“My first students are turning 50!” I squealed.
“What?” My husband calculated my age and starting kindergartners’ age of 5.
I interrupted his figuring. “Remember, my first job was a class of 2nd and 3rd graders in a private school? And one of them was 10.”
Whoa… that thought brings the memories crashing!
High school graduates
One of my favorite classes ever are on the verge of graduating from high school. Several of their parents have reached out to me the last few weeks. Peeking into their essays for college and diving into their graduation parties, I marvel at the very familiar eyes shining from too-grown-up faces and older haircuts. I had known them with chubby cheeks and pigtails.
college graduates
Another of my dream classes are graduating from college—heading out to continue changing the world. I see their parents’ disbelieving posts on Facebook, those iconic before/after pictures showing their kindergartners’ first-day-of-school photos alongside their fresh graduates in caps and gowns. And my heart thrills at the joy of it all.
Grown-ups
I try to keep up with thirty years of little ones. Having “looped” over the last 20 years, most of these precious children stayed with me for two years as kindergartners and first graders. What a blessing to know their families well—to celebrate in their wins, to console in their heartbreaks, to live life alongside the families God placed in front of me.
Keeping up with them all is impossible. I wish I knew what every single one of them was doing!
But, thus far I know of my little ones turning into…
- Architects, artists, accountants, actresses, and army captains.
- Baseball players, business owners, bloggers, and biologists.
- Contractors, composers, computer techies, and truck drivers.
- Financial consultants and content creators.
- Doctors and nurses, engineers, and lawyers.
- Optometrists and orchestra directors.
- Doctoral students, salespeople, and ski instructors.
- Magazine editors and account managers.
- Insurance agents and electric company employees.
- Policemen, photographers, public information coordinators, and percussionists
- And teachers, too.
One walks the halls of Congress in Washington, DC each day.
Another fights for freedom on the other side of the world.
One touches lives as a minister. A second as a youth minister.
A third works in Christian ministry, serving others in need.
They’re not only sons and daughters. But men and women, daddies and mommies.
Reflecting on All “My” Children
What an unforgettable gift to have watched these little people learn to read, fall in love with science, and share their passions with their friends. Their expert projects on snow globes and cleaning, national parks and high heels, monster trucks and Chipotle, traps & forts and fire alarms opened our eyes and inspired us to try new things.
a few struggles
One wrestled with counting—and their friends jumped in to coach. They shared math strategies and then shared book recommendations and garden tools, too. When our small school of portables shifted into a beautiful new building, they saw a drab, gated backyard. Yet, they turned it into a dream garden that inspired everyone.
When one struggled with writing, another dug in his pocket to offer her a peek at his list of vowels. (Yes, he carried his vowels in his pocket for such a time as this!) Those little ones realized one of their purposes was to serve people who needed help—and it didn’t stop at our classroom door.
service beyond our walls
Classes over the years embarked on some incredible service projects. They
- donated pajamas for orphans
- raised money to save eagles
- gifted a Nicaraguan village with a well.
- collected canned goods for the community. (One year, a class traveled to God’s Storehouse and filled their shelves with our school’s donations!)
- cheered as veterans passed in a Veteran’s Day parade
- read to senior citizens at a care home
- built a lemonade stand to support a New York City school after 9/11
- and even more…
Through all those inspiring service projects, these five- and six-year-olds collaborated and contemplated. They designed invitations and counted change. They raised funds for their projects by doing extra chores and donating their piggybank money. They read books to inform, studied places and holidays, and even made a movie to ensure others learned about the important things they were learning.
As I reminisce on their day-to-day conversations and writings, sweet stories still emerge even now in my retirement. Warm memories surface. Glimpses of our shared past reveal just a peek of the phenomenal ways each child would grow—and continue changing the world around them.
What a thrill it was when we discovered this song, Together We Can Change the World. (Music and lyrics by Mark Shephard and originally sung by Rilee O’Neill and The Sifa Choir.) We used this song time and again—and every class afterwards learned and loved it equally.
endings lead to new beginnings
What a special time we shared in marking all their beginnings. Yet, life goes on. Their endings to kindergarten, to high school, to college keep coming. Still those closings open right up into the next beginnings. Our young world-changers open unknown doors into their chosen professions, their different addresses, their weddings and children. Their new lives.
And their parents and families figure out a new normal, too.
Me? I’m just thankful I got to be a little part of it all.
looking for a book to mark this time?
If you want to mark the end of kindergarten with a sentimental gift for a child or teacher, you might appreciate Edith Pattou’s Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden. One of my classes loved it so much, they chose to present it as a play & dramatic reading in front of the school at the end of the year. To hear the quiet ones recite their sentences, to see both timid and rambunctious ones blossom, to savor the growth of one and all was a delight! (Of course, I recognized my growth as well over our precious years of living and learning together.)
So, to the Class of 2025-
—and to all of us, congratulations on a beautiful journey! May you be blessed as you step into your next beginning.