Yesterday was the last day of school for my first grade son. He came home with a backpack full of journals filled with writing, unsharpened pencils, jackets I thought were gone forever, and a bag of candy from his teacher. His younger sister will go to Kindergarten in the fall and she is full of questions about school. She asked him what the best thing about first grade is. His reply made me both smile and frown as comments from older brothers to younger sisters often do. He said, “My teacher, of course. She is cool and nice. But she is going to a new school, so she won’t be your teacher.” My daughter looked a bit sad, but then he said, “You know school is a nice place to go. There’s recess and P.E. and music. And when you do have to learn stuff the teachers make it fun, so you don’t want to leave. Plus you get rewards if you are good. I can show you how to act good.” I am not sure what exactly that means, but I am choosing to be proud of it anyway. Continue reading “School’s Out for the Summer!”