hard to get out, you know, after TWO whole recesses and them setting in all day.
Gretchen and I were quite quiet on the way to school. By quiet, I mean we didn’t talk much, but we were giggling and hopping in our seats the whole way there. By the time we got to school, we were practically humming we were moving so much. We lined up on the pavement in our classes, and we got ready to start the day.
While getting in line, I saw him! Christopher! Oh, I had the BIGGEST crush on him! I never told him, because he was so cute and nice, I knew he would never like me. I wasn’t unpopular, but I wasn’t popular either. I was in the middle, as always. But, Chris was moving to Minnesota this summer, so I would never see him again. He would have gone to the talented school with me had his Dad not gotten a new job. Oh, the tragedies of my young life!
Chris and I had a lot in common. First of all, We both had Chris in our names. We were both smart, and we weighed about the same. My favorite animal was the manatee, and HIS WAS TOO! That had to be some kind of sign from the universe that we were meant to be!
As I was staring at Chris, the line started to move, and I was prodded by Courty to get a move on. Maybe today would be the day I would tell Chris how I felt. I walked into school daydreaming, and nearly tripped over the step, but I caught myself. Courty snickered, but I shot him a death glare, which I particularly apt at bestowing. He was silenced, though a smile was hinted in his lips. I turned around and kept walking.
Once we got into class, my heart dropped to my stomach. There was Chris, talking to Natalie B., the prettiest, most popular, and meanest girl in our grade. If she wanted him, there was no way I could tell him now. But, maybe it doesn’t matter what she wants, I thought. I’m leaving for a new school, Chris is moving across the lake to minnesota for crying out loud, and I may never see either of them again! Except Brownies, where Natalie B. was in my troop. I sat there, arguing with myself, while Mrs. Z. was taking attendance.
“Since it is the last day, and a very warm day I might add, we are going to spend the morning outside, and the afternoon in the library.” Mrs. Z. fanned herself with a small paperback book. Michigan is only really hot in the summer and since we are only in school the first week or so of June, there are no air conditioners. I was getting sweaty myself, and there was a light breeze outside. I was anxious to spend time with my friends, and then to be in the library. I love the library. Thousands of new friends to make, Hundreds of worlds to visit, and I can know everything about these people without them knowing anything about me. Looking forward to this awesome day, we lined up, and filed outside.
All morning we were outside. We played on the jungle gym, swung on the swings, played hand clap games, and, of course, played puppies until our knees were stained green. After lunch, which consisted of a tuna sandwich, an apple, and some pretzels (I NEVER got hot lunch, and even though the food was bad, it still made me feel left out), we went to the library.
It was cool in the library, as somehow, it seemed, Mrs. B., the librarian, had stolen everyone’s room fan and set them up amongst the nonfiction stacks, animal section, and picture books. We listened first to Mrs. B. read us a bit from a Junie B. Jones book, and then we had the rest of the day (about 20 minutes) to look around and chat, quietly of course.
I was reading a book I’d read a hundred times on different dog breeds, when I got distracted. Now, I hardly ever was distracted when reading about animals, ESPECIALLY dogs, because I had always wanted one. But, somehow, the Shiba Inu with its rusty coat was failing to capture my interest, and I looked up.
I saw Chris, sitting alone, flipping through the latest Captain Underpants book. Almost as if our hearts were connected by some cosmic ray of youth and love, Chris sensed my glance, and smiled as he looked into my eyes. I blushed and looked down. When I looked up again, he was standing almost next to me, looking a bit awkward.
“So, what are you reading?” Chris’ question was polite but I could see how much he loved me in the way his eyes bored into my own.
“Ummmmm. A dog book.” Oh my gosh! He is SO cute!
“That’s cool.”
“Yup.” He obviously loves me too! I should just tell him!
“Uh, Christina-”
“Uh, Chris-” We both started at the same time.
“You go ahead,” I said. My palms were sweaty and I felt very warm despite the hundred fans whizzing all around me.
“Well, I just wanted to tell you something. I know you know I’m leaving for Minnesota next week, and today is probably the last time we’ll see each other.” He looked sad as he stared at the floor and shuffled his feet. Yay! “I just wanted to tell you, before it was too late, before I leave I mean, because we probably won’t ever see each other again, not that it really matters now anyway…uhhhh…”
OH MY GOSH! HE’S GOING TO TELL ME HE LOVES ME!
“Uhhh…well, ” he let out a big puff of air, pulled himself up straight and looked me in the eyes. “I really like you, and I’m going to miss you.”
!!!! I was frozen for almost a whole minute, a triumphant smile plastered on my face, my cheeks as red as stoplights, and a warm gooey feeling spread through my body. This must be what love feels like, I thought to myself.
“Uh… Christina?” Chris looked at me anxiously, and I realized I hadn’t responded. But, surely, since we were in love, he could read my every thought and know my whole body was going insane! I wonder if he would let me hold his hand???
“Uh. Yes, Chris,” I mumbled a little awkwardly. My stomach was doing somersaults and I was having a hard time forming words. “I really like you, too.” I smiled at him, and he smiled back.
“Great,” he said. He grabbed my hand, pulled me towards him, and kissed me on my cheek. With another glance and smile back at me, he walked over to his best friend Matt with a spring in his step.
I didn’t know what to do! Everyone had seen it, right? I looked around, and it was as if no one had witnessed the miracle of first true love! No one had seen that wonderful kiss as he had taken me in his arms, dipped me low, and kissed me as passionately as any nine year could…ok, that’s not how it happened, relax… but, seriously no one saw that? No one, out of all these kids saw- Oh! Natalie B. saw it! She was staring daggers at me. But, I didn’t care. Chris had just confessed his never dying love and proposed marriage to me!
I could think of nothing else to do. With the burst of energy that comes from finding love is reciprocated, I did a cartwheel, right in the middle of the library, right where EVERYONE saw, and right when the bell rang.
I am a school administrator at the school where I started as a teacher and my favorite memory is form about 2 years ago. A student who had been in my 6th grade class was graduating. His mother came to see me and thank me for being a second mother to her son and making the school a second home for him. I always tell my students that I am their school “mama.” Hearing this made my year.
I’m a Pre-k teacher and my favorite last day of school memory is getting hand-written thank you cards from my students. They are very touching. The last day is always bittersweet because on one hand I’m happy for summer break but I get very attached to my students and always cry a little bit especially when they give thank you cards.
I remember the last day of school: Everything put away, celebrating with goodies and playing tether ball in the playground. We would talk about what we were going to do in the summer. But summer itself is what I remember best: Chasing friends all over the neighborhood, picking green apples that weren’t ripe for eating (and getting a tummy ache) and playing forever because the summer was definitely a “century” in my child’s mind which I never wanted to end. I could play Barbie and house forever and ever (I thought)!
I remember the last days of school being fun and exciting!! We always had our summer planned for fun things to do and fun places to go as a family. Our family would all get togther and go on a vacation and spend time cooking, eating and swimming or fishing during the summer. We always had good eats while on our vacations with lots of new things to try since there were so many of us that got together for our summer vacation. What good memories I have of each year after school for summer break!!
i always found it weird and exciting. we did nothing the whole day but move from class to class and talk to each other without having any work or tests. or watch movies. i would wonder why we didn’t just leave. it was a great time to be sure but a little like the anticipation for Christmas day on Christmas eve. hurry up and wait, you know?
I have such fond memories of my grade school experience, but was always sad to say goodbye to my classmates for the summer, as well as my teacher(s). The next year mean’t a new teacher, and some new friends…. I can vividly remember the classrooms being cleaned (I can still smell the cleaner used to clean the chalk board 40 yrs. later–kind of a banana scent) and things put away until the next school year…I was even sad to say goodbye to the cafeteria staff, and the custodian……I would wonder who would be sitting in my desk the next year as I was promoted to the next grade and a new classroom. I have to admit, however, that the sadness of leaving everyone behind quickly dissipated as soon as I walked out of the school to be greeted with the wonders of summer…. Happy times…. 🙂
I remember counting down the days until school is out starting after Christmas break……neighborhood games with all the children, playing kick the can until 10pm…love summer 🙂
I love Cusinart and I love your recipes…I love to think about summer coming even now… Pomagranites are what I remember about summer and sitting under the tree in my front yard eating them…Yum!
My favorite end of the school year memory was from the end of my freshman year in high school. My parents are both teachers so they had to go back to school to finish up their contract time. My older sister had a summer job…so as my mother was leaving she shouted at me to be sure to watch my three little brothers who were 8, 6, and 4. I mumbled that I would. I got up on hour later to check on the little rug rats. The TV room where the video games was set up was a huge L-shaped room with doors. I opened the door to see what was going on only to find the room packed with every little boy in the neighborhood and some from outside the neighborhood. I counted 14 boys under the age of 8 in my house. Obviously, there were many parents in our small town a little too eager to send their boys to our house for free babysitting a la me!
I shut the door and went back to bed….it was just too much for the day after school let out…
Few days before the school is out for summer the school field trip was taken to my childhood farm where we had a big pond of fishes. We classmates are hearing impaired or deaf it was neat to see the children excited learning how to fish and my parents and I gave them a tour to the farm and they were excited and made signs to each other. Sign language is thier communication. They were awed by sight of baby farm animals like baby pigs We stayed for a lunch then they went home afternoon. The family s favorite summer story about me:
I brought kinds of baby animals like baby duck and chicken, pony and calf from outside into the living room in home and my mom was awakened by animals’ noise and went to the living room and the sight of baby animals shocked her and she waved her arms to make animals to go away to outside and she told me to go to the bed. I guess it is because I thought of animals as my playamtes. I was 6 or 7 years old. Now Im 50 years old thinking about my childhood times and remembered my family s favorite story about me.
I remember the last day, how we got to walk home from school and go to McDonalds on the way home. That was when it was a huge treat to eat out at all in my fam! I remember how it felt like I had forever before school started again!
The awesome feeling of not having to get up at 6:30 every morning!!!!!
I remember in 8th grade, on the last day of school, my class would get together and have a picnic at the park. We would have all kinds of games and food. The best part about the picnic was we would have a shaving cream fight. It was awesome! We continue this traditional all the way up to our senior year.
For 2 years in a row, we had a loose moose running in our /neighborhood on the last day of school
I remember counting the days till school was out, and then it would be either the whole family head to the Beach, which I always looked forward to……
Sometimes we would go to Point Clear, in Mobile, and visit my grandparents. They lived right on the bay….Their house faced the bay, with a huge bay window to look out of….They had a pier that we would go crabbing off of, and then we would cook the crabs, an ooh were they delicious!!!!…
My grandparents also had a small antique shop at the end of their long driveway…..They loved traveling to different places, such as england, and china, and various other places…We always got to pick out something small but nice every time we went…..
Sometime my cousins from Miami would come up also…We did not see them that often, so it was quite a treat for my 2 sisters and I…
My growing up years were really wonderful!!!!
The last day of school was always the best day of school! We would have a field day and all the parents and kids in our town participated. The moms and dads would get all the different activity stations set up with water balloons and ice blocks we had to sit on and tug-of-war, and every other outdoor activity that you could think of! There were break stations with popcorn machines and licorice, and lemonade! it always felt like a big carnival!
Something special would always happen for the sixth graders after field day. Mainly, the swim club across the street would have free swim for only the sixth graders, and there would be free pizza, balloons hung over the pool, games, and music playing. My sixth grade year came and we ended up getting a limosine to take us around Seattle and see some of the beaches for an hour. Then, we all got dropped off at the pool, where it felt like the best party ever!
I wasn’t the richest kid in the neighborhood, and I remember how special I felt getting out of that limo and my mom had got me a new swimsuit. I felt like I fit in that summer! School was out and I was IN!
Loved the carefree days all day in the pool when school was out. We would swim all day long and mom would bring snacks out for us and we would use the diving board as our table.
School’s Out meant endless hours with my nose buried in a book, babysitting for the neighbours, late night listening to radio stations that didn’t come in clearly during the day and sleeping in. It also meant friends going away on vacations and coming back with stories of places I’d never been & foods that weren’t available in our small town like KFC and McDonald’s…we thought we were so deprived and that they’d had the coolest adventures!
It meant mosquitoes and it being light enough to read the newspaper out on the front porch at midnight.
Mostly though when I hear the words Schools Out I hear Alice Cooper singing….always makes me smile, even though I’ve just aged myself incredibly 🙂
Running home when we were young from the last day of school to jump immediately in our pool, with all the kids in the neighborhood joining us! Most importantly, that time with my sisters and my Mom! Some of the best memories of my life!!
The last day of school ,I ran home got my suitcase and camped on the porch, waiting for my Dad to take me to my Grandparents. We would grow a huge garden and I would can with my Grandma. She made me milkshakes with the old hand crank blender 🙂 I am 52 and can still taste her homemade bread.
a favorite memory…is waving goodbye for the summer to the students as they leave school on the last day!
I remember the best thing was going away every summer to a different place. My parents were by far rich but somehow someway we always went away for 2 weeks in the summertime. There were so many memories of where we went I can’t list them all but the ones that stick out are Disney World, Upstate New York and Canada. I will never forget!!! My parents Rock!!!
I remember loving the last week of school! Growing up in a small town, there was not much to do, so this time was very exciting, as that last week meant fun. We would walk to the nearest park and run in the sprinklers and eat on lunch on the grass on one day during that week.
On the last day of school, we would have a party and my mom would always bake cupcakes in ice cream cone cups for the party. They were a hit with ALL the kids!
School days, School day’s those dear ole golden rules days. Reading writing and arithmetic, It’s the last day of school,so tomorrow you don’t want to be sick. No more reading or writing or that ole arithmetic. Out with my friends, and man do we look slick. All threw the town they know we’ll be around. As summer grows longer the the nearer I fear the beginning of those School day’s School day’s reading writing and WHAT is ALGEBRA……
My favorite memory of the begining of vaca was being able to be lazy, sleepin in, swimming, steaming crabs with beer of course and one pinchin the neighbors toe, lol, and cookouts, and being with close friends.
We could sometimes bring our horses to school and we always had a picnic on the last day of school. It was a one room school with all eight grades and one teacher. Life was good and the memories and the classmates I had will always be remembered as well as most of the teachers.
When i was little the last day of school was so exciting handing in my books,having treats while roaming around the class room.A feeling of another successful school year coming to an end 🙂
I can remember once school was out and summer vacation started, my friends in the neighborhood would start our never ending wiffle ball game. The teams would never be the same and we never kept score.We would just play all afternoon and into the night. It was a lot of fun and built long lasting friendships all through the years. Oh to be a kid again and just let the game play on.
When school was out it was time to lay in the sun, swim in the pool, and run in the yard. Long lazy afternoons reading! I have fond summer memories.
Oh so many great summer kick-starts were made by my ever clever mom. She would create this amazing end of school year party and would have it for the whole weekend. Pool party, sleep over, bar b que. It was always something we would talk about all summer! It was the best.
My favorite memories of the end of school always included swimming and the eventual bleaching of my dark brown hair to near white from the chlorine in the local public pool. This process didn’t take too long to accomplish. Perhaps the chlorine was overdone?! My mother would call me ‘a California beach-bum’ the rest of the summer.
Oh the joys of a childhood summer!! I lived on a 60 acre farm with no neighbors to play with, only my younger 2 sisters and 1 brother. We had to go back to the days when children made up games and the like. As the oldest of 4 children I always tried to be the leader of the pack. I remember being in elementary school and going to my teachers on the last few days of school to ask them for their old papers that they didn’t use throughout the school year. I always had stacks of papers to bring home. All summer I would play teacher to my little sisters and brother. We had fun working on these papers and making up our own school days. There were times I also loved to go into the kitchen and make up my own recipes. I would make tomato soup with white rice…I swear I invented that! I would also make a makeshift pizza. I would take a piece of bread and toast it. Then I would add tomato sauce and a slice of cheese. Summer was always about making up games, having fun in the kitchen and playing outside in the grassy fields of the farm. Sometimes we would play hide and seek and the grass would be so tall in the fields that we could hide in it. Those were fun and peaceful times. No worries, no cares…just good clean fun!
