With another weekend of social distancing upon us, you may be running low on ideas to keep the kids entertained. Luckily, we have a few suggestions. From crafts to virtual tours to local hikes and more, check out some of these options for weekend family fun!
Who says your kids have to miss out on school field trips since schools are closed? These virtual spots let you and the kids travel without having to leave the house!
Make Sweet DIY Music
Did you know you can make instruments with stuff sitting around your house? These DIY instruments will inspire you to start a family band.
NYC Faves Go Online
With museums and shows across the state temporarily closing, they’re moving their access online. From daily videos to 360-degree tours, these are great ways to pass the time indoors.
Get Outside
As long as the weather cooperates, and you keep your distance from others, getting out to local parks for a hike is a great way for kids to burn off energy after being inside for long periods of time. Check out some of these trails around NYC. Maybe you can throw in a nature scavenger hunt!
The Story Pirates to the Rescue
Everyone’s favorite group of top comedians, musicians, best-selling authors, and teachers are rolling out the Story Pirates Creator Club especially for kids to work on while at home. Check it out!
Batteries Not Included
Worried the kids are spending too much time on a screen now that they’re inside most of the time? These activities are just the ticket for some fun without screen time or without battery operated toys.
Two months ago, the Coronavirus felt like a distant problem. I was sad for the countries living in pain, but even as I watched things unfold on TV, it felt far from home.
Fast forward to today, and that distant story is our reality. Not only is Covid-19 affecting life in the U.S., but one of the largest epicenters in the country is my very own backyard. I live in Westchester, NY and in a matter of days, our school districts shutdown, after school activities closed indefinitely, our governor asked that we stop commuting into Manhattan and time just seemed to…stop.
After being bombarded with messages of school closures and district decisions and—OMG THE WORLD IS FALLING APART—I regained my consciousness. I thought, OK, this is life today and we will have to adjust. I made a mental checklist and did roll call: Kids, Dogs, Husband, Business (not in that order). I gave myself permission to fumble and to figure it out as we go.
My game plan was simple:
1. Business: Meet the increased demands of a world crisis, keep our product in stock, ship to stores, deliver to customers, have contingency plans, survive.
2. Girls: Teach them valuable lessons about self-sufficiency and imagination.
3. Partner: Lean into the other working parent, my husband, to manage our 24-hour schedule and sanity.
4. Dogs: Inform everyone in the house that dogs must be fed and walked and we are all in this together.
5. Eat.
This continues to be my game plan two weeks in.
Soon after the chaos ensued, I turned to social media to see how the rest of the world was coping. I started noticing posts about homeschooling and parents enthusiastically teaching lessons. I scrolled through hundreds of pictures with hourly schedules of fun activities to do at home with kids. I thought, well, that sucks. I was certain my plan of winging it and keeping my sanity was brilliant until I looked at the pretty pictures on social media.
Between work and no school and simply surviving, I couldn’t see beyond my nose. I felt the external pressures of Instagram telling me to be better and do more, and yet all I could think of was putting one foot in front of the other. I was doing my best but I kept questioning whether this was enough. Then a blessing in disguise: social distancing.
The mandatory space between us and the outside world finally allowed me to tune out the noise and turn inward to my family. As it turns out, that’s all I needed.
The first few days were messy. We became two parents working from home while two girls were bouncing off the walls. As the news about the coronavirus got worse, the demands of my start up business got crazier. Trade shows were canceled, orders surged to an all-time high, and pressures were placed on our manufacturing timelines, all while I prioritized making sure my team and my family stayed healthy. During this hectic time, two young girls were still bouncing off the walls that seemed to be closing in. That’s right, I thought, we can all do hard things (thank you, Glennon Doyle).
I looked around and realized we were all more than OK. We were (mostly!) happy, healthy, and had each other. No one was pressuring me to be or do more. Everyone felt loved. My husband, five and seven-year-old daughters, the dogs and I were all figuring it out as we went and it worked for us.
The past two weeks have been challenging, exhausting and scary at times, but they have also been unusually special. The girls have been learning more about us and our jobs and we have been learning more about them and their school days. We’ve learned that we don’t have to follow a set schedule, or any set of rules, to make things work for us. We can just be who we are and find our own groove. Taking a step back from the outside world gave us an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and remember who we are without the world telling us who we need to be.
Weekends have also been a welcome change. We normally head into the weekend with a million plans—birthdays, sports, dinners—and have little time to relax. We would wake up on Saturdays and look at our calendar to strategize where we needed to be and when. Now, time on the weekends has stopped. Thanks to social distancing, all our plans are canceled. I can’t remember the last time we had nowhere to be and it feels great.
I keep thinking about how ironic this entire pandemic has been. Like we needed a virus to take our lives back from the over-scheduling, and the gadgets and the FOMO. To be comfortable with stillness and show up in our lives again. To be in the presence of other human beings and make eye contact. To stop living by external pressures and start living our own truth. To heal.
As we navigate through these uncertain times, I hope we all use the space to refuel and rebuild our humanity. Pushing through tough moments, even when it feels impossible, is exactly when we have our most meaningful breakthroughs.
Hang in there. We will all be stronger on the other side!
I'm the Founder & CEO of Fresh Bellies baby food brand. I've won foodie awards, pitched to Shark Tank and appeard on Forbes and CNBC. Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, I live in New York with my husband, Fernando and daughters, Isabella and Alexa Luna.
As the bow wave of Coronavirus (COVID-19) school closures continues to sweep across the country, millions of parents are coming to grips with a frightening new reality: How do they fill the void of a child at home and prevent “academic slide?”
For most parents, this new challenge is both daunting and bewildering. They’re worried their child will lose momentum in school and want to keep them engaged but the virtual education industry has an overwhelming online bazaar of videos, content, tutors, tests, and noise to sift and sort. Lesson plans come in all shapes and sizes. So, where to start?
I’ve been working on the front lines of virtual homeschooling for many years, from early childhood lesson planning to preparing high schoolers for college exams to most recently helping design Varsity Tutors’ new Virtual School Day—a free remote learning program that includes live, online classes and educational resources intended to help keep students from sliding academically. The good news is you can do this, it just takes some planning and patience. Here are some tips on how to successfully lean into your child’s new homeschool reality:
Using templates or one-size-fits-all online programs are of limited value, and will likely leave you and your child frustrated. And avoid random lessons cobbled together. Focus on building a structure or a virtual school day that replicates your student’s everyday schedule. If they have math first thing in the morning, do the same at home. Kids are creatures of habit—use this to your advantage. They will adjust quicker to being homeschooled by not also taking on a new school day routine.
Virtual homeschooling also provides the freedom to tailor your child’s online education day to his or her likes, dislikes, learning style, and needs. Two virtual structures that are used today include the traditional approach, where a student follows a structured, school-like curriculum created by his or her parent, and the unschooling approach, where students choose what and when they would like to learn. Many families also adopt techniques in-between these two approaches. But the goal is to settle on a structure that works for your child and their schedule and stick with it.
Once you are up and running, it’s critical to use assessments along the way. These checks ensure your child is mastering the lessons and knowledge, but more importantly, they are your peace of mind. Without assessments, you won’t know if there has been any slide or what steps to take to shore up problem areas.
Be observant of your child’s progress and attitude. If something isn’t working, re-evaluate it, and try different curricula or educational philosophies. Virtual homeschooling can be very effective due to its flexibility and its ability to accommodate the needs of your child, your values, and your lifestyle.
Finally, unless you are a trained educator, set reasonable expectations for you and your child during this temporary school closure time. Getting into an Ivy League school will most likely not depend on completing a difficult online math problem. All indications are the COVID-19 crisis is a moment in time and will recede at some point.
For most parents, reasonable success is keeping your child engaged in learning, preventing academic slide, and using quality virtual learning to fill the void of downtime instead of video games and iPhones. Schools will reopen and your child’s educational world will return to normal—and so will your sanity.
