Anonymous wrote:Mine is 5 and into the same things, and I hope when he's 11 it will be the same way. Treasure it! He will grow up fast in middle school.

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 11.5 and finishing up 5th grade. Her big loves in life are soccer and dogs, followed by all animals and environmental things.

Her friends love to put on skits and film them, collect leaves and bugs to look at / sketch, or play tag in the park. There’s a big group (boys and girls) that have known each other since they were toddlers and they are so great together. Recently they worked hard on breaking down the singing parts in “We don’t talk about Bruno” and wanted to perform it for the parents. One of the girls in the group loves Greek mythology and another is really into Harry Potter.

My DD became vegetarian a few years ago and started a group at school for learning about / talking about the environment which includes a few days a week that they take trash grabbers and sort the trash to make sure things are going in the compost / recycling bins. She spoke to other classrooms last year to recruit the “next generation” and the kids all were excited recently to run a lemonade / cookie stand and raise money for the World Wildlife Fund.

My DD has an iPad and most her friends have some sort of device. The large group typically plays MineCraft on Sat mornings and she often is messaging them in the afternoons. She likes plenty of sitcom-type shows but her favorite shows are Dr K, Exotic Animal Vet and Pitbulls and Parolees. She recently told me she thought I could get rid of some of her animal figurines and I asked if she was done playing with them. She said “no, I just don’t need them all if I should give them to someone else.” Especially at this point, since they’d just go to her younger sister, I told her she could keep them all. I smile because most nights as she watches a show she’ll set up a “hunt” or a “horse farm” etc and just kind of play with her figurines as she unwinds.

She went to a class sleepover last year and returned to tell me that “some girls wear lipstick and some don’t care if they have a bra strap showing” 😆. I asked if she’d like to shop for an outfit for her 5th grade graduation and she said “no, not really.”

Recently I heard some girls are struggling with mean girl behavior. I asked her if she’s seen that at all and she said “I mean, I’m aware of some people acting that way, but they all know I’m soccer and environment girl and leave me alone.” I have no idea how this will translate to middle school but for now I’m grateful for her strong group of friends who haven’t aged fast and for her strong sense of self. (By contrast our 7 year old is constantly having problems by being heavily influenced by her peers.)

Anonymous wrote:He's not a teen though! He's a kid acting like a kid. This why I especially hate 5th and 6th grade in MS. Even young teens in MS should act like kids, because they are kids.

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 11.5 and finishing up 5th grade. Her big loves in life are soccer and dogs, followed by all animals and environmental things. Her friends love to put on skits and film them, collect leaves and bugs to look at / sketch, or play tag in the park. There’s a big group (boys and girls) that have known each other since they were toddlers and they are so great together. Recently they worked hard on breaking down the singing parts in “We don’t talk about Bruno” and wanted to perform it for the parents. One of the girls in the group loves Greek mythology and another is really into Harry Potter. My DD became vegetarian a few years ago and started a group at school for learning about / talking about the environment which includes a few days a week that they take trash grabbers and sort the trash to make sure things are going in the compost / recycling bins. She spoke to other classrooms last year to recruit the “next generation” and the kids all were excited recently to run a lemonade / cookie stand and raise money for the World Wildlife Fund. My DD has an iPad and most her friends have some sort of device. The large group typically plays MineCraft on Sat mornings and she often is messaging them in the afternoons. She likes plenty of sitcom-type shows but her favorite shows are Dr K, Exotic Animal Vet and Pitbulls and Parolees. She recently told me she thought I could get rid of some of her animal figurines and I asked if she was done playing with them. She said “no, I just don’t need them all if I should give them to someone else.” Especially at this point, since they’d just go to her younger sister, I told her she could keep them all. I smile because most nights as she watches a show she’ll set up a “hunt” or a “horse farm” etc and just kind of play with her figurines as she unwinds. She went to a class sleepover last year and returned to tell me that “some girls wear lipstick and some don’t care if they have a bra strap showing” 😆. I asked if she’d like to shop for an outfit for her 5th grade graduation and she said “no, not really.” Recently I heard some girls are struggling with mean girl behavior. I asked her if she’s seen that at all and she said “I mean, I’m aware of some people acting that way, but they all know I’m soccer and environment girl and leave me alone.” I have no idea how this will translate to middle school but for now I’m grateful for her strong group of friends who haven’t aged fast and for her strong sense of self. (By contrast our 7 year old is constantly having problems by being heavily influenced by her peers.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alot of parents now a days seem to fir some reason, really like their kids growing up fast like this and acting older. I don't get it, but they seem to be cool with it.

+1 I want my kid to be a kid as long as they want. You can never go back once that phase is over.

Anonymous wrote:Alot of parents now a days seem to fir some reason, really like their kids growing up fast like this and acting older. I don't get it, but they seem to be cool with it.

Anonymous wrote:I love that FCPS keeps kids in elementary school through 6th grade. Your kid is fine, OP. Maybe a bit "behind" his peers, but this is not a bad thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My just turned 11yr old stills seems like such a little boy. He likes Minecraft, Fortnight, Roblox etc. He also still loves nerf guns, pokemon, hot wheels, legos, and lots of pretend play. He plays baseball, and has friends, but does seem to get a long better with some of the younger boys(9/10) on his team. I am absolutely terrified for him to enter middle school as he just doesn’t seem like a teen at all. Is this normal?

Anonymous wrote:My just turned 11yr old stills seems like such a little boy. He likes Minecraft, Fortnight, Roblox etc. He also still loves nerf guns, pokemon, hot wheels, legos, and lots of pretend play. He plays baseball, and has friends, but does seem to get a long better with some of the younger boys(9/10) on his team. I am absolutely terrified for him to enter middle school as he just doesn’t seem like a teen at all. Is this normal?