Your feelings about rthe whole leaving Primary School thing!

[vociferous]

Hi Folks.

I started to become a regular poster on here some months back. You may remeber that I adopted a young child and we are getting through life as a family. Im 26 and cannot have my own children for personal reasons. It's working great so far!

My sister has her own children and her eldest is in the dreaded Yr6 and is leaving today. She is extremely emotional and has been on the phone all morning.

I've never witnessed my sister in this way before, shes normally very happy go lucky, tough nut sort of lady.

For previous Yr6 Mums I was wondering what your experience was on the dreaded Leavers Day. I will have to face the music in a few years time and am now dreading it!

What sort of things do the children do apart from limos and such rediculous stuff.

Maybe I should be preparing myself for that moment. I'm such a little emotional bag of whatever. I cry at the sightest little thing.

It would be great to hear your experiences, wether your a Yr6 mother this year or previously.

My sister has now made me feel very nervous, I know it's a few years away but I tink it may dwell on my head for the enxt few years.

many Thanks.

Daniel

[HouseofEliot]

Ours had a pretty full on last week. Leavers Mass, Leavers Disco, Leavers Assembly. Last day was party all day, playing rounders, signing shirts, then limo to Frankie and Bennies.

I didn't cry but lots did. At the leavers assembly they showed pictures from when they were in reception. I did get a lump in my throat but I didn't dry.

She is excited to get to her new school. I still have one at primary school maybe I will feel different when she leaves and I won't be going there anymore.

[vociferous]

Sorry fort he typos. My hands are very poorly! :-)

[vociferous]

Gosh, leaving last week. My little dudes school breaks up this aternoon - obviously he is too young to be leaving, thank goodness! :-)

[AuntieStella]

"What sort of things do the children do apart from limos and such rediculous stuff."

Most children do nothing of the sort.

There will probably be a soppy assembly, lots of hugs and a few tears in the playground and a wrecked shirt as everyone signs it.

If it is your youngest DC leaving, then the parent might be a bit misty eyed as they cease to be a belonger in an institution they've probably belonged to for a decade or so. But by then, you'll know how the children perk up after they've actually left the premises and start looking forward to the next phase.

[insanityscratching]

It is my youngest dd's last day today too, I've done it four times before but it feels quite a big thing now we won't have a child in Primary ever again.
Dd's teachers and TA's for the last two years have been great and we will miss them. I will try not to cry at the leavers' assembly later as dd would be embarrassed but I may need to bite my lip.
Mind you I expect her teacher to shed a tear as she does seem to wear her heart on her sleeve and was looking fragile earlier.

[TeenAndTween]

Our school does not do daft limos etc.

They have a leavers assembly, PTA gives them T-shirts to get signed, then usual end of term stuff.

When my DD1 left 4 years ago it was emotional, (also adopted and had only been with us 3 years at that point, so I wasn't really ready to have a secondary child), but honestly most parents do not turn into wrecks!

When DD2 leaves in 2 years time, I am sure I will cry at the leavers assembly - my little one will be growing up and moving on after all. But she will be moving on to a new exciting step in her life.

Just make sure your whole life isn't invested in the primary school and the school run, so you have something to move on to too!

[bakingnovice]

I was fine until last night. Since then I've been a wreck. It feels like the end of an era. I'm dreading the 3 pm pickup and just want today over with.

I did not expect to feel so so sad. Is anyone else feeling this emotional?

[moolady1977]

my dcs school had leavers assemblys and showed pictures of the kids from nursery up to leaving and all the kids said something ,with my eldest i cried buckets with my dd i only cried when she looked at me and smile and in a yr i have to go through it again when my youngest leaves ,im far too emotional for my own good sometimes

[AmberTheCat]

My Y6 had her last day yesterday. No proms and limos, thank goodness, but we had a barbecue in the school grounds yesterday afternoon (organised by the parents), then a leavers assembly and a get together in the park after school yesterday.

