Graduation is always bittersweet! We are celebrating the
success of those children who are now ready to move on to kindergarten. They
will face the challenges of embracing a large group of new friends with the
ability and skill to absorb expanded areas of information and a social world
that is broader than their current experiences.
It is rare, but this year we have only one graduate. He exemplifies
everything that is critical in terms of the skills and personal maturity level
that will ensure he transitions and is successful in kindergarten.
He has become a leader, confident in his ability to accomplish
challenging tasks. He has increased his concentration and focus, and frequently
displayed a level of maturity we have not seen. He is a skilled soccer player
and yet yesterday, he lovingly played one on one with a twenty month old child,
adapting his approach to her level and allowing her to succeed.
His personal challenge is still to better control his
physical reaction to competition. He often overacts. He is conscious of it and
we have seen some improvement.
Every year we find it difficult to have our older children
leave. But it is heartwarming and rewarding that they are ready for the bigger
challenges they will face.
I firmly believe that a family daycare is the most
advantageous for the first five years. Each child is living with eleven other
children that they will be required to get to know and develop the skills to
get along with. Children are drawn to each other by interest and will be
interacting with others who may have more or less knowledge than they do at any
time. They may be a partner, teacher, student, and best of all, leader.
They know it will be a lot of work going forward but they
have climbed that mountain many times and display the confidence and perseverance
to reach the top.
We will miss his everyday energy, contributions and
accomplishments!
Good luck!
