Grace Graduates

(Grace's pre-school class - she is on the left, one row back)

Grace graduated from pre-school yesterday. It was a really special day for her. She has loved her year at pre-school and has really enjoyed her friends and her teachers there.

(Grace receiving her flower from Mrs. Ray, her other teacher there is Mrs. Reardon.)

They did a really simple program with the kids singing a few songs and then called each one up to get their little rolled up diploma and a flower. Then, they got to eat some yummy snacks and play with their friends. (Grace riding trikes with Colin - yep, he's in a suit!)

We also were able to take home a portfolio of things they have been doing all year. She had drawn a great family portrait as well as many drawings of her first-loves, Thomas the train, and her dog Velvet. She also wrote some funny little stories and had a nice little journal that they had been keeping about their curriculum. The last thing they did this year for science was to raise a batch of salamander eggs. They got to watch them hatch into tad-pole stages and then finally mature into (almost) adult salamanders.

(Grace looking at the salmanders)

Now, I know to some people, the idea of a graduation ceremony to mark the end of pre-school seems pretty silly, and to me, it used to seem silly too. But, after the tragedy that my friends have just suffered, that their little daughter died last month about 3 weeks shy of her second birthday, things have been brought into sharp focus for me. No longer will I think that little things like pre-school graduation are silly. No longer will I think that I'm taking way too many pictures of my kids. No longer will I think that some of the milestones are just what everyone does, so it's no big deal, right?

Nope, every milestone and each joy throughout the day are cause for celebration and notice. Now, I don't think that pre-school graduation is cause for renting out a banquet hall and getting dressed in black-tie, but it is very noteworthy. Right now, in the present, it is the most important thing in Grace's life. And so, it is most important to me too.

I am so proud of my little Gracie and of all she has done this year. I know that she will be very very sad tomorrow when she has to tell her friends and her teachers good-bye. (smartly - they do graduation on the next-to-last day, so that the kids can still have one more normal day to play and say good-bye) I know that she has GREAT things ahead of her and I am very grateful to her pre-school teachers for giving her such a positive experience to jump-start her into her school years.

Here's a little video of them singing. It was really hard to see her because of where we were sitting, but you can see her peek out every once in a while. You can also see her 3rd teacher in this shot, Mrs. Burke.