The Graduate

Last night, Cade and his classmates graduated from the Pre-K Friendship class at the Weekday School. Before I had children, I thought that celebrating events like this was pretty silly. Boy was I wrong! Watching my son don a maroon graduation gown and hat, process into our church with his friends, receive a diploma and Bible from his teachers, and smile his precious smile as loving parents and grandparents congratulated him was an absolute highlight of our 5 years of parenting! I could not be prouder of the academic and social growth that Cade has had at the Weekday School, more thankful for the loving care he has received from his teachers, or more pleased with the sweet friendships he has developed. The graduation ceremony was a perfect way to close out the Pre-K year and get the students ready for a summer of fun field trips!

First, the teachers led the kids in a procession down the aisle.



The kids lined up at the front of the church to sing some of their favorite songs - "Days of the Week", "Months of the Year" (set to the Macarena song, complete with hand motions), and "Deep and Wide".



Molly and Isabelle presented each child with a diploma and a Bible. The kids were coached on stopping for a picture, and I was excited that Cade remembered to stop and smile!



Each child also had a speaking part in the program. Cade said "We have put together a special show for you" to introduce a video that was played. The video included pictures of the kids during their time at the WDS, and it was amazing to see how much all of them have grown!



The last part of the video featured interviews of each child saying what he/she wants to be when they grow up. Cade stated that he wants to be a Daddy so he can work with his Daddy. There is no doubt who his hero is! Other kids' responses included Spiderman, baseball player, teacher, horse rider, video game player, firefighter, and car picker-uper. In case you don't know what a car picker-uper is, Caroline explained it as someone that drives a car and gives rides to people who don't have cars. That girl already has a desire to serve!

After the ceremony, we were all eager to congratulate Cade! I was so happy that so many of us were there to share the special night with him. He was mostly just happy to eat his cookie.



Garrett is Cade's favorite friend, and we are so glad that they will continue to go to elementary school together! They get pretty goofy sometimes, but who can resist these sweet and silly faces?



Cade probably has several graduation ceremonies ahead of him, and I pray that he always embraces his education as eagerly and enthusiastically as he does now. There is so much to learn, son, so much to learn!