I remember in elementary school, we would all head outside and take pictures next to the cherry blossoms. In high school, we would all head over to a friends house and pitch tents in her backyard.
When I was a child we spent our summers’ weekends going to Gwynn’s Island on the Chesapeake Bay to visit my Dad’s Family every weekend except for two weeks in July when we would make the road trip from the east coast up to Wisconsin and Minnesota to visit my Mom’s family. It was great to finally spend time with extended family and Grandparents – Those times are long gone and only the memories remain of the Grandparents of yester year.. makes you long to relive your childhood and get in that extra hug and smile or take another picture..
My favourite memories for the start of summer were munching on Popsicle, and my Mom used to let us put our tank tops and shorts in the freezer so they were nice and cold when we put them on!!
What I remember most about the end of school was getting ready for a move. My dad was an Air Force fighter pilot and we moved every year or two so most of our summers were spent preparing for a move and then moving. I still get the itch to move at the end of every school year and usually my “I need to move” bug is fixed with a good toy/clothing clean out!
we had a class picnic on the last day and got to wear (gasp!) shorts to school!!!
The end of school meant that I was going to my grandmother’s house. My mom, her daughter, had multiple sclerosis, and I spent a lot of time caring for her needs. Since I lived about 3 hours away from her, and didn’t see her very often, going to spend time with her was very precious. We had fun sewing together, going to visit her friends, and just being with each other. We could sit together in a room just reading and not speak a word, and I would feel so at peace. I miss you, Grandma, and love you always!
The end of school meant that I would be spending the entire summer at my cousins. I had 4 siblings and we lived in the country and didn’t do much over the summer except fight…lol. I went to my cousins during xmas and march break too. I loved it., just to get away and have some fun. I did this for at least 8 years until I was about 15, then I didn’t go anymore. I miss my cousin and have barely seen her over the yrs. The last time i saw her was prob 30 yrs ago at her Moms funeral. Miss you Wendy..
The end of school meant end of the year festivities. When we home this was the one time of the year we got to feast on an entire box of ice cream if we could finish it. We never could, so we always had our own leftover.
The end of school meant a visit to the mountains and grandma and grandpa and cousins. I couldn’t wait for the fun of travel during the summer and spending long, hot days at the pool. Sleeping in, staying up late, playing flashlight tag and catching fireflies with the other neighborhood kids. I remember the sweet smell of the summer air outside at night, the sound of the crickets chirping, the glow of the streetlights and the occasional car driving down the street. Nothing to worry about and no school the next day. Ahhh, childhood!
i remember that for several years before i graduated from eighth grade, there was an end-of-the-year school festival that they held outside. there were food and games for everyone. the next day the public swimming pool would open, where everyone could see their friends from school almost everyday. 🙂
I remember the feeling of freedom. Summer seemed like it would last forever. I always looked forward to Cedar Point, camping in the backyard with my friends, vacationing in Northern Michigan, spending tons of time on our boat. Sigh….
My favorite end of the year memory was when we would get our yearbooks and exchange autographs and memories. Then the sleepovers and the fun we had with the neighborhood kids getting to stay out past dark playing flashlight tag. Catching fireflies was always fun too in the summer.
Living on the farm in Henderson Co. In the summer all the cousins would come and stay.Mom aliways had a big garden,lots of flowers. Lots of work but no more pencils no more books no more teachers dirty looks yes that song came out the year I graduated.
I can remember the end of school goodbyes and then the awesome times begining…staying out after dark ..lying in the cool grass in our backyard looking up at stars ..and shooting stars..picnics at Kingston Lake Park with my Nana & Papa ..my Uncle would rent a beach house for 2 weeks every summer and we would all share it .. Aunts~ Uncles ~Cousins~ He would take us to a show at The Frolics ..Chubby Checker …lol i am 56 ! Fun times~~ over the years we have always had family summers and still do …
Last day of school always the best day of the year and still is to me. Now, that I am a teacher the countdown to the last day is even more meaningful. It means, time for me to able so spend more time with my family. It’s a very stressless time. I look forward to swimming in my pool, vacationing, shopping, actually experimenting with new recipes, and just relaxing. Until the July 4th comes around then after that I start planning for the next school year., but i love it.
As a child, though, I recall. coming home with all my belongings from my desk and rejoicing that I got to take my crayons and books home. I couldn’t wait to play outside and stay up late. I remember playing freeze tag, hide the belt, green light/ red light and catching lightning bugs until dark. Outside picnic and barbecues were the best and just having family around talking and sitting on the front porch was awesome. I couldn’t wait for all the church fairs and being able to go the pool everyday with my friends. Summertime began on the last day of school and I did and always do make the most of it!!!
I think the best time was in grad for college. We all had to return a bit early prior to the ceremony for board refresher exams. my roomies and i got one last hurrah that year and spent the last bit of quality time together just telling old stories, eating pizza, and drinking beer. it was a great memory and great time.
We always had a picnic with ice cream on the last day of school.
Being born and raised in AZ (now living in IL) I remember the end of school year swim parties. The class would get together at one of our houses and just eat, swim and sign year books. It was always a nice way to end the school year.
End of school was signing yearbooks and going to parties at the park where we would play pick me up baseball, maybe some tennis if someone brought some racquets and then down to the hidden creek in the middle of the dam basin to catch frogs. It’s all concrete there now and when I show my kids where there used to be frogs they can’t believe it. We’d stop at the farm stands on the way home and buy the first strawberries of the season and eat them while walking. Whatever wasn’t finished by the time we got home were throwing material … which was the start of the street war games that would last the entire summer. Hide ‘n seek, rose hip beanies (hitting each other with them) and mulberry toss – they would stain so you had to run fast! Good times in Southern California.
I went to very small country school. Each class had no more that 20 kids, and that was a huge class for this school. I remember so well, the last days of school. The air was already thick with humidity and the essence of summer time. Being a small knit school we were taken to the Caney Creek to fish and explore. When we were inside (not for very long on the last days) we were visiting all the other classes that we would be attending the following year. We also spent a good portion of those days, packing up the classrooms and cleaning all the desk, chalkboards and walls, while jamming to some fine country tunes. The principle’s wife would have a huge buffet of finger food prepared for all the hard workers cleaning and preparing the school. It was good times, when the weight of the world was not yet thrust upon our shoulders. Oh what I would give for one more moment of those last days of school.
Seems like the last day of school before summer vacation was a life time ago. Must be because it was! But some memories are never forgotten. Summer meant Sleep Away Camp. 8 weeks away in the country on a lake with my bestest friends in the whole world. Sleep Away Camp, that’s the life. Is it time to pack my trunk?
I remember getting out of school early in June, and it seemed like forever till the 4th of July! The summers seemed so long then. My aunt would take my cousins & I to the beach almost daily. All the kids decorated their bikes with red, white & blue crepe paper, and rode along the road, following the parade route on the 4th! Such fun!
I loved the freedom to just play outside and have nowhere to go! Our cousins lived 3 houses down and we would spend days going on adventures around the neighborhood.
When I was a kid, the last day of elementary school was always a big deal. It was a fun day, where we would spend the morning cleaning out our desks and washing them, and packing up our supplies to take home for the summer. In the afternoon, we always had a class picnic at a nearby park, complete with games and other fun activities. At the end of the day, my class, along with the rest of the school, always had a big countdown out loud of the last 60 seconds before the last bell rang, and everyone would yell “JAILBREAK” as we tore out of our classrooms. I laugh about it now, just thinking about it. Ahhh, those were the days!
Every summer once school was out, we started preparing for our annual trip to our grandparent’s home in Utah. Visiting them was the best part of the summer! I was always close with my grandma, who passed away my junior year of high school. Although it was difficult, it also paved the way for a closer relationship with my grandpa. He came to my high school graduation, and took me deep sea fishing to celebrate. Grandpa passed away last summer, and that fishing trip will always be my best memory of him!
I used to climb the Mimosa tree in the side yard and sit for hours, watching the hummingbirds come to the blossoms… Sometimes I’d swing upside down from the limbs. Looking at the world from an upside down position always seemed funny and interesting. If I sat very still a cardinal or blue jay would land on a near limb. I remember it being so hard to stay still, but eventually I’d move a hand or led, just a little, but the bird would fly off.
I remember getting off the bus on the last day of school and getting into my parents’ car to go to the shore for the summer. Beach, fishing, boardwalk… those were the days!
My favorite last day of school memory was cleaning out our lockers. Now, the task itself sounds extremely boring. However, our junior high made it fun. We got to throw all of our papers and stuff ON THE FLOOR IN THE HALLWAY! It was alot of fun to run up and down the hall through all of the paper mess. We did this mid morning and I was always amazed that the halls were clean by the time lunch rolled around. Wish that cleaning fairy would come visit my house! =)
On the last day of school of my freshman year in high school, I was packing to go on a cruise! My sister and I got to choose a place to go when we turned 16 (I got to go a little early since it was summer time and my birthday is in October) and I actually chose Montana. My step-mom didn’t want to go there, so she suggested a Mexican Riveria cruise. My sister was dating a new guy and just couldn’t leave him for 2 weeks, so I got to take my best friend with me! It was one of the best trips I could have asked for. That summer was probably one of my best ones.
I loved the last day of school…no work, just playing and a crazy party. :o)
The best part of the end of the school year was being able to spend more time with my grandparents. We lived in the same town so I saw them almost every day. But being able to spend the entire day with them was always the best. Going with Grandma to the beauty shop to get her hair set, weeding the flower beds, making lemonade and relaxing on the porch swing all just a few the cherished memories I have of that time.
Last day of school was the BEST! Usually a 1/2 day and a party too! We would walk home and change into shorts, or a bathing suit if it was hot enough! Then popsicles or watermelon – totally summer treats! Bike riding, roller skating, swimming, and able to stay up late and ctach fireflies! Oh to be a kid again!!
The last day of school was always sad because I had friends that lived in the different towns that went to the community schoool. Some of my friends i wouldnt see till the fall.
the bus driver sometimes treated us with a popsicle and the bus was full cuz we all had stuff to bring home.
I think most kids look forward to the end of the school year and all for different reasons. I enjoyed track and field day, just a day to run and play with classmates, be competative and enjoy being outside. I also loved the extra time with my mom, to run errands, people watch at the mall and just hang out. Although my mom was a single parent so those times when we got to hang out were usually short lived. My mom would send me to stay with someone for most of the summer; I stayed with friends of hers in Alliance, hung out at their shoe store learning new things, their farm where I learned to irrigate bean fields and build forts from hay bales and I’ll have to admit makin some mischief. Several summers I got to stay with “my grandma” well, she was my sisters grandma(both my grand parents passed before I was born) but the only one I ever knew. I loved those summers most of all, my half sister lived with grandma so I got to spend time with her or as she used to say “follow her and her boyfried around just to annoy them”. The rest of the year I was an only child so I throughly enjoyed basking in “my sisters” shadow; I would have done anything just to make her happy so she would let me tag along. Grandma Scherger always made everything from scratch with her huge grey stoneware bowls. Everything she made tasted wonderful and was made with such love;these are the memories I cherish the most, this is where I learned to love homemade cooking and those awesome stoneware bowls that were so heavy I could barely lift them.
I remember being so excited because that meant we could go and stay at my grandparents dairy farm. We would work hard, but my grandparents always made sure there was time for play! We would slide down the hay holding on to the pole to the milk parlor, climb the trees in the orchard, have a picnic under the huge oak tree, drinking fresh lemonade, swing on the willow tree, but the most fun was when my grandfather allowed us to play in the mud after a rain with the pigs! That always meant we would then get to wash off with the hose before we could even take a shower!!! Those were the days of summer!
Last day of school was always fun! Hated seeing everyone leave for the summer, but looked forward to the time off and Baseball season and VACATIONS, back then, we woula lways go somewhere and visit family somewhere. Life was definitely simpler and a bit slower also. Always enjoyed the summer swimming pool everyday… didn’t worry about skin cancer then…………..
As much as I was happy I was also a little sad on the last day of school. I knew I wouldn’t see all of my friends every day and I even knew I’d miss my teacher….a little. That feeling subsided quickly once I realized I wouldn’t have to get up early every morning and go to bed early every night….and no more homework!!! Oh to live those days again!!
I remember how much I loved the last day of school. You could let down your guard, and we had a party and had snacks and music. No more homework for a couple of months..able to stay up later at night. Spending time with friends and going to the beach at the Jersey Shore. Oh yes, many happy memories. ..and where have the years gone?
My favorite summer memories were when my father had the pop up camper. We would pack up and go park next to a lake with a rope swing. I remember waking up out in the woods every morning and immediately wanting to go jump in the lake. The food was always good. BBQ and smores next to a lake how can it get any better than that? 🙂
I can still hear all the excitment at our bus stop on the last day of school! We had two lilac bushes in our font yard, and we all loved them. There were about ten of us kids at the bus stop, which was right across from our house. By the time the bus came to pick us up it was smelling so good on the bus, because we all had picked some of the lilacs to take to our teachers!
last day of 6th grade…I come home to this awesome treasure hunt game my mom and a friend prepared all day for. All the kids that lived on our little country road got to play along. It was such a blast..everyone winning little prizes, that were scattered across ACRES…but the last prize was the best because it was for me alone, a note that said Crista PULL THE ROPE..and A HUGE Appaloosa horse named Whiskey appeared. Who, coincidentially, trampled my feet at every opportunity. Mom passed away this year, but she left loads of wonderful memories.
The best thing about the last day of school for me was; We would all go camping the week of the 4th of July..The whole Family! My father worked two jobs. So camping was the time we all would go to Leprechaun Woods in Santa Cruz.We would do a day trip to Sea Cliff Beach, so my dad could fish off the cement boat. It was the only time we got Pink Popcorn! And we would sing around the camp fire. Daddy was the loudest. Songs like “How much is that doggie in the window” and “Oh,I fell in love with a pretty little girl”. The best marshmallow’s & Hot dogs were roasted over a campfire! I wish I could have one more last day of school; so I could be camping with my family; even if only for one day & night.The camping trips were done between the years 1960-1972. It was also one of the four times a year we would get to drink soda pop! (Christmas, Thanksgiving & Easter)but camping we got to have 2 a day! So cool!!
I grew up in a small town and went to school with the same 24 kids from kinderclass to 12th grade. My mother was always one of the “room mothers”…every holiday my mother would help plan the party, snacks and games. On the last day of school we always had in the morning an awards program where kids got certificates for perfect attendance, good writing, most improved…etc etc…then the class would have a party and generally that was at someone’s home…One year I was sick and couldn’t go so my mother planned to have the party at my house. My father the bus driver brought all the kids up to the house All the kids got to come into my room to see me and say hi. They then got to go outside and play games, have lunch of chips, hamburgers and hotdogs and a treat. Though I didn’t get to go out and play I have many pictures of that day. When my mother passed away many years later some class mates stood up at the funeral and said they remembered all the parties Mrs. Dickey had planned and all the crafts she had made for them.
I remember being happy the warm weather was here and we were able to go to beach..
I remember the last day of school as the day we got our report cards… and our assignment of who our teacher would be for the next year….Sometimes good, sometimes not…. but either way it was soon forgotten amidst all the summer fun of hikes/picnics in the woods, bike rides, cook-outs, going to the beach and spending time at our grandparents! Oh, those lazy days……
I was thinking long and hard for this one. I cant remember any last days of school except for High School. It was a scary day and a great day all in one. It was like that “the first day of the rest of your life” thing. I felt so grown up getting that diploma but still so young. It was a strange feeling.
