Another school year ends...

Every once in a while, as a teacher I have had a class that was really special.  Not necessarily filled with brilliant or agreeable children; but filled with memorable little personalities that somehow wiggled their way into my heart.  I can't really pin point a reason for it; but, this was one of those years.  I thought I would try to jot down a few of the most memorable characters of the year before my feeble, old mind lets them slip away.
Ashley:  this little gal reminds me of the character Stephanie in Robert Munch's book Stephanie's Ponytail.  She has waist length hair and always had it pulled into a pony tail on the side of her head.  She had the sharpest wit and a great sense of humor.  Her favorite library books were the joke books.  During silent reading time, she would pull her chair up to my table and read jokes to me.  It was one of the highlights of each day.
Savannah:  She reminded me of Little Orphan Annie because of her curly red hair and freckles.  She started the year out so shy and timid, that I had to read her first oral report for her because she turned beet read and burst into tears.  By the end of the year, she had blossomed and decided for her final presentation to dress in character and present her report on Fern in Charlotte's Web. 
Brandon: one of the worst cases of ADD I have ever had in my class.  He would curl his legs up on his chair and find ANYTHING  imaginable to play with (fingernail dirt, eraser rubbings, crayon shavings, etc.)  Mom was a teacher across the hall from me and she agonized over whether or not to medicate him.  Eventually, Brandon's physician convinced her to try meds.  After a week, his work was all done and his grade point average was soaring along with his self-esteme.
Andrew:  memorized all the states and their capitals using a classroom floor puzzle!
Kyjuan:  the best big brother to his 4 little siblings while mom was deployed.  He took home his prizes from the treasure box, candy from parties, and snacks from lunch for his little sisters & brother.
Amaya: an animal lover through and through.  Her choice for enrichment group was the animal group.  Her choice for "what will you be when you grow up" was to operate an animal shelter.  Her favorite books were about animals; and, she and Andrew just sobbed when Daisy the hamster died.
Bailey:  the principal's daughter went from trying to be everyone's boss to one of the most helpful students in the class.
Christopher:  little guy, huge eyes, and a massive vocabulary!  He impressed me the most when he told me about asking his friends to bring donations for the animal shelter to his birthday party instead of birthday presents.
Morgan:  sweet little thing that worried more about Miss Beaty (another second grade teacher) being single and ending up alone than she did her school work.
I could go on and on and on... However, it is late and I am tired.  I can only hope that next year brings as many wonderful and unique little creatures into my room.