Preschool Graduations are Not Stupid

Every year around this time, photos start popping up in my Facebook news feed of preschool graduations.  Cute pictures of little kids in caps and gowns, with proud parents by their sides.  Tons and tons of photos, all of which I take the time to “like” (at least, I like the ones that I get to see – thanks, mysterious Facebook algorithm).

And without fail, there’s that one person every year who posts something like,

“Preschool graduations are dumb.  When I was a kid, I looked forward to high school/college graduation and that was it.  Are we going to celebrate their graduation from every grade?  Ridiculous.”

Naturally, they don’t post this in response to a specific graduation picture or on a particular persons wall, they just make it a status update, so everyone gets to see it.   In total fairness that’s not a direct quote, it’s just a compilation of updates that I’ve seen all jammed into one…but you get the point.  There are lots of people out there that think preschool graduations are silly, unnecessary, or just plain dumb.

I wholeheartedly disagree.

When I got the letter home for Greenleigh’s graduation I was ecstatic.  I was actually a little sad when the preschool chose to move it a week later due to scheduling conflicts with the venue, a local elementary school.  But when the big day arrived, I was there with a camera and the whole family to celebrate.  And when my child walked through the somewhat cheesy graduation arch, I was proud of all of her accomplishments.Because the fact is, she has accomplished a lot.  Her early test scores from her very first weeks of school prove it.  Here in Florida, if your child is enrolled in the state run Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (or VPK, as we call it), the state requires testing a few times a year.  At the beginning of the year Greenleigh was meeting expectations in 2 areas, exceeding expectations in 1 area, and below expectations in 1 area – phonological reasoning, which I didn’t even think was a “thing” until I looked it up.  By the middle of the year her scores improved, and by last week she’s exceeding expectations in all areas, getting the maximum number of points in 3 of the 4 areas tested.  That’s something to celebrate.

But putting test scores aside for a moment, I can see her accomplishments.  Around March or April of this year she started reading me entire books.  Easy, sight word books, but reading nonetheless.  She can spell not just her whole name (a true feat considering it’s a whopping 22 letters long), but tons of other words.  And math?  Don’t even get her started.  The kid loves math.  She’s a different – and smarter – kid than when she entered preschool in August.  That’s something to celebrate.

I’ve even noticed changes in her social skills.  She’s great with manners and is happy to remind you of yours when necessary.  She has confidence that I don’t think I had at that age, as evidenced by her bringing her toy microphone to school for show and tell and insisting on signing to anyone who would sit still in front of her long enough (unfortunately for my child – and the people at her school – she doesn’t have a golden voice).  And despite always being a social butterfly, she’s got more friends than she’s ever had.  That’s something to celebrate.

Many of the people that I see mocking preschool graduations equate it to sports where they give a child a trophy simply for just showing up.  And admittedly, I struggle with the concept of no winners, no losers, and everyone getting a trophy.  I see the benefits, yet I struggle with it.  But preschool graduation isn’t about everyone getting a trophy.  Because rest assured, there are kids who won’t go on to kindergarten next year.  A very small group of kids didn’t do so well on the testing and their teachers suggest that they aren’t ready for kindergarten just yet.  This actually happened to a friend of mine last year, so I know it happens.

And no, I don’t think that a preschool graduation will make her graduation from high school or college or med school (hey, who could blame a mom for being ambitious?) any less important.  Those graduations are a coming of age milestone in our society that signal the start of their own lives where they move out, get jobs, and learn to live on Ramen noodles.  They are much, much different than a preschool graduation.   Besides, I seriously doubt she’s going to get through the 11th grade and decide to drop out simply because she’s “been there, done that” in preschool.Could you celebrate kids in a way that doesn’t involve caps and gowns?  Sure.  But this is how my child school chooses to do it.  And I like it.

Because the bottom line is, it’s not about the caps or gowns or the songs they sing during the program or graduation arches.  It’s about accomplishments.  And as a mom, it’s my job to celebrate my kids and their accomplishments, regardless of their age.

So for the rest of their lives, I’ll be at their graduations, whether it be from preschool, 4th grade, 9th grade, college or med school snapping pictures and upload them to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and whatever other social media exists at the time.  You know, until they tell me that it’s “so embarrassing” and insist that I stop.