It can take time for your family to adjust to homeschooling. It will also take time for you, the parent, to acclimate to being a teacher. Patience is essential but also be realistic.
Brian Galvin is the Chief Academic Officer for Varsity Tutors. A lifelong educator with a Master's in Education, Brian's been teaching and developing online classes since 2009. He most recently helped design Virtual School Day, a free remote learning program that includes live, online classes to help students during coronavirus school cancellations.
All I wanted was to walk on the treadmill for maybe…20 minutes. Is that too much to ask?
I had a great plan–I would hop on the treadmill in the basement while my son (age 2 at the time) played with the plethora of toys down there. Easy peasy.
Minute 5 rolled around and the whining began.
“Car on track…ahh.” My son couldn’t get the little Matchbox car onto the track the right way.
“I’ll help you in just a few minutes,” I said hoping he would calm down on his own. “Do it myself…urrgh, it won’t go,” my son continued. I could see the tension building but I decided the push on. I really needed some exercise.
Then I heard it–a loud “clunk.” My toddler had thrown the car across the room and it had hit the wall. Crying and fussing ensued. Oops, I had missed the point of no return. We were in full-on tantrum mode.
“Remain calm,” I told myself. “He’s just frustrated.”
I try to calm him but to no avail. He pushed me away. He had to get it out. I told him to take some breaths but that just made him more upset. So I just stood by him and he eventually calmed down but it took a long time.
My “20 minutes on the treadmill” had turned into a half-hour fiasco.
This is Him
I look back at this incident now and I see–this is what it means to be a toddler. He was trying so hard to assert his independence and he is very independent by nature. “I do it myself” is a constant refrain, even now at almost-4 years old.
But…
This is Him Learning
Toddlers are often testing limits, but they do it because they are learning. They are learning new skills, new ideas and how they fit in their world.
Combine a strive for independence and limited self-regulation, you have a recipe for potential high-stress situations. As parents, it’s tough to keep a calm attitude.
Well, a recent piece of research should give you a little hope.
Researchers at the Oregon Social Learning Center recently published an article showing that parents who can keep their “cool” when their youngsters test their patience have a better chance of their kids not having behavior problems in the future.
The primary finding showed that children whose parents who have a tendency to over-react and/or are quick to get angry with them, are more likely to have more tantrums and negative behavior at age 2. Is important to note that most children increase in their tantrum-type behavior during this toddler period, but this study clearly showed that children whose parents over-reacted increased in this negative behavior more than average.
Being the Model I Want Him to See
The good news for parents is that if you can maintain your “cool” while still setting firm boundaries, you are helping your child learn emotion regulation by your example. When a child misbehaves it is tempting to react out of emotion and not think about the consequences. It is a struggle to keep your emotions contained, but if you can keep your composure and discipline the child with less intense negative emotion, the child will slowly learn how to regulate their own emotions as well. So take heart parents, we can survive those toddler years without losing our sanity.
Diffuse the Situation
Knowing my toddler was not intentionally trying to derail my workout was the first step in keeping a calm mindset. Most of the time, these little ones are not trying to “push your buttons” or make you upset on purpose.
Knowledge is power: if you understand what is typical for toddler behavior, it makes it easier to take it in stride (at least most of the time). If we know that they act irrationally and have little self-control, that helps us remain in control.
The “golden rule” still applies to grownups: it may sound simplistic but the old rule of “treat others how you would like to be treated” still applies to toddler-parent interactions (at least to some degree). We are modeling behavior for our kids with every action. If I yell at my toddler (which we all do from time to time), then we are modeling anger. However, if the other 90% of the time, we model compassion, patience, and self-regulation, they will eventually learn this.
Ultimately, we are teaching our kids how to treat us. It takes years modeling, growth, and maturity, but they will get the hang of it eventually.
In the meantime, hang on for a wild ride, and maybe get that walk on the treadmill while he’s napping.
Amy is a scholar turned stay-at-home mom of two young boys. When she's not stepping on Legos, she writes at The Thoughtful Parent. With this blog she brings child development research into the lives of parents in the trenches of child-rearing.
