Preparing for the Next Step: Middle School

 

As my first born prepares to leave elementary school, this will be a bitter-sweet next few months for me. Our family will be experiencing lots of new beginnings and all the sad endings. No more cute little Christmas concerts, elaborate Halloween or Valentine’s Day parties where I made all the adorable little treats. My sweet little boy is crossing a huge bridge to the land of middle school in the fall, and it brings tons of emotions for both of us. 

His View

His view on entering middle school is a bit of a mixed bag of emotions. It’s like he reaches in and pulls out something new each day-we never know what we’ll get from him! He’s enjoying his final days at his elementary school with his friends, but he is also thinking ahead to the switch that will come in August. Big things like lockers and different classes, materials, and schedules are in his future. He–like his mother–likes to be prepared and to be aware of what will be happening. Our entire family has been talking to him about it and the fact that he will be at a middle school with some of his closest friends is helping with some anxiety. 

My View

I feel like I am losing my baby boy. He is crossing over to the age of puberty, growth, and change at a quick rate. There will be no more cute little recitals where most of the adorable little children are preoccupied with waving to family in the audience, no more hours of making Valentine’s Day boxes or Halloween costumes. We are trading all that in for big kid concerts where we can actually name that tune, embarrassing moments when I kiss him goodbye, and our most recent venture: interest in girls. 

What now?

As parents, we know we have to suck it up and move on. Kids grow up too quickly. No matter how much it hurts, I’m ready for our next big adventure together. 

We keep talking about middle school to prepare him for what it’s like. We have also participated in the events that the his future school offers for the students to come visit. Our middle school calls it a “Step Up Day” and we made sure he was able to attend. “Step Up Day” usually involves a tour of the school, meeting other middle schoolers, and exploring the classrooms they will be in next year. It also introduces them to teachers and staff at the school. They discuss things like the classes they will be taking in the upcoming middle school years, and the activities they can participate in. Overall, we make sure to keep reassuring him that it will all be okay.

I know he will be fine. He’s a good, smart, caring kid who always tries his hardest in life. I will be there to support him throughout the journey. No matter what, he will always be my baby. My first born. Always. Whether he’s going to middle school or getting married. He will always be my crazy little red-headed baby boy who forever changed my world. 

Sunni
Sunni is a wife, a mother, a step-mother, and a teacher. Her husband has 3 older kids (Michael 18, Allison, and Molly 17) from a previous marriage and together they have 2 kids (Jonah 12 and Brooklyn 5). They live right in the heart of Omaha, and Sunni teaches at a private school in West Omaha. She teaches English and Reading at the middle school level. Her husband David is a physical therapist and has his own clinic in affiliation with Children's Hospital in west Omaha. They both love helping others, writing, traveling, being outside, and forever learning and growing in what we do!