It’s the last day of 4th grade! (As always, I’m writing this letter a little later than the 10th of the month.)
Next year, you’ll be at the top of the elementary school food chain. I can tell you’re excited, and you’re ready in so many ways. You’ve come into your own style with how you wear your hair, your choice of clothes, manicured nails, occasional makeup, and even freckle stickers. You continue to grow in confidence through your art, both dance and drawing.
You wrapped up your spring dance session with a recital, performing in four numbers. You had some anxiety going into the first night’s performance, but you shook it off and nailed the choreography despite having to catch up after our European vacation. Afterward, you told us you wanted to add another class so you could perform in five dances at the next recital.
In your visual art, you started using an app that teaches more advanced techniques like realistic drawing and shading. You’ve flown through the curriculum, and as I write this, I’m looking at a detailed turtle you drew a few weeks ago that now hangs next to my desk.
Since we’re talking about progress at the end of a school year, I took a look at your most recent test scores. You’re flying high in both reading and writing—typically your strongest subjects—as well as math. Those scores aren’t everything, but it’s reassuring to know you’re right where you need to be heading into the long summer break.
Before school ended, you got a visit from your cousin Abby and her friends Lia and Ella, who recently graduated from Ball State. Schools in Indiana start and finish earlier than they do here. Your mom was thrilled to host them. We travel to Indiana regularly, but we don’t get many visitors from there, so it was a treat. It’s fun to imagine a wave of high school and college graduates from our family and friend group making their way west for graduation trips. Hopefully, this is just the beginning.
You remind us of Abby in many ways. You’re both a little quiet, highly creative, and you share similar expressions and laughs. All good things. Interestingly, Abby turned out to be the loudest of her friend group, which surprised me. The girls spent some time with us, but they also explored Seattle for a day and spent a couple of nights at the Harstine Island cabin. They were especially interested in thrift shopping and returned home with an extra suitcase full of finds.
I think Abby mostly wanted to spend time with your mom, and I’m glad you got the chance to hang out with the older girls, too. They thought you were incredibly cool—which, of course, you are.
Now that our Indiana visitors have come and gone, we’re looking ahead to a fun summer with lots of time at Harstine. You’ve built a wonderful and growing group of friends out there, and my guess is that you’ll spend much of the summer off on adventures with them, checking in mainly at mealtimes. That’s exactly the way your mom and I hoped it would be. We’re here for the encouragement, the occasional ride somewhere, and the free meals.
Love,
Dad