So, you just had a baby. Congratulations! Or you’ve decided to be a stay-at-home mom. It’s really great at first! Plenty of time to savor special moments with your child. You can get tasks done, and maybe have a little time for yourself. But all those hours alone with your kiddo are starting to get, well…boring.
You need to join a Moms group. Why? You need social interaction, parenting help and play opportunities for your child. But how do you find the right group for you?
Here are some tips to find the perfect Moms group, for you and your children.
1. Consider Your Interests: Think about your interests and the unique things about you, so you know where to find other moms like yourself. Is fitness important to you? Then look for a local stroller jogging group, or Mommy and Me Yoga program.
Are you a person of faith? There are lots of clubs sponsored by local churches, or groups that are faith-based, like MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).
Is there something special about your family or kids and you’d love to meet others like you? Mom to multiples? Try Multiples of America. There are often groups that cater to each unique situation.
2. Location is Important: Once you think about the type of club you’d like to join, keep the location in mind as well. It’s helpful to join a group that meets close to you, to make getting together as easy as possible. The reality is that it’s already a challenge to pack your diaper bag, get kids out the door and make it someplace on time. (or close to on time). The closer your group meets to your home, the better.
Some mom groups are designed exactly this way. MOMS Club, International prides itself on being a local, neighborhood group. Chapters are divided geographically, sometimes into small sections in highly populated areas. Closer proximity means it’s easy to meet, and you already have things in common because you live nearby. You share the same parks and know where the closest Chick Fil A is. And later, your kids may attend the same elementary schools and they’ll start kindergarten with friends!
3. Turn to Technology: Sometimes you can’t find the group of moms you click with, or you may have another challenge such as living in a rural area. You can always go online and find or create your own group. Sites like Meetup and Nextdoor can easily put you in touch with existing groups or moms near you. Facebook also has a variety of groups, and there are apps to make finding mom friends much easier.
· Peanut-similar to Tinder, but for moms-is a great way to connect with moms who think like you do.
· Mom.life, a global social network with its own digital currency!
· Hello Mamas, is also an easy way to make friends and share this thing called motherhood.
You’ve chosen an amazing path-to focus on raising your kids above all else. (at least temporarily) But you can’t do it alone!
Join a Moms group to make the journey easier. Your family and your sanity will thank you.
Amanda is a freelance writer for hire in the travel and parenting fields. She is always looking for an adventure! Whether across town or across the globe. Her favorite adventure is being a mom to Maya and Samuel. Visit her blog at LoveLifeAdventure.com.
Family vacations are a great way to get away from the rush of modern life and reconnect with each other. The memories that come from fun-filled family vacations will last a lifetime, but sometimes their boredom and frustration can rear its ugly head. No one can be happy all the time, but with a little bit of planning, a lot of patience and these five tips, you can survive your family vacation with a wealth of happy memories.
#1. Plan Your Expenses
Money is one of the most stressful aspects of any family vacation. You should set a budget with your spouse and any other adults that will accompany on your trip well in advance. Find out who is contributing and in what amounts. You should also set what spending limits will be. Then, start saving at least three months before you plan to depart. Aside from your spending budget, you will need to set money aside for unexpected expenses such as medical cost, impulse purchases, gifts, and even inflation. This can keep everyone in the green out of the poorhouse during your family vacation. If you have kids that will be traveling with you, consider having them save their allowance for a few months. That way they can make their own “fun” or optional purchases while on vacation. Not only will this help keep you on budget, but they will also feel more involved in the planning process.
