Another one bites the dust, as the saying goes. I managed to get four kids through another year of school. As modest as I'd like to think I am, even I have to admit that completing a school year, with all that it entails, is no small feat. That said, I feel that after surviving Covid and most especially the homeschooling aspect of it, even the most difficult things no longer feel as quite as difficult.
Miles had a successful year in school, greatly improving on some skills, such as reading, that had suffered, due to Covid. He had a wonderful teacher this year and a great group of classmates. Likewise, his last week of school was great, finishing the year off right. His classwork and homework seemed to trail off a week or so before the last day, leaving lots of time for fun. There was an end-of-the-year class party, a PJ and movie day, and lots of other fun activities to see the year off.
The twins also had a great year, with a fantastic teacher (Mrs. Benson, who was also Garin's fifth-grade teacher when he was at Round Meadow). The twins graduated (or culminated, as they refer to it) from elementary school, which was both exciting and bittersweet. For them, the last week of school was just one celebration after another. They had a class party; a beach day; a kickball ball match-up between the fifth graders and the Round Meadow teachers and staff; a talent show; and a post-culmination swimming party on the last day of school. The highlight, of course, was their culmination, which was in the form of a musical, with a trip down memory lane, reflecting on their various experiences and memories during elementary school. It was a much-deserved and joy-filled week.
Walking them to school, on the very last day was emotional for me. Our daily walks to school in the morning (Catherine, Graham, Miles, and me) had come to be one of my favorite parts of the day. Next year, it will be just Miles and me walking, if I am able to manage it at all, with four kids in three different schools. So saying goodbye to that tradition was sad for me.
Garin too had a great year. His first year in high school was challenging on many levels, but he greatly exceeded all of our expectations (especially given how challenging his middle school years were, during Covid). He knocked it out of the park, academically, and made some new friends.
However, for Garin, his last week in school was not quite as joyous, as it was for the other three, which is to be expected, I suppose, given he is now a high schooler. He was bogged down with an endless amount of studying for finals, which although challenging, he managed to get through, that is until it was time to prepare for his Spanish final. Spanish is not his favorite subject and he had a particularly unpleasant teacher in that subject. Mrs. Escobar, which made the experience especially trying. With the amount of drama that took place leading up to that final, which was on the last day of school, it felt like our entire family had to take that final. That said, Garin managed to keep his hard-earned A, despite, what seemed like Senora Escobar's desire to strip him of it. In fact, Garin carried straight A's in all of his classes for the entirety of the year, which was incredible, given his heavy workload at school and an extra honors biology class he was taking online. Even living through the drama of finals week didn't diminish my pride in his accomplishments. I was so proud of him!
So I'll modestly give myself a small pat on the back for making it through another school year. To say it was a team effort is an understatement. I couldn't have done it without the help of four of the greatest kids in the world.
Miles' Academy Award-themed party was a bit over-the-top, but quite fun, nonetheless.
The twin's brunch-themed class party was low-key, on the other hand. Copious amounts of bagels were consumed by all.
Beach Day and the pool party were a highlight for the twins.
The culmination was a joyous day! We were so happy that Shelley was able to join us for all the festivities.
Our last walk and kiss goodbye at drop-off were bittersweet for all of us.