Jennifer Garner Thanked Her Kids’ Elementary School Teachers In A Heartfelt Note

Jennifer Garner’s family has hit a new milestone. Now that her 12-year-old son Samuel has finished out his school year, she no longer has any children in elementary school. And while it is probably a real emotional milestone for the mom personally, she chose to use this moment to reach out to the people who made a huge difference in her kids’ lives for the past 13 years — their elementary school teachers. The 13 Going On 30 star wrote a beautiful tribute to honor teachers everywhere, and to thank her own kids’ teachers for “caring about my children with me” in particular.

Garner, who shares Samuel with ex-husband Ben Affleck along with 15-year-old Seraphina and 18-year-old Violet, took to Instagram on Thursday with a special message for her kids’ teachers. “Dearest Teachers,” her note began, “Thank you for caring about my children with me. Thank you for disciplining my kids when they’ve needed it and for offering more hugs than some children receive in a lifetime. Thank you for all of the hard work that goes into having high expectations, for buckling down and teaching them the discomfort and joy of tolerating frustration toward a greater good.”

She went on to thank teachers for “choosing to study and become educators and for doing your job with your whole heart,” before going on to add that nothing is “more noble than teaching children.”

Garner captioned the post with some extra “gratitude for our wonderful family elementary school at the end of 13 years together applies to all educators: thank you for doing what you do. And congratulations to all the mamas out there with kids moving from one phase to the next.”

Several teachers responded to Garner’s message on Instagram, with one person writing, “This is why you’re one in a million. Thank you from a teacher who loves her job and has found immense joy in caring for my students.” Another teacher wrote, “We (teachers) need more parents like you!”

The end of the school year is a big one this time around for Jennifer Garner and her family. Not only is Samuel the last of her kids to leave elementary school, her daughter Violet just graduated from high school. An event that left her in an absolute puddle of tears on Instagram as she prepares for her oldest child to leave the nest in the near future.

That’s a lot of change for one year, but Jennifer Garner is handling it (mostly) like a champ.