#2. Plan Your Travel Time & Know Your Limits
One of the hardest parts of going on vacation with your family is getting to your destination. Plan your travel time well in advance of your trip to stay on schedule. Can you imagine getting packed and ready only to miss your flight? How about setting a time to hit the road only to get mired in rush hour traffic due to departing from the house too late? Instead of getting stressed out, plan properly. For every child in your vacation party, add an extra 20 minutes to your departure time. For every slow-moving adult or elderly person, add 15 minutes. Once you have the extra time calculated, set your departure ahead accordingly to stay on schedule and retain your sanity. It is also critical to know your limits and that of those traveling with you. Everyone has those little things that can cause a major meltdown, keep them in mind when planning your trip. Every so often you may have to just let the baby cry or allow your spouse to pick the radio station on to keep the peace. Choosing your battles not only will ensure your trip goes smoothly, but it will also keep everyone happy and your wits intact.
#3. Set Aside Time for Yourself
Taking a vacation with your family is a lot of fun for them, but it can also be a lot of work for you and your spouse. Creating me time allows your family to have independent fun while you get some time to yourselves. If your family has time away from you, they will begin to appreciate the time you are around them even more and you will also feel much more refreshed. Depending on the age of the people in your vacation party, downtime can mean any number of things. If you have other adults or older kids, consider letting them explore your vacation spot on their own. While everyone is away, you can kick up your feet, relax, and just let the strain of the trip melt away. You should never feel selfish or guilty for cherishing that time away from your family even on vacation. The role of a parent is one that changes often but seldom involves truly having no responsibility. Getting in your “me time” allows you to be the best parent that you can be for the rest of your vacation.
#4. Learn to Compromise
On a family vacation, you are going to be faced with various personalities outside of their usual environment. As a result, it is important to be flexible if you want things to go smoothly. Regardless of your destination, there is going to be several things to see and events to attend. That means there is going to be conflicts about what to do first or when to go to each event. Make a point of pairing up family members with similar interest if some activities occur at the same time that different groups don’t want to miss. This can cut down on arguments and make your vacation much more enjoyable for all since no one will be stuck doing something they have no interest in. Depending on the age of your family members, some may need to sleep earlier than others. Consider taking turns going to bed early so that every night owl can have a chance to party hard all night long.
#5. Pay Attention to Family, Not Electronics
One of the main reasons to go on vacation with your family is to get away from the real world and reconnect. That is hard to do if you spend your whole trip glued to your phone, tablet or laptop. Social media and work tend to be able to reach out and touch us whenever and wherever we may be and that has to stop. Be present with your family to make memories and enjoy your time together. We are not saying to leave your electronics at home but make a point not to use them until the end of each day. Laugh, joke, and immerse yourself in the moment to get the most out of your family vacation. You may be surprised at just how much you learn about your family and how much you actually don’t miss staying connected.
The Bottom Line: Traveling can be fun though traveling with your family can be a challenge. By following our handy suggestions, you will find that your vacation flows much more smoothly and your sanity will remain intact.
Mollie Wilson is a freelance writer from North Carolina. When she is not writing, she is perusing an adventures life- backpacking, climbing, exploring local coffee shops, and traveling.
Worried about what your kids are doing on their devices? Amazon has your back. Watch the video below to learn all about the parental controls that will save your sanity and put your mind at ease.
Like many first time parents, when my daughter was born I signed her up for every activity, from baby yoga to music class, I could find. The goal was to make friends and to get out of the house, so as not to be too overwhelmed by the new normal of “parenthood.” What I found in those first experiences, was women who were willing to be more vulnerable and open their hearts to new friendships. Mamas bonded over breastfeeding, nutrition, sleep, play groups, and mama’s nights out to regain sanity. It truly felt like a community, where everyone was included and I felt lucky to be part of such an empowering group of women.
Fast forward to preschool. Groups of mom’s circle around each other after drop-off, chatting and sipping lattes. Even better are secret play dates with a select few families where allegiances form. Quickly, feels a bit like middle and high school cliques that you thought were a thing of the past. What happened to the empowering community you were a part of during those glorious baby years?
Suddenly, you fall into this trap of trying hard to fit in, if not for yourself, for your child—all in an effort to keep her from being a social outcast. You worry about inserting yourself into conversations without talking too much or too little. You stress about outfit choices and you spend copious amounts of time worrying about the number of play dates your child is invited to. It’s exhausting, and downright consuming.
