Letter To My 5th Grader

posted in: Reflections | 0

You make me proud to be your mom every day and I love the person you are becoming. You have unique talents and strengths and watching you learn and grow has been an amazing experience. You are smart, competent, courageous, and kind. You tackle problems head on, work hard passionately, and are so much fun to be with!

I love the quote you selected to share with me at the conference last week:

“Your mind is a garden,
Your thoughts are the seeds,
You can grow flowers or
You can grow weeds.”

I’ve come across this passage before in my own reading but when you read it to me I realized that tending to our own garden/mind is truly hard work.

Letter to My 5th GraderWe are responsible for our own thoughts, words, and actions. Positive or negative, it’s up to us what we cultivate: do we grow flowers of joy, kindness, confidence, love, or do we grow weeds of doubt, worry, being afraid to do something. Each of us is responsible for our own gardens. Likewise, each of us is responsible for our own learning and our success.

You have taken great responsibility for your own growth and learning ever since you were little. You’ve been challenging yourself constantly, whether by doing difficult flip combinations on a trampoline, getting on stage to do magic tricks in front of the entire school, or taking part in the taekwondo tournament. Your thirst for knowledge and discovery is what drives your growth, and you’ve grown so much over the years. I couldn’t be more proud of you!

Just two months into this school year and you’ve done ton of work already, some of which you shared with me last week, as you do throughout the year. Keep up the good work, and remember, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. The process of learning is exactly that, a process, and it’s a lifelong journey too.

So buckle up, keep on learning, and don’t forget to have fun along the way!

Love, Mom