I know that summer vacations will be special for my kids, going camping, park hopping and doing all sorts of fun stuff. For now anyway… they will soon grow old for the family things and want their OWN things!
One of my best thing I remember was a group of us would go to the near by park to a rec center and play pinball until it closed, which is how we spent the whole summer doing, besides watching my little brother play baseball and making all the treats for his team for almost every game. The boys looked so forward to seeing what I made that it put the smile on my face every time. I have been cooking since I was 7 years old, when my grandma would come over and teach me as at that time my mom was in a full cast on her leg and could not move around, therefore I stepped in and started cooking. To this day I still love it and have done the same with my 16 year old son now, who has been cooking since about the age of 6 and now wants to get into culinary arts!!!!! The amazing things he comes up with, amazing the whole family!!!
My best memory of the ending of school was when I was in 5th grade. We had a huge party for all the 5th graders, as we would all be going into Middle School the next year. We all brought something from home, be it cupcakes or chips or soft drinks. We sang songs and watched cartoons all day! It was the best ever end of school party I ever experienced. It is now 30 years later, and I still remember it so well!
I remember mostly my 8th grade vacation. I had lived on Long Island at the time and my family went to visit a former neighbor in Charlotesville,VA. We had a nice visit with them and we explored most of the North East of Va. I remembered going to Williamsburg and visiting an old Plantation. I also remember the song playing on the radio. Three Dog Night’s “One” and Steppenwolf’s “What goes up must come down”. What I remember most is the time I was able to spend with my DAD. He had passed away the following January.
Summer was alway a bitter sweet time. Bitter because I would be ended a year with a teacher I loved and sweet because I could play all day with my friends. I would always play outside all day long or at a friends house. We lived in the subburb outside of DC. We’d go to the local pool and spend time swimming and flirting with the lifeguards. Occasionally we would go to a friends grandparents house and hang out. They lived in a small town and they had a smoke house in their backyard. We had Virginia Ham from there. They had an elevator in their house that was something I’d never seen before. Their neighbors had a pool in their backyard with a poolhouse. They had horses which we would feed apples to. Scary at first but fun. We would ride around on their granddad’s pickup tailgate and drag our feet over the railroad tracks. Simple things like that our my fondest memories. No worries or cares in the world.
The last day of school always signified the beach for me. When I was younger, we would leave for Maine and as I was a teenager I was a lifeguard and now as a mom it means long, lazy days at the beach with my kids. No schedules, no pressures, no timetables. Just fun and smiles and memory-making!
The last day of school was always exciting, yet it was also sad since a lot of my friends would be going out of town for the summer. Riding the bus our bus driver would take us all by the local Dairy Queen and we could all go buy a ice cream. That was always lots of fun. Also usually had water balloon fights. Our bus driver was great. He usually passed out the water guns, lol. Growing up in sw mo summers were always fun. So the last day of school was full of plans to go canoeing, swimming, tubing, fishing and spending time with friends and family.
I attended a very small school comprised of three rural communities in central Illinois. Near the end of the school year, each 8th grade class went on an all field trip, usually some place fun like Six Flags Over Mid-America in Eureka, MO. 2 hours bus trip, spending money and NO school for a day! Great fun… but my 8th grade trip was a little different. Our field trip was a visit to the Waste Water Plant in Springfield, IL and then a picnic (who’s hungry after that???) at Lake Springfield. Not quite the field trip we were expecting, but definitely memorable! LOL
I remember an extreme sense of freedom, and joy!
Summer was filled with childhood fun…backyard kickball
and softball games, hide and seek, lemonade stands, picnics
in the local graveyard (our dining table was a large raised grave
adorned with a table cloth and flowers…pretty weird, I know!).
I don’t know if I looked more forward to summer or Christmas
as a child? I took my kids back to see my special picnic area a few
summers ago, they got such a kick out of it!
I remember always looking forward to going to the beach!!!
The summer I turned 14 my mom decided to become a career woman. Being the oldest child, I had to start helping around the house and cooking was one the many task I was assigned. My mom told me to start cooking and she would come home to finish it. Well, one meal my family has always loved is spagetti but trying to make it from scratch has never been a good idea for me to try. My mother also has never been one to make spagetti from a jar or can. So, I had to give it try. The end results were not that great, it tasted like ketcup on over-done noodles. Even my mother could not salvage the taste of this meal. But, being the wonderful mother she is, she ate a plate full of my ketcup and noodles even though my dad and brother would not touch it.
The last day of school was always filled with excitement and a hint of sadness. I never liked to say goodbye to my teachers and friends even though I was looking forward to spending time with my grandparents.
well, this takes some back story, my two friends and i decided to go to the mall and then to the local grocery store, unbeknownst to me they both decided to shoplift some items and we all got caught. I did not steal anything so i got a stern lecture and a ride home with Dad, bot was he mad. ( I was grounded for two weeks of summer vaca!! at 17) they were not so lucky, so my favorite memory of the last day of school is not going to jail because I chose not to steal, I remember that always
I remember the first time my friend and I made muffins for the first time. They bounced right out of the trash can! We still laugh about it.
On the last day of elementary school in Palm Springs, my sister and I came home, rather relieved to be starting summer vacation. Mom and Dad were all excited for some reason…and said:”Guess where we’re going?” Well, we guessed through a list of possible capital cities of the U.S., to no avail.
“We’re moving to Bangkok!” My sister and I exchanged wary glances…”Where’s that?”
“In Thailand!” …”Where’s that?” (this was before the internet and intantaneous global geography…)
“Southeast Asia! Get a map, we’ll show you!”
“Wow…sounds cool…” we cautiously exclaimed.”When are we moving?”
“In three days, so get busy, sweeties!”
And, four days later, we all watched the dawn rise over the monks getting their food from the Thais on the streets of Bangkok (a wonderful Buddhist custom). We’ve never really come completely back. And I still love Thai food with a passion, and can still count to 10 in Thai.
Sawadi!
I remember stealing my older sister’s “sexy” swimsuits to go swimming at the pool with all my friends. These suits were much too revealing for any 11-12 year old girl but I thought I was all that and a bag of chips! LOL. I would die if I ever caught my daughter in one of those suits now! The boys were sure impressed though!!! 🙂
You mentioned how short the summer was.. what I remember is how long a school year was.. there was a month, a year, a decade, and then came a school year… it was forever when I was young. So the end of the school year was a great and wonderful experience. It meant a summer of playing outside with friends.. getting into a little mischief.. making sandwiches for myself.. whatever I wanted.. I remember ketchup sandwiches… I won’t even touch ketchup now. Anyway, the end of the school year was like the end of a prison term to me.
windows down on the school bus, everyone excited for what summer would bring. in the summer i remember hard work on our tobacco farm but also, long leisurely periods to read, read, read. Also, mother always ordered summer Weekly Readers for us. Fun to go to the mailbox and find one. Watermelons by the sled loads,homemade vanilla ice cream. itis good to think of the good memories.
I remember looking forward to spending the summers at my Grandmas’s pool, going out for ice cream, playing outside and vacations with the family! I so wish my job would give me a summer vacay!!!
There was always a feeling of finality on the last day of school. There was no work to do, it was time to clean out the desk, maybe a special treat in class, and waiting for that last bell to ring. It was such a great feeling knowing there was no school the next day. Summers meant more visits to my father’s bakery and helping out, and of course, just having fun!
Sadly, I don’t have that many happy memories of that time of my life. But I am sure I looked forward to getting out of school for the summer to go to the swimming pool for the summer. I used to love to swim.I have always loved the warm summers(still do) and during school we were enduring the freezing winter temperatures.
When we were kids, free time did not mean getting into trouble, smoking pot or doing drugs. It was a time of innocence and I guess I am glad I grew up during those times. It’d be much harder now, I think.
We would spend most of the summer at our grandparents house a couple of hours away.
The last day of school is the best day of the year. From the first day of school kids are already counting down the days. When I was in school, on the last day, I would always take a white tee shirt and have all my friends sign it. Of course the yearbooks have to be signed too. After thats all over then we would look forward to our summer beach vacation at Myrtle Beach, SC.
High school memories are the most vivid for me of the last day of school- a short day, sitting on the grass signing yearbooks, making plans to meet at the pool ASAP! Lots of hugs, driving home in my best friend’s sunshine yellow VW Bug convertible… ahhh… sweet memories!!!
The best thing about summer was visiting my parents village in Lebanon. It was always so interested to travel from the United States all the way across the world. In Lebanon I would meet so many relatives and it really put everything in perspective for me as a child. Those are still my favorite memories, the ones I saws through the eyes of a kid!!
My favorite School’s Out memory is from when I graduated high school. My family and I went on a trip to Miami. (We lived there when I was a kid.)
I went on dates with my old boyfriend from there, (he was such a gentleman!) went to venetian pools (AWESOME AND GORGEOUS!) did things together with my family, visited my grandma (may she rest in everlasting peace) and generally had a fantastic time!
It was the one summer that I was confident with my body as well. I had been on the track team that year (LOVE to run! Wish I still could.) and had practically no body fat. LOL, It’s amazing how things change when we get older.
I would love to visit that time again for a few days. Especially the swimming! Oh, those glory days!
Last day of school was always fun! Hated seeing everyone leave for the summer, but looked forward to the time off and Baseball season and VACATIONS, back then, we woula lways go somewhere and visit family somewhere. Life was definitely simpler and a bit slower also. Always enjoyed the summer swimming pool everyday… didn’t worry about skin cancer then…………..
We used to spend alot of our time when I was a kid camping..Didn’t camp alot when school was in because it was cold..lol. My sister and I knew that on the last day of school our parents would pick us up with the car packed..dogs and all and we would spend the whole summer camping at our campground. Stepdad would drive back and forth to work. We would spend our long summer days with the friends that we didn’t see all winter. Swimming, playing, fires, driving golf cart. it was so much fun..thats what I miss the most about being a kid.
In high school I was in the band, so the last day of school was always lunch with my mother & then back to my school to play in the band for commencement.
My mom & I would always go to a restaurant called “The Office” and they had the BEST onion rings!
I remember the vaguely empty feeling of going home with no books in my backpack…no homework to do…no tests to study for…and then I remembered that meant I’d be in the pool all summer! And freezer pops and frozen pizzas for lunch and chores to do (ugh!) but mostly the feeling of being on a slightly delayed, slightly less frantic schedule, and lots of time outside riding bikes and playing with the neighborhood kids!
Always bittersweet feelings. Knowing that the lazy days of summer lay ahead was always exhilarating – but leaving the routine of school and my friends left me a little sad. However,the local swimming hole always beckoned – and the endless days on the bike! Ah – the memories. . .!
My favorite memory of finishing the school year is getting ready to do NOTHING by the POOL for a couple of months with my family. We spent quality time together as a family, cooking, eating, laughing, and all with little worries and few concerns until September rolled by. I believe we all move too fast these days, and need some time to eat watermelon by the pool and catch fireflies as we did when I was growing up. Summer was about being with family and neighbors, for my pool was always open to the block and my parents made sure we all had enough food and fun each summer.
Everybody needs a break or vacation, whether it’s in the backyard by the pool with friends and family or on a vacation! sometimes simple is best~
Laura
I remember how the last day of school smelled. I can still smell it in my mind now. It was always hot, the sun blazing, the humidity rising, we had on the least amount of clothes allowed for school and went in for 1/2 days that last week. Every day was laced with the promise of the fun we would have, the freedom of sleeping in every day, making plans with friends, swimming in creeks and taking long walks with friends.
Funny.. I was just an hour ago pondering the feeling of being out of school – but specifically out of high school. Being finished for summer was thrilling, the span of empty days ahead, but being finished for good was exhilarating, thrilling, and terrifying! I distinctly recall driving home with my mom on the last day of grade 12 thinking, “now what?”
What a great question! When I was a child and lived up north I can remember on the last day of school everyone who throw what ever papers they had out the window like we were throwing confetti. I can see the papers flying just thinking about it.
Staying up late, out in the country …chasing lightening bugs with five brothers and sisters ….making hand-churned ice cream on the weekends throughout the summer …. sweating jugs of ice tea on the patio. Camping out in the back yard and reading by flashlight. A feeling of luxuriating in the timelessness of it all, even then, as though summers would last forever and were filled with magic.
Walking up the street, in the shade of the huge oak trees, to Wagon Wheel Market for popsicles and slurpees. Soaking in the hot tub at night and then having the best night’s sleep knowing I didn’t have to wake up and go to school. Sometimes I long to be a kid again.
I remember racing home to go outside play hard and climb trees. Now I look forward to seeing more of my grandchildren.
The end of school was always right around memorial day. We knew we got to make a trip to the town where my dad grew up and visit many family graves and even more family members still hanging around. It was lots of fun.
I remember when I was young and school was out for summer; my Grandmother, Mom, Aunt and Great Aunt would host garage sales at their homes for them to make some extra money. My Brother and I would work very hard to transport, tag and set up these sales! We loaded cars of stuff from place to place. Now that I’m older, I cherish the thoughts of the time I spent with my family. Grandmother would always make sure we had good food! I’m from Kentucky and food was always the soul of every gathering. They’ve all passed away, but I still have wonderful memories of them giggling and having a good time working together.
School’s out for summer meant one thing to me…swimming lessons! This was something I could do and do well. I was a skinny girl who was just average,but I could swim like a fish. This was my season. I came from a small Iowa town without a pool. We rode a bus at 7:00 in the morning to get to another town to learn how to swim. I was great! The candy necklaces melted to our necks as we went home. Now I am a cook. I am great at this too, but I would have rather have been an Olympic swimmer. Thanks a lot for bringing all this up! I am such a looser.
Once school got out it was count down to the number of days until I got to Massachusetts to go spend a month with my aunt and uncle. We use to go antique auction and antique shows because that was their livelihood. We even got to go visit the Vanderbuilt mansion. When we did have to go run errands, I got to go next door and play with the neighbor kids and at the end of the evening, we all piled onto the cushman and helped their dad set the gold course sprinklers.
Well, I am not a child anymore. BUT I am a school bus driver and have been for 11 years now!!! I have alot of favorite memories when school lets out over the years as do many of my kids I carry/carried. The most favorite one is the water gun/balloon/whatever holds water fight we have on the bus!!! This is my tradition and as you can imagine how many kids enjoyed and looked forward to this day as much as I do. I carry and put up with kids for 179 days of the school year…the 180th day is my day to get them back!!! In the mornings as I pick them up they are squirted with water guns!! Not getting them too wet because they do have to go to school but after school it is ON. The bus is cleaned and the kids have a blast and so do I!!! The trick is to keep the older kids from giving away the surprise to those just joining us!! That is what I call an awesome end to a great school year!!!!School is out here in my district on the 11th of June and I am already stocking up and preparing for battle!!!!
My last day of school was 40 years ago next month. I was asked to play “Exodus” on the piano at my HS graduation, in front of my entire class of 375, our family and friends. I did not tell my parents of this honor, and went to practices in secret. I still remember sitting at that piano, glancing over at my Dad and seeing tears of pride streaming down his face! Am certain the orchestra director did not realize he had given me this “special memory” gift I’ve carried with me for 40 years!
I loved the first day of school and the last! The last day was sharing plans for the summer, signing each other’s tee shirts, getting to wear shorts and the party. My favorite part was when we were allowed to throw our school papers in the air and go crazy in the halls. Great times, within a couple weeks, I lived at the pool all day, everyday.
My birthday was at the end of the school year, and we would all pack up and go over to our family’s cabin at Cannon Beach,Oregon. There would be fresh Haystack bread from the bakery, angel food cake with fresh strawberries and the best thing ever to make on our wood stove was…wait for it…. rice krispie treats!!!!! I would get up very early in the morning with my Grampa and go clam digging, shell hunting and general beach activity!!!!!! What wonderful memories I have!
