Our Last First Graduation

Well, this was it.  And end of an era and, for our family, anyway, a long standing tradition of the first official graduation - the Kindergarten Graduation!  All six boys have gone through the same kindergarten and all performed in the same exact program.  Luke, our youngest, was finished with kindergarten and finally having his turn!

At our elementary school, the graduation is not really a graduation, per se, but a performance.  All the kids sit in front of the stage and go through the school year, singing songs that they had learned for each month of the school year.  Every child gets a part in one of the songs where they get to wear a costume and be on the stage.  It's kind of a big deal.

I remember Alex was a very serious Abe Lincoln in a tall hat, marching solemnly in place as the kids sang about old Abe Lincoln.  I think (I might be wrong) that the twins might have been dancing peanuts in the "Found a Peanut" song, and Caleb poured hot water up and down the Silly Chicken's leg.  But I will never forget Nathan, who WAS the quintessential Silly Chicken, and he did a commanding performance as he squacked his lungs out during his debut on the stage.  A star was born.  People are still talking about it.

Luke got to be a field mouse. Little Bunny Fufu (his buddy Maverick) kept coming along and bopping him on the head, and he would collapse.  He was very convincing.  He is quite the thespian, I believe.  I laughed.  I cried.

My boys have all done this program thanks to these two amazing kindergarten teachers that all of my boys have been so lucky to have one or the other - Mrs. Karlquist and Mrs. Cathcart.  They are absolutely THE BEST kinder teachers anywhere! We love them!

It was a great show and we had such a great time watching it - again.  It seems like Alex was just singing in it, and now he is a junior in high school!  Something tells me it won't be very long before Luke is a junior in high school too!

I just feel like kindergarten is a magical time, especially this kindergarten program that all my boys were lucky enough to be in - first at Ford School, and now at Reagan (different schools, but the same exact kinder).  I am kind of sad that for the VanBuskirk family, there will never be another Kindergarten graduation program.

Grandma and Grandpa came out to enjoy the show too.

We love you Mrs. Karlquist and Mrs. Cathcart.  Thanks for making school magic for my boys!

I love you Luke!  You are getting so big!  First grade, here we come!