Kindergarten Graduation

She graduated!  Yay!  Kindergarten is officially done!  (Sort of, there are still two weeks left of school)

Libby finished the kindergarten curriculum back in November, but had a few skills to master rather than just sit on them as proficient. Her teacher put her on the first grade track of materials in class, but she stayed in Kindergarten. Honestly, I didn't notice a difference.  We just hoped to keep her from being bored. She spent most of the year bored, but who knows, that's just what she told me. She was probably having a great time in school every day!

This is her graduating class. Aren't they all adorable!

I'm so mushy over all the little boys in their little tiny ties! Adorable! As you can see, my year-long worries over my little girl being tiny and too small to blend in were all wrong. She's the same size as the rest of the kids. Blends right in. They are all about the same size, give or take. But they are all 5 and 6 years old, it's not like they are in middle school and have a foot of height variation between them. I did worry a lot that Libby was smaller than the rest of the kids and might be immature too. That's another issue, but she seems to fit right in. She's almost the youngest in her class. The cut off date for Kindergarten entry is the day after her birthday so she just made the cut!  One other girl managed to enroll even though her birthday is two weeks later than the cut off; I cannot explain that but she's doing great in the class and is one of the taller kids too. Although, I'm sure that decision wasn't based on height.

Libby was all excited for her Kindergarten "Coronation".  She would get a crown and be the Queen of Kindergarten! I think she's seen "Frozen" a few too many times. The queen's coronation scene was all that she had in mind when her teacher mentioned graduation. I can see how those two ceremonies could be confused.

By the time the graduation ceremony began, it appears that Libby figured out the difference between coronation and graduation.  Thank goodness! I feared a great meltdown! A diploma rather than a tiara! The drama that could have caused!  Thank goodness for Miss Laura !

The kids recited a poem and sang a song. The teacher told the parents how wonderful their year was and how they've grown and learned so very much. It's true. Libby can read, add, subtract, understand a lot of science concepts, tell you that a seahorse's eyes can go in two directions at once, explain recycling, name the President of the United States, and all sorts of things! Every day there's something new coming out of this kid!

After the graduation ceremony, she was ready to report to first grade. Of course, she knows who her teacher will be because that's how her school works. The kids find out who their next teacher is long before the next school year begins. And she will have the same teacher for 1st - 3rd grades! No worrying about whose class she will be assigned to. I love that!  Plus, since the grades are mixed in 1st - 3rd, she will be in class with her older sister. They are so excited!

But, it was Friday afternoon with two weeks left of school.  Not exactly the right time to jump right into the first grade class. I  had to break the bad news: she has to wait until August 27th.  She nearly cried! She said "But mom, Kindergarten is so boring!" I told her that her entire class is in the first grade now. She has to keep going to Miss Laura's class with the other kids but they are all in first grade. Then in August, they all move to their 1st grade classes. She was ok with that.

I think she was a little disappointed with the graduation as a whole. It wasn't a coronation and she didn't get to go to the next classroom just yet. She did get a diploma and a cookie. Then it was over.