My favorite memory is of spending time with my friends. When we were younger, my dad made a “homemade” slip-n-slide from landscaping plastic. We weren’t necessarily smart when we held the corners down with melon sized rocks, but the bruises just added to the memories. In later years, we would spend our summers at the local pool or out on the lake water skiing. It’s been many years since then, but those memories still remain strong as some of my favorites.
The last day of school was always exciting. You got that last report card but it wasn’t the grades that mattered. It was your teacher assignment for the next year. Back in the day when there were just two teachers for every grade. I never forget the last day of school when I found out that the following year I would have the only male teacher in the school! Horror!
After that day it was lazy days in the back yard…swimming, hanging out with my sisters and cousins, reading books, riding bikes…life was so simple and so great!
Every year, June would sneak in through the front door one morning, and, before I knew it, I was hanging in the kitchen with Grandma. By age nine, I was like her apprentice; hungry for everything I could learn by her side. I was so fortunate to have two grandmothers who loved to cook, and, who were amazing in the kitchen. We lived with one of my grandmothers. She was an amazing cook, gardener, lady. We would cook in the mornings because it was cooler than those hot, long summer afternoons. I loved how the entire house would have the aroma of whatever she was making. Twice a week, we would bake cakes, twice a week, homemade pasta. The other three days were adventurous.
Grandma grew peaches in the back yard & our neighbors had a cherry tree, an apple tree and a pear tree. This made summertime heaven for me…something was always in the oven.
I learned my love of cooking and growing roses from her. She even taught me how to push the lawnmower the correct way. Back in the 1950’s & early 60’s, this was what was important … family and tradition. As I looked forward to those last few days of school in the late spring, I wanted to run from September which sent me back to school, limiting my time in Grandma’s kitchen to the weekends. I miss those days…now, I enjoy the thrill of sharing my kitchen with my 12 year old nephew when ever we can. So, it goes full circle, and, the tradition continues…and I love it!
I know this is cheating a bit…but I have to share a memory from last year. I work in the office at my Daughter’s School. Although I did not start working here until she was half way through Kindergarten last year I still watched her wonderful Teacher walk them down the hall past my office every day at the end of the school day. Some to the pick up line, some to after school care. Something about seeing them march down the hallway for the last time as Kindergartners was such an overwhelming moment that I almost literally burst into tears..OK, i did cry a bit 🙂 I think I will always, always remember that moment as one of my “best last day of school memories”.
The windy spring days gave way to the heat of summer just about the time school was out. They were the years of innocence, back in the late 60s and early 70s. Every summer for as long as the weather was nice, my two sisters, my brother and I would “camp out” on the front porch of our old adobe house, pulling out our sleeping bags and pillows, lined up in a row, star gazing far into the West Texas nights. The days may have been hotter than blazes, but the high desert nights were cool and fanned by a gentle breeze. Those memories remain as everything that was the best of my childhood – the freedom, the outdoors, the sense of family. Even the sandwiches eaten beneath the stars tasted better than anything gourmet in a fancy restaurant!
Every year, after school ended, my grandmother would come get my sister and I, and take us for the entire summer to her house in Redington Beach, FL. Everything we needed was in 2 PUBLIX grocery bags (paper). Swimsuit, flips, shorts, and shirts were about all the summer called for.
Those days are so nice to recall – Fishing off the dock with my Grandad, walking the dogs every evening down the Causeway, walking along the seawall and just talking to her about everything. We made home-made ice cream, and got to stay up late playing cards. A single Monopoly game could take all summer, since we never had to put it away each nite.
I think, looking back, the only one’s who appreciated our summer’s with my grandparents more than my sister and I, were my parents!! HA!
We always went to the local small town dairy sweet for ice cream. It didn’t matter how warm or cold it was. Then home for our first day of freedom and staying up till it got dark. Most days graham cracker sandwitches and Kool-Aid were in order in the afternoon for snacks!
Man, the last day of school. The week before would seem like an eternity! There was always a party in class and everyone would sign yearbooks and play games. And there was that little something in the air that I still smell every once in a while when my daughter gets out. There were also some sad times because some of your friends you wouldn’t see until the next year and there were even a few who moved away that you never saw again, like Brittany. I really liked her, I wonder where she ever ended up? Oh the good ol’ days, kinda brings a tear to your eye!!
Ahhh, the last day of school. It seemed we waited all year for that one special day, because we knew that after that day we would be “free” for the summer. Non stop swimming, spending time with cousins, and grandparents, and aunts. The best memories of summer for me were ones spent with my grandfather. With his infinite patience, he taught me to bake bread, and rolls, and cook main dishes that the family would come and eat together with us. He made me feel so special when he shared his time and knowledge with me. Summer can’t be beat. Sun, swimming, friends, and family, and food…..
All of my the summer vactions are great. I am self employeed so I get the pleasure of picking my schedule with my work so I can have more free time with my kidos… My two girls have birthdays in July so we have a blast that month we make cakes and have a HUGH bbq with our family and friends. We look forward to that every year..
My favorite school’s out memory is of my kindergarten class party -which I missed because I had the chicken pox. I was very excited about the last day of school class party but a week before I woke up covered in bright itchy spots. I was heartbroken and cried for most of that week. My poor mother!!! On what would have been my last day of school, I moped around all day. Just as I began to hear all the kids playing outside after coming home from their last day of school, there was a knock on my door. My mother opened it to find my Kindergarten teacher on the porch holding a huge box of stuff. She had brought me all the activities and games the class had worked on during that last week of school as well as some of the snacks and treats that were shared during our class party that afternoon. There was even a get-well card signed by all the kids in my class. I thought it was the best thing ever. My mom helped me setup my party for one in the dining room and I partied most of the afternoon away. I’ll never forget the excitement I felt that day.
Of course the last day of school is the day we all looked forward to the whole year but once it arrived I was always a little sad. I’ll have to say that last day was always amazing, though. We got to spend the whole day signing everyone’s year books and just having fun. We would all bring our lunch that day and have a picnic outside. Those days were always the best. All your friends sitting around on blankets,having lunch together and chatting about things we’d done that school year and all the things we had planned for the summer. Althought it may not sound exciting it really was always a great day. I guess sometimes the simple things in life are the best part of life. Even though my school days are far behind me i still enjoying sitting around with friends, having lunch and chatting about the “good old days”.
Summer always meant sleeping in, swimming at the YMCA followed by potato chips with homemade dip. Endless after diner activitynof wiffell ball, dodge ball and hide and go untill the 10pm wishtle sounded. Oh yea bike rides and dairy queen!!
One early summer morning, not long after school was out, my sister and I decided to pack up our lunch boxes with flutternutter sandwiches, bananas, and thermos’ full of ice water, and head out to a nearby stream to play and just ‘do nothing’. The sun was our friend, a bright shining ball hung in the sky just for us that day as we made our way through brush and trees to our ‘special’ spot. Setting up our camp under the willow tree, we spread blankets and lay back on the ground, ready to begin our day’s adventure. *grinning*
The stream was burbling merrily, full of music and laughter as it wended it’s way over over pebbles and rocks, while the birds sang us a symphony as happy and light as our hearts. We lay there contemplating the mysteries of our world, and planning out what we would do the rest of the summer. After awhile, my sister suggested we go play in the water, and I agreed that was a very good idea. So off came sneakers and socks, and we waded in the stream, looking at insects and water wonders for hours.
We sat on the gently sloped bank and ate our lunches when the sun was high in the sky above us, both of us a little drowsy from the heat and the sun. The insects seemed to be humming a lullaby just for us, and we lay back under the tree and dozed, dreaming of innocent magic and the adventures waiting to unfold for us in the upcoming days.
Before we knew it, the day had flown, and the late afternoon sun was reminding us of home and dinner. We packed up our boxes, folded up our blankets, and walked home hand-in-hand, singing and laughing about the day.
Oh, the wonders of childhood and imagination!
School’s Out! I still cherish those words. This meant,NO HOMEWORK! Time to Pack, make sure all my clothes were labeled and get ready to go to overnight camp for 8 weeks. This was very exciting for me, because I would get to see all my friends who lived in different areas, around the country. The only thing I did not like about camp, was the food. I am sure that has contributed to my love of cooking
I remember the last day of school was pure excitement knowing that you had all the time to play all summer. I always looked forward to the stay at my grandmother’s farm for several weeks and time spent at the cabin. Although, the last day of school was a time of saying goodbye’s until the fall it was always exciting to know that school was done and you had all the time in the world to play now.
My parents both attended one room school houses growing up here in Central Pennsylvania and I always loved listening to their stories of days gone by, especially when it came to school. My Great Grandma, Mayme Douty, who I never met, was a teacher at the Bull Run School House for many years. And as much as she was known for her stern teaching, she was also known for her caring. The last day of school frequently consisted of ball games and box lunches. My Dad told me in a interview last fall that I did with him for the local paper, that as much as they liked the last day of school, they really looked forward to the beginning of school in the fall. Due to the minimal transportation at the time, you most likely wouldn’t get to see many of your friends during the summer months. School wasn’t just for learning – it was your social time with your friends. My Dad passed away a few weeks ago and I keep thinking of that conversation I had with him and how he told me about the time he had kissed a girl in school – the same day his Mom decided to visit the school. When she walked in, he was being given a trial by the students and had lipstick all over his face! Talk about bad luck!
Times were sure simple back then and hearing about them now makes me almost wish it was my school days once again…..
I remember the last day of school was pure excitement knowing that you had all the time to play all summer. I always looked forward to the stay at my grandmother’s farm for several weeks and time spent at the cabin. Although, the last day of school was a time of saying goodbye’s until the fall it was always exciting to know that school was done and you had all the time in the world to play now.
Summer at the beach house with family, extended family, almost family, etc. were the best! I miss the sounds of the waves, the smell of the salty air, the cookouts on the beach, the lack of responsibilities! Swimming, turning brown as a coconut (had never heard of skin cancer!) reading on the porch, playing until long after dark, and s’mores are the best memories ever!
ahhhh. Good memories! The last day of school always meant saying goodbye for the next few months and making plans to hang out! Long days at the beach, slumber parties, blueberry picking, long bike rides! Good times to remember!
Last day of school was a trip to the park- remember sitting in the grass and making daisy chains out of dandelions. Guess they should have been called dandelion chains!
I tried to remember a favorite school’s out memory…and it seems that to me, it was always very bittersweet. I was glad to not have to get up early everyday, but I loved school, and still do, which is why I wish I could be a lifelong full-time student.
I always enjoyed going to a pool that we belonged to when I was young. I would spend every day there with friends and wait for my mom to pick me up after work. I never seemed to get bored. Funny how easily kids were entertained back then!
Oh the books…I always looked forward to getting lost in books all summer long. Add in the anticipation of summer vacation and sleeping late, the last day of school was always one I was glad to finish. I can’t forget the birthday parties either. Half of my family have summer birthdays. I am the oldest of four kids, and my mom made every single one of our birthday cakes when we were kids except one time. I had beaches and barbie doll cakes. My brothers had dinosaurs. I loved those cakes and the love my mom baked into them!
On the last day of school, we would always get out early. I remember my best friend and I (we lived across the street from each other) would RUN home throw on our bathing suits and put the sprinkler under her trampoline. When the trampoline is wet you can jump MUCH HIGHER and you get all wet! 🙂 Then we would dry off by lying down on the warm cement and eat bbq for dinner! Oh the life of a child! 🙂
My fondest “Last Day of School” memory was from that great year: 1996. I was sixteen and if you would have told me then that I was a child, I would have surely flashed you one of those classic teenage evil eye looks only a daughter can give. I was lucky to have an awesome group of friends then who to this day I still adore.
At the last bell on the last day of school, we flooded out into the parking lot, crammed into our $200 cars, and headed out for the local slate quarry. I remember the sun being so hot yet feeling so good, the sound of locusts buzzing loudly and the overhead, and the high weeds on the path tickling our ankles as we passed sign after sign stating “No Trespassing.”
That day, I took a huge leap of a 40 foot cliff into the cold cold quarry waters. I still can’t believe that I would do that! I suppose I was just taken by that intense feeling of “FREEDOM” that we all felt on the last day of school. It was a magical day that I will always treasure and reflect back on; reminding myself there is nothing more important than freedom, friends, leaps of faith and a little adventure.
Oh, what I remember most about summer vacation was the ability to sleep in as late as possible :).
As soon as school was out, my family would pack up the car and drive to the New Jersey Shore for the whole summer. Back then, the summers lasted forever. Now they zoom by so fast. We had time to sit on the beach and fish and play and just be kids. We didn’t spend time glued to the television, we were outside riding bikes, fishing, making and flying kites. It was a blast.
My favorite memory on the last day of school was….Field Day. Lots of fun , games and eating outside. We signed yearbooks and talked about summer plans. And I kicked off my shoes for the summer….I was always barefoot.
I always remember feeling such a sense of freedom on the last day of school. I always looked forward to all the fun I knew I would have at family BBQ’s, 2 week trips to Montauk, trips to the beach, catching fireflies…
I have so many fond memories of summertime. I hope that I will be able to help my children make just a many if not more memories of their own!
My parents were both teachers, so as soon as school was out, we’d head to Kentucky from Michigan to visit our family.
As soon as school was out, we’d drive to the Jersey shore and spend the day on the beach!
My first school year was Kindergarten. Attending a half day created special afternoon time with Mommy. I distinctly remember the fresh powder smell as we folded clothes with a soap opera on the TV in the background. When the other four kids came home from school, it was loud and chaotic. The last day of school was bittersweet because those quiet afternoons disappeared for awhile.
Congrats! That’s really exciting
My favorite school’s out memory is the last day of 2nd grade. My entire class went to a dairy farm, got a tour, had ice cream, then went on a miniature train ride. It’s something I’d still like to do as an adult 🙂
In elementary school I associated the end of school with birthdays. I think there were at least five of us with June birthdays. During the last week of school we would celebrate each day with a frozen or homemade treat. My best friend would always bring cupcakes baked in ice cream cones…remember those? After all that celebrating, the actual last day of school was almost anti-climatic – but still reason to celebrate!
The last day of school meant a few more hours of outside time… because ‘MOM PLEASE?! We don’t have school tomorrow!!”
More bike riding, hide and seek in the neighborhood, planning our next backyard plays for the parents, deciding if we would have the lemonaide stand on the corner tomorrow and what we would do with the money, and playing Motown records on someones record player hooked up with several extension cords stretched out the front door onto the front stoop…singing every word by heart for hours with all my friends….because there is no school tommorrow!
I remember on the last day of school we would get to play on the playground all day. Our teachers would grill hotdogs and hamburgers and have ice cold watermelon. Ahh to be young again.
I remember on the last day of school we would get to play on the playground all day. Our teachers would grill hotdogs and hamburgers and have ice cold watermelon. Ahh to be young again.
As soon as school was out the Public pool opened in our town. So off we went to swim til 5pm. Then home for dinner. Had to wait 1/2 hour or we were told we would drown. Then back to swim til 8pm when it closed. Home for jamas on, orange sherbet and bed. It would happen every day of summer. AWESOME!
My summer memories are waking up and being ready to play with friends all day long. We’d ride bikes, put on plays, have dance parties in each others garage, sell kool-aid, play on slip-n-slides. Then we’d get to shop for new summer clothes to take to the beach for a week. We were always allowed one friend to go with us. It was a blast!
I remember one last day of grade school in Lorain,Ohio. As many know it gets kinda “warm” and stuffy on school buses in June in Ohio. On the way home we always passed a ice-cream stand. We all started to yell at the driver to stop for ice-cream. He said he couldn’t. Well this one last day of school, he did stop and bought the entire bus ice-cream cones. You should have seen all our faces filled with smiles.
Who would have thought that one day I would be driving a school bus. In honor of Mr. Earl, on the last day of school I stopped a few times myself to treat the world’s Most Precious Cargo to enjoy that feeling all over again.
