Tuesday, June 1, 2010

The Graduate

Well, it's official! I am now the mom of a first grader! Evan graduated from Kindergarten on Sunday.


Dad and Mom with our Graduate....we're so proud! (and one of us always blinks in pictures!)

Now, if you know me very well, you know I am sentimental, and I just felt awful that my son would miss out on the fun and sense of accomplishment with graduating. I still remember my Kindergarten graduation. But, seeing that Evan is homeschooled, those kind of things are not organized and put on for my child. I didn't want to miss out on the special moment, so we asked our Pastor if he would be willing to let us do a short graduation program at the end of church one Sunday.


Evan with Pastor Jim

I bought him his first suit, and oh, did Evan look so grown up and handsome!







We found him a cap and gown on eBay, turns out the seller is a homeschooling mom as well, and just used them for her daughter's Kindergarten graduation. The timing and price were perfect for both of us and as she said, the transaction was a "God thing." I'm glad I found the cap and gown because they made it seem so official. Evan's done a great job this year, and I wanted his day to be special. I couldn't find a tassel for my price range, so I found some tasselling at the fabric store and made my own.



We made up a little printed program, printed it on card stock, rolled them up like diplomas and tied them with black ribbon. I found online "Pomp and Circumstance", downloaded it, burned it to a cd, and had it played for him to march in.

Evan getting ready to march


He was nervous and shy being up in front of people for the first time by himself, but he did a great job. Ben introduced him, Pastor prayed, Evan led the pledge to the American flag and the Bible,



he recited 3 verses, he recited 5 catechisms, and he sang "How Can I Fear?" with his Dad and Carter. Owen and Derek were supposed to sing too, as Evan requested they all sing with him since it was a song they all learned in Bible class together. But, Owen fell asleep in the nursery, and well, you don't wake a 2 year old to take him up in front of church and make him sing. That's a no brainer. And Derek got cold feet at the last minute. But the 3 guys did a great job.



I had the privilege of presenting Evan with his Kindergarten Diploma, and pronouncing him officially a graduate.


I got a little choked up as I gave him his diploma. Moments like these remind you how fast time is going and how precious every moment is.


Ben ended the ceremony with prayer. It was short and sweet, but special, and I think it is something Evan will remember for a long time. And, since our small church borrows a funeral home to meet in, I think his graduation holds the distinction of being the first ever graduation held in that building (or maybe any funeral home for that matter!)






We also had our church's monthly fellowship that afternoon, so I made a "graduation cap" cake for Evan and took it to share with our church family.



The highlight for Evan was that Gramma B came to be a part of it all, as well as his aunt and cousins.



Poor Grampa and Uncle Mike couldn't make the trip because as Carter said, "they have to stay at the farm and keep sure that the cows don't get into trouble." :-)



I am so proud of my boy for his accomplishments and so thankful to God for giving him the ability and desire to learn. And though it is something I said I would never do, I am thankful that God gave me the privilege to teach him at home. Teaching him to read and add are some of the most fulfilling things I've done in my life! I'm looking forward to first grade and all the new things he'll learn. But right now, I'm enjoying the moment...it's SUMMER BREAK!

1 comment:

Proud Mama said...

I totally understand not wanting him to miss out on graduation. I take Erica to a co-op and unless a mom steps up they don't do graduation--so of course I had to step up. Since there were 4 kids in her K class I made them t-shirts and caps to graduate in. They sang 2 songs and I presented them with diplomas. We have first graders (cry). Doesn't seem like that long ago that we were college roomies. Glad it went well and congrats to you all.

Bobbie Jo