Today was a bittersweet day. It was Gerritt's last pre-kindergarten day. It seems that only yesterday he went to his first class. I drove him to the pre-K class at the Community Center near our house & then picked him up 3 days a week for almost a year. I rearranged my work schedule to make it possible. Only a few short hours to me (3.5 hours per day), but it was a whole new world to Gerritt. He learned about letters & numbers, insects & animals, coral reef & the jungle. He made art, learned how to sing, planted seeds & grew a butterfly. He learned about his body & how to make presentations. Gerritt also made many new friends.
With my Dad visiting from Russia, I was focused on getting the kids fed, pottied & dressed (I spent most of the morning chasing Jacob). Gerritt's pre-K graduation was at 12:15 pm, so we left on time to find parking & buy flowers for both of Gerritt's teachers. Luckily, my husband had today off, so I put him in charge of Jacob (Gerritt's concert happened to be near Jacob's nap time). I was in charge of video camera & photos.
Gerritt's face lit up seeing all of us walking into the room. First, the children presented a play for us. Gerritt was the main character - the silver fish. The silver fish was mean to other fish so no one wanted to play with him. When he took some of his sparkling fish scales off & shared them with other fish, he found friends again. The singing followed. The celebration ended with children singing Louis Armstrong's What a Beautiful World.
They were holding beautiful posters they painted to reflect some of the song's most memorable lines. Gerritt held a poster of a rainbow & he proudly lifted it up when he sang, "The colors of the rainbow...So pretty.. in the sky." After concert, the program's director Mrs. Vicky presented each child with pre-K graduation certificate as well as the graduation teddy bear. The celebration ended with everyone having cookies, cupcakes & juice. Gerritt was a wonderful host asking Sophia & I whether we wanted some juice or water. He also made sure Sophia had the chocolate cupcake she wanted.
I took Gerritt's photo with both of his teachers, since it would be a while before they see each other again. Of course, the teachers encouraged parents to bring the children for a visit. I was so busy getting everyone to Gerritt's graduation on time, making video of the concert & taking photos, I didn't have much time to be sad. The finality of the moment hit me only when the kids went to bed in the evening. It was the first quiet I had all day & I finally had the chance of think about & look back at Gerritt's past year. I wish there was a way to slow down time. The first 3 years of Gerritt's life were so busy, I wished he grew faster more times than I could count. And now my not-so-little "baby" will be turning 6 this fall as well as starting a kindergarten. Although Gerritt doesn't need me as much as he used to when he was younger we remain very close. And even though he has to share my attention with Sophia & Jacob, I have never regretted giving him siblings. I am so proud of the young man Gerritt is becoming & feel so lucky to be his Mom.
1 comment:
What great pictures. He beams pride in the pictures. You are such good parents bring the world some amazing citizens, love that he made sure Sophia had the cupcake she wanted.
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