I remember as soon as school was out, my mom would take my brother and I on a roadtrip to see her parents in TX. They lived on a massive 160 acre cattle farm and it was wonderful for us as kids–cows, ponds to fish in (tanks they called them), long walks to see what was planted in the fields, and what fruit was ripe on the nearby trees! I fell in love with plums and apricots there. My grandmother’s house was where I first watched and learned how to make jelly! My favorite is still her cactus jelly! It’s made from the fruit of the pickly pear cactus and a little bit of plum too! Yum!
In high school – junior year, last day of school – I have a vivid memory or a water balloon fight in the parking lot and there was shaving cream and whipped cream and – ugh! – whipped cream smells like sour milk after awhile (who knew??).
My daddy was a territorial salesman for Whitman’s Chocolates, and I couldn’t wait for summer so my mom and I could ride with him on his out of town calls. We went to a lot of small country towns to visit the local stores and meet new people. He would always sit at the kitchen table and drink coffee and wait for me to get up just to see me before he left for work. Of course, we can’t forget about the chocolates I got to eat too! 🙂 My daddy made my summers so much fun…he made my life fun. I lost a huge part of myself when cancer took him from me!!
My favorite “School’s Out” memory:
What really signified school was out for me was when my cousins & I would descend upon my grandmother’s house for a slumber party. We’d spread out our sleeping bags under the stars & talk all night while listening to Prince’s Purple Rain tape (over & over!). The following day, Grandma would whip up a feast of Navajo traditional foods – always with a huge stack of Navajo Fry Bread! My mom, aunts & uncles would arrive just as the last fry bread came off the griddle. It’d then become a spontaneous family feast….
As my 13 year old son is finishing the 7th grade, I’ve been reflecting on the last days before summer vacation. I remember all the rebellious songs of summer playing through our minds like Alice Cooper’s “School’s out for summer”. As we sat in our chairs for the last minutes of school–it was like watching a slow burning fuse. Usually our teachers made us sit in silence–not a peep. We’d exchange looks with our friends with mounting excitement; none of us ever had any real plans other than playing at the park, sleep overs with no bedtime, and lots of fun. We lived close to the school so we’d go play on the playground and break all the rules…like run across the chain-link bridge and stand in the swings–ooh we were such rebels. These days, our kids have so much many concerns…with their summer reading lists, SAT prep courses, college classes for kids, leadership camps, and video games to take up their time. As summer approaches, I hope to remind my son about the long lost imagination…we love backyard camping, making duct tape wallets, and cooking dinners. Even though we cook dinner during the school year, it seems during the summer we can be more adventurous and with no concern for Homework & bedtimes! Anything convenient, healthy, and quick is on the menu. We’d love to take the food processor on some adventures and we promise not to pulverize any “Army guys” in it….food experiments only!
I remember the last day of third grade. I was skipping fourth grade, and I thought I was so cool with my report card promoting me to fifth grade! All the kids crowded around my desk to see it, but I was terrified! I spent all Summer worrying about the next year!
The last day of school was always fun. We would play games and get to talk to all classmates before they left for summer vacation. We would also have a small party bringing in our favorite food.
I just remember the sweet smell of summer. I remember the wild flowers growing and the wild berries, picking these, bringing them home to my mother and her making pies……great memories…that is where I have developed my love for baking….all from scratch!!
When school is out, we spend the summer vacation in my maternal grandparents’ house, along with our cousins. Time to bond with the extended family, playing and eating most of the time!
I remember “playing” school on the first day of summer vacation. I loved setting up the picnic table as my “classroom” and my younger sister and brother were my “students.” It was fun for me to reorganize all my school supplies and be the “teacher.” And would you be surprised to learn that I went on to get my Elementary Education degree and become a classroom teacher after college? I was destined!!
My brother is 8 years older than me. He took me everywhere with him when I was little. He went to the Air Force after high school. Oh, how I missed him! I couldn’t even talk to him when he called home because I was crying so hard. One May I returned home from the last day of school to find him there. My parents knew he was coming home on leave but didn’t tell me knowing how hard it would be waiting. It was such a BIG surprise. How I loved seeing him and hugged him and hugged him. It made an already celebrated last day of school one I will never, ever forget!
My school’s out memory is making homemade popsicles with my mom and eating hot, home-made turnovers and oatmeal raisin cookies fresh from the oven! Must be those memories that turned me into a foodie!!lol
My school’s out memory….First day of summer after finishing the fourth grade. My friend and I made a homemade slip n slide. We lathered it up with 7 bottles of shampoo and baby oil so that it was nice and slick. After a couple good runs by my friend, it was my turn. My right foot hit a root under the plastic and the next thing I know I am going to the ER with a fractured ankle. I spent the summer in a cast and on crutches but it is a great memory none the less.
hahaha this is funny, but I remember (and this was many many many years ago) that on the last day of school, we had to clean our desk out (this would of been elementary) and I would find strange things that were hidden all year long.. like a long lost pencil or eraser or something like that.. How funny it was to take all that junk home.. LOL
I always remember being sooo excited just to be able to hang out with my friends. We would go to the Paul Dimmick river or hiking to Salmon river. When we could we would go into town and spend the day at Big River body surfing. The best part of every summer was getting to go and spend 2 weeks with my grandma. The VERY best part is now I still get to have summer vacation with the same kids every July 🙂
The first Monday after school ended my dad would take my brother and me plus each got to take one friend and we would head out to Six Flags. Dad made sandwiches and we would go. We took a lunch break. We could not leave till we went on every single ride. Dad went on them all too. It was our summer kick off. Dad did this each summer till we graduated high school.
Snickerdoodles!!! My Dad, my dad bless his heart, knew how to cook one thing – Snickerdoodles. So to keep us off mom’s hands at times and to celebrate the end of school each year we would make a batch of Snickerdoodles together. Just saying that word makes me smile from ear to ear.
I remember the sense of freedom. You were finally free to do what you wanted instead of having to get up early, pay attention, do homework, and earn good grades. There was no pressure to be well behaved or to do anything within a certain time frame in the summer. You could be a kid and play in the sun and water all day until your heart was content.
The last day of school…
We always got to walk to a park that was near our school and just had a fun day outside…sometimes we also went out for icecream, I usually had a grape slushy. I might have to go get one just to be nostalgic!
I lived on a farm, so when school was out, we played outside on the farm all day long. We climbed the cheery trees and ate all we could could, picked wild blackberries, helped in the vegetable garden, played in the woods, and most Sundays after church, we went to the river (rivah) and played.
“School’s out – Summer’s here” meant staying outside all day long, coming in only to eat something or use the bathroom. Then back outside to play with the neighborhood kids until after the street lights came on. Then we’d go in to sleep and be back at it the next morning! No couch potatoes growing up in Texas in the 60’s-70’s!
The last day of school was so exciting and was always a short day. The summer days ahead consisted of waking up early, going to a friends house, playing games, eating peanut butter and chocolate chips or popsicles, watching tv, going to drive-in movies, riding our bikes and trying to get lost, sleep-overs, swimming, and of course there were vacations to the beach. Those days lasted so long; it felt like summer were never end. The good ole days, aahhhh.
Simply being out of school made a big difference to my mood and emotions. I felt stress-free and relax, instead of being worrisome. I was able to enjoy everything around me. Even the simpliest thing, such as jogging in the park near my apartment. While, when I was in school, I wish to sleep as much as I can and never thought about anything other than school related events.
The last day of school while it meant that I wouldn’t be seeing my friends on a daily basis; it meant that I didn’t have the structure of the daily go to school. I meant there might be family trips to go see cousins or grandparents.
I remember the last day of school my family would finish getting ready for vacation on the road. We would drive to Mississippi to see my moms family then to Texas to see my dad’s brother then off to Arkansas to see my dads parents, it was so great. And we drove never flew and couldn’t afford to stay in motels so we slept at rest stops. Daddy would sleep on a park bench and we would sleep in the car. My sister Teri and I would fight over who slept on the floor, then when Gina came along there was no fighting Gina always won….LOL. We had a Chevy Imapala and I like sleeping on the floor while daddy was driving that way I could put my hand on his leg and sleep good knowing that he was there , I don’t know just added security I guess. Once we got to our destinations it was so fun we sat and talked with our grandparents and played with our cousins, we loved going to those places it was so different from California. Everybody envied us because we lived in California and we envied them for living in the country…..LOL funny isn’ t it. Seems we are never satisfied with what we have. My grandparents are gone now but I just love reminiscing on all the good times. I miss Arkansas thunder storms wow….. thunder so loud it shook the house…. No Joke…..LOL. Thank you for making me think back again this is so cool Laura
I was blessed to spend summers with my grandma. My mom would drop me off every morning and my g-ma (as I called her) and I would do everything together. From canning tomatoes to cleaning her windows, we were inseparable. I know my mom have me stay with my grandma to avoid my brother and I getting on each others’ nerves but I loved being with her. She is not with us anymore but my memories of my “schools’ out” summers with her will always be with me.
Last day of school as a student or teacher? They can be very different experiences.
I think the stand out memory for me is the last day of school after my first year of teaching. I couldn’t believe I had gotten through it, and that I didn’t harm anyone. I can remember sitting in the classroom after everyone had gone. It was silent, and the room was stripped bare. Nothing on the bulletin boards, or in the cubbies. I thought I would be euphoric, but instead the overwhelming feeling was one of relief, that I had made it, the students had made it, and that it was OVER! I went on to teach for many years, and each year I became a better teacher, I still feel a debt of gratitude for that first class–we did it, together!
This is something that we do now. The moms in our neighborhood put together a root beer float party on the sidewalk as the kids are walking home from school. It is great fun and the kids always look forward to it. It is my son’s last year of elementary school, so it will be my last year hosting the float party 🙁 Could I still do this for when he is in Junior High?
I remember looking forward to hot days – walking to a friend’s house in bare feet, even though the pavement burnt our soles. We didn’t care as long as there was a sprinkler to run through once we got there!
The last day of the school was “PARTY”. Most of kids would bring cookies, snacks, candies to share. The end of the school means no more uniform!! Love the freedom of dressing whatever way I want.
The thing that seems to come to the forefront of my mind is always going to my Grandfathers ranch in Colorado for the summers. I always looked forward to the end of school just anticipating the time to spend with my Grandfather. I miss him dearly.
I would count down the days until school was out for summer break. I enjoyed being outside riding my bike, sleeping late, and spending my weekends with my grandparents.They loved to spoil me.I miss being spoiled!
My favorite memory was when I was in the third grade and it was the last day of school. It was a beautiful afternoon when I got home. The little ice cream truck was coming down the street playing that carnival like music. I knew I had a clear glass piggy bank that didn’t have a hole in the bottom to get the change out. There was no other way;I had to slam my glass bank on the ground to buy an ice cream bar. It was a bitter sweet memory because I really loved that bank, but I loved ice cream treats better..to this day.
My favorite memory is just the smell of summer in the air. It didn’t have to be the last day of school, just any warm day as the end of the school year approached. There was something about the warm air hitting your face when you walked out of school that really made me smile 🙂
My favorite memory of the last day of school was summer! And that meant that I could go barefoot for 3 months!
My most memorable last day was the last day of high school. I was the only person who was celebrating it that day because I was graduating a semester early and I was in the early release program so the last day before Christmas break I got to leave school for the last time at noon. I drove home to an empty house, parked my car, and danced on my driveway in my bright yellow raincoat. It was pure glee.
I also remember the last day of kinder there being a water party where all the kids wore swimsuits and brought a bunch of baby pools and water toys to play with. What a way to kick off a summer break!
I remember on the last day of school cleaning out my dest, having a field day and looking forward to sleeping in, going swimming and going on a vacation with my family.
aww! summer equaled camp lawrence! I spent over 15 summers there as a camper, a counselor in training, a counselor, an arts and crafts director and finally as the camp nurse. Camp was and remains the happy place in my mind, it’s the place I go to after a rough day of taking care of patients, I imagine those wonderful summers of sitting out on the pier, taking in the sun, looking out on the lake. IT was after all, at camp, that I met my husband!
It was my magical place that drew me there summer after summer. Sometimes I would start packing in March, just so that I could get through the rest of the school year, I was like Peter Pan, never wanting to grow up and never wanting to leave that wonderful playground called Camp Lawrence! My most wonderful memories, friendships and LOVE came from that magical place! So, yes, summer equaled camp. Smores, tye dying, flash light hikes and songs along a campfire is what I remember most about summers.
we lived less than a block from lake michigan and spent the entire summer in bathing suits. we would wake up early, watch talk shows (jenny jones, ricki lake, etc) and then head to the beach. back home for lunch made by mom and then back to the beach. i miss those days!
What I remember most about the last day of school was cleaning out my desk. We would empty all of the old papers and pieces of broken pencils into the trash, but there were also always “treasures” to be discovered. Old notes from friends, a favorite fancy eraser, or that one missing mitten that you thought you left on the bus. We recently brought home some old school desks from a school that was giving them away, and when I was cleaning them out with paper towels the smell of Windex and graphite brought me back to those last days of school of my childhood and the first magical day of summer.
The end of the school year. My friends and I would walk home, leisurely, and plan our summer of playing, making doll clothes, sleep-overs, and did I say playing?
For a while growing up, “Smear Day” was all the rage. Kids would come with eggs, and all kinds of goopy stuff and try to get each other after school. Seems like it was “outlawed”. It got to be a bit dangerous with some people not keeping it all-in-fun.
Growing up were summers full of counting out 50 pennies (every day) from my dad’s huge penny jar and walking a few blocks to the rec center with my two older sisters and swimming. Every day! Fun times.
I loved every year of summer as a child! When school let out I took turns going from one grandmothers house to another from week to week. One lived in the city and one in the country, so I got the best of both worlds. These are the summers that I learned how to cook so good~ I watched the PROS! ((:
I grew up in such a great neighborhood with lots of kids all around the same age. Nothing was better than that last day of school when we would all head home together and then stay out until our parents finally had to come track us down. My parents had a pop-up camper so we had many, many sleepovers in that camper and the neighborhood gang would always play pranks and try to scare us. I so miss the days when kids would spend all day out side riding bikes and making up games and parents didn’t have to worry. Such awesome memories . . .
My mom would take us for a hibachi lunch every year on the last day of school… yum!
I always remember being very sad to have something end and excited to sleep in–which didn’t last long, but it was nice while it lasted.
Eating mom’s homemade ice cream outdoors! sometimes vanilla, sometimes peach, sometimes peppermint…..
So many great things about summer vacation, in fact too many to list. If I had to choose my top 3 it would be camping with my family, the grandparents farm & my very best girlfriends swimming in the local river without a care in the world.
I remember two things, cleaning out our desks was always fun because we’d trade things we found. Also slushy cups, the end of school always put slushy cups on my mind as the official beginning of summer.
All my summers growing up were great ! When my brothers and I were very young, we would get to leave a few days before school was officially done and leave for 9 weeks of vacation (with our parents) to our cottage in New Brunswick. That is the only time we would get to see our grandparents and other relatives. What a great time 🙂
i remember getting to sleep in everyday. the funnest part of summer was going camping with cousins and getting to go swimming everyday!!!
Growing up, the first days of summer were bittersweet… I always ended up with pneumonia and was sentenced to at least a week indoors. My parents & siblings seemed to always make it fun for me. Once the indoor sentence was complete… I was outside riding bikes, swimming in the creek & playing with friends. I was rarely inside even when it was stormy. It amazes me that all toys now need batteries! I love to try to encourage imaginative play with my kids. With our cooking projects, we are always coming up with concoctions and creative substitutions. Substitutions are necessary where we live because we are at least 30 minutes from the nearest stores. We make due with what we have!!! Thanks for the ideas & recipes!
