Well, we are into week four of this school year already and we have a middle schooler in the house this year. MIDDLE SCHOOL. The very phrase has struck fear in my heart since the first day Macey walked into a kindergarten classroom. Every year of elementary, I would think that at least I had x more years until middle school. I don’t think I’m alone in that, right? I mean, seriously, who looks forward to middle school?! I think we can pretty much all agree that middle school is basically a big hormone casserole baked at around 98.6 for three years. Can I get a witness? So, yea, the dread was totally there. But, I’m here to say that it’s going well. Better than that, actually…it’s going great! Color me shocked and HAPPY!!
I actually started making peace with the whole middle school process last spring when I attended an open house for upcoming sixth grade parents. Just listening to administration and teachers gave me a peace because, let’s be honest, this isn’t their first rodeo and they know how to help acclimate these kids to a new learning environment. It may not be the warm fuzzy adjustment of kindergarten, but that’s not what these adolescents need anyway. They are learning independence and gaining self-awareness, so what they need more than hand holding is some good old fashioned nudging along.
In our county, schools start/end at staggered times. So, we have Mariana going to elementary around 7:30am and we have Macey going to middle around 9am. Then Mariana’s school dismisses at 2:20 while Macey is still in school until 4:15pm. This is a definite change from shuttling both girls to one school and picking both up at the same time. But, it’s working out quite well. Mariana decided to ride the bus this year, so that buys me extra time in the afternoons, then we go pick up Macey together and she does her reading and other homework in the carpool line. Bam. Problems solved!!
Now that we’re almost a full month into the middle school experience, I know we still have a LOT to learn, but I am thankful that the adjustment is going well. Macey is, step by step, learning to be a little more independent. Bless her, she still wants to ask her homeroom teacher a lot of questions, but she’s getting there. And, she’s learning better accountability because if she forgets, say, a binder or homework, well that doesn’t really fly. The administrators and teachers at her school encourage us, as parents, to let the kids falter sometimes because it’s only in faltering that they can pull themselves back up and see that, hey, they ARE capable of redeeming themselves. We also believe in natural consequences in our family, so it’s also helpful to learn that good or bad, every action has a consequence attached to it. Granted, this is crazy hard to do sometimes, but these are excellent life lessons for the long haul.
I’m sure we’ll hit some bumps in the road along this way, but I feel good knowing that we’re at a middle school that is well run and looks out for its students. I feel confident in the teachers and administration which also goes a long way in helping me have peace with this whole transition. I’m serious when I say that I have literally dreaded these middle school years for ages. But, I’m seeing now that there is nothing to dread. Hey, it’s inevitable, so we might as well face it, right? And we call came through the hormone casserole our own selves. I won’t say it was all fun, but we all grew and learned from every experience along the way. So, I’m embracing this new season for Macey and our family. I won’t even go into the tween stuff today, that’s another post, but I say that middle school, as far as I can tell right now, isn’t going to be a stink pot. I think we’re going to enjoy it. In fact, I’m confident we will. And, who would have thought THAT?!
Blessings,
Kelly