Preschool Graduation

I always thought preschool graduations were pretty ridiculous... until that was my own kid up on the stage in a tiny cap and gown singing his heart out.  

Logan went to Brilliant Beginnings and I couldn't have been happier with his teachers, the program and his whole experience! He graduated last month and is movin' on to Kinder in the fall (not sure what school yet... that detail is one of a handful of balls in our life still high in the air that probably won't fall for another few months). 

Waiting to start... of course he had to stand next to his favorite friend, Tobias. He raved about Tobias all whole year long. And even raved about Tobias' older sister who can, as we've been told many times, jump on one foot and count to 100.

Lo's audience

 First the kids said the Pledge of Allegiance

Then they sand Down by the Bay and they each had a part they memorized.

Logan's part was, "Have you ever seen a  shark who's afraid of the dark?"

Then they sang a few more songs, walked to receive their diplomas, and then watched a slide show of the year. Yes, I teared up many times the whole night.

Ben had to go back to work to help with the play at Heritage so we got a family shot.

Then everyone headed outside for a balloon release

Me and Lo - I was beaming with a ridiculous amount of pride the whole time

Miss Morgan and her helpers decorated the gym SO cute... this picture doesn't really do it justice. 

And throughout the year Miss Morgan compiled little surprise boxes for the kids with their names on them, full of treats and goodies. And she also compiled journals for each student through out the year. And inside the binder she was thoughtful enough to include a program of the graduation, a DVD of class pictures of 2012, two books (Off to Kindergarten and I Knew You Could!) and a personally written card for each family. Talk about time!  

In the journal she included handprints, a page of interview questions answered by Logan, handwriting samples and an alphabet journal that included pages from A-Z.  My favorite page? "I is for ice cream!" He color, cut and pasted an ice cream cone and the page said, "If I could invent an ice cream flavor it would be called... Cowboy Chocolate."  haha  That is totally a Logan answer.  I scoured through that binder after I put the boys to bed and just cried. It was so sweet and fun to see how much he had grown over the year.

 

The students also all created pieces of art for an art show, where adults could pay $1 for each of their works of art. The money went towards the rental fee and also the elementary school library.

Logan's descriptive words were "sharp" and "energetic". Very fitting.

And of course he was more than thrilled about a cookie with his name on it. :)

I love my Logan!

We left in a hurry that night so I didn't get a picture with Logan and his teacher, Miss Morgan, but here is one from the beginning of the school year

And his class at the end of the year... yes he's standing next to Tobias again. 

 And here are videos (mostly for Nana and Pa J since they couldn't be there)












Now he's on to bigger and better - ha.  I have a knotty mix of feelings inside me when I think of Logan going into Kindergarten (well, school in general)... thrill, pride, excitement, wondering if I've done enough, hoping he'll be good at making friends, hoping he'll make great friends, hoping he won't be a bully, shock at how fast 5  years has gone, nail-biting anxiety over the public school system, nail-biting anxiety over what Lo will be learning from peers, sadness that I wont get him all day every day anymore, relief that I won't have him all day everyday, and happiness that he'll get smarter, sharper and that he'll get to fine-tune his little Logan-self even more!