My daughter, Laylah, graduated from 6th grade this last week. Our school district has elementary school ending in sixth grade and middle school starts in 7th, so it was a big deal for the kids leaving elementary. An end to an era. She'd been at the same school since Kindergarten, so it was definitely an emotional experience, especially since she wasn't able to do many of the traditions kids have gotten to do in the past and that help make 6th grade what it is. She didn't really get to be the big kid on campus, the senior. All of the real 6th grade events were planned for the Spring, except the camp trip that happened in September. We are so glad that she at least got to do that since this new crop of 6th graders will probably have to miss it if school is still remote in the Fall. She did miss the faculty vs. 6th grade volleyball game, the 6th grade dance, the end of the year class parties, the 6th grade play in which she had a speaking part, the 6th grade award ceremony and the 6th grade graduation ceremony. Frankly, it was really a bummer. I realize it was definitely more disappointing for high school seniors to miss all of their events, but this was still hard.
Knowing she would miss out on so many of the things she'd so been looking forward to, I decided to do the best we could with what we had. Luckily we had a lot of parents from school step up and help make this time as special as possible. The first thing we did was plan a socially distanced 6th grade celebration. Laylah invited three friends and we set up a fun evening for them in our backyard. We put our patio chairs six feet apart, put the fire pit between them, and had them bring their own drinks and snacks. I set up our table with different activities that the girls could take turns coming up and doing one at a time. We put out blank pages for each girl to sign like yearbook pages, since we don't have yearbooks yet and don't know when we will get them. They can put these in the books later. I also asked parents to send baby pictures of each girl, then I found similar stock pictures online and printed them all. I taped them all to a poster board and numbered them. They had to guess which baby was which girl. They had a ton of fun with it, and it's something that would have happened at the 6th grade dance. We also made "Most Likely to.." certificates for everyone. They all got dressed up in what they would have worn to the dance and we made everyone a lei to wear. Most of the time they just sat around the fire pit and talked, something they hadn't done in person in three months. They all had a blast and I think it slightly made up for missing the real thing.
For graduation day I got planning the week ahead. I had made binders for each year of elementary school with important projects, artwork, pictures, certificates, notes from teachers, etc. I got them all out as well as the yearbooks for each year. I also found the bins of kid artwork I've kept and pulled out a few funny ones. I found all of her school pictures and attached them to a ribbon with clips to hang on the wall. I used our roll of craft paper to make two banners with our dot markers, one said "Congratulations," and the other "Welcome Summer." I didn't want to forget that it was also a special occasion for my third grade son. He'd worked hard all year and should also be celebrated for the amazing job he did through this difficult time. I made them each goodie baskets with some favorite candy and snacks, a new book, some kind of special toy or gift, their summer workbooks, and bubbles. The night before the last day of school we put everything up. We hung the pictures and artwork, set out the binders and yearbooks, and put the Congratulations banner up. We also found a few balloons and hung them up. When the kids got up in the morning we had a special breakfast of their choice, they got dressed up in their last day clothes, and we took our traditional last day of school pictures with the signs we've had since they were in pre-school. Then virtual school began.
The school organized a drive thru graduation pick up for the last day. Laylah wrote a letter to her future High School senior self to be mailed by her teacher when the time comes. They also got to see their teachers again and receive their graduation certificates and class t-shirts. During virtual school they showed a video of collected photos parents had sent in ranging from Kindergarten through 6th grade. They worked really hard to make sure every student got into the video. We were very lucky in that our PTA is very involved with the community and one mom planned a special graduation parade for the afternoon of the last day. Parents and students decorated their cars with paint, balloons, streamers, and flowers, and the cars lined up to follow a route through their neighborhoods. People came out to wave and cheer in support and some made thoughtful signs. The parade ended at the school where the staff was out waving and cheering. Over fifty cars participated, and it was amazing! It really made the kids feel special and like they hadn't missed out on so much after all. I found my old high school graduation cap and Laylah sat in the front seat of our minivan. She loved it!
When we got home the kids ran through our "Welcome Summer!" banner, played with the bubble machine, and had popsicles. Then they got their goody baskets. We ended the day with ice cream for dinner and a lemon cake with a 6 candle on top. Not the healthiest dinner, but we did include lots of fruit!
