Reflections for my kids at the end of the 2023-2024 School Year

Well we made it through another school year! It always feels like a triumph to make it to the last day of school. Back in September, the school year was just stretched out before us, full of questions and possibilities. Well now we know. There were first days and snow days and holidays and testing days. And we got through them all. If you’ll pardon me being a sentimental mother, here’s some thoughts for my kids that I want to hold on to about this past year…

Dear L (12 year old)-
You get the longest letter because I feel like you had the biggest shift this year, going to to middle school. It’s been amazing watching you navigate your first year there. I was so nervous and worried at the beginning of the school year- how were you going to get to school? Would you be able to find your classes? Do you have friends? Will the other kids be nice to you? So much would be new. And even though I didn’t specifically go to middle school – my school was K-8 – I know how tough those years can be, trying to figure out who you are, what you want to do, how you want to do it, what brings you joy… And all the while the kids around you having the same struggles, and sometimes not very kind about it. I didn’t have to worry about you. I should have known that you had the independence, kindness, and confidence that a kid needs to thrive middle school. How many times did we have this exchange:

You: There was another fight in the hallways today.
Me: Oh no. Are you okay? What did you do?
You: I just kept walking to class.

I think that ability to stay far away from the drama will serve you well in life.

Middle school has been kind of a black hole for me – you go off in the morning, come home at night. I don’t really know what goes on in between, and since you don’t have (or do) homework, I just have to trust that you are learning – learning things and learning how to learn things and do the work. I don’t know if my memories will be the same as yours, but this is what I will remember about your 6th grade year: Your first sleepaway experience with the school Outdoor Education program (which you loved – are you sure you aren’t interested in sleepaway camp???). How you really got into theatre. Seeing you up on stage singing and dancing was so much fun. You realizing that you were actually pretty good at math and that it was those horrid kids in the Chinese immersion program who were the shitty ones. You walking home from school singing show tunes at the top of your lungs. How you took it upon yourself to write all your teachers Thank You notes at the end of the year. (Though we should still work on how to spell circumference). You coming home brimming with news and gossip. You figuring out how to talk to your teachers on your own. Fighting about screentime and whether or not you could get a cellphone. I think this last one will be with us for at least another year. It’s an ongoing conversation… Let’s see what happens next year!

Dear A (7 year old)-
It’s been a tough year in first grade, hasn’t it? I’m so sorry for all the stupid challenges that you faced this year at school. The homework was excessive – how I wanted to tell you to just burn it all!
But… you’ve learned to read – in two languages! You can do math! You make art and music. I love having little conversations with you in French – we won’t be talking about economics any time soon, but being able to talk to you in French about your day or things that you need is delightful. I’m so amazed at how much of the language your brain has picked up in just two years. And you’ve made some good friends, I think. Apparently playing soccer at recess is the highlight of many of your days. And outside of school, this year you’ve learned to sew and play the piano and ride your bike. I think those are all amazing accomplishments.

Dear W (4 year old)-
I guess technically you don’t have a “school year” since you are in day care all year round, but you did move to a new classroom last August. We all went into this school year hoping you could go to kindergarten this fall, but clearly the universe (or the school district) had other plans. Oh well, as one of your teachers said, you’ll be the smartest kid in kindergarten when you get there. “Why can’t she go to Kindergarten?!?!?” has now become a catchphrase in our family any time you do something funny or smart or responsible. (Which is at least four or five times a day.) I hope you’ve had a great year in your pre-K classroom. From what I see, you’ve done so much! You learned to write letters and numbers, you made good friends, you played in the sandbox a lot. A lot a lot. There were beaches of sand dumped out of your shoes when you came home some days. Your big sister got to come to your class to be the Mystery Reader. I guess if you don’t get to go to kindergarten you’ll get to have all that fun all over again. Whatever next year brings, I’m sure you’ll meet it with your usual enthusiasm and joy.

Well, now it’s time for summer. I hope we find time to enjoy summer and the time off from school. Sooner than we know, it will be the end of August again, and time for another school year.

We make videos of the kids on the last day of school, asking them questions about the past year. I try to ask the same questions every year, but I don’t always remember. Here are the answers from this year:

12 year old, just finished 6th grade:
Most Challenging thing: Adjusting to have so many different teacher and a locker with a code. And classes being louder with people I didn’t know or associate with at all.
Best Thing: One, we didn’t really have homework. Two, the teachers were nicer than I expected.
Worst Thing: The fights. And the drama. And the kids being WAY too loud and some of the teachers were just mean. Well, they weren’t mean they were just taught at certain way when they were kids and they’d always been taught that way so they didn’t know how to adjust the teachings to the needs of the kids.
What are you most proud of this year? I got into both the play and the musical and I had lines in both.
What are your hopes and aspirations for 7th grade: That the new theatre teacher likes me.
What advice would you give someone going to 6th grade? Don’t get on the teacher’s bad side.

The 7 year old, just finished 1st grade:
Most Challenging Thing: The grades. Especially when you have the best teacher in 1st teacher.
Best Thing: There are friends that you remember from kindergarten.
Worst Thing: Math is hard.
What are you post proud of this year? I got to second grade, because that was unlikely.
Looking forward to the most in 2nd Grade: I hope I get good notes. (I think he means grades here – notes= French for grades.)
What advice would you give someone going into 1st grade? Don’t speak English if you are going to French.

The 4 year old, in Pre-K:
Most Challenging Thing: Circle Time
Best Thing: Playing.
Worst Thing: Getting in fights. (Me: WHAT?!?!) There are fights in line.
What are you most proud of this year? Writing my name.
Looking forward To: Getting into kindergarten.
What advice do you have for someone coming into your classroom? Don’t be mean.