But, then you somehow wake up from this fog, let go of the pressure to be perfect, and take on a whole new perspective. Maybe you don’t have to fit in with everyone and that’s ok! Maybe you’ll find your people while volunteering for a school event. Or perhaps your child has connected with a new friend and you invite her to a playdate at your house, and you find friendship when you meet her parents. You come to the realization that it’s fine not to be invited to every event, but focus on the people who include you and want to be part of your life. You make sure to greet everyone that you come into contact with and include everyone, even if you’re being excluded because that’s who you are.
All you can do is continue to shine and be your best self because in the end that’s really all that matters.
Shanna is a part-time elementary teacher, stay-at-home mommy to two beautiful girls and a blogger. She blogs about a range of topics that help make juggling parenthood with children a little easier. She loves to learn from her daughters and most of all laugh.
Eggs, bacon, pancakes, and waffles are all typically considered breakfast foods (unless you’re at a diner at 2 a.m. after a party). But people may look at you strangely if you eat them for anything other than breakfast or brunch—and brunch definitely requires mimosas. That is why I tend to get a lot of strange looks when I tell people I cook breakfast for dinner at least twice a week.
With two kids—one of whom is less than a year old—it has quite literally saved my sanity. And here are four reasons why.
1. It’s Cheap
Breakfast food is probably the least expensive option I can choose for dinner. On an easy night, I serve cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, toast, and some fruit. It’s pretty simple, and the only thing I actually buy for my breakfast-for-dinner that I don’t use elsewhere is the bacon or sausage.
If I want to get fancy, I can whip up some pancakes or make waffles with ingredients I already have in my pantry, so there’s no extra expense there. All in all, it’s probably the easiest thing I can do for dinner, short of ordering a pizza, and it’s infinitely cheaper.
2. It’s Quick and Easy
How long do you spend in the kitchen prepping and cooking a typical dinner? One hour? Two? Longer?
I have to say, if you’re spending more than two hours in the kitchen, take a cooking class. You’ll save yourself a ton of time in the long run.
I can whip up an entire breakfast feast in less than half an hour, and most of that is cooking whatever breakfast meat I’m going to serve with dinner. There’s one pan for the eggs, one for the meat and a third for the pancakes if I’m cooking them on the stove. I’ve got this killer recipe for super easy pancakes that don’t use any flour at all, and even my picky eater devours them. I am the multitasking queen when it comes to making breakfast for dinner.
Don’t ask me to multitask anywhere else. Just don’t. It ends badly.
If I had to spend an hour or more in the kitchen trying to cook a meal that my picker eater probably won’t touch, I’d lose my mind. After about 20 minutes, both of my children will insist on being on my hip, and it’ll take me even longer to get dinner on the table.
3. It Helps Me Deal With a Picky Eater
In spite of my best efforts to expand her palate, my 5-year-old daughter seems happy to subsist on yogurt, cheese, and fruit. Half the time she’d rather go to bed without dinner than even try a bite of something I make.
I do feed her on those nights. Don’t break out the torches and pitchforks quite yet.
She loves her breakfast foods, though. If I set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her, I have to be careful to make sure she doesn’t eat the dish. This, above all else, is why I started making breakfast for dinner a couple of nights a week. I can make sure she’s getting plenty of protein, from eggs and bacon to the yogurt and fruit that she’ll devour before I can even put them on the table.
Breakfast for dinner helps me protect my sanity by preventing the inevitable battle that will ensue if I try to get my oldest daughter to eat something other than her favorites. I could cook her a Michelin-star quality dish, and she’d turn her nose up at it and ask for a banana. This way, I can make sure she’s getting plenty of good food without the fight.
4. It’s Healthyish
If you eat too many slices of bacon or a stack of pancakes, breakfast foods aren’t the best option, but if you’re careful about your food choices, breakfast for dinner can be pretty healthy. Eggs are full of protein and healthy fats, as well as a number of vitamins and minerals. Yogurt, especially the Greek variety, is full of calcium and probiotics to support gut health. Oatmeal is full of fiber and antioxidants.
