So I opened the mail yesterday…and in it was a letter to my youngest all about going into seventh grade next year! It seriously gave me a panic attack, just thinking about him going into junior high (we still call it junior high around here, instead of middle school). My baby is in sixth grade this year. I can hardly believe it! Especially since I am getting things about him getting ready for junior high.
He is growing up so fast, but there are still lots of things that he does not understand yet. Since he is only twelve. He loves to come home and tell me about all the things that have gone wrong in his life, and how sixth grade is as good as it gets. I tell him this is just the beginning. And there are so many things I wish I knew in 6th grade.
First Up-Homework will not matter
My son is pretty crazy about his sixth grade homework. He makes sure he always gets his homework done. He sits at the table and works on it until he gets it done. And this is awesome and amazing. This discipline he has will help him for the rest of his life. But sometimes, he can not figure out how to do his homework. Sometimes he feels like the teacher did not teach him the content so he can do his homework. And this really upsets him. He starts crying and yelling, and calling himself dumb.
This is the point that I want to tell him the things I wish I knew in 6th grade. Because, as an adult, I know that this little piece of homework is not going to be important in his adult life. And probably this homework will not be important in a week. But to him, it is a very big deal and makes him so anxious, if there is something that he can not figure out. I have the same thing with my older son, read here to see what I wish he knew in 8th grade!
And I was the same way in sixth grade. I thought my homework was the most important thing in the world. And I was always so worried about getting it done correctly. Now, I know it was not important, and I do not even remember a single homework assignment. I wish I knew in 6th grade, that I wouldn’t even remember the assignment that I was so worried about at twelve.
Since I did want to help my son now, because, yes, the homework won’t matter in the future. But it matters to him right now. Here is the planner I got him to keep track of his homework!
Your Best Friend Might Not Be Born Yet
There is so much drama in sixth grade over friends. Is he my friend? Is she my friend? We had a fight; are we still friends? I’m pretty sure they hate me because I said this…He will never talk to me again! And I have boys. I think it might be more dramatic with the girls.
But, what they do not understand is, in sixth grade my best friend was not even born yet. Because my best friend is my sister who was not born until the summer after my sixth grade year of school. She is just like me, a pharmacist and has two boys. And we get along great. And she treats my boys as her own, just like I do to hers. But when I was in sixth grade, she had not been born yet. I did not even know that my best friend was still coming.
So I spent so much time in sixth grade worrying about not having any friends. And she was not even in my life yet.
Or Maybe You Haven’t Met Them Yet
And something that I tell my son. He is in sixth grade, which means he has been with the same kids for seven years! That is seriously the same 90 kids for years. So when he goes to a bigger school with more kids (next year for us). He will have so many more kids that he can be friends with. I honestly know very few people who have the same friends they had in elementary school. I do not know how it is for you, but that is what I experienced.
So, I always say to my son, when he is moaning about his friends. That yes, these are good friends NOW. But there are even better friends out there that are just waiting to meet him. That will be his ride or die. Who will not cause so much drama all the time. The kids that he will meet will have his back for always. This is one of the things I wish I knew in sixth grade, good friends are coming. He just hasn’t met them…yet!
Your Spouse Might Be In Your Class…Or Not
My husband and I have a special meeting story, where we have known each other since elementary school. We did not like each other, and did not start dating until we were in college. But my son hears our story and then thinks that he has already met his spouse. And maybe he has, maybe she is the little girl that has sat next to him all year.
But, most likely, he has not even met her yet. She is probably still out there, growing up, not even realizing that my son exists. Yes, I do have boys, but my son thinks about this quite a bit. He is afraid that he has already missed his soulmate, and just has not realized it yet.
I tell him that he needs to relax, that he has quite a bit of time before he is considered too old to find his spouse 🙂 Because, if he wants to get married, I am sure the perfect spouse for him is out there. And yes, just because his dad and I met in elementary school, does not mean that his story will be the same.
The most important thing that I wish I knew in sixth grade was that their whole story is left to write. They have so much growing up to do. And their whole life is ahead of them. This is not the stopping point, this is the beginning!
Vanessa is a Doctor of Pharmacy who champions natural health. She lives with her husband of 18 years as well as her 12 & 15 year old sons. She aspires to encourage moms on their journey to family wellness through holistic health and essential oils.
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