Luke's a Graduate (of Pre-K)

Friday was Luke's graduation day. The first thing that hit me was how much easier it is to prepare a boy than a girl. All he had to do was take a shower and find some clothes. His teacher had told him to wear "play clothes". He was not familiar with the term and kept telling me he had to find play clothes. I am not sure what he was picturing, but it definitely made it easy. I imagine they did not want them to be too hot under their robes.

Although graduation fell on a day I would normally have off, I had to telework. Monday is my last day and I feel like there is still so much to do. I have been waking up at 4:30 lately, so I got up and got started. I do love teleworking. I get a lot more done without the distractions in the office and it is nice to do it from my couch in shorts and a t-shirt. So, I worked from about 4:30am to 12:15 and then put on some real clothes for graduation. I felt bad that it was only me going. Thomas is in Florida and since they are missing the last 3 weeks of school, I didn't want to push my luck pulling the kids out of school, especially since the girls had gone on a chorus field trip the day before. And Anna had missed Monday afternoon for a doctor's appointment.

I got there about 30 minutes early and got an okay seat. The place was packed, most kids seemed to have lots of relatives in attendance. It made me think of Florida and the hope that if we were there, Luke would have more people in the crowd to cheer for him. Of course, I think my dad would find it torturous to drive an hour to sit through a preschool graduation. And, Kim and Kevin would have been at work. But, I could see Marta taking the day off and actually wanting to come. Luke definitely was sad that it was just me. He came home very excited on Thursday, because Ms. Debbie had told him that all siblings could attend. Then, he saw our neighbors outside and wanted to invite them. It made me sad. But, I took lots of video to share with everyone.

The kids came out in their caps and gowns and they looked so big compared to where they were and so small compared to where they will be. Each kid go a turn to shine. Luke's moment was as Monkey #5 in the the monkey teasing alligator song. He was up there dancing and loudly singing. It was adorable. He was the most animated monkey and I hope he remains uninhibited and enthusiastic. I know it is not likely, but one can hope!

They sang their songs and collected their diplomas. Then, there was cake and a slideshow. It was very well done. I was impressed with his preschool. He learned a lot. He can count past 100, do basic addition and subtraction, he knows all his letters and their sounds, and reads lots of sight words. He is very well prepared for Kindergarten. And, he enjoyed going. Except he hated taking a nap every day. It was the only sore point for him. But, he liked the learning and the playing and the teachers. His main teacher, Ms. Debbie, told me he is wonderful. She said that she wished she had 20 of him and that she frequently finds herself telling the class to "do what Luke is doing."  She said he catches on to everything so quickly and is just such a sweet boy. I agree with all of that! I love my little Lukey!

Hard to believe I have attended my last pre-K graduation!

In his "play clothes"