While it wasn’t the first full year of “normal” for the little guy – he was masking to school until after March Break – I went mostly maskless. We also hosted a birthday party for him, his first “real” party. He went to other kids’ parties in the 2022-2023 school year. Two, if I recall correctly. He has an October birthday, so we weren’t really sure if people were even doing them. And by the time we found out people did, we were no longer able to book a decent venue!

Jr. Mintz also has settled very well at his new school, a much bigger place with amazing amenities. It’s not in a shared space like his old school and he’s able to stay there for the long haul (the other school only goes up to the lower elementary grades). And best of all, he made a BFF the first week, another boy who was new. Senior Kindergarten isn’t a grade where there are many new students, after all, and my husband and I were really nervous for him, worrying that he’d be ostracized. He seems to play with more than that child and has his little gang. We’ve only managed to have playdates with the BFF, but hoping to set ones up with other kids too…

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First image courtesy of: Thesamphotography/Shutterstock

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