Farewell Elementary School, Hello Middle School

It seems like just yesterday that she was graduating from preschool! Now she is graduating from elementary school!

I signed my last elementary school field trip permission slip this week. It was one of those “How does time go by so quickly!” moments. As my youngest daughter wraps up her elementary school career, I can’t help but have some teary moments as I reminisce, and a few gleeful moments as I think about all that I won’t miss. Mostly, I am excited about all the new opportunities she will get to experience in middle school. Yes, you read that correctly, I am excited about having a kid in middle school.

I’ll start by sharing what I won’t miss about elementary school. I will not miss the endless Sign-up Geniuses for volunteers at what seemed like weekly events. As a mom who works full-time and travels for work, I perpetually felt like a failure when I had to ignore most of those. Don’t even get me started on all of the special at-home projects that took up so many hours at night and led to many tears for everyone involved!

But, I will definitely miss the teachers that nurtured both of my daughters for the past nine years. These teachers patiently took them from cute kindergarteners who still had trouble getting to the bathroom in time to preteens gearing up for puberty. Even my high schooler was sad when she realized that her sister’s fifth grade farewell parade would be the last time she might see some of those teachers.

It will be sad to say farewell to the familiar teachers and hallways of elementary school, but it is exciting to think about all the new adventures that await in middle school.

I often have friends who lament the passing of time and the graduation to middle school. Before my first daughter went to middle school, I was terrified. I had heard all about how middle school is awful and kids turn into moody beasts who hate their parents. My own memories of middle school are somewhat murky, except for the vivid horrible memory of middle school PE. I braced myself for what I thought would be an awful three years. And, guess what, it was awful, but it also was amazing. The awful moments of teen angst and drama quickly fade into the background when I think of the transformation of my daughter from the beginning of sixth grade to the end of eighth grade. I got to watch my daughter go from a kid who was afraid to even speak up in class to someone who was negotiating babysitting fees and learning how to drive.

I quickly learned that PE was still horrible, but there were no more special at-home projects for the parents to help with. Homework is just for the kids! Even my daughter liked that her homework was something she alone was expected to manage. It made her feel responsible for her own success. And, the Sign-up Geniuses, they were nearly nonexistent! Periodically they might want some candy or soda for something, but that was much easier to contribute than having to take vacation time for a field trip. (Pro tip – Sometimes the teachers want to make the kids feel so responsible they have the kids sign up for things and expect the kids to share this with their parents. Be sure to ask your kids periodically if they have signed up for anything so you don’t learn about it at the last minute!)

Middle school merged kids from multiple elementary schools, which meant new friend possibilities. With a bigger pool of kids, it was easier to find others with similar interests. Electives like art, band, drama and engineering made it easier to find those with mutual passions. After school clubs add even more options to explore new interests. The world literally starts to open up for these kids in middle school.

My daughter learned how to manage her time and how to talk to teachers about deadlines and homework. She found new friends and new interests. She introduced me to new things, too. We had real debates about current events. Yes, there was lots of drama and mood swings, but I learned to listen and mostly keep my mouth shut as she worked through it.

For moms who are sad to say goodbye to elementary school and lament the speedy passing of time, I assure you that although there are rough moments, middle school is not the end of goodbye hugs and good night snuggles. Those things might happen less often, and you will need to be careful you don’t do them in front of friends, but they will happen. And even better, you will start to reap the rewards of all your hard parenting work when you watch that cute little kid turn into an independent young person.

I will shed a few tears as we say farewell to elementary school, but mostly they will be happy tears of anticipation as we say hello to middle school.

Lori
Lori grew up in Olathe and graduated from Kansas State University. Sick of cold weather, she left Kansas and headed to Phoenix. Turns out the heat can be just of hard to take as the cold, so she and her husband, Bill, moved back to Kansas so they could be close to both of their families. Lori is mom to a tween (Aubree who is 11) and a teen (Hana who is 15). Despite the challenges of raising two strong-willed girls who have way too many extracurricular activities, Lori loves having daughters who binge watch Charmed and Gilmore Girls with her while making clay dragons. She is passionate about photography, traveling, exploring around Kansas City and dragons.