The things I remember most about the end of school and the beginning of summer vacation was waking up the next morning, staying barefooted, fixing my Dad’s breakfast and not breaking the yolks on his 2 eggs, over-easy. Then the sheer delight in playing all day, climbing trees, making clothesline houses, having a picnic and lay on a blanket and imagine things made out of the clouds, riding my bike. Oh what they youth of today have truly missed.
My parents were divorced. My dad lived in the San Francisco area and I lived with my mom in the LA area until I got to go live with my dad when I was 10. Until then, school letting out for the summer meant going to spend the summer with my dad who I missed dearly. I would count down the days until I would get to be with my dad again. We would spend the summer camping, fishing, beachcombing and just hanging out.
When I was little, the last day of school was a half day. We played games in class, and helped pack up the room. I don’t recall having a backpack, but I must have had something, maybe a shoebox, to bring all the leftover desk stuff and papers (and report card!) home. We would walk home real slow so that the goodbyes would last longer. Although most of us lived close by! Then we could stay out until after dark and play freeze tag in the neighbor’s yard!
When I was a mother I couldnt wait for school to get out so I could take the kids to the park and we could talk about everything with my kids. Sometime we would pack sandwiches other time we would BBQ hot dogs and we would be at the park for hours somes we would go hiking in the woods or we would take pictures and then come home and show there father as he had to work. Now that I am a grandma I can not wait for my grandkids to get out of school so I can take them on a pinic to the park or go hiking with them and here what they have to tell me about what is happen. One thing I can say is boy have time change in what they are doing in school now days. Maybe someday I will be able to do this memory with my great grand children. All I know is my chicldren still remember these times and these are memories I will always cherish forevery.
Like others I recall the last day as a field day and that in itself was fun but more than that was the anticipation of freedom. Freedom from having to be in bed early enough for school; freedom from homework and freedom from the structure of our days.
I had 3 brothers and two sisters although I was sandwiched as the 2nd oldest between those boys; so it’s fun remembering how my days were filled. To say that I was a tomboy was an understatement and I was driven to not just keep up with them but to beat them!
Though I would occasionally find myself on a rainy day playing with Barbie dolls with a neighbor friend, most often my days were spent racing on my bike, crawdad fishing, playing softball and swimming with the guys and at night there was nothing more fun than a game of flashlight tag.
The highlight of summer was staying a week with my Grandma. She was simply the cutest, sweetest and shortest woman I have ever known! I not only loved her but getting to be the ONLY kid made that visit so special and she certainly was the first to show me that cooking was fun and creative and remains an inspiration to me today.
Biggest thing I remember was going to the pool across the street and swimming every day for 2-4 hours. My skin turning brown, my hair turning green.
I remember making memory boxes. They were shoe boxes that we cut out pictures and phrases that made us happy and then we pasted them around the inside and outside of.
I still have it 35 years later. It still makes me smile.
the thing i remember most about sunnner is that me got to spend it as a family. my dad had alot of jobs that would keep him away from home for long perids of time most of the time at least a week some times more but in the summer alot of time we could go with him it was great. i love my mom for all she has done for me with out him there but families spending time together rock.
The last day of school meant summer vacation and a family road trip. We would usually drive down south from upstate NY and spend what seemed like weeks at my aunt’s house in NC and then head down to Florida to visit my other aunt. I just remember watermelon,bbq’s, running barefoot and lots of summer nights playing under the street lights once it was dark outside. It was an amazing time! Of course now, my own children aren’t allowed to run free like we did or go barefoot outside!
I remember the best summer ever, It was the summer after 5th grade. My parents bought a pool about 2 weeks before school was over so was ready for my brother and I to use when school got out that year. We were fortunate enough for our mom to work from home so we were able to use the pool everyday. Plus my mom it the best baker so there were plenty of days when we able to sit and talk and have fun over a glass of milk and chocolate chip cookies. Oh how times were much simpler when I was a kid.
If our report cards were good on the last day of school, my brother, sister and I would be rewarded with a trip to the grocery store to each pick out our very own container of Breyer’s Ice Cream. It might not sound like a big deal, but it sure was to us. Ice Cream was a treasure in our house equal to gold. Most of our food came from the health food store or a food co-op. I love that my Mom was so concerned about eating healthy, but we ate very few meals that had much flavor and sweets were extremely rare. (As an example, our Easter baskets would be filled with plain nuts and banana chips.)
The ice cream tradition was started by my Dad. We each got to pick out our own flavor, we didn’t have to share, and we could eat right out of the container. We would make that Ice Cream last a good month by only eating a couple spoon fulls at a time. There was nothing better on a hot summer day then to make the trip to the basement deep freezer with a spoon, get a blast of cold air when opening the freezer, and then relish the experience of a single spoonful of the delicious ice cream. Ahhh… Ice Cream has never tasted as good as it did back then.
The best part of the school year ending was the beginning of summer adventures. We lived on a farm and I LOVED the outdoors. My brother and I spent the summer climbing the apple trees and plum trees in our orchard. We would wade the creek to cool off or end up swimming in the pond.
My Dad would raise a pig every year to put meat in the freezer for winter. I remember one particular summer when I was 9 and my brother was 8, we made a pet out of the hog. We named her Sally. Sally was huge and we would ride her like a pony. By the time school started, Sally was a big pet. She could see the bus stop from her pen. When she would see the bus coming in the evening, she would get so excited and run to the end of her pen closest to the bus stop to wait for us. The day that Dad was going to load her to leave, he let the ramp down and I laid across the ramp, refusing to move. I LOVED SALLY, and I cried, saying, “please don’t take her”. I was Daddy’s girl and he couldn’t disappoint me. So, Sally never left that day. About 3 weeks later, we came home from school and the fence to her pen was broken and Dad told us that she had broken the fence (she weighed over 600 lbs) and had ran away. We, of course, believed him. We took pictures of Sally and taped them on sheets of paper and went door to door looking for our pig. My brother and I were talking about it the other day and we both believe that Dad tore up the fence and took Sally away. He staged it to keep from hurting us. We aren’t upset with him. That showed how much he loved us. He didn’t want to leave the memory of him taking her away and breaking our hearts.
On the last day of school we got early and hopped on our bikes and enjoyed the freedom that only summer vacation could bring!
The best part was spending time at the lake camping with the family. We had so much fun! I loved the water and it was very hard to get me to stay out of it. One evening, we all got cleaned up to take a boat ride to visit some neighbors. It was hot and I wanted in the water. So my big brother (now this was instead of pushing me in) told me to go stand on the edge of the dock, with my back at the water. Look up in the sky and make circles with my head. Yep, I fell in!!! Mother got mad at me, not him!!! I was so happy to be wet!!!
The last day of school was always a short day and let out before noon. We always begged Mom to let us stay home since the day was short, but she would always make us go. School started at 7:45am…..Mom would drop us off at school on her way to work, we went to our class that morning, received our final report cards and the rest of the morning was spent socializing and having our final “party”. We were so excited when that bell rang to go home. Now that I look back on it, I am glad Mom made us go the last day. Some of my friends, I wouldn’t see until next year. That last day created lots of memories. Thank you, Mom.
The end of school meant the beginning of softball season as I was growing up. Every day we were either practicing or playing a game. Back then we traveled within about a 10 mile radius to play against various other towns. Being from a rural area, this traveling was exciting to me. The whole family was involved, with my dad as the coach, my mom the scorekeeper/concession stand tender, and my sister and I playing. Good times!
As school let out, at first I was dissappointed for maybe a few days because I really loved school and learning something new each day. Then I remembered I had 3 months to do what I wanted to do which was read and read some more as well as was to take day-time touristy things with my friends. First thing was to bike to the library and take out the max number of books at one time(usually 10.) As soon as I would finish reading them I would get more books and do this for the summer.
The other best thing was to make a day trip one day a week with mothers of my friends, which living in Chicago, there was plenty to see. We had to bring our brown bag lunch and have enough money to buy a drink and for bus fare. We went to the Aquarium, Field Museum, City Zoo and Park, Art Museum and other Chicgo sights. We would come home so excited about what we saw. We also got to the Lake Michigan beach at least one day a week.
As I remember I enjoyed my summer vacation as I lived in a neighborhood with lots of kids so there was always something to do. As well as living in Chicago was a paradise for places to explore and learn and have fun.
I grew up in Lima, Peru—where the school year starts in April and ends in December—so the last day of school for us was usually a week or two before Christmas, which made it really exciting! I have one particular memory that I’d like to share. When I was about 10-11 years old, one of our teachers decided (at the begining of the school year) to give us a lesson on the importance of having a savings account. So, she would act as the “bank”, we were the “bank’s clients”, and we all got sort of a “savings account book” where we would write down all our “banking transactions”. Every Friday we got to either deposit or withdraw money in/from our accounts. By the end of that year, on the last day of school—when the teacher started giving everyone their money back—I was the one who had saved the most money (which, nowadays, would be the equivalent to US$100, give or take). Needless to say, I was ecstatic! To give you an idea of how much I was able to do with that amount, I’ll just say that it was enough to buy the nicest volleyball (which was my Christmas gift from myself) and ice cream for my two brothers, my grandmother and myself each day during the whole summer! 🙂
My last few summers of school were rather bittersweet. My parents had divorced when I was a young teenager. That meant Mom had to go to work to support us kids. She took a job at a local hospital in the kitchen. She took the time in the mornings to prepare grilled cheese (we called them toasted cheese) sandwiches and bagged them up, so all we had to do was brown them in a pan. Do you think we could manage to do that? Nope! We’d eat cold cereal, peanut butter on crackers, or fruit. How I wish I could re-live those days to hug my mom for all she did for us and show her how thankful I was for her hard work. I miss her so much.
I remember we would always have a party on the last school and then I was shipped to my Nana’s. I loved it so much.
I actually have no real “last day of school” memories in my elementary years. School was hard for me because I had no friends as I just didn’t “fit in”.I was cursed to be the “teacher’s pet”, intelligent and more comfortable with adults than my peers. That alienated me from my classmates, and I was very lonely.
The only feeling I remember for the last day of school was anxiety. Because there would be no recess and forced socializaation, I wouldn’t have anyone to play with. Needless to say, summers were rough.
I made my first friend in Jr. High, and my life changed. I began going to the summer camp she went to, and the last day of school became the excited walk home with her, planning our packing for the summer away from home.. I met life-long friends at camp, met my first love, and found an atmosphere of acceptance and support that helped make me who I am.
After Jr High, I got the oportunity to attend a private HS. Leaving the Public school setting gave me a chance to start over with people who had no preconceptions of who I was. I made wonderful friends,and graduation night was full of tears and hugs and promises of letters to be mailed from colleges all over the Northeast. That last day of HS was bittersweet, and the most poignient last day of all. I had come full circle, and the anxiety of leaving for that summer was over leaving behind the wonderful friends I had made, and not the fear of being lonely.
What I remember The last day of school we would have a party the last day. Then our vacation would start, My Mom and Day would take us out to the lake every Sunday very Early in the morning and we would have Breakfast lunch and dinner cook on the grill and we would swimall day until night, and take walks out by the lake.During the week my mom would pack us all up in the car and we would go to the park and have lunch at the park. My Dad would make us a homemade swimming pool that he would make out of wood and place this thick liner in side and we would swim everyday in that pool! The school close by would have arts and crafts for us during the week and my sisters and brothers would walk to make key chains and arts and crafts !And I remember the Ice cream truck ringing the bells driving down the street ! Thoses were the Days !
Schools Out = Friends, Family and FUN! All of my best friends lived on our block. And, all of our backyards came together. So we had a huge playground all summer! We would play from dawn until dusk…that dreaded time we heard our Mom’s yelling for us that it was time to come inside. We rode bikes, and played in sprinklers, caught caterpillars and put them all over our arms (we still laugh at those pictures today). We would put on talent shows for our parents and the other adults around our block. The best part of all….the ice cream truck!!! We could hear it coming from a couple of blocks away. We would all run to the nearest house for some change so we could buy our treats. I remember one time we ran to my house, and my Mom was busy doing something so I ran upstairs to get my bank full of change. We all ran out of my house through the backyards to meet the truck on the other side of the block. Halfway there I tripped and the bank flew out of my hands, all the change flew out of my bank. I’m sure it was a funny sight to see all of us picking through the grass looking for enough change before we missed the ice cream truck. We had so much fun, and we are all still friends today 20-25 years later.
We, (0ur gang) would all get to ride our bikes to school that day, then when we were dismissed with our report cards we’d all hang out at this one girl’s house who’s dad was never home. We call the radio station all day and request Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer”. Oh the innocent days. This was like 6th thru 8th grade. We would wake up early get on our bikes, meet up and just spend the days riding all over the neighborhood. There was this pond we weren’t supposed to go to, out in the woods (Louisiana) but we’d all go there anyway and jump off the bridge and swim in that warm muddy Louisiana water : )Man to go back to those days again! Thanks for the memory jog!
When I was in elementary school my mom was always the room mom. Several years in a row she would host an end of the school year party. We would line tables down the driveway and have a meal and play games.
Also the same school would have fun day. Lots of different kinds of contests to compete in and then instead of going home for lunch we would stay and have a hot dog lunch. Then the ribbons would be given out at an assembly after lunch.
My memory is just simply sleeping in. Loved to sleep in on that first day of summer vacation.
The most important thing about school being out for me was that I would be able to be outside every single day for 3 months, which seemed like a long, long, long time. Now, summer is over in a flash 🙁
The end of the school year always meant a week at grandma’s house alone..no siblings… We had our own slippers and for whatever reason grandma’s laundry always smelled better. We were able to play the keno machine and go out to dinner..such a treat.. She insisted on white gloves for dinner. I was always able to try new foods and get new shoes. I loved those weeks alone. Had tea out of real china tea cups and used real silver. I miss her.
The end of school was always a lot of fun in elementary school. My school has really steep hills that led down from the classrooms onto the field. We were never allowed on the hills, but on the last day of school. All the classes would go out and the teachers would let us roll down them! It was the best.
The last day of school that stands out most for me was in high school. Our French teacher told us that our ancient, ratty, used-out textbooks were going to be replaced the next year, so we could rip them to shreds. Having been raised with a deep love and respect for books, I couldn’t believe that we were actually allowed to destroy them (they’d probably find a new life in a developing country today). I can still remember pages flying through the air as we tore through them and how much the teacher enjoyed the moment as well. I managed to keep a few pages with my favorite dialogs and they’re probably still stashed in a box in my mom’s basement.
My favorite “school’s out” memory has to be my Senior Year. Graduation was perfect, All Night Party Dance with all my classmates was amazing (I won $100 in a raffle), home Saturday morning to pack for our Senior Trip to Hawaii!! It was an amazing time in my life and I made so many wonderful memories that I think back to when I need a mental vacation! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Hawaii, great friends and grand times!
The smell of Spring flowers blooming everywhere. Especially the smell of lilacs right out side the school windows. The nice cool gentle May breeze telling us that we would soon be getting out of school but some of us going into the fields to help our parents with wheat harvest by either driving trucks (yes even at age 11 or 12) or cooking for the harvest crews by baking breads, making huge pitchers of lemonades, sliced hams and crocks of sliced home made pickles, scaloped potatoes, real creamy butter, etc., and every day somethiing different. Then all those dishes to wash. Never paper plates or plastic things in the 1950’s, but the real thing. And after, always work in the garden and then get ready for dinner becaure the crew worked into the night with lights. It was real work and we all worked and we were all healthy and trim and laughed a lot. Life was great.
My School out memory when I was in High School. That was when our Principal announced that we only have class for half day only. So my group friends and I decided to go on a real fun field by going to one of the Studio station where a Noon live show is going on. Off we rode a public transit.
Luckily we were able to catch the live show and their we had our good laughs and felt we own our time and day of our lives, like we were released from a bird’s cage.Our parents not aware.
