Family Life Weekly Peek

Weekly Peek: What a Difference A School Year Makes

Every year, I take a picture of my kids on their first day of school, and a picture on their last day. These photos bookend their school year, and I love seeing the difference those ten months make. Over the course of that year, they mature and learn and grow so much. Of course most of these changes are invisible to the naked eye, but seeing the physical changes is a really obvious measure of their growth.

Here are Tee’s before kindergarten and after kindergarten photo. (Next year I’m going to try to get her to stand in the same spot to get a better comparison of her height.)

Tee's first day & last day of school

In the last ten months, Tee’s language and math skills have skyrocketed. She always has a book in her backpack, just like her mom! On Thursday we’ll be attending her graduation ceremony, and in September she’ll be heading off to the big kids’ school for her first year of the next three-year Montessori cycle (grade one). It really doesn’t seem possible that she’s six years old. I swear I just blinked for a second.

And these are Kay’s before and after photos. I really see the changes in this set! She’s grown close to six inches, and she’s starting to lose some of those baby cheeks (sniff). My baby’s growing up! I guess I can’t really call her my baby anymore. She knows all her letters and loves showing me how she can count to 100. Today she wrote her full name out for me, and I was struck all over again by how much she’s learned in the past year too.

Kay's first and last day of school

They’re growing up so fast. Part of me is really excited about witnessing that growth. I’m excited for them too – the two of them both have so much joy in learning and they can’t wait to show me everything they’ve learned on a daily basis. And then there’s the rest of me that just wants to hold them in my arms and never ever let them go.

first and last day of 2015-2016 school year

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4 Comments

  • I just saw the video of the boy who took his pic everyday for 8 years or whatever and did a video, i am considering doing this with my son from day 1.

  • They grow up so fast. Thank you for sharing. I do love your idea of taking the pic on the first and last day of the school year. You are right in terms of documenting the changes and it also provides a chance to reflect on all that has happened in that time period.