Today is my younger son’s last day at primary school. In ordinary times this would be a major moment – a milestone in his life. In the current, peculiar times we are in it is still a major milestone – yet many of the ways it would normally be marked have had to be changed. The SATs were cancelled. The Year 6 adventure trip was cancelled. Enterprise week – where the Year 6s wash cars, sell bric-a-brac and come up with other activities to earn money for a day out to Weston couldn’t take place – nor could the day to Weston.
Despite this, the school staff worked hard to make the last few weeks special for the children. They have had socially distanced picnics and parties. They held a talent contest and quizzes. They are making pizza today.
In addition, one of the Mums from the class kindly arranged an order of Year 6 Leavers hoodies for them during the lockdown and another Mum created a video montage for them. Their class teachers and classroom assistant asked them to write entries both for a yearbook and for a time capsule to record this particularly unusual and historic period.
My son has greatly enjoyed his time at primary school – and was devastated when the schools closed in March and he realised it was possible that they might not return in person to school that academic year.
At the time, I speculated that since it was expected the pandemic would take around 12 weeks, that it was possible he would get back to school after the May half term. Fortuitously, this prediction turned out to be correct for him in Year 6 – and he has been a lot happier being back at school for the last few weeks then he was at the height of the lockdown.
Parenting your youngest child is a different experience to your oldest – but it is equally special. With each milestone your child reaches, you are aware that this is a special moment for them, doing something for the first time – and you are also aware that this the last time you will experience this particular moment as a parent. Whilst poignant, this is often a very positive realisation. I didn’t have any conflicted nostalgia or sentimental reaction to reaching the end of nappies, teething or night time feeds. However, it’s also fair to say that some of those challenges felt less all-consuming with my second child. This was partly because I’d already experienced them and knew what to expect – and partly because with a second child you know that the difficult phases do eventually end.
Then again, there are many moments that are individual for each child as they are all unique. Our two sons are not polar opposites – but they do have different interests and strengths – and they have both had moments where they needed particular support and found different things difficult to deal with at school or with socialising.
Ultimately, I’m happy that my sons both survived and thrived in their time at primary school – and I’m happy that my husband and I have survived and thrived as parents of primary school aged children! Despite the difficult circumstances of lockdown and the knowledge that this is the end of an era – it is a happy moment for us. Having two children at secondary school will be a new challenge – but it’s one I think we are all ready for.