OF SPRING AND GRADUATIONS

I think I remember that on my last day of Kindergarten, I quietly gathered up my stubby fat pencils and crayons, my dried-up bottle of glue, along with the super safe scissors that never cut anything cleanly, walked down the hall, out the door and home...crossing two streets in the process.  It was rather anti-climactic, but then again, it was 1950.  Lots of things were anti-climactic in 1950.

But, today!  Oh, today it's a technicolor world, filled with balloons and celebrations, and pizza, and sandbuckets, and slideshows, and proud young parents.  In today's world, it's Kindergarten Graduation...in this case, sans caps or gowns.  (After all, this is California!)

Collin attended Kindergarten with seventeen other boys and girls, all of whom had to test into the class.  Today, they can write sentences, recite bible verses, tell stories, understand fractions, keep a journal and count in Chinese.  Oh, wait.  That last one was just Collin.  In retrospect...perhaps these kids deserve a graduation!

Thanks to two energetic room-mothers, this celebration will last much of the day.  The kids planned a pizza party after the graduation, so this morning they have made pizza dough, spread pizza dough, topped the pizza with a variety of interesting selections, and cooked the pizza...enough to feed the eighteen students, their younger brothers and sisters, their parents, a sizable contingent of grandparents, aunts and uncles, not to mention the occasional passer-by. 

Not only did each child graduate, each child was singled out by one of the two teachers who told a little story about that child and highlighted his/her particular strengths or unique attributes..  One little boy, for example, was congratulated for being the funniest kid in class.  Another was praised for his math proficiency.  He loved math and he excelled in math.  A little girl had come into the school in September and struggled with reading.  But, she worked very hard and tried very hard, and today, because of her efforts, she's a great reader.  And, on and on.  Collin?  I couldn't be more proud.  He was given an award for being kind.  Whether on the playground or in the classroom, Collin is known for being kind to everyone*.        

Even the roommothers were given awards, thanking them for their great efforts co-ordinating parties, field-trips, special activities and, not least, this particular knock-out graduation!.

Congratulations, Collin!  We know you've worked really hard and you deserve a wonderful day of graduation!

Love, GG

*His little sister would like it known that she has taken some exception to the wording on that award certificate.  I think they're just talking about school, Lauren.