I must confess that I have changed my mind about preschool graduation. I used to scoff at the idea. After all, who needed to graduate from preschool? It seemed like graduation ceremonies were everywhere, part of the fashion of praising our children for every single thing that they do. “Excellent belching, Little Jimmy! First class, I must say!” Graduation from summer camp, from daycare, from each phase of school? Fancy gowns for elementary school graduation? I laughed and I scoffed.
But I’ve changed my mind a little bit. My daughter is going to enter kindergarten in the fall, and so she will be going to her own little graduation ceremony this year. At the end of May, the four-year-olds’ class at her preschool will all receive little diplomas and wear fancy paper hats. Very cute, I must say.
Now, I don’t consider preschool to be an accomplishment. In fact, our preschool is based on the concept of accomplishing very little: playing, playing, and more learning through playing. The children don’t work their way through letters and math workbooks, they learn through play.
But what I’ve realized about preschool graduation is that for us, it’s about moving from a small and close-knit community of people into the wider world of the public school system. It’s about valuing the experience that we’ve been a part of for two years and bringing it to a close. It’s not about praise or accomplishment, and it’s certainly not about academic achievement. My daughter might wear a dress, but we’re certainly not going to splurge for a gown. I might make sure that I brush her hair, though. Instead of being about achievement, preschool graduation is marking the end of a lovely chapter in our daughter’s life.
What do you think? Is preschool graduation just for saps like me?