Graduation? Really?!?

When Oo was three, I had no plans of sending her to preschool. I didn't go to preschool. Besides, even at three, Oo was quite the little smarty pants. The idea of her going to preschool just seemed like a pointless exercise.

But the more moms I talked to, the more I realized that almost EVERY kid goes to preschool nowadays. Seriously, in the past few years I have yet to meet a mom my age-ish who wasn't or didn't send their child to preschool. Still, I wasn't sure Oo needed it.

When conversations about kindergarten began in my circle of mom-friends, I learned how much a child is expected to know these days BEFORE they go into kindergarten. I thought, "Wow! Really?? I think that's great!" Kids are sponges able to absorb all kinds of info. They WANT to learn; they want to know how to manipulate their world and be as independent as possible. Why not give them a jump start? I also thought of the social disadvantage Oo might have if—unlike other kids—she were not exposed to a classroom setting prior to kindergarten.

At the urging of a friend, we did a preschool trial-run (see blog post from Sept. 2008) when Oo was three. She was eager to go to school, so we signed her up for a once-a-week preschool class. She hated it! The things taught in that class were so basic that Oo was bored out of her mind. You should've seen the look on her face after her first class: totally bummed, utterly disappointed.

A year later, I decided we should find a preschool for her, an affordable school that would challenge her and that had a warm, loving environment . A tall order! Following some advice from a former co-worker, I visited a school and met with its teachers. It was exactly what I was looking for but didn't expect to find!

In this past year, the school surpassed my expectations. Every teacher (and there were a lot of them—3 teachers for every 18 students!) was genuinely loving toward the children. Oo was challenged and encouraged, hugged and gushed over. At the start of every school day, she bounced out of the car with a huge smile on her face. And when I picked her up after school, that huge smile was still there. The teachers nicknamed her "Smiley" and always let me know how much they enjoyed her joyful personality.

Wednesday night was her graduation ceremony and spring concert. In my mind, preschool and kindergarten graduations are utterly superfluous. Why not save the big graduation event for big academic accomplishments? And so, as I baked cookies for the post-ceremony reception, I tried to think of some genuine words of praise to say to Oo on her graduation night that didn't reveal that I thought the whole thing was pure silliness.

As I thought, I began to realize just how much she really did accomplish. Not just learning to write legibly, cut with scissors (I never let her use them prior), and color within the lines. She learned how to be a thoughtful member of a big group. She learned it's okay if our friends want to play with someone else for a change. She witnessed a little bad behavior and took ownership of her own behavior, feeling very proud that she never got into trouble. She made many crafts and was delighted to see how much she is capable of creating. She learned that, in addition to family members, many people love her because of who she is.

And the list goes on and on. By the time the last batch of cookies was in the oven, the kids were asleep in bed and I couldn't wait for graduation day to come. I was excited for Oo, and also, I couldn't wait to see the teachers and gush over them for a change.

Below are pictures of our graduate. We also took some video—I figured a way around our camera-laptop compatibility issue—but the "cinematography" is really bad. I don't dare show it for fear you get seasick from the shaky camera.

Here is our proud girl holding her diploma.


Walking down the aisle after the ceremony. So beautiful!


Hanging out at the post-graduation reception, or as T called it, "The Cookie Party!"

Even though Oo graduated, she still has one week left of school. The school likes to end the year with an ice cream social and a few days of their normal routine before the kids say good-bye to their teachers and friends. Oo told me she's going to miss everyone. Me too. Until, that is, T goes there in two years!