Thoughts on School

Maybe I'm obsessive but right now school is all that's on my mind. I'm just not ready to send my kids back to school yet. All summers go by quickly but this one has been extremely fast. Tomorrow I take my girls to register and Monday is the big day. So here's what I'm thinking about:
This is my oldest daughter's last year at elementary school. Next year, she's off to the big middle school. Wow, I remember her first day of school as though it were yesterday. (didn't you hate it when your parents made statements like that when you were young, LOL) I feel this year will be emotional for me but I'll try to keep it in around her. I want her to enjoy this year, enjoy the things that come with elementary school that you leave behind when you enter middle school. I want her to seal the foundation of education that she's already put down in elementary school. I want her to make the most of this final year at this tiny school. And most importantly I want her to know how very proud I am of all the hard work she's put into her education.
Tomorrow I will walk into the same school that I've walked into for 5 years to register my daughter for the last time at that school. As I sit here tonight I think about the first time I walked through the doors of that school to register her for kindergarten. I wondered where the first 5 years of her life had gone. And now I wonder where these last 5 have gone also. I blinked and the child that once needed Barney to fall asleep with, turned 10, is almost 5 feet tall and will begin her last year in elementary school in a few short days. And you'll be happy to know that she no longer needs Barney to fall asleep with.
Many days will be much like last year and the year before for her. But she has some things to look forward to also. She can join the Beta Club, be a server at the kindergarten graduation(a privilege reserved for the 5th grade girls), tutor younger students if she desires, be the oldest in the school and the younger grades look up to the 5th graders and have a 5th grade banquet(a very special night). She's thrilled to think about leaving this little school. She's excited to think about middle school and meeting back up with a special friend. She thinks it's a grand thing to be growing up. <sigh> If only I thought her growing up was such a good thing!
The school is going through many changes this year. There's renovations going on which should have been finished. There's a new principal(she was a teacher at the school for the last few years), new teachers, new schedules and many other changes. My youngest daughter is very excited as she met her new teacher today. She's new to this area and until today my daughter didn't know who her teacher would be. She's very excited because the other teacher for her grade was her kindergarten teacher. It wasn't a very positive experience but we were going into it knowing that we would make the most of any situation. But today when dd found out that she has a different teacher, she was all smiles! My oldest daughter knew who her teacher would be. She was not excited about having this teacher(the only 5th grade teacher)but for some reason is now excited though not ready to go back to school. She found out today that there will be 2 new girls in her class and since last year there was only 5 girls(including my dd)and 1 of those girls was moving, she was not holding out hope for girl bonding! Now she's excited again. And several students will not be back so the class may feel all new. My oldest daughter has been in the same class with most of these kids since kindergarten. There's always been 1 class per grade until my youngest started kindergarten. The class that year was so big that they split it into 2 classes and have had 2 classes for that group since then. So for my youngest daughter, her class is mixed up a little each year. The 2 classes still work together a lot but she always feels like she has a new class because she does get some different kids in her class each year. Two girls, two different grades, same school, two totally different experiences!
I will probably be emotional Monday. I will miss my girls like crazy. And then they'll come home that afternoon, things will be just like they are today, were yesterday and will be tomorrow and then I'll ask myself what exactly I was missing? LOL....no, I'll really miss them.
To my girls:
I'm so proud of all of your accomplishments in life. You both work so hard in school, make good grades and are well behaved. I see that you're both liked and respected by other students, teachers and school workers. That means a lot to me. It means you show respect and kindness to others. It means you put forth your best and other people notice that. I want you to enter the 3rd and 5th grades and enjoy them. Sometimes it's hard to enjoy school and all the hard work that comes with it. But you'll be finished with these grades before you know it. Life goes by so fast. Probably to you two, it seems to go slow especially when you're in school working hard. But as you get older, you'll know just what I mean! So take the time to enjoy these minutes in life. Enjoy that first day of 3rd and 5th grades. Enjoy every party that you have, every awards day, every minute in art and music. Enjoy making new friends and reconnecting with friends you haven't seen in a couple of months. Enjoy all special days, ordinary days and days that were not as good as you wanted. Learn from every mistake you make. Just be youselves! You know why? Because you're great. Work hard as you always have. I love you both and will miss you when you're at school but look forward to afternoon stories from your day. Together we can do anything~~