Mercedes - Last Day of Junior Kindergarten

Dear Mercedes,

Last Friday marked your final day of your first year of school. The ten months passed in the blink of an eye, but looking back you have matured and changed so much in that one short school year. You have grown physically of course (your feet and legs in particular!), and you’ve gotten a couple of haircuts, and you are currently sporting an early summer tan despite copious amounts of sunscreen. But you’ve also, more importantly, changed on the inside as well. More confident, more social, less tentative… we are so proud of the big girl you are turning into. You will always be a bit more on the shy side, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, I think each new experience you have brings you more self-awareness, more confidence, more capability to easily adapt and make new friends. 

You started ‘summer camp’ at the Learning Jungle on Monday (with your brother and sister, although you won’t spend your entire days with them), and you had not one single moment of hesitation, telling me that “don’t worry, I’ll make new friends!” And you have made new friends, despite only being there for a few days this week. This morning as I dropped you off I heard you talking the ear off Miss Jessika (your sister's teacher), telling her some long, complicated story about Hello Kitty something or other. 

You are reading more and more, and attempt to write full sentences on your own – writing the words you do know, sounding out phonetically the ones you don’t. You still absolutely adore arts and crafts – always drawing something or making paper airplanes or cutting out funny shapes. You love to direct your sister on games you make up for the two of you, showing just how easily you can adapt to a ‘leadership’ role. You also love any sort of physical activity, as most kids do – riding your bike, trying to learn how to skateboard like Daddy, playing in the backyard kiddie pool, climbing the playground structures at the park.

You made a number of really fantastic friends in JK – Cecily and Trinity and Hailey and all the others I can’t even remember – birthday parties and playdates abound, and I know it’s only the beginning of watching you blossom into a social butterfly. You should likely remain with your JK group next year as you all move into SK, and I think this will give you a great chance to solidify those friendships, hopefully for a number of years to come! Your father and I desperately wanted to make a lasting choice when we moved into this house – we knew once you started school (and your brother and sister after you) that we’d prefer you to stay in the same school throughout your elementary years. I know friendships will wax and wane (I have clear evidence of this in my own life), but the memories you make in these formative years will last forever. I am so excited to be along for the ride.

Love,

Mama