Kindergarten Graduation

Alison is in the second row from the top, 4th kid in

Alison graduated Kindergarten on Thursday.  

I scored the perfect seat in the front, at the perfect angle facing Alison.  She could see me, and that's all that mattered.

It didn't take long for me to tear up.

She marched onto that stage with a smile on her face and immediately started singing along.

A year ago, she would have starred at the ground with her shy face on and would have mumbled the words.  I expected her to cry, but instead it was me crying.

I was so proud of her and how far she's come.

They sang several songs and then each class came up front for pictures.

The kids did amazing and it was fun to see all the little personalities of the kids in her class.

The program ended and we went back to Alison's class room.

Tyonna, Alison, Madelyn and Harmony

Here's where things got weird.  Her teacher was gone all week, even missing the graduation.  So there were some aids in the classroom telling the kids to clean out their desks and to have a great summer.
Keep in mind that this is Thursday morning and school was in session the remainder of that day and Friday until 1:00.  The aid starts telling parents that Friday is "optional" but Mrs. Zawodny won't be there.  I was really confused and felt like if I left Alison she was just going to be sitting in an empty classroom by herself.
So we packed up her desk, said goodbye to some friends and stood in the hallway for just a minute to say goodbye to Hardy Elementary.



On our way home, I took her to the library to pick out her second chapter book.
She spent a lot of time reading grandma's books while we were in Kansas and came home determined to conquer chapter books.  The series 'Junie B. Jones' was recommended to us and she's been flying through them.  Unfortunately, Colin also loves her new chapter books and destroys them...like eats pages and tears them to shreds...our bill at the library is growing daily!



now it's time for my beef:

 -Each family was only allowed 2 tickets to the program and siblings are not allowed because of "liability".  I've missed everything this year because of my "liabilities".  I was only able to attend graduation because I hired a babysitter. 

-Her teacher has been gone for probably 50% of the year.  They had a long term sub for probably 3 months and then there were budget cuts and instead of hiring a sub, they would just shuffle the class around to different classes.  Alison missed out on several things because she was in someone elses class and it just erks me.  I'm not saying the teacher isn't allowed to have some health problems, but a little communication would be nice.  Like, "Hey, by the way, I won't be at your child's graduation, but I loved having them in my class this year and I'll miss them".  Nope.  I'm so glad that Alison doesn't even know how fun the last day of school is and I really hope that next year is better.
-At the end of their program, the principal got up and said, "Well, we're done.  Please wait here until your child is dismissed."  REALLY?!  That's it?  So much for a sentimental speech about how well they did or even a congratulations. 

-this song!  I wanted to pull Alison off the stage.  Thank you so much for teaching my daughter how to be greedy.

Okay, my beef is done.  

Overall, I'm so glad we sent Alison to school this year.  Socially, it did wonders for her and she did learn some new things.  I loved that it gave her some independence, while giving me some time with just the boys.  I'm ready to have her home for awhile and hoping Carrollton schools are a little better in the communication department.

Kindergarten is over and I'm ready to celebrate.

We made it!

Here's a glimpse of Alison's favorite song from the program.  I will warn you, though, it was the most painful one: