Bawling Preschool Christmas Program

Wednesday, December 16th, was Katherine's first Christmas program at preschool. We were very excited for her. Dennis was there early and got us great seats in the front row. I got there in the nick-of-time. Katherine was all dressed up in her Christmas dress. Her accessories were what she picked out and insisted on wearing. She looked very cute.

The beginning of the program was the 3's and 4's. The 2's then joined them. They were right up front! Katherine spotted us and was so happy to see us. Then she saw everyone else and panic set in. She was so overwhelmed. First, she covered her mouth and then her eyes. We could see the big frown and tears started to flow. By the time they were down to the last couple of songs she was just beside herself sobbing. One of her classmates even pointed us out to her and tried to console her.

Finally, at a break between songs, I stepped up to the stage and she ran over to me. She did calm down after a little bit and sat and enjoyed watching her friends in the program. I'm hoping that the next program will be a better experience for her. She is such the little entertainer so I was very surprised to see her be completely overwhelmed. Maybe next time we'll sit farther back where she can't see us. Either way, we are looking forward to many more fun and unpredictable preschool programs.

There are more pictures and videos here. (I tried to add the video to this post, but it wouldn't work. Please check it out it was very cute.)

Pow Wows and Thanksgiving Feasts

Elizabeth had her first Pow Wow at school. I went to help out, but didn't bring my camera, so I have no pictures to share (I'm going to try to get one of Elizabeth with the items she made and brought home). The five Kindergarten classes rotated through a series of 5 stations. They made noodle necklaces, Oreo turkeys, paper bag vests, head dresses, and watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving with popcorn.

I went to help out in Elizabeth's class. Her classroom station was where the kids got to string noodle necklaces. It was a lot of fun to see each class. Katherine came with us and she was a great little helper. She helped me with the yarn strings. Then while we helped the kids string their necklaces she colored quietly. We got to see several kids that we knew from our neighborhood that are in different classrooms.

Finally, Elizabeth's class returned to the classroom. It was lunch time when Elizabeth's class returned to their classroom. They were going to do their rooms station after lunch so I missed out on helping with Elizabeth's class. Katherine was so excited when the kids were getting their lunchboxes. She asked me, "Where's my lunchbox, Mom?" She was not happy when I told her it was time for us to go home. She threw a fit all the way home.


The next day was Katherine's Thanksgiving feast at preschool. It was very cute to see all of the kids sitting together at the table. I wish I could say it stayed that way. Most of them hardly touched their food and were more interested in socializing with their friends and the other parents. It was a lot of fun.

(More pictures are here.)

Preschool Graduation

Well, it is official! Elizabeth has graduated preschool and is headed on to Kindergarten next year. Thursday, May 21st, was her graduation day! She got to wear a cap and gown. Thankfully, we didn't have to buy those. She did get to keep her 2009 tassel and receive a diploma certificate.

The program was adorable. It started out with a photo slide show of the class photos for our kids "class" starting from the 2's through the 4's. It was amazing to see how drastically some of the kids have grown up and changed. Then it went through each 4's class. First with the class photo and then a few photos of each child. It included a baby picture, a few from school, and finally their picture in their cap and gown. Very cute.

The children entered the worship center next. Mr. Music (who visits once a month at school and is also named Chris) played the graduation precession on his Saxophone. Then Mr. Chris (Pastor of Music and Worship) led them in several songs. The kids were adorable. They even played their recorders (which they got to bring home) for us.

That was followed by the handing out of the diplomas. Several of the teachers were very emotional during this part. Each set of teachers haded out the diplomas to their class. The kids gave each teacher a big hug (well, most of them did). Elizabeth was eager to get back to her seat.

At the end each child was given a carnation. I could see Elizabeth's initial disappointment when she didn't get a red one. That girl and her favorite color red! Then they exited out of the worship center.

Unfortunately we're fast discovering that our not so old digital camera is old and slow and not so good at catching shots. We missed quite a few cute photo opportunities because the camera or Katherine was not cooperating. I ended up having to leave the ceremony a few times because she as loud and squirming too much. I think she would have loved to be up there on the stage with Elizabeth.

The good thing was that both the camera and Katherine kept me busy enough that I didn't have the opportunity to shed a tear! Phew, that was a relief. There had been quite a bit of chatter between the Mom's about bawling about this milestone accomplishment during the graduation ceremony. I'm glad I escaped that one.

Afterward we returned to the classroom to get Elizabeth where we got a few more photo opportunities. The teachers were also presented with the adorable picture frames that all of the parents had chipped in to have made for them. (Many thanks to Sarah who headed up the idea.) The kids then gave their carnations to their Mom's. Katherine had run to give Elizabeth a big hug and had quickly claimed (as she decapitated it) the carnation for her own. Then we headed down to the multipurpose room for cake and refreshments. It was a wonderful day and a big milestone!

You can view additional pictures here.

Preschool Christmas Program

Elizabeth has been so excited about this year's preschool Christmas program. She has been practicing her songs. I couldn't quite figure out when she sang Happy Birthday to Poppa Royal why she sang "Happy Happy Birthday" in the middle of the song, but I now know why. That's how they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus in their Christmas program.

She did such a wonderful job. It was night and day from last year. Last year she spent much of the time on stage trying to hide behind the child next to her and eventually ended up sitting on Mrs. Amy's lap. This year she was completely into singing and the arm movements. She's growing into such a big girl right before our eyes. It has been absolutely amazing to see the transformation of her.

I had expected that one of us would be walking in the lobby with Katherine, but she was completely mesmerized by the kids on stage. She sat happily on my lap rocking out and clapping with the songs. I'm certain that she'll be quite the ham next year when she gets her first opportunity to be on stage. She loves to sing and dance.

You can find additional pictures and another video clip here.