MAY IS MAYING.
End of an era: we’ve had a kid in C’s current classroom (the interestingly named “Electric Eels”) for the past 4 years. This Montessori school bundles 4th + 5th grade together, so A had C’s current two teachers for 2 years starting in fall of 2021, and then he had had them the last two.
(They are amazing teachers and we requested them after A’s great experience – it will be really really sad to NOT have a kid in this class!)
It remains to be seen whether G will get to share this awesome experience (we are kind of taking her school plans year by year right now!) but either way, the continuous Electric Eels era is over.
Next year we will have two middle schoolers + one 2nd grader, and once again two different schools (that happen to be located less than 10 minutes apart, so it’s not really that terrible of a hardship).
AND, just now realizing the next couple years after that will be a wild ride of HS / middle school / elementary school – woah! We’ll only have one year with all of them 6-12th. I can’t even imagine what those years ahead will be like (though paying attention to what it’s like for Kae + Laura does give me a FEW clues!).
This year had a lot of ups and downs (I mean – REALLY), but I feel like it ended on a high note. Everyone in our family had areas of growth and progress (though in different ways) and everyone (including me, lol) still has things to work on. Onward and upward, I suppose!
AND NOW I am off to the trampoline place because one of the parents decided we needed to pull all of our ‘graduating’ kids out of school to celebrate. (I was a little bit curmudgeonly about this choice — we didn’t do anything like that for A’s class, and I kind of wanted to get some work done!? But I’ll deal.)
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Love the pic!! So cute! Multiple schools is a bit annoying, I will say, but worth it to know each kid is at the “right” school for them. Even if it can make travel plans a bit headache!!! Congrats C- onward to middle school!! 🎉🎉
This is our last year of having kids in the same school. Thankfully, both schools for next year are very close together AND there is bussing, but it feels weird to be juggling two different spots for the kids. And, it feels very final since this is the last month of our kids EVER being together. When Belle starts high school in September, they’ll never overlap again.
When I read this and all of your comments it makes me feel guilty about the middle school we chose because we chose primarily based on location – it is a 3-minute drive from the house – but the quality of education has been pretty meh and the majority of the teachers and administrators do not care. I feel like… everyone else does all this schlepping. BUT HOW?? And I only have one kid, so surely I should be able to do this.
But in reality the two private schools we considered are both 15-minute drives in the opposite direction of my work (I have to be at work before 7 anyway and my time of departure from work in the afternoon is in no way reliable), and neither my husband or I have the bandwidth to spend 90 minutes doing dropoffs and pickups each day.
Next year she is supposed to take Algebra 2 at Pioneer high school during first period and then return to middle school for the rest of the day. Sadly, this high school is a 10-minute drive away, so we have decided that she will have to do virtual math again instead because we cannot accommodate that either. She really wants to do in-person math, and I feel like a bad mom for not being able to do this for her, not sacrificing enough, selfishly putting my own career first, or whatever.
Anyway, I probably need to get out of my own head. Congrats on being done with the Eels!
That is tough! D is so smart that clearly she’ll excel anywhere but I get wanting her to have the best experience and support. Ours is doable bc our nanny does the afternoon driving, and my clinical work day starts much later than yours (8:30)! Josh probably does 40% of the morning driving on days he has clinic not OR. There are some private schools where you can get a bus service here – not sure of same up where you are!
Yeah totally. For a variety of reasons not worth going into here, common solutions like hiring someone to drive her or carpooling probably won’t work for us, and there isn’t a bus service to this school because it’s not our assigned public high school (OFC and eyeroll — but also WHY???) — we can actually walk to our assigned HS! I always feel a little sad when I’m not able to provide the “optimal” childhood experience for my daughter, even if our choices are reality based. But you’re right — she will likely be fine either way.
I completely relate to this. We chose our public TK-8 school (it was a lottery, but our first choice) solely due to its proximity 1 block from our home. It’s a lovely school and our kids are thriving there. But almost everyone I know is schlepping all over town for “the best” education. IDK, I do have FOMO feelings about it. The cultural current of busy-busy is strong. I’m not sure where it leads but the pull is there. I continue to resist for now. Anyway, you’re not alone.
I like to look at it big picture though. With our family choosing the school walking distance from the house, we’re able to save on child care (which benefits the whole family), she’s able to get to get more sleep and have a less hectic morning, and she’s going to school with neighbors, so her outside of school social life is benefitting. Our area has great public schools (my calculation may be different if that wasn’t the case), but many families do decide its worth the extra driving and cost of private schools. It’s hard not to feel mom guilt or second guess the decisions, but to each their own and everyone makes the calculation that will most benefit their family.
This is so true. We are saving about 50K post-tax each year because she is in public school (32K for school, plus 18K – conservatively – for babysitter schlepping), not to mention she gets to sleep later (as you mentioned). Socially, it’s been great for her too. So there is that.
My kids have about the same age spacing as yours, but the youngest is 2, so we’re not quite here yet! I’m cautiously optimistic because I’m enjoying the bigger kid phase a lot, but we’ll see what double middle school drama is like! May has been MAYING for sure, but today was our last day, so I’m hoping to catch my breath!
Very much end of an era. It’s great you’ve had such a good experience finding that school community. What a wild ride of a year you’ve all had, but you’ve made it through as a unit.
We still have 5 more weeks of school, and honestly I’m kind of over it…I’m not wholly convinced T doesn’t learn more during the days he’s home/on holiday. We are certainly a bit more consistent with reading than school is. He’s struggling with handwriting, and honestly, I’m not convinced he is learning any math, so I’ve got a bit of a plan for the summer.
I go back and forth on the virtues of choice – we live in a one school town, and couldn’t afford private – and while I have many many concerns about our school, I at least don’t have to wonder if I made the wrong choice. I think we will evaluate towards the end of primary (age 11) to see if moving house makes sense. I’m hoping the high school will improve, but am not super optimistic.
Aw, I bet that’s bittersweet. Endings and graduations always make me melancholy. So I guess C is going to A’s school next year? And, you are definitely in for a wild ride (in a bit) with one kid at each level of schools- that will take some juggling! But, people manage it. Because of the age difference, my kids never attended the same school. But I only had two of them!
Yep, C is going to A’s!!