Anonymous wrote:OP--I did too with my firstborn. Both kids did great with the transition. Do what I did and keep your worries to yourself. Our kids do better with change than we do, I swear.

MS is an awkward time with puberty and hormones, but most get through it unscathed. Our MS does a good job of navigating that and nipping things in the bud.

^ I meant 'keep your worries from your kids'. Feel free to commiserate and seek advice from other parents.

OP--I did too with my firstborn. Both kids did great with the transition. Do what I did and keep your worries to yourself. Our kids do better with change than we do, I swear.

MS is an awkward time with puberty and hormones, but most get through it unscathed. Our MS does a good job of navigating that and nipping things in the bud.

Middle school has been much better for my kid who struggled SOOOO much socially in 5th grade. He is advocating for himself so much better now. He is autistic and has ADD if that matters.

I was so worried about the transition as well, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Middle school was better than ES for my kid.
There was a lot of girl drama in her 5th grade class that almost caused us to withdraw her from the school. The move to middle school removed or diluted that and she found her people.

It is called Junior High in many jurisdictions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All kids go through it, and the vast majority come out fine.

Does it suck, when hormones are raging through your awkward body? Yes, but it's the same for all of them!

Best part of MS is a) only 3 years and b) when those 3 years are over!

Middle school is 2 years; not 3.

DP. It’s three where I live.

Middle School is 6th - 8th grade in NYC.

It is 7-8 here.

It’s not in Arlington and Alexandria at least. It’s 6-8.

My kid is in 6th and actually likes middle school more than elementary. I think he likes being one of many many kids and not attract so much teacher attention.
He has friends he met in two of his elementary schools.
My advice is to make sure your DC is in advanced math or whatever advanced classes there are. I found out they also group kids in ELA by ability though they don’t advertise it. So my kid doesn’t see a lot of bad kids.
There will be many different teachers, some great, some pain in the neck with boring assignments, non transparent late grading and ridiculous demands. Paradoxically I suggest sending them a gift card for Christmas - that way they will be more attentive to your concerns and remember your kid better. I also send gift cards to good teachers just because I am grateful, so I guess my advice is to send them to both good and bad teachers lol
Keep a close eye on what your child is doing and his or her assignments
It will be tough for a month or two but then you will get the hang of it

She had to work in groups for big projects which stunk because she often got paired with slackers (I would email the teacher to let them know DD did all the work when that happened).

WTF? My son is in middle school, and I would encourage him to tell his teacher if he did all of the work on a group project, but I would never in a million years email the teacher about it on his behalf. He's almost 13, he doesn't need his mommy to send an email for him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Positives: DS loved having more freedom than elementary school and merging more kids. His middle school is huge and there were lots of feeder schools. The staff were really supportive and nice. No more of the 1-4 grading. They get real grades, tests and it’s all posted online.

Negatives: All of the drama that comes with hundreds hitting puberty being in a building together. They are friends one day and enemies the next. Kids can say mean things to each other. A lot of girls do not identify as straight so there is no one to date (a negative frequently discussed by my son. I may put that as a positive since he doesn’t need to date yet.)

Same with DD’s middle school. She said there is tons of girls “doing stuff” during sleepovers, on GS camping trips, in the woods next to the school, etc. lots of exploration.

She said she didn’t know about the boys who identify; the things she noticed were many many boys painting their nails now, dressing a certain way / into fashion, talking a certain way, same favorite TikTok stars, etc.

Oh crap, I'm a girl scout leader of a fourth grade troop not ready to navigate this in a couple years.

Is the fad because girls are "safer" than boys?

Middle school starts in 6th too. Although I think it should be 7th

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All kids go through it, and the vast majority come out fine.

Does it suck, when hormones are raging through your awkward body? Yes, but it's the same for all of them!

Best part of MS is a) only 3 years and b) when those 3 years are over!

Middle school is 2 years; not 3.

DP. It’s three where I live.

Middle School is 6th - 8th grade in NYC.

It is 7-8 here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All kids go through it, and the vast majority come out fine.

Does it suck, when hormones are raging through your awkward body? Yes, but it's the same for all of them!

Best part of MS is a) only 3 years and b) when those 3 years are over!

Middle school is 2 years; not 3.

DP. It’s three where I live.

Middle School is 6th - 8th grade in NYC.

Check out the book Middle School Matters.

If you have a daughter, get ready for lots of friend drama. I felt like sixth grade was when the mean girls came out of their shells. Also, there's lots more attention to hair/mascara/etc., while the cleanliness of their room decreases tenfold

I can see were field trips and maybe dances would be or are fun for MSers. But, I do think they would still enjoy Hallowen abd recess. It's a Shane they are deemed to old for those things.