We giggled and enjoyed the fun away from School and homes, when we noticed that we were caught on camera, we all wave our hands infront of the camera, to make our classmates be jealous. The 1 hour show ended and we went home gleefully. Our parents of not knowing we went on our own way without asking permission from them.
The following day, we went to school as normal as can be.And before our first subject started somebody from the Principal’s office came to our classroom and announced the name of my group friends including me, we all stood up as our names were called,we secretly glanced with each other and to our faces looking with a question marks?
Then we were escorted at the Principal’s office.The Principal started with a question, do you know why I called you up here? In chorus we answered no Mother Superior( in Catholic School).
To make it clear for you girls, somebody reported to me that you went to a live show with your School Uniform, you know very that this is against the School Policy.
All of us had a dropped jaws.Hating the person who reported us to the Principal.
So, the Mother Principal didn’t allow us to attend the class till noon, spoiled brats as we were, we prostested, we stayed under the sun.
I had a friend teacher in Elementary and saw us soaking hot under the sun, she invited us to join in her class and immediately without buts or shame hahaha, we joined her class and sat quitely at the far back seats of her classroom quitely.
And that’s one memory of my High School out.
Now I’m at my early 60s I didn’t find who reported us.
I cannot just share a memory from childhood. I am 51 and got my Bachelor’s Degree last year and am now working on my Master’s. My fiance and I and our dog and cat like to go on “adventures” which usually means going up into the mountains of southern New Mexico. Usually I feel guilty because there is “something” I need to get done. All of a sudden yesterday while we were searching for lakes not on a map I looked at him and said, we have nothing else to do, school is out. For a month we have no homework, no reading nothing that has to get done for school. We can spend that time having fun or getting organized from a hard school year. I think that since we have given up everything to get our degrees, we should enjoy ourselves. Life has changed because we have decided to do this journey or educating ourselves, I find that sometimes it is getting to do the little moments. Maybe this is a childhood memory, my second childhood.
I always loved it when school was out. I thought it was so great when it was still light out at 8:00 at night. My neighborhood was fun, lots of kids to play with, so we were always spending time outside rollerskating, riding our bikes, playing whiffle ball, or swimming in a friend’s pool. One of my favorite summer memories was getting ice cream when the ice cream trucks would come by. We had both a Mister Softee truck and a Good Humor truck that came through the neighborhood. The Good Humor truck driver used to let us ring the bell sometimes. Happy memories!
When I was little the last day of school was soooo exciting!!
No more getting up early, lots of time playing for hours each day with my friends, going to the creek to catch polywogs, barbqueing and swimming parties!!! Such fun to remember!
Every summer from the time I was five I went to summer camp, and though I cried every time my parents dropped me off, I always had a great time.
The weeks before school let out were spent shopping for items that I needed, gathering the ones that I already had, picking out the clothes that I was bringing and making sure those clothes had my name inside. We needed mess kits and sit-upons, jack knives and flashlights, raincoats and stationary sets and, of course, much, much more.
The anticipation of camp made everything in the world better, like after a spring rain. The grass was greener, the sun was brighter, the sky was more blue and everything smelled cleaner. I always looked forward to singing around the campfire, the creak of the cot when I would lie down to write a letter home, the sound of the crickets in the field that was muffled by laughter and splashing of the kids that were swimming. I couldn’t wait to take my swim test and find out what level I had achieved, to go on night hikes with the promise of s’mores when we finished. We even made our own GORP (good old raisins and peanuts, really just trail mix, but we loved calling it GORP) for day trips.
Life was good at camp, it was where I could be me without all of the drama of real life. Like the Chuck E. Cheese slogan, summer camp was where a kid could be a kid. I loved everything about camp when I was a kid, which is probably why I became a camp counselor when I was old enough. I wanted to pass on the magic of blueberry picking in a canoe, cooking over an open fine, and living with kids that weren’t members of your family onto another generation.
Those were some of my best memories, and summers that I will never forget or regret. “Some call it fun, but some may call it madness. So come along with us and wipe away your sadness. Happy campers are we having fun ‘neath the trees, and when we are gone you’ll remember our song. ‘Cuz we’re from Camp Bonnie Brae, Camp Bonnie Brae, Camp Bonnie Brae, Camp Bonnie Brae, CAMP!”
On the last day of 2nd grade I broke my arm. No swimming all summer!
The last day of school, When that bell rang…I knew it would be the beggining of summer fun, swimming in the pool BBQ’s and endless nights. Love those memories. Terry
What I remember most about the last day of school was the overwhelming delight of the possibilites for the summer – knowing that popsicles on the patio, riding bikes around the neighborhood all day, sleeping in every day with no place to go, sitting in a grassy field making daisy chains with frieds that you both promise you’ll save forever, sleeping in the backyard for a mini camp out filled with s’mores and more giggles than a parent can imagine, blueberry pie and fireworks, swimming, camping and car trips to the beach and to grandma’s, were all in the cards withing the next 3 months.
Last day of school was exciting for any kid at my Catholic school. The last day of school was always filled with fun and parties. Summer was always tough for my brother and I. Both of our parents worked during the summer months and my brother and I were left to entertain ourselves. On the last day of third grade for me and six grade for my brother, my mom’s best friend gave us a summer present. It was a children’s cookbook. Even though were not allowed to cook in the kitchen unless our parents were present, we decided to try many recipes out that summer without our parents knowledge. We had gourment lunches that summer and enjoyed every minute of making the new recipes. It was a fun summer and I will never forget that summer. To this day my brother and I love to cook and we often say that the joy of cooking for us came from that cook book which was entitled “Joy of Cooking for Kids”.
My favorite memory of ‘school’s out’ was my senior graudation. Now you may say, you aren’t a ‘child’ upon graduating high school, but having two of my own CHILDREN graduate, I would beg to differ!!
Two of my friends and I decided we were going to Florida to see Walt Disney World. It was 1976…Disney World was brand new and we thought we owned the world and could do whatever we wanted. We all had worked to save the money and by golly, we were going!! Our parents all thought we were not thinking clearly and were very reluctant to ‘allow’ us to go. But were were young and free and didn’t think anything or anyone could stop us. We set off, none of knowing how to read a map…and somehow found Florida, found Walt Disney world and found out who we all were and little bit about people and this big old world along the way. We ate baloney sandwiches to save money but enjoyed every single minute of our new found independence…though we had to promise to call one of our parents each night!!! We came home with a new sense of achievement, a new sense of people and a lot of fun, happy memories that we three silly young girls shared along the way. It been….aahhmmm, a LONG tme since that trip but I still stay in touch with those two girls that shared that moment in time with me. It’s memories I will never forget.
Ahh, my very last day of high school. Very bittersweet! I remember just wanting to finish, graduate and move on with my life. One year later, I wished I was back in high school!
When I was little, Daddy was in the Air Force. Every summer, we took advantage of his 30 days of vacation, loaded the family into the station wagon, and with the ‘luxury’ of a travel trailer (that really wasn’t much bigger than today’s U-Haul pull-behind trailers!) we traveled….
My favorite memories are of visiting my grandmothers every summer. I was fascinated that strangers just “knew” who I was. We walked “downtown”, watched fireworks in the square on Fourth of July…a big deal back in the 60’s was when they put color-changing lighting on the fountain in the square! We skated at an outdoor roller rink, and every trip to visit got me a “grown up” visit to the beauty parlor…the lady across the street had a salon in her home. My very favorite memory though, is helping my grandmother pick my “grandpa’s grapes” and learning to make jelly cooking on her cast-iron, wood-burning stove, and helping her do laundry with a wringer washer. [She tried hard to keep both well into the 70’s, and finally gave in to her daughters’ wishes…] My grandmother taught me how to crochet, embroider, make jams and jellies, and she made the best cookies ever, without ever consulting a recipe.
My favorite memory of School’s Out is of that last walk home until fall. Knowing that all the fun of summer was waiting, that last walk home seemed to take much longer and be much sweeter than any other.
My favorite summer memory? Berry Picking! We would load up with friends in the station wagon, head out to the berry farm, and pick and eat as many berries as we could. Our tummies would be full, our faces and hands would be stained, and our “hard work” would be rewarded with a Blackberry cobbler, or strawberry shortcake!
My last day of school was usually one of the best, because for me it was summer days with my family on the farm. Being in the barn and working with the animals and helping to grow the family garden. Also helping my Dad with planting the crops for the animals. To Me the last day of school was better than the school party.
The end of the year for me was happy,it meant a year end party with our teacher and classmates. We wold have drinks, cakes, candy, and just an all and all good time… We got to spend time with our teacher and classmates without doing any work, we could enjoy one another’s company while in school. I looked forward to the year end parties, cause that meant Summer was coming and I could spend time with my family more. The only sad thing was that I didnt go anywhere for Summer vacation. It was too hard to go anywhere for my Mom a single parent of 4. But she did make it special for us, she spent quality time with us. I wish I could go back to those days not forever, just for like a day or two…
Good Luck to everyone…
PS If I won this Cuisinart Food Processor, I would be soo happy. Then I could make things for my son and his classmates at the end of the year. Im pretty sure, 1st grades children wouldnt mind some slushes….. Have a GREAT Summer All!
Oh to be a child again. I remember thinking the school year lasted soooooo long. Summer would never JUST GET HERE ALREADY! Summer was the time my grandmother would come to visit or we would go to her farm for the summer. Now this was a fantastic thing…to stay on the farm for the summer! We usually arrived on a Friday night and grandmother was working the swing shift so she was’t there when got there. I remember laying on the living room couch waiting and waiting for her to get home. Exhausted from the long drive and all the excitement. I would fight to stay awake to no avail.
She usually got home about 3 in the morning and she was always quiet so she wouldn’t wake us. Her efforts were wasted on me as she would never get by my nose…oh no! I would always wake up thinking I was dreaming of HEAVEN! She would come through the front door and head for her bedroom…she never made it to bed with out me detecting her PERFUME! Grandmothers aroma was so intoxicating…I smelled the sweet essence of cocoa and almonds…oh this was the stuff SWEET DREAMS were made of. This moment…this smell. My heart embraced it as it touched my very soul. None of us could sleep through this. It would excite even the drowsiest of the grandchildren. I was always the first to find her because she was my CHOCOLATE grammy. She worked at Hershey’s Chocolate Factory in Oakdale California. She was chocolate coated LOVE. What more could a little girl ask for.
I lived to see her in the summer months and she is the reason I love to cook to this very day. Every dish is inspired by this very memory. I will never forget how she made me feel. Her smell…her essence…her intoxicating LOVE! Thank you grammy…I miss you soooo much 🙂
So many…. maybe that is why I became a teacher…. summer vacations… Students don’t realize that teachers are looking forward to summer vacation – as much or MORE – than they do.
My favorite “memory”… that first weekday, reaching out, turning off the alarm, and going BACK to sleep…. 🙂
The last day of school always signified changes and relaxation. In elementary school, it meant a day of signing yearbooks, playing outdoors, classroom parties, and the beginning of summer. It signified three months of swimming, spending time with family, vacations to Disneyland, and spending more time with my grandparents. In high school, the last day of school meant freedom and time to earn more money at jobs. It meant driver’s ed., first kisses, summer camp, lazy days at the lake, vacations with boyfriend’s family, visiting colleges, and time with friends. In college, summer time meant rest and relaxation, catching up with high school friends, trying to remain in two worlds (high school friends and college friends–child and adult with parents). When I entered graduate school, I carried on the tradition of not taking classes in the summer, so that I could give my brain a rest. It was still time to take some vacations, but also time to work more. The last day of school always signified time for change, relaxation, and renewing of the spirit.
I remember every summer my mother and I would work in the garden, and get ready for fall canning and freezing season. Also, our whole family would go to the local apple orchard and pick several bushels of apples, and sit around on the kitchen floor for days peeling and coring for Mom so she could make us applesauce, apple butter and pie fillings. As other fruits and vegetables came into season, we would go and pick or use our own harvest to lay in stores of all kinds for the long Ohio winters. Preserving your own foods is a wonderful way to bond as a family and later enjoy the flavor of summer on a cold winter day.
Janet Wooten
We moved a lot when I was a kid. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I had attended 13 schools. So, the last day of school wasn’t always happpy, because another move may be in store.
But there was one summer, when I was about 8 or 9, when we were going to be at the lake for a month. A whole month of swimming, canoeing, playing board games. We didn’t care that there was no bathroom. Only an outhouse. I am quite sure this was way harder for my parents than for the kids!
Knowing that special summer was on the horizon, was the best possible gift to us back then. I remember eating cherries on the dock and spitting seeds into the lake, diving in the water, playing “Marco Polo” and having the time of our lives.
They last day of school was always near my birthday…so we would pack up the car for an 8 hour drive to my Gramma’s house in Buffalo,NY…we would arrive in the middle of the night and they would be up waiting for us with the lights on…as we got into the house gramma always had some kind off goodies waiting for us to snack on… on my birthday she always had a strawberry short cake birthday cake…every year till she passed away( in 2008) that was forty-five years of strawberry shortcakes on my birthday!!!
Now my stepmother carries on the strawberry shortcake birthday cake tradition for me…
The last day of school meant trading the wonderful smell of chalk for the anticipation of smelling the dusty, musty scent of the cabin on the lake! It meant swimming for hours each day after rowing out to fish each morn. It meant catching fireflies until the mason jar wouldn’t hold anymore and counting the days until the Fourth of July corn roast with lots of butter and freshly picked green onions! What delicious memories!!!
The last day of school meant a big party for the kids, presents for the teacher, and the awards ceremony in the old auditorium. When I was young, not everyone got an award. There was one award per grade in our small school, although once I and three other girls actually tied for best grades. But mostly I remember the promise of all those long days ahead. Playing outside, reading as long as I wanted. There would be a trip to the beach where one uncle lived, and the family reunion at the Lake LBJ, where another uncle had a vacation home. The thought of all that endless time stretching out to forever it seemed, I wish I could catch that feeling again.
The last day of school meant class party with lots of sweet treats, walking home with all of the “stuff” I’d made throughout the year, and then…. days of running through sprinklers, going to the lake, lemonade stands, catching lightning bugs, and the breeze gently blowing my bedroom curtains at night as I fell asleep to the sounds of crickets chirping (the days before we had central air).
I remember the year the state said we could no longer have parties at school–too distracting, too much time spent away from “real learning,” etc. My mom was so upset at the thought of elementary school kids not having parties that she held several at our house for the whole elementary school (small town, mind you).
When it came time for the end of school party, it was late May and my mom was strapped for time and cash (which was pretty usual). She put out the call she had before throughout the year: I’ll host if other parents will supply food and drinks and games. No response.
Once more–notes home. Still no response. (The economy was tough in our little town that year, but usually folks would pony up something.)
Finally one other mom sent a note back–she had a pool and we could use it if we could find others to supply the food and drinks. And this time it could only be for our class–not 300 kids.
So, my mom got a local business in town to “sponsor” an end-of-year swim bash at the city pool, instead. He was a jeweler and had other contacts, and together they threw us the biggest party any of us had ever seen. We had a big fair-style cotton candy machine going, a popcorn vendor, and a huge lemonade selection (all kinds of specialty fruit mixes). They served hot dogs and hamburgers, and all the elementary kids and their siblings and parents were invited (and almost all attended).
My mom instilled in me a sense of egalitarianism and of fighting against injustice in grassroots and subversive ways. I try to do the same for my kids, even if it’s not with a big community “school’s out” swim party.
Memories from the last day of school…wow…those were the days! Doing nothing in school the last day, having fun, riding the school bus home and planning with my friends what we would do all summer. I remember getting home and changing clothes and on my bike I went! It was always a fun and carefree time, and it was so beautiful living in the country. Oh, to go back to those days! Now I can make sure my daughter has a fun childhood just like I did. Can’t wait to share those last days of school with her now!
