If someone had told me at the beginning of this year that I would be sad when Fourth grade was over for my daughter, I would have laughed out loud at them. At the beginning of the year her homework was taking on average 2 hours a night. Add to that trumpet practice, and dance class, and she didn't have much free time. I wasn't to sure about her teacher at the beginning of the year either. I really wasn't, mainly because she was coming from a teacher that was so laid back and fun that I wasn't sure what the contrast would be like for my daughter.
If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have been worried about her. I would have been excited for her. Her teacher has helped her immensely to prepare for her middle school and high school and well I would have to say her life years. She has worked really hard with her to make her writing fill out more. At the beginning of the year it was hard to get her to write more than was absolutely necessary. Looking at her writing work from later in the year, it is evident how much work was put in by her teacher to teach her the writing skills she would need going forward. I've written already about the Rev War program. It has taught her a multitude of things beginning with, be proud of where this country came from. It has taught her that soldiers then and now sacrifice their lives for a cause that at times may be hard to understand. It has given an already confident child the swagger she needs to be willing to try new things, and to go for what she wants. She is a little more quiet now(not that I am saying that is a good thing) but she is quiet in an important way. It's more a quiet because she is listening to what is going on in her head and heart. She thinks more about things, and wants to be saturated in knowledge. 4th grade has instilled a work ethic in her to get the job done. Not to put it off until the last minute, but to do an assignment when it's assigned, even if the due date is 4 weeks down the road. It has ingrained in her the things I have tried to teach her such as finding the answers to questions and not to stop learning about something just because the unit, class, movie, etc. is all over.
Going in to her 4th grade awards assembly, I am feeling a sense of nostalgia. She seems much older these last few months. Quieter, more reflective, and she is beginning to lose that child like look. There is a sense of something lost for me today, and I know that feeling won't last. The conversations we can have now are fabulous, and there are things we can do together now that we couldn't do last year. I am looking forward to watching her grow over the summer and go back to school a confident, strong girl with ideas and joy and possibilities. But for today, maybe even just for these few quiet minutes before a 4 year old bounds down the stairs, a few tears are falling.
This is a video I made for the teachers that taught the Rev War program
Rev War Montage
I hope you enjoy it.
You made me cry. <3
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