K5 Graduation 2012

There's a new group of graduates in town---Kindergarten!

This Kinder graduation was really fun for me to watch and "cheer" for our kids. It really is a huge year for these kids. Many of them came in not knowing how to read and now they all can! Counting, rhyming, Bible, science, patterns, spelling, reading and much more...Kindergarten is an invaluable year :)

There are so many personalities in this class that I love. Denny started out as the only boy among 6 very girly girls! He thrived, and that in itself is a huge personality! From the princess dresses to the darlings that cling to mother figures at school, I adore these munchkins (and I only saw them once a week at Chapel!)

At graduation I was celebrating their victories and classroom triumphs. I was also daydreaming of seeing them graduate high school at PICS. That, in itself implies two large factors: 1) that God will call us to stay here that long, 2) that these students' families stay here that long. In the history of our school, that hasn't happened yet for but one student. It must be my sentimental heart this year (in my Year of Goodbyes) that I cling to all the people I can. Now more than ever, I catch myself thinking about the future with our students and co-workers. It's a beautiful thing...but a dangerous thing. In doing so, I'm setting myself up for heart break in this ever so transient field. (Now, my post has gone on a rabbit trail that I didn't intend!) But I won't deny my connections with these kiddos. Instead, I choose to celebrate their growth and journey.

not a kindy YET!

Graduation makes people sentimental, don't cha think? It stirs up all these emotions of future and past, regrets and hopes. EVEN Kindergarten graduation! Maybe these milestone markers are here for a reason, to give us the opportunity to stop and evaluate before we move forward.