Waking up and heading to the pool w my Mom and my brother. Eating BLTs and French Fries covered w ketchup.
What I remember most about when school was out was mostly between 8th and 12th grade. I was in a local drum and bugle corps and we traveled the country competing against the other drum corps. Right after school was out, we’d pack our bags and hop on buses to Okoboji (north/western Iowa)and spend a week there working on our show. We’d all have the best tans before all of our other friends back home!! When we returned, we would have practice during the week and on Saturday’s and then we’d hop on those buses again and travel all summer. It was a lot of work but truly the best time of my childhood. I developed strong, close friendships and learned about discipline and hard work. It was a time that made me forget about a lot of sad moments in my earlier childhood. Over the past year I have reconnected with many of those long lost friends on FB and it really has been an enormous joy.
On the last day of school, I always remember the feeling that there was nothing pressing to do. There was no spelling test to study for, or endless homework or projects due. I remember thinking I couldn’t wait to be a grown-up and have no homework forever! Boy was I wrong!
I wish I could take those days back when I was oblivious to bills, mortgages, laundry and housework. I still have homework to do only through my six children. And I still worry about them getting it done and kinda can’t wait for summer to be free from that. 🙂
On the last day of school every year my Mom would make her sherbet punch for my class. When I was a child I thought it was the most amazing drink ever invented. In my mind that punch had to be similar to champagne because it was so incredible(and I imagined champagne to be pretty incredible). Everyone in my class always looked forward to it also, she became known for it at my school. I was so proud that she was my Mother and she made it for me. That evening she always let me have friends stay over. We would watch movies, she’d make us each a homemade personal pizza, whatever absurd desert we could come up with and we would stay up all night. And she would make us our very own bowl of punch. The next morning she would make french toast and we’d go to the beach. I always felt so lucky and loved that summer started off with a bang!
The last day of school symbolized the onset of changes for me. I loved school, but I anticipated the changes signaled by the beginning and ending of seasons or school terms or vacations, with great relish. A little like seeing the first leaf turn red in the Fall or the first tiny crocus pushing through the ground or the first Robin in the spring, or my favorite, the first 80-degree day. Though my children are long grown now, I still sort of look towards the beginning and the ending of the school year as a signal for something new and refreshing. The end of school meant bare feet, summer church camp, cut-off jeans and staying outside in the evenings to play hide-and-seek with the neighbor kids. Summertime after school let out… Sunday afternoons at my grandparents farm. Just a large family garden really, but on several acres. Oklahoma red dirt – sandy and soft. Our bare feet would sink into the almost-too-hot-to-stand-still soil. Our hands and feet and legs would be stained terra cotta. Picking fresh tomatoes and strawberries – still my two favorite in-season fresh fruits. – OH! And my grandmother made these amazing tomato preserves, like a jam for your morning toast. What I’d give for a jar of those! – Later, my dad could cut open a big watermelon picked from the field, which had been “tested” by cutting a triangle shaped “plug” with his pocket knife. If the watermelon was ripe, it was ours for the afternoon, if not, the plug went right back into the melon and the juices would “seal” it back up. I don’t know if that method actually works, but that’s what my dad said. Sometimes the watermelon would be chilled – how I don’t recall. Likely in one of the big, round galvanized steel washtubs filled with ice or cold water. My grandparents had water in the house, though I remember vividly when they actually got a shower stall and a flushing toilet inside. But I digress, back to the watermelon, which really is the point of the story… There was a big tree under which sat a huge, shiny, silver propane tank – a long, cylinder. Dad would put the watermelon halves – cut lengthwise, near the center of the tank with a bunch of spoons sticking out of it and we would either stand beside the tank if we were tall enough, or straddle the tank for as long as we could stand the sun-warmed metal against our bare legs, and grab a spoon and dig in. Sometimes, it was just our family of 6 children or sometimes these afternoons would include various cousins. Before we got into the car to drive home, my dad would often “hose us off” either in the yard or standing in one of those big, round tubs. Oh, also, I learned to drive my grandfather’s old, giant tractor the summer after I turned ten. I wonder if I still remember how to double-clutch…
I remember we would make grandma’s oatmeal cookie recipe and pack the dough into the boxes that held the margarine/butter sticks and freeze them. Then sometimes after school we would cut off slices to bake and enjoy….and sometimes just enjoy icy cold!
My last day of school was always the best. Mom worked two jobs hence my parents were divorced, and this was the times she let me start cooking. I was eight standing on a chair as she guided me through things step by step. She is a wonderful cook and even though we had very little money she always made eating time special for us. Being out of school meant some time alone though and after a month it was off to my Dads for the rest of the Summer.
Greated by a huge Italian family with again lots of cooking and eating, my grandmother (mimi) would make homeaid ravioli and sauce, I loved to be with her and help her. She has passed away now but her cooking is in my heart and I can still smell her sauce from time to time. Even as a young age cooking was in my blood thanks to my Mom and My dads side of the family, to this day I make meals special even for my daughter who is twenty now meal time is always special for us. So these are some of the warmest memories ending a school year for me.
In grade school we as a whole school would go to Chain of Rocks amusement park. We would parade around the school and then get on the bus. We would hang out with our friends and family. It was a great end to the year.
I am a teacher now so I get a different perspective on the last day of school now!
My favorite school’s out memory from childhood was going to school on the last day of the year, knowing that at the end of the day, my beloved Grandfather…my hero, mentor, and best friend…would be there to pick me up and take me to spend the summer at my Grandparents house…where every day was filled with love, laughter, and many wonderful adventures. 🙂
The last day of school was always exciting. Getting our final report card, cleaning out our desks, and we always had an end of the year party. We would get to pick a local food place to have lunch at, the room mothers would bring in our order and we would get to sit and eat and talk. It was the perfect day to spend with our friends before we parted for the summer.
I remember the last day of school was always a 1/2 day and we always got to wear shorts! The weather was always hot and everyone would go to the city pool! It was a small town and the last day of school meant that we had all summer to ride bikes,go swimming and hang out at each others houses. It was heaven!
I remember during the last week of school getting everyone to sign your “book”, a small, usually floral-bound diary with blank pages. It was so exciting to see what your friends had written to you — especially that boy that was your latest crush!
What I remember most is that feeling of relief the first day of summer, which officially began the moment you stepped off the bus. Seemed everything was a little brighter, a lot lighter, and it felt like the summer would last forever (at least at that moment).
i remember in 3rd grade on the last day of school, my entire class came over to my house for a picnic in our backyard. in retrospect, my mom was such a hero for dealing with dozens of little kids at once! it was so much fun.
The lasts days of school when I was a child were field days. We got to play game and win ribbons all day. It was a great way to say goodbye to school and hello vacation!
I loved the last day of school, all the cousins would get together at Grandpa and Grandma’s and spend the summer playing together. Hide n seek late at night in the front yard, football. There were 24 of us and then the neighbor kids would come play also. Boy to go back to those days. Running through the sprinklers..park days, swimming at my aunts.
As soon as school was out, my Mom would put me on a bus to Houston, to spend a few weeks with my godfather and godmother. They didn’t have any children so they looked forward to my visit as much as I did! The very first thing Uncle Hooker (my godfather) would do was ask me what candy my Mom wouldn’t let me have. Then we would immediately go to the store and buy bags and bags of that candy, usually “circus peanuts”, pure sugar and simply wonderful!! Then we would catch crickets and go fishing for hours on end. We always cooked our catch and I can’t remember any better eating. In the evening, when he and my godmother would have a “cocktail”, they would make me one, too. Very fancy glass with lots of cherries….and no alcohol! They made me feel very special each summer and I still remember the guilt I felt eating all that candy!!
I remember the end of school just felt like we had an endless summer ahead of us. I think I spent the majority of it in our swimming pool or at the beach, barbeques and the annual July 4th bash my parents threw every year. Popsicles made in paper cups, grapes in the fridge, spitting watermelon seeds across the lawn. Time just seemed to just slow down and we took it one day at a time. Dog days of summer…ahhhh!
The last day of school was always exciting. There was a field day and BBQ at the school and then when school et out, usually early, it was a race home to find out what the summer plans would be, what camping trip was planned and when we would be hitting the road. Mom usually broke out the old crank ice cream maker and dad would turn and turn until we had strawberry ice cream with berries from our garden! Yummy!
There are so many how do you pick just one!! Was it the 3 week vacation with my grandparents to Yellowstone Park?(memorable because my grandpa was a lousy driver! and we stayed in a cabin at Old Faithful) was it the endless hours playing with the neighborhood kids? Was it fishing trips? or canning with grandma? Was it the endless road trip from Seattle to Northern Minnesota? The first Beau and first kiss? The broken heart? The new Beau? Learning to drive? The endless hours at the swimming hole? I honestly think my all time best summer memory was celebrating my 18th birthday and having that be my very last day of High School!!! Looking toward the future and thinking I was an Adult!! Boy if we could go back in time but know what we do now!!!
WHEN MY CHILDREN WERE IN SCHOOL I WOULD TAKE THEM IN THE DUNE BUGGY, IT WAS STREET LEGAL, AND WE WOULD GO TO KAW LAKE. WE WOULD OF COURSE HAVE OUR BATHING SUITS ON AND WE WOULD TAKE THE BACK ROADS AND PATHS WHERE NO ONE ELSE COULD GO TO OUR OWN PRIVATE BEACH. WE WOULD TAKE HOT DOGS AND SMORES AND EVERYTHING WE COULD PACK IN THE DUNE BUGGY AND SPEND THE DAY. FURTHER IN THE SUMMER WE WOULD PICK SAND PLUMS AND BLACKBERRIES WHILE WE WERE THERE, WASH THE CHIGGERS OFF IN THE LAKE AND COME HOME AND MAKE JELLY! SOMETIMES I WOULD PICK THEM UP DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, STOP BY McDONALDS FOR HAPPY MEALS AND WE’D SPEND THE DAY AT THE LAKE…IT WAS LIKE AN IMPROMPTU NO ONE KNEW WHEN IT WOULD HAPPEN DAY! ITS ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE MEMORIES!
I remember school usually ended with Field Day where we would have all different kinds of games and races. The school was separated in a Blue Team and a Red Team…It was so much fun competing with all the other kids….Watermelon and Pie Eating contests were the best….At the end of that day, it was the last day of school…We were so excited to go home and be off for the summer….Those were the days……Very fun and always happy…..
When I was young I lived in a very small farm town. I had a very large extended family and most of my Aunts and Uncles lived on farms. I remember spending summer days at my Aunt and Uncles farm playing in the hay barn, swinging on a tire hanging from the rafters in the barn, riding on the tractor and having hay rides through the meadows, and riding mini bikes into the woods. Oh, and I remember chasing fireflies on warm summer evenings. We would put them in a jar with a hole in the lid and watch them light up in the jar. The smell of honeysuckle filled the air and fresh vegetables grew in our gardens. Those were much more laid back times when we didn’t have a care in the world!
Summertime! Summertime! Couldn’t wait for those long, hot days of summer, when you woke up when you wanted to (which was usually early), and couldn’t wait to get outside to meet up with with all of your friends. The neighborhood pool, a new tree-house, dividing up into teams to play softball, riding your bike, or anything to be outside!! I also remember getting ready for family car trips, when you packed the car the night before and got up before sunrise and slept in the back of the station wagon ’till you reached Howard Johnson’s and could get a cool meal in a restaurant! Car trips were the most exciting back then- didn’t have i-pods or dvd players; you played car games like naming all the state tags you saw or playing I Spy. Being with your family enclosed in a car for three days wasn’t awful or hard; it was fun and adventurous! I miss my summers as a kid!!!
I remember the last day of school, taking home everything that had built up in our desks and walking home knowing that summer was here & we could ride our bikes and go to our grandmother’s and fishing as much as we wanted.
I remember the song, “Three more days and we’ll be out,” that you sung for about a week prior to school being out. The days were very warm, the song was exciting…a count-down. I looked forward to days down the shore with my grandparents, cooking with my Grandmother-babka, shnecken, and raisin cookies (don’t ask!). Walking on the boardwalk, on the beach, secret passageways under the boardwalk. But most of all the summer gave me time to read ALL those books. I probably read a book a day, including cookbooks. If truth be told, I loved school, and even on the last day of school, I looked forward to the first day back.
I remember when school was out during my elementary years, I would go and visit my paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Vermont, right on Lake Champlain. Two weeks away from my four brothers was like heaven LOL. They had what seemed like millions of frogs come out nightly and they were everywhere, even on telephone poles. Just an amazing, carefree time of life for me.
End of school when I was growing up meant that we were shortly off to go camping. We would spend most of the summer camping with family and friends. I loved it.
I remember my bestest friends growing up, we would get together at my house and we would come up with something new to make. Our favorite was making homemade french fries…we would peel those potoates, making such a mess.Then we would use the Fry Daddy(which we really weren’t aloud to use, because we were only like 12). And then sprinkle Adobo on them(a special spanish seasoning,yummy) There are two of us we remain friends still,we talk about those memories of getting the kitchen cleaned up before my mom and dad got home from work. And we now think about how our kids would be in so much trouble if they got caught doing what we did. It’s funny I live in Florida now,she is still in New Jersey and when we get together we still make our special fries.(and we still watch our favorite soap opera while we eat them…General Hospital)
I was always sad when school was out. It meant that I wouldn’t get to see my friends everyday. It meant that my playmates would just be my brothers who would only play Barbie’s with me if I was the bad guy to their GI Joe, lol. Wouldn’t trade it for the world, though! It meant that our bus driver would no longer have our lives in her hands. Our yellow bus was the only one with silver down the side, as she seemed to hit every sign on the side of the road. It meant that instead of reading, writing, and arithmetic, it would now be chickens, gardening, picking apples, and housework with my mom. Our slow pace of farm livin’ would kick in and the dread of all that hard work. Looking back I wish life were still that way…oh, how I miss it. I loved school and would have went every day. I loved my teachers and friends and didn’t want it to end, but those summer breaks I dreaded then I only dream about now as an adult.
school out.. the last day was always a short day. Being June, it was always warm. I always walked to and from school so the last day I hauled home all my stuff/junk.
we got treats so as I slowly walked home I usually ate candy. Once home I changed clothes. I grew up in a major city but from that point on to school starting in September I went barefoot all summer. Good times.
When school was out it meant that it was time to head to the lakes for fishing and swimming and water skiing. I enjoyed this every summer as we vacationed with several other families
The last day of school was always a very exciting time. Time to play outside all day long and only stop to quickly eat and then go back outside again to play. The last day was basically a party day. Autographing tee shirts of fellow classmates and saying goodbye to teachers. It was the best and most carefree time of my life. Now I live vicariously through my children. 🙂
What I remember the most about the last day of school is that last “bell” ring. Like music to my ears! Then, walking out of class and hugging all my friends as if I’ll never see them again. My dad was in the Air Force, so we traveled alot. On those last days of school, sometimes it WAS my last day in that school and hugging those friends were my last hugs. Those were still happy, memorable moments. Thanks for bringing those memories back! 🙂
The last day of school was always soooooo special! My mom would meet us at the door and would have all our favorite snacks ready for a huge block party! All the kids would gather at our house, gallons of Kool-aid, rice krispie treats, cookies, cupcakes galore! We would all change into swimsuits and turn on the sprinklers and we would have water balloon fights, running in the sprinkler and slip-n-slide all afternoon! It was such fun!
I remember after school was out, going to stay the summer with my grandparents. Those were some of the best memories. Both of my grandparents are gone now, so all I have now are the memories and some old pictures.
I remember the last day of school was always soo much fun , we got to play games and go to the park . and signing every ones year books. LOL always makes me smile to think about it .
I remember when I was a kid, the last day of school, we would always have a party in the classroom. The next day would be spent packing to go visit with my grandparents for the summer. It was always my favorite time of the year, still is, honestly. Spending time with family is the best!