Like most teachers I am a bit of a hoarder. I refuse to throw away anything, anything I might need in the future. Therefore, when I moved classrooms three times in three years I thought my husband might let me go. (He was really excited when I managed to stay in the same place for two years in a row!) It really was a little hard to believe how much stuff I had saved. What’s strange though is I am exactly the opposite at home - I can’t wait to throw things away! I guess that’s one of the paradoxes of being a teacher.
Despite my hoarding tendencies, I don’t like to have to pack up loose items at the end of the year. (This is probably also because I love buying new supplies over the summer!) Starting about a month or so before school ends, I start passing out tickets to students for various reasons – answering a really tough question, being a good friend, remembering to read their take home reader, acting as a good citizen, etc. During the last week of school, students write their names on the back of their tickets and drop them in my special flower pot. As I start to organize the room I start pulling together different items ranging from school supplies (pencils, crayons) to literacy tools (class books, interactive writing pages) and other items such as library stuffed animals or homemade class games and display them on the back counter. Over the last few days I start pulling tickets and allowing students to select items to take home as a Kindergarten memory. Not only does this help me to ensure students have the opportunity to take items home with them it also helps me keep my hoard under control! 
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