Most of the parents (including me and dp) shed a little tear during the assembly (I was ok until their teacher (big Liverpool fan) got them to sing 'You'll never walk alone'!), and the kids were a bit tearful when we picked them up, shirts covered in signatures. They soon perked up when we got to the park, though, and had a great afternoon together.

Dd had a great seven years at primary, and we both have very warm feelings about the school, so it does feel a bit strange that she won't be going back. She's really looking forward to the next stage, though, and I still have a younger dd at primary and am a governor there, so it's certainly not goodbye for me!

[nestee]

I think they make too much fuss over it these days. Mine had a show, an assembly, a church service, a disco, a bbq and cricket game and the final day was all games and signing each other's t shirts .

The Mummies were all blubbing and I felt a bit hard-nosed for not doing so. I had a bit of a lump in the throat during the service when they showed old photos but both my kids were ready to move on by then and excited by the idea of going on to 'the next stage'.

It almost felt though that there was a bit of a parental competition for who can be most moved and sad.

[ProfYaffle]

I think it's too much. My eldest is just finishing Y5 and she's already pulling mournful faces about going up into her last year etc and they're all discussing how much they'll cry. I don't think it's healthy to dwell on the sadness so much.

[bakingnovice]

Yes the schools do drag it on and wring every last bit of emotion out of you. I was remarkably calm until last night and have been unmoved by most of it.

But suddenly lots of memories starting coming back to me and it really does feel like the end of an era for my eldest. I don't know where the emotion is coming from. I'm happy he's leaving, he's moving to a great new school close to home with friends. He's had a brilliant 7 years.

[FeministStar]

We had a few tears when the children sang songs at the end of school but no massive displays of emotion. Most of us had sunglasses on and ignored each other!

[RaspberryLemonPavlova]

DS2, youngest of 3, finished last Friday. We had already had the Y5/6 play and the summer music concert. The last week of term they had a trip to a theme park, a party one afternoon and a Leaver's Assembly. They were given mugs that had everyone's faces on.

I cried, but I cried more with DD and DS1. I'm still a governor at the associated infants and will be back.

As will DS, as he is going back for a project in the autumn.

[Nerf]

Not sad at all. This is going to sound really wanky but I'm so grateful and happy to have children who have every chance of growing up and moving on that it's a celebration. (I do have personal reasons for this being a 'thing')

[RabbitOfNegativeEuphoria]

I was very sad when DD1 left primary school, and quite sad when DS left the same school. I will be SO HAPPY when DD2 is able to walk out of that dreadful place on Friday. This time last year, I'd've said I'd be sad - but no. The school has changed out of all recognition since becoming an academy, it's no longer the lovely caring place it once was, DD2 has been desperately unhappy all year (and totally uncatered for educationally) and we will all heave a gigantic sigh of relief when she shakes the dust off her shoes for the last time. There was a leavers' mass last night, and several of the kids were crying - not DD2 and her small group of friends though. She commented afterwards that she thought the ones who were crying were crying because 'they know their bullying days are at an end - for a few years at least'. Which sums up the situation perfectly.

[Theas18]

My kids are big. There was little of this then. Actually it was very much a yaay onwards and upwards moment!

DS nearly ran across and off the stage getting his leavers certificate :)

I suspect they had outgrown primary by the end of year 5.

[weegiemum]

My ds left primary 3 weeks ago.

It was all pretty "meh" really, he's 12.6 and ready to leave (in Scotland) and high school for him is pretty much upstairs in the same building, so it's not a big deal.

I think making it as normal as possible is good - dd1 did the transition 2 years ago and dd2 will be doing it next year. Make it easy if you can, that makes it normal and decreases anxiety!

[FiveExclamations]

Actually it's been a bit of an anti-climax. We had events Monday and Tuesday, but no limos or end of year assemblies. DD came out looking a bit weepy eyed but within five minutes was chatting away as normal while I flicked through her year book, which was just a big scrap book with pictures all the way back to reception, really nice, but simply done.

DD's now doing loom bands with a couple of mates, feels just like a standard evening.

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

Ds1 left today.

