Light at the End of the School Year

The girls finished their last standardized testing cycle last week. It marked the unofficial end of the school year, even though there are two weeks left on the calendar.

As soon as the testing was over, the girls came home talking about how they were watching movies in class, “earning” extra recess and playing board games. Suddenly there wasn’t anything in their take home folders we needed to read. We stopped getting notices and announcements. They haven’t had any homework since before the last tests.

You can feel us all relaxing as it becomes clear that the end of school is here. We’re not rushing to get assignments completed. We’re not making lists of things that need to go to school the next day. We’re not driving to the store in the evening to get this or that because one of the girls needed it for school the next day.

I think it’s more noticeable this year because our girls are moving to middle school. It’s more than just the end of a school year. The girls are done with elementary school in a few days. They are easing their way out of their comfortable school and getting both excited and nervous about going to middle school. In elementary school they are the oldest children. In middle school they will be the youngsters again.

It’s freeing to be at the end of the school year. We’re making summer plans and scheduling activities. The excitement about going to middle school will brew all summer while they swim, bike and hang out. We have plenty of time to enjoy the relaxed attitude that has settled on all of us before picking up the school routine again.