"I'm Gonna Celebrate and Graduate!"

As we ended what has probably been our best school year ever, we did so with a lot of joy and celebration.  This week has had one special activity and class party after the next.  And since my own school year is done, I went ahead and signed up to help with everything.  I guess spending large chunks of every day at school has been great practice for next year when I'm teaching (or so Ella says..), but it has left me feeling pretty exhausted.

One of the week's first activities was a practice for Delia's graduation program.  I helped walk kids over to the church and then got to see a sneak peek.  These pics are from the practice.

After the practice we took all the kindergarten classes to the nearby water park for an afternoon of field games and play.  I enjoyed running the relay race station and getting to know Delia's classmates a little better.  Kids this age are just great.  They are nothing but enthusiasm and energy!  The next day I got to help host Ella's whole 2nd grade end of the year party too.  

And today was the big LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.  The kindergarten celebrates all their progress and marks this important day with a Kindergarten Celebration program.  It's a graduation of sorts, only not really.  There is no solemnity or sense of quiet respect.  When the first kindergartner appears at the back ready to march in, this year all the family members started loudly clapping and cheering.  This excited the kids and caused them to run down the aisle, high-fiving people on the ends.  It was so great-- like a pumped up sports team entering their stadium.  I couldn't have smiled wider or felt less like crying.  The joy was contagious and the whole place was full of it. 

The awesome songs also contribute to the feeling that this is one giant party.   Our wacky and talented kindergarten teachers take fun songs we all know, like "Summer Lovin'" or "Dynamite", and change the words to make them appropriate for the day.  ("I put my hands up in the air some time singin' ay-oh, come on, let's go.  I'm gonna celebrate and graduate, sayin' ay-oh... Cause we're gonna rock this school, we're gonna do it right, we're gonna graduate cause we're dynamite!")  I'll have to share a video, it's SO stinkin' cute.

 In the final song, our graduates don crazy glasses and declare, "I'm on my way...to the first grade!"

 After the program we mingle with friends and take pictures that we'll pull out again at their 2025 high school graduation!

On Monday it hit me that this week was it.  Delia's wonderful teacher, who made her year so awesome, has been on maternity leave this past month.  When she filled our inbox with beautiful letters for her students and parents, the tears flowed.  Back at school, we watched Ella's teacher give each of her students a long hug goodbye, while whispering personal blessings and encouragement to each.  The lump in my throat came back when I saw the tears running down Mrs. VM's face as she did this.  I can't say enough how blessed we've been by our daughters' teachers this year.  We saw evidence every single day that our teachers loved our kids and worked hard to creatively instruct them to the very best of their abilities.  What more can you really ask for when you surrender your child to the care of someone else for the majority of the hours in a day?  It's definitely something to celebrate!