There are a ton of healthy breakfast options for you to choose from. Just lay off the pancakes and maple syrup every night and you’ll be fine.
And, frankly, I don’t care what other people think.
When it comes down to it, I might get some funny looks for cooking breakfast twice a week, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s cheap but still healthy. Most importantly, it gets my picky eater to enjoy her dinner without starting World War III every night. I call that a win, and it has absolutely saved my sanity.
Jennifer Landis is a mom, wife, freelance writer, and blogger. She enjoys long naps on the couch, sneaking spoonfuls of peanut butter when her kid's not looking, and binge watching Doctor Who while her kid's asleep. She really does like her kid, though, she promises. Find her on Twitter @JenniferELandis.
You did it. Another year of school has come and gone. Another grade you have walked newly into unknowing of what lay ahead. You have worked, struggled, excelled, and conquered. You aced some spelling tests, you learned some new math problems, you made some new friends. All of this is a really big deal. Some things you didn’t do so well on, you forgot your homework a few times. You almost missed the bus on (many) occasion, and you came home from school sick once or twice. All of this is a little deal. What truly matters in the middle of all of the moments that add up to your whole year is that through it all, you faced the challenges with grit and spirit. You helped others along the way. And you let others give you a helping hand, too. I am so proud of you.
Never will you have this year again. Next year will brand new and you will surely walk into it with a little bit of worry, a little bit of excitement, and a little of “let’s do this” attitude because that’s what makes you the amazing kids you are. It is hard to start new things, and yet you do. It is even harder to end some things. You are doing it beautifully. You opened your heart and your mind to your teacher, your school, and your whole class and now you must say goodbye to the group you have been for the last nine months. Maybe it is a relief, maybe you are excited for the next year and new things. Maybe it is sad and you wish you could stay forever. Maybe it’s both. It can be everything. It’s normal to feel all the big feelings so don’t try to keep them hidden away, or think you have to pretend not to care. It’s good to care. Your teachers and classmates care about you and were lucky to have you with them.
If you are celebrating though, all excitement for lazy summer days, sleeping in late, swimming and biking and hanging out with friends, don’t forget to stop and remember all the hard work you have done to get to the fun. Because you did work so hard and learn so many new things. You were challenged and tested and stretched to do better than you may have ever thought you could do. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, know that you did. Give yourself a second to be proud of that. Let it all sink in.
This is the last time you will be this old and, in this grade, and maybe even in this school because you are growing bigger every day and becoming exactly who you are meant to be. Keep learning, keep being kind, keep talking about it as you go, keep looking out for the underdogs, and doing your very best no matter how it compares to anyone else. Keep thinking positive even when things are hard, keep reading and writing, and always keep laughing.
And a special note to the moms and dads reading this, I know it feels like the year went by so fast even though the days were long and the homework hard. You did a great job too. Take a few minutes (or days!) to remind yourself of all your amazing accomplishments (like the last minute project you busted out with your kid until late at night, or how you got up earlier than your kids every morning just to pack lunches, set out their bags, or have a moment of sanity to be the best mom or dad you can be), and how important that is. Kids don’t always remember to say thank you, but they are, thankful. Nice job. Maybe it wasn’t always pretty, trust me, I know, the bus came early around here and it was a hot mess getting out the door half the time! But we kept doing it every day, and we’ll keep getting better. (Or hopefully, the bus will get later!) Either way, it’s a group effort most days, and your kids are blessed to have such incredible people cheering them on as they began, and now end, this school year. Cheers to you all!
Whatever next year will bring, whatever grade hangs in the future waiting to welcome your sweet little faces and your shiny new shoes, know that you will rock that one just like you did this one. But not yet. It is time to relax and soak up every second of summer before the long yellow school bus pulls back up in front of our house at the crack of dawn in three short months. (I swear I’m not counting!) Now, who wants ice cream!?
Krissy Dieruf is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children, loves to sing and dance around the house and has a soft spot for rebels and crazy hair.
