Dancing With A Star

When my son was in 5th grade the PTO organized what we called "5th Grade Appreciation Day" and to this day I still don't know what that means. I do appreciate my son--appreciate him more as time goes on and witness the person he is becoming. But why 5th grade appreciation? Do we appreciate that they'll be departing to Middle School? That they've made it this far in life? Why not call it "5th Grade Last Fun Event Before Others Will Be Responsible For You, Thank Goodness"?

So we planned some fun activities for them-- some treats and snacks-- a day of play, really. That's how much we appreciate these people. We give them a whole day of organized play. I volunteered to teach the Electric Slide (it was the 90's, folks), and did this for about 5 hours as groups of 20-25 students rotated in and out of the gym. It was great fun; I actually mastered most of the steps myself, and by the end of the appreciation day and for the next three days I couldn't walk.