He has had a leavers disco and leavers assembly. He wasn't looking forward to actually saying goodbye today but he's been alright. I cried when I read a message from his wonderful teacher and saw a picture one of his ks1 teachers sent him.

I think I'm more moved by the messages from his teachers than him

He's chuffed to bits he got an award for outstanding achievement in maths.

Generally though, it's onwards and upwards. I'm not too sad, just a bit reflective about where the years have gone and what a lovely boy he is and how he has matured over the years.

[VeraGrant]

Dd leaves next year and I expect the leavers mass will be a v weepy.

But another mum whose older dd left a couple of years back said she was crying for herself more than anything. Her dd was bursting with excitement re moving on, but she said she knew a massive phase (having primary aged kids) would be over. And she suddenly felt much older! She said since her dd started secondary it's striking how many mums are dealing with caring for elderly parents, divorce, illness etc.

The joys!

[PiqueABoo]

Year 6 looked too big for the school at Easter, so it was difficult to be too sentimental when you know in your bones that they really do need to leave now.

It was a frenetic stressful week with this and that limo-free event (lots of outside fun and games in the sun), but also very enjoyable because there are quite a few parents who are fundamentally decent, good sports much like most of the children. Just a few short-lived tears at the assembly re. some who won't be going to the same upstream secondary.

We took care to part "in credit" with everyone, but I'm quite looking forward to spending less time being very polite and restrained with a couple of semi-monstrous mothers for the good of the class 'community'. In fact after seven years, I think being released from the company of a those specific parents is by far the best bit of a generally celebratory and fun ending.

[cagsd]

I agree with the pp who says that the mums getting emotional are shedding tears for the fact that their "baby" is moving onto a whole new life stage. My eldest DS left primary school 3 yrs ago now, and the whole last week of term was really emotional for me - the leavers mass, the assembly where they showed a slideshow of pics of the kids from reception to then (accompanied by Never Forget by Take That, still makes me cry to this day!). It was the fact that I kept thinking, he'd come into that school as a small, squeaky-voiced 4 year old, and was now a big strapping 11 year old ready to move on. I was also sad that out of a class of only 25 kids, they were going to 10 different senior schools so it was a kind of parting of the ways. Had me in bits the whole week! The kids loved the whole thing though. They got very involved in the preparations for the mass and the assembly, they had a leavers barbecue, then went off for a meal in their limo.

My second DS leaves next year and I'm prepared for the whole shebang again, but I'll be worse still when my baby leaves - not for another 4 years yet, but I've been in tears this afternoon over him leaving the infants as he's my last one!

[Stinkle]

I surprised myself at how emotional I found it when DD moved up last year.

My little baby, who was only born 5 minutes ago, is suddenly off to high school. It felt like the end of an era and underlined that she's really growing up.

I remember watching Mamma Mia with her a couple of days after she broke up for the holidays and that Slipping Through My Fingers song had me absolutely balling, it really kind of summed up exactly how I was feeling - DD thought I'd lost my marbles and was all

[cdwales]

Well mine came out of school and were home educated for four years. From yr 5 and 2 respectively. So we did not experience this jump with either. In retrospect I think that their day nursery experience had been so positive that they judged school and found it wanting. Most pupils back then were not in a position to make comparisons. Now many more will be I expect.
But as we are such great Harry Potter fans - I read the first four books to them several times - they had an idea of starting at secondary school cf Hogwarts. Now year 6 pupils go on open days and my DS went on one and decided he was not ready to go back to school after one year out. I asked him the reason for his decision and he proceeded to describe everything that had happened that day - which was hilarious - and impressed me with how well we now communicated. We still do.
DD too went to the Open Day and decided to start yr 7. She now wishes that she had waited until year 9 as although yr 7 was fun year 8 was sooo boring. She was way ahead on everything except Welsh. Next year she is commuting to a Sixth Form college in the next county as cuts here mean that A Levels such as Spanish, RS and Sociology are simply not being offered any more (the poor subject teachers face a bleak future).
We just move on as life is all about stages and we enjoy them all. School is so artificial - a construct for the purposes of mass education - that its structure does not make a big impact on our lives.