Preschool Celebration

When I first heard Brandon's preschool was holding a graduation party, my immediate reaction was "Really?" I'm not proud of this but I thought "Great, now I have to take a few hours off of work - for what? Just to watch a few kids under age 6 accept a diploma for counting to ten". In my mind, I did not see this as an accomplishment worth celebrating. But I should have known better and kept my cynical self in check because the folks at Hillhurst Sunnyside Daycare have surprised me before and on Thursday June 4th, they did it again.
The parents were invited to arrive at 2:00pm. We were escorted into a small room that had been set up with small chairs in the front and a banner that read "Congratulations Graduates of 2014 - 2015".

Also at the front of the room was a projection screen streaming random photos of the kids in "Firefly Room". As I took my seat and watched the show, I was impressed by the photos. I knew Brandon was very active in the daycare with classes like Music, Dance and Drumming but I also got to see some of the other things they do. There were photos from building a garden, creating crafts, trick-or-treating, celebrating birthdays, trying science experiments, playing in the gym and going on field trips. The kids looked happy and busy and I was pleased to see all the variety in the things they did.
After about 15 minutes the back door opened and a procession of small children filed up the aisle and took their seats at the front of the room. Well I'm not sure I've ever seen anything as cute as that. All 20 or so kids were wearing blue caps and gowns!

Once everyone had their seat, the director of the program read the kids a story. She chose Dr Seuss' "The Places You Will Go". After that the kids stood up and sang a song. Something about being ready for school now. It was really adorable stuff. Quickly afterwards names were called and children went up one by one to receive their "diplomas". The whole thing was done at 2:35pm and we were invited to stay for snacks and share a cake that read "Congratulations" on it.

All-in-all Brandon wasn't too fussed by the whole thing but I loved it. It was so sweet and I was so proud of him. Jamie and I tried to get good photos but unfortunately most of them aren't that great. At least it was good practice for when we do it all again in Grade 12 and maybe even university!