My son transitioned to middle school this year. His middle school starts at 6th grade and goes through 8th grade. I called the principal of the middle school and arranged for me and my son to go on a tour of the campus and see where everything was. We did the tour before he finished 5th grade. Then I drove him by the middle school a few times during the summer and we talked about how he would be going to that school. The principal let us come back on campus about week before school started so we could show him his homeroom and where he would be going to Primetime (before and after school care). The first few weeks of 6th grade were a little rough. He struggled with choir and gym. We changed his schedule to drop choir and once he got the hang of using a combo lock at gym class and got used to changing clothes for gym, he settled in OK. I made sure the principal knew I was concerned about my son's transition and she has done a great job in communicating with me.

You're smart to think of the transition now while you have time to gather your thoughts and figure out how you want to handle it.

Good luck to you and your son and sending you a big hug; quite a few of us know how you feel!