Right now we don't know what the next school year will be like. It seems likely that it will start off with remote learning, but we know how to handle that now. We're experts. And, we know we can still make it something memorable and special. These kids are going to end up being among the most resilient, creative, strong, and independent generations in recent history. The future will not look like the past, and they may not know what to expect, but they've got this. Congratulations to all the graduates of 2020! You're going to make this world a better place!
Knowing she would miss out on so many of the things she'd so been looking forward to, I decided to do the best we could with what we had. Luckily we had a lot of parents from school step up and help make this time as special as possible. The first thing we did was plan a socially distanced 6th grade celebration. Laylah invited three friends and we set up a fun evening for them in our backyard. We put our patio chairs six feet apart, put the fire pit between them, and had them bring their own drinks and snacks. I set up our table with different activities that the girls could take turns coming up and doing one at a time. We put out blank pages for each girl to sign like yearbook pages, since we don't have yearbooks yet and don't know when we will get them. They can put these in the books later. I also asked parents to send baby pictures of each girl, then I found similar stock pictures online and printed them all. I taped them all to a poster board and numbered them. They had to guess which baby was which girl. They had a ton of fun with it, and it's something that would have happened at the 6th grade dance. We also made "Most Likely to.." certificates for everyone. They all got dressed up in what they would have worn to the dance and we made everyone a lei to wear. Most of the time they just sat around the fire pit and talked, something they hadn't done in person in three months. They all had a blast and I think it slightly made up for missing the real thing. 
For graduation day I got planning the week ahead. I had made binders for each year of elementary school with important projects, artwork, pictures, certificates, notes from teachers, etc. I got them all out as well as the yearbooks for each year. I also found the bins of kid artwork I've kept and pulled out a few funny ones. I found all of her school pictures and attached them to a ribbon with clips to hang on the wall. I used our roll of craft paper to make two banners with our dot markers, one said "Congratulations," and the other "Welcome Summer." I didn't want to forget that it was also a special occasion for my third grade son. He'd worked hard all year and should also be celebrated for the amazing job he did through this difficult time. I made them each goodie baskets with some favorite candy and snacks, a new book, some kind of special toy or gift, their summer workbooks, and bubbles. The night before the last day of school we put everything up. We hung the pictures and artwork, set out the binders and yearbooks, and put the Congratulations banner up. We also found a few balloons and hung them up. When the kids got up in the morning we had a special breakfast of their choice, they got dressed up in their last day clothes, and we took our traditional last day of school pictures with the signs we've had since they were in pre-school. Then virtual school began.
The school organized a drive thru graduation pick up for the last day. Laylah wrote a letter to her future High School senior self to be mailed by her teacher when the time comes. They also got to see their teachers again and receive their graduation certificates and class t-shirts. During virtual school they showed a video of collected photos parents had sent in ranging from Kindergarten through 6th grade. They worked really hard to make sure every student got into the video. We were very lucky in that our PTA is very involved with the community and one mom planned a special graduation parade for the afternoon of the last day. Parents and students decorated their cars with paint, balloons, streamers, and flowers, and the cars lined up to follow a route through their neighborhoods. People came out to wave and cheer in support and some made thoughtful signs. The parade ended at the school where the staff was out waving and cheering. Over fifty cars participated, and it was amazing! It really made the kids feel special and like they hadn't missed out on so much after all. I found my old high school graduation cap and Laylah sat in the front seat of our minivan. She loved it!
When we got home the kids ran through our "Welcome Summer!" banner, played with the bubble machine, and had popsicles. Then they got their goody baskets. We ended the day with ice cream for dinner and a lemon cake with a 6 candle on top. Not the healthiest dinner, but we did include lots of fruit!
Right now we don't know what the next school year will be like. It seems likely that it will start off with remote learning, but we know how to handle that now. We're experts. And, we know we can still make it something memorable and special. These kids are going to end up being among the most resilient, creative, strong, and independent generations in recent history. The future will not look like the past, and they may not know what to expect, but they've got this. Congratulations to all the graduates of 2020! You're going to make this world a better place!
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