I can’t take credit for this idea, it was passed down to me by another smart mother. But I wanted to share this idea in case you are already thinking about your child graduating high school (it’s never too late to start!).
Starting with daycare, I’ve had my children’s teachers sign a book. The book could be anything from: Oh the Places You’ll Go or The Wonderful Things You’ll Be, etc.
Each teacher has written a note on a page of the book. Thus far, they have included sweet messages about my child, specific to the age and stage they knew them in.
I plan to give the ‘finished’ book to my children when they graduate from high school.
By then, they may have forgotten some of the teachers they’ve had along the way. But what I’m hoping they’ll see is the time and planning and thoughtfulness of the gift. I know now they won’t be mine forever. That their littleness will change, it won’t belong to either of us over time…
I hope it will be fun for them to go back and see what someone who knew them thought of them during their most awkward middle school years, or maybe someone will predict what or how they will be when they grow up.
I hope it inspires conversation with me, with classmates, with friends and maybe even old teachers. Teachers are so important and this will be a great bridge to show not only the years of education they’ve had, but the people who helped them get to where they are and create who they are. It shows all the work and change and growth that happened along the way.
It’s way more than a book…
…it’s a ticket back into their youth where they can stop back and briefly revisit the times they’ve grown out of – a way to look back as they step forward into their adult lives.
