Elementary & Middle School Send-Offs

Whew! This morning was emotional. With my boys leaving 5th grade for middle school and 8th grade for high school, there is typically so much pomp and circumstance around these milestones. And y’all know I LOVE pomp and circumstance. :-) I just wish the end of the school year and turned out differently, you know?! I imagine those of you with seniors feel my pain ten fold. At any rate, their schools went above and beyond to make their last day special. Both of them hosted parking lot send-offs for the graduating classes!

Our morning started with the elementary school 5th grade send off for Whit! Honey blocked his calendar, John managed to wake up before noon, and we made it a family affair.

There were days when I couldn’t be ready enough to move on from elementary school, after NINE years counting John’s Kindergarten through Whit’s 5th grade. However, now that the day has come it seems so incredibly sad! Be careful what you wish for, right? I was a mess waving our last goodbyes to the teachers – from BOTH boys – and staff we have grown to love like family. Whit, of course, maintained his composure at all times. He’s a man of few words and little outward emotion.

I cannot thank this school enough for the nine years of teaching, growing and, most importantly, LOVING my boys. It’s hard to believe the difference in the little boy I left there six years ago, and the young man that rode through the parking lot today. Honey graduated from this very school in 1986, with his brother four years ahead of him in 1982. John finished in 2017. And now we have precious Whit in 2020. It’s the end of an era for another generation of W’s at our sweet neighborhood school!

Look out middle school, we’re headed your way!

When I have a little more time I’ll share the details on how I made Whit’s big heads and the balloon garland (that I’ve now used 3 times in 2 weeks!).

Next up, we were off to middle school for the 8th grade send off. I was terrified of sending John through these doors three years ago, based on years and years of general negative middle school reports.

Well, we drove through that lot for the last time with John, completely overwhelmed by smiling faces and best wishes. The teachers and staff have been absolutely remarkable, and 6th – 8th go down as his best years of school yet! I thought elementary school would never be topped, but this school did it! GO RAIDERS!

High school, here he comes!

Driving through both schools, while the kids waved and celebrated, behind the smiles of the adults you could see the sadness in their eyes. They have loved these kids and invested in them for years. I know this send off was as hard on them as it was on the parents. Thankfully, my kids are much more rational and considerably less emotional than their mother. :-)

Happy last day of school, boys! None of this is how we imagined it would be, but is one we will never forget!

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12 thoughts on “Elementary & Middle School Send-Offs

  1. Oh my goodness! Your boys are so precious and have grown so much since I started following you so many years ago. Today is our last day of school (Kinder and 2nd) and it is bittersweet. I pray that my littles look back on our time at home with fondness and happy memories. I pray they don’t remember the times I lost it while homeschooling and they didn’t see the stress I felt. I hope they will remember it as a time of togetherness and fun. Now I’m off to go take our last day of school pics. Bring on summer!

  2. I am definitely tearing up reading this. While we still have online school for another month, it looks like our 8th grade graduation will be a drive-by as well. I am totally heartbroken and I will be balling my eyes out when that day comes. At least they can do something to celebrate though. By the way, what did you use to write on the car? Congrats to both of your boys!
    xo
    Shelley

  3. Congratulations to John and Whit! The occasions are momentous, regardless of the means of celebration.

    You have a knack, an absolute gift for making the moment special, whatever it is, and this time is no exception. xoxo

    1. Thank you so so much for saying that! Hope your boys are looking forward to a wonderful summer!

  4. Aww, this made me teary. My little boy’s last day is Friday and while we are ready for summer, this is not how I wanted his school year to end. I’m thinking of ways to make it special for him. I can’t believe how big your boys are now and John is so tall! Time goes fast! Enjoy them for the summer and good job mama!

    1. Thank you so much Victoria! I hope y’all have a memorable last day and a wonderful summer!!! xo

  5. This is definitely a bittersweet stage of life. Soak in every moment. How to I get put on your interest list for 2021? I’ve had an AP at Disneyland for years but feel lost when considering Disney World lol

  6. Loved reading your posts these years about all the great school activities, etc. I have to ask, is this a public school they went to or a charter public school? Our public school has so many restrictions to follow that it was nice to see and read over the years all the fun stuff they did.

  7. Thanks Amanda for bringing a sparkle to my heart and and a huge smile! That pic of Whit with his baby picture is beyond darling. The boys are growing up so quickly. What a creative way to celebrate all the students.

  8. I feel so sad for all the students, teachers, school staff and parents as this school year ends so strangely. Under the circumstances, I think parents such as yourself along with teachers and others in the community have stepped up big time to try and bring some celebration and closure to this school year. I really feel badly for all the seniors and Class of 2020 who missed out on once in a lifetime celebrations and events such as senior day, proms and graduations.

    Congratulations to John and Whit as they enter high school and